324 THAXTER. 



The significance of this condition has been variously discussed, and 

 the terms ascus and sporangium variously applied to it. Its re- 

 semblance to the sporangium of the Mortierelleae was first pointed 

 out by Baccarini (1903), who believed that it should be excluded from 

 the Endogoneae for this reason. The researches of Bucholtz who 

 demonstrated the sexual origin of the spores in certain species, and the 

 necessity of their inclusion among the Mucorales, gave further support 

 to this suggestion of Baccarini, and, assuming that the three sections 

 herewith distinguished actually represent conditions of a single generic 

 type, the view that the members of the family are close relatives, at 

 least, of the Mortierelleae, is, as has been already pointed out, strongly 

 supported by the fact that in this family alone among the Mucorales, 

 does one find zygospores having specialized envelopes, associated with 

 highly developed acrogenous chlamydospores ; and sporangia sepa- 

 rated from the sporangiophore by a simple septum. It should be 

 remembered, however, that although the two may be provisionally 

 thus associated, the apparent parallelism is not necessarily more than 

 a coincidence. 



The second record of this species is that of Harkness (1899) who first 

 described it under the name E. viallcola from material, collected on 

 Mt. Tamalpais in California, which I have had the privilege of ex- 

 amining, and which differs in no essential from the Naples material, 

 although the maximum diameters of the latter are often greater 

 (Figs. 72-74). 



The form was not. again reported till specimens collected in Portugal 

 were described as E. Torrendii Bresadola, Figures 75-76, in an enumer- 

 ation by Torrend (1913) of the second century of his Fungi Selecti 

 Exsiccati, published in Broteria. Quite recently this description has 

 been republished by Bresadola (1920) among his Selecta Mycologica, 

 where, however, the fact of its distribution by Torrend is not men- 

 tioned. 



Its range has been further extended by its discovery in New Zea- 

 land where material, having dimensions somewhat greater than those 

 of the Naples gathering, has been collected by Mr. James Mitchell, 

 and very kindly communicated to me by Mr. Lloyd (Figs. 77-78). 



If one compares • these different gatherings, although there is a 

 general agreement in the form, structure and color of the fruiting 

 masses, which are very similar to those of E. argciitina, the average 

 size of the sporangia and the number of spores which they contain is 

 subject to considerable variation. Treatment with potash, slight 

 pressure of the coverglass, and degrees of maturity, have to be con- 

 sidered in such a comparison; but quite apart from these, there is a 



