136 THE NORTH AMERICAN SLIME-MOULDS 



preceding, but differing in the globose sporangia, it .may be 

 instantly recognized under the lenses by its coarsely papillate 

 spores. 



Not common. New York, Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Iowa, 

 Nebraska. 



3. DlACHEA THOMASII Rex. 



1892. Diachea thomasii Rex, Proc. Phil. Acad., p. 329. 



Sporangia gregarious, more or less crowded, purple and 

 bronze, iridescent, globose sessile or short stipitate ; stipe, when 

 present, very short, thick, tapering rapidly upward, orange; 

 hypothallus orange, prominent venulose, continuous ; columella 

 ochre yellow, rough, cylindric, tapering upward one-half the 

 sporangium, obtuse ; capillitium lax, of slender brown rigid 

 threads, radiating from the columella in every direction, anasto- 

 mosing to form a loose, large-meshed network ; spore-mass 

 brown ; spores by transmitted light violaceous, minutely, un- 

 evenly warted, 10-12 p. 



The peculiar orange color of the calcareous deposits in stipe 

 and columella easily distinguish this species. The capillitium is 

 also distinctive, rigid, simple, and comparatively scant, Lampro- 

 derma-\\k.Q. Rex calls attention to the fact that under low 

 magnification the spores appear spotted; but the spots are oc- 

 casioned simply by the closer aggregation, at particular points, 

 of the ordinary papillae. 



A southern species. All the specimens so far reported are 

 from the mountains of North Carolina. 



The specimens referred to under this name by Lister, Mon., 

 p. 92, as coming from " Kittery, U. S. A." (Kittery, Maine ?), 

 are, no doubt, according to Mr. Lister's figures, Comatricha 

 ccespitosa Sturgis. See under that species. 



C. LAMPRODERME^:. 



Sporangia distinct, generally gregarious, more or less spheri- 

 cal ; capillitium developed chiefly or solely from the summit of 

 the columella. 



