THE PHALLOIDE^ OF CEYLON. 171 



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millimetres of the arms. The latter bear no lamellae in this 

 region, and diminish therefore to their original thickness. The 

 infolding of the tube is continued along each arm up to the 

 apex, and forms a shallow narrow furrow which joins those on 

 the other arms. The apex may be pointed (Thwaites's figure), 

 or obtuse as in the photogi'aph : in the latter, two pairs of 

 arms unite and the junctions are joined by a cross bar which 

 the fifth arm meets laterally. 



The gleba is at first covered by a fine membrane continuous 

 over all the arms. This is homologous with the membrane 

 which covers the head of Dictyophora and Simblum and under- 

 lies the gleba of Aseroe ; it vanishes at maturity, but becomes 

 tough or persistent if the specimen is put in alcohol. The 

 smell is rather like that of sour paste, and is not unpleasant. 

 The spores are narrow oval or oblong, 4-5 X l'5-2f(. The 

 volva turns bright yellow when placed in alcohol, but this 

 colour soon vanishes. 



A second fresh specimen is 9 cm. high and 2*5 cm. in 

 diameter : the sporiferous arms are 1 * 5 cm. long. Owing to 

 the greater diameter of the stalk the five arms are widely 

 separated for the greater part of their length, and they form 

 a rather abruptly tapering pyramid. Compared with the last 

 specimen this is short and stumpy, and has no outward curve 

 in the head. This variation — a short thick stalk with a head 

 of the same or a smaller diameter, and a long narrow stalk 

 with an enlarged head — is exactly paralleled in Ceylon 

 specimens of Simblum periphragmoides. 



Berkeley's figure shows a specimen about 18 cms. high. The 

 stalk expands upwards uniformly, and, though the lines on 

 the lower part correspond with the indications of the radial 

 walls of the fresh specimens, the upper part is represented as 

 consisting of polygonal, isodiametric cavities. The head is 

 2' 5 cms. high, about the same diameter as the stalk, and the 

 gaps between the lower (non-sporiferous) portions of the arms 

 are only 7 mm. long. Tlie white stem tissue is represented as 

 continuous from one arm to the next beneath the gleba, and 

 in this the figure gives quite an erroneous idea of the structure 

 of the head. Apparently the specimen had five arms. It 

 differs from my dried and recent specimens in the stalk 



