OLIGONEMA 219 



Sporangia gregarious, sometimes closely so, sometimes scat- 

 tered turbinate, shining olive or olivaceous brown, stipitate ; 

 stipe generally elongate, concolorous above, dark brown below, 

 hollow, i.e. filled with spore-like cells ; capillitial mass yellowish 

 or olivaceous yellow, the elaters perfectly smooth, long fusiform, 

 tapering gradually to the long, 20-40 /A, slender apices, simple 

 or often branched, adorned with spirals three, which wind 

 evenly but somewhat distantly ; spore-mass olivaceous or ochra- 

 ceous, spores under the lens, pale, minutely delicately reticulate, 



IO-I2 fJL. 



One of our largest and most common species, in form and 

 size resembling H. clavata, but immediately distinguished by its 

 color. The capillitium is like that of T. botrytis, but differs in 

 the more open sculpture and the longer and smoother unwound 

 tips. The episporic net is a constant character in all the speci- 

 mens examined. This feature reminds of T. scabra. 



This is, of course, our familiar T. fallax of all authors from 

 Persoon down. The earliest unmistakable reference to this 

 species is Hedwig, I.e. But Batsch, in 1789, had used the 

 same combination to describe a real puff-ball, so that Hedwig's 

 name was already a synonym. The specific name here adopted 

 is next in point of priority, although Persoon discarded it the 

 year following, substituting fallax, because he had mistaken 

 the genus. 



Not rare. New England to the Black Hills and Wash- 

 ington, south to the Carolinas and Kansas ; Jalapa, Mexico. 



4. Oligonema. 



1875. Oligonema Rost., Man., p. 291. 



Sporangia distinct, small, generally crowded together and 

 superimposed ; hypothallus none ; capillitium scanty, the sculp- 

 ture rudimentary and imperfect, scattered rings or mere rough- 

 enings, sometimes imperfect or faint spirals ; spores yellow. 



The Oligonemas are simply degenerate Tric/it'ac, and show 

 the vagaries usually to be noted in a passing type. They are 



