SPORE-DISCHARGE IN THE CLAVARIEAE 



189 



may here be described. A fruit-body, which was 10 inches long 

 and still developing, was found by Mr. W. B. Brierley at the foot 

 of a Scots Pine (Pinus 

 sylvestris) . He gathered it 

 and at once kindly brought 

 it to me at the Herbarium at 

 Kew, where I happened to be 

 working. On examining the 

 laminae upon the head of the 

 fruit-body, I found that the 

 layers of hymenium were 

 situated always on the lower 

 sides of the folds, and never 

 on the upper. The position 

 of the hymenium, as seen in 

 vertical sections, is indicated 

 by thicker lines in such posi- 

 tions as h in the drawings B, C, 

 and D of Fig. 67. I then took 

 the fruit-body and suspended 

 it in a glass case which had 

 been used as a microscope 

 cover (Fig. 66). The already- 

 mentioned hymenial layers 

 now looked downwards. 

 Under these conditions the 

 edges of the terminal laminae 

 continued to develop in area. 

 After the lapse of two days 

 these young and terminal 

 laminae were found to have 



FIG. 66. Sparassis crispa. Effect of 

 gravity on the position of the hyme- 

 nium. A fruit-body was suspended by 

 its stipe in an inverted position in a 

 glass case, as here shown. The ends 

 of the fronds continued to grow. The 

 new hymenial layers developed only 

 on the sides of the fronds which 

 happened to face toward the base 

 of the case and away from the stipe. 

 About i natural size. 



developed basidia on their lower sides, but not on their upper. 

 Thus, while the old layers of hymenium, which had been developed 

 under natural conditions, now looked upwards, the new laj^ers of 

 hymenium. which had developed on the fruit-body after its inver- 

 sion, now looked downwards. This experiment shows that, by 

 inverting a young fruit- body, one can at will invert the position 



