228 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



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Papulospora cinerea n. sp 284 



parasitica (Karsten) 285 



aspergilliformis Eidam 288 



polyspora n. sp 293 



Other recorded Bulbiliferous Forms 296 



Compound .Spores and other Structures which resemble Bulbils . . . 297 



The Morphological Significance of Bulbils 299 



Distribution and Occurrence of Bulbils 301 



Key to the Species of Bulbils 301 



List of Literature 303 



Introduction. 



The term "bulbil" was first employed in connection with Fungi 

 by Eidam in 1883 to designate certain selerotium-like bodies, some- 

 what definite in form, and capable of reproducing the plant. They 

 vary greatly in appearance, some consisting of a compact mass of 

 homogeneous cells clearly distinguished from certain others which 

 surround them. The latter form a single layer or in some cases 

 several layers of cells, which may or may not become empty and 

 colorless and which correspond, in a general way, to the pseudospores 

 or accessory spores of certain smuts, while the cells which they sur- 

 round are functional spores and capable of germination. Bulbils 

 are the predominant type of reproduction in certain fungi, and in 

 some cases the only means at present known. The most typical 

 bodies of this nature are readily distinguished from sclerotia by their 

 smaller size, more definite structure, and peculiar methods of develop- 

 ment. There are other types, however, that seem to approach more 

 nearly true sclerotia; while others again resemble very closely the 

 "spore balls" of such forms as Tubureinia, FJrocystis, etc., among the 

 Ustilaginales, or even the compound spores of such forms as Stem- 

 phylium, Mystrosporium, etc., among the Hyphomycetes; but from 

 the first they are definitely distinguished by their method of germina- 

 tion, while in general they are readily separated from the last two 

 by their mode of development. They thus seem to possess morpho- 

 logical characters that would place them in an intermediate position 

 between sclerotia, on the one hand, and compound spores of the 

 dictyosporic type on the other, with examples of transitional forms 

 which grade into the former and others that are almost indistinguish- 

 able from the latter. 



Bulbiferoiis conditions among the fungi have, in general, been 

 described under the following genera of the so-called "Fungi Imper- 

 fecti": Papulospora, Helicosporangium, Baryeidamia and Eidamia; 



