142 FETCH : 



The figure in the Peradeniya herbarium shows a specimen 

 7 cms. high : the volva is white and narrow oval, 2 cm. high 

 and 8 mm. broad, and the stalk is of uniform diameter, 5 mm., 

 throughout: it terminates in a short, conical head, 8 mm. high, 

 covered with the olive gleba : the apex is perforated. The 

 stalk is white at the base, and gradually becomes dirty yellow 

 upwards : it is externally alveolate, and is not perforated 

 laterally. The appearance of the volva and stalk exactly 

 agrees with the Jansia described below, but the head is shorter. 

 The figure of course gives no clue to the colour of the head after 

 the gleba has been removed. 



Specimens of a Jansia have been gathered recently at Pera- 

 deniya on two occasions, among decaying leaves and on 

 fragments of bamboo. The mycelium consists of the usual 

 white strands, but before it produces the volvse it forms a 

 continuous white sheet over the substratum, and on this the 

 " eggs " are produced in crowded groups. After one group 

 had been developed and removed from a mass of decaying 

 leaves brought into the laboratory, a second lot of over a 

 dozen began to develop a fortnight later : they were at first 

 exactly spherical, and remained so until they attained a 

 diameter of about 2 mm. ; then they lengthened vertically and 

 became brownish on the top. Unfortunately all these were 

 attacked by moulds and did not expand. 



The volva is narrow oval, somewhat swollen upwards, 

 white, 1 • 5 cm. high and 6 mm. in diameter, white or brownish 

 on the top. 



The fungus usually grows in clusters of three or four. The 

 unexpanded volva is semi transparent, and the gleba can be 

 seen through it. The total height of the fungus is 6-8 cm. 

 The stalk is dirty yellow, reddish towards the top, smooth, 

 without perforations, semitranslucent, slightly narrowed up- 

 wards, 4 mm. in diameter : its wall is composed of one layer 

 of chambers. The upper part for a length of about 1*5 cm. 

 (roughly a quarter the total height) bears the gleba, and has 

 a different structure and colour from the rest of the stalk : 

 the diameter increases slightly, though usually without the 

 evident constriction of tlie one photographed, and then tapers 

 gradually to the apex. The colour becomes dark red or 



