80 ON TWO MINUTE FUNGI. 



guished without the help of a high magnifying power. Stem 

 always, I believe, quite straight, slightly attenuated upwards, 

 running completely through the globose meridian; the por- 

 tion within the peridium is very slender. Peridium very 

 delicate, bursting when immersed in water, and soon breaking 

 up into little granular portions, filled with globose colourless 

 sporidia and radiating branched threads of extreme delicacy. 

 Within each sporidium is a single globose nucleus which 

 moves about within its cells with the greatest activity, from 

 which circumstance I have framed the generic name. I have 

 never seen a phenomenon of this nature before in Fungi, with 

 the exception of the motion of the particles in the milk of 

 Agarics. Unger, however, appears to have seen something 

 of the kind in the orange globules which are so conspicuous 

 in young plants of ^. regma. 



This is found in the same situations, and in the same 

 circumstances as Hydrophora tenerrima. The genus is evi- 

 dently a higher development of Mucoi\ and seems to be an 

 anticipation of^ Stemonitis. 



Tab. I. B. Hydrophora tenerrima. 



a. Plant in which the two membranes are not distinct. 



b. Do. Showing botli the membranes and rinir. 



c. Do. Showing both the membranes, but the ring is not 

 visible. The frill appears also to be deflected from a higher 

 part of the columella. 



d. Sporidia. All higJdy magnified. 



Tab. I. C. Endodromia vitrea. 



a. Plant before the bursting of the peridium. 



h. Do. with the peridium just bursting. 



c. Top of stem with the spores and filaments, the letter (o) 

 marks a portion of the peridium of the base breaking up 

 into little granules. 



d. Top of stem, the filaments and spores having been 

 washed awav. 



e. Spores with their active nucki. All highly magnified. 



