PHALLOIDE.^ OF CEYLON. 17 



is covered at fiist by a fine white membrane which disappears 

 as the fungus expands. If the specimen is placed in alcohol 

 before this membrane has deliquesced, the latter becomes 

 tough and persistent. Any one who bad only alcohol speci- 

 mens at command would therefore be extremely Hable to 

 misinterpret the pubhshed descriptions, if the junction of the 

 arms were referred to as a membrane. 



■ The question how the differences of opinion have arisen 

 between those who have examined the herbarium specimens 

 of Coins Gardneri does not seem to have yet been satisfactorily 

 settled. The photograph of a Kew herbarium specimen 

 given by Lloyd in his " Synopsis of Known Phalloids," fig. 38 a, 

 does not resemble the specimens in the Peradeniya herbarium, 

 and could not with any degree of certainty be identified as 

 Coins Gardneri. In particular the arms appear to be covered 

 by the gleba down to their junction with the stalk ; there 

 seems to be no bare portion, and no corresponding gaps: I 

 still think it probable that there is some confusion of specimens 

 here between Coins Gardneri and Lysnrus an^traliensis. 



Aseroe rubra La Bill. 



Further specimens of Aseroe rubra, collected at Hakgala, 

 exhibit the following variations in the arrangement of the 

 arms, &c. : — 



(a) Specimen with sixteen arms, arranged somewhat 

 obscurely in pairs on one side of the disc, but singly on the 

 other side. This specimen has only one really well-marked 

 pair. The disc, without the arms, is 3 '3 cms. diameter, 

 while the arms are extremely short, only 5-9 mms. long. 



(b) Specimen with fourteen arms, distinctly arranged in 

 pairs. One pair is fused almost to the tip, only the last four 

 milHmetres being divided. The arms are 3 cms. long and 

 the breadth of the disc is 2* 3 cms. This is the specimen 

 illustrated on PI. V. 



(c) Specimen with fourteen arms, not arranged in pairs. 

 Length of the arms 3 • 7 cms. ; diameter of disc 3 • 6 cms. 



{d) Specimen with sixteen arms, in six well-marked pairs, 

 and 07ie gronp of fonr. The latter group is 3 cms. long and 

 1 • 3 cm. wide at the base ; it splits off one arm at a distance of 



6(11)10 (3) 



