154 FETCH : 



always short and extremely irregular, and often almost absent. 

 Where it joins on to the stem there is a mass of large chambers 

 forming a honeycomb structure which unites the upper part of 

 the net to the stem, instead of the thin ridges of D. phalloidea. 

 The upper meshes of the net are large and irregular and the 

 bars are sometimes 5 mm. broad. The remainder of the net 

 may be rigid, but is usually weak and ragged. The extremes of 

 net development are shown on plate 10. The two specimens in 

 the centre have a coarse system of rigid bars at the top which 

 keeps this part of the net horizontal : the remainder is fairly 

 completely formed, but is weak and hangs vertically. The two 

 outer specimens have scarcely any net at all, and in the one on 

 the right it joins on to one side of the stalk which here presents 

 a coarse network of open cavities. In some cases the meshes 

 of the net are filled here and there by a continuous plate, and 

 the bars instead of being tubular are open on the outer side. 



Penzig's photographs show the same irregular ragged net, 

 with coarse rigid bars at the top. The cap of one shows at the 

 apex an approach to the reticulation of D. phalloidea, but, 1o 

 judge from fresh specimens which present a similar appearance , 

 these markings are merely lines in the persistent white covering 

 membrane. Lloyd reproduces an interesting photograph of 

 Patouillard's type specimen, showing that the cap was bent 

 over to one side. 



As previously stated, this species is confined at Peradeniya 

 to the part of the Botanic Gardens which is laid out as an 

 ornamental garden. From this area I have seen more than 

 150 specimens in eighteen months. The grass over this area 

 is cut every few days with small garden mowing machines, and 

 the edges of the beds are trimmed by cutting them vertically. 

 It will be understood, therefore, that the greater part of the 

 abnormalities referred to above are caused by injuries to the 

 " egg," though the wall of the latter remains unbroken. But 

 in view of the fact that D. irpicina is confined to this area, 

 it seemed worth while to try to discover whether D. irpicina 

 is not really an undeveloped state of some other species, i.e., 

 whether some accident to the egg prevented the full develop- 

 ment of the cap. Such accidents certainly do prevent alto- 

 gether the formation of parts of the cap. 



