PHALLOIDE^ OF CEYLON. 7 



walls of tlie chambers being continued as struts underneath ; 

 the pileus is attached to this horizontal disc usually towards 

 its margin, though in this respect there is considerable varia- 

 tion. The diameter of the disc varies ; in some specimens it is 

 1 -5 cm. in diameter, while in others it is scarcely recognizable. 

 As a rule the disc is destitute of gleba on both sides ; its upper 

 side is usually smooth, but the lo"^er surface may be ornamen- 

 ted with ridges in continuation of those which bear the gleba. 



The odour of the fungus was very foetid, but the effect was 

 of course heightened by the massing together of so many 

 specimens. 



Penzig figures a specimen of Ithyphalhis tenuis with a 

 membrane between the pileus and the stalk. He points out, 

 however, that Fischer has already remarked on similar struc- 

 tures and shown they are remains of the primordial tissue 

 which divides the pileus from the stalk. They are usually 

 thin white membranous patches, adliering to the stalk. I 

 have previously stated (Ann. Perad., IV., p. 15) that these are 

 not homologous with tlie veil of Dictyophora, for the latter 

 species often possesses them in addition to the veil. They 

 do not, therefore, afford any ground for uniting Dictyophora 

 with Ithyphalhis. Lloyd (Synopsis of the Kjiown Phalloids) 

 writes concerning Ithy phallus tenuis : " The original description 

 makes no mention of the plant having a veil, but one of 

 Penzig' s figures shows a rudimentary veil hidden under the 

 pileus." This interpretation is incorrect. The structure 

 referred to is not a rudimentary veil ; nor is it a normal 

 feature of t}\e plant, tliough it occurs fairly commonly in this 

 species. As a rule it forms a loose ring, hidden by the pileus, 

 but not united to the apex of the stem. If a nearly ripe egg 

 of Ithy phallus tenuis or Dictyophora phulloidea is partly dried, 

 e.g., by leaving it lying on the table for two or three days, it 

 wiU usually be found, on making a longitudinal section, that 

 this tissue forms a complete sheath all round the stem, from 

 the base to the apex. But expanded specimens never have 

 more than a remnant of it. It is, as Fischer states, the 

 remains of the primordial tissue which hes between the 

 developing stem and the pileus ; and, in general, it disappears 

 entirely during or before expansion. 



