368 THE BASIDIOMYCETES 



rancan, A\hereas others emerge at maturity. The group is re- 

 o^arded oenerallv as the most primitive of the Gastromvcetes. As 

 dehmited in this book, it contains 3 famihes, separated as follows: 



1, Basidiocarps minute, containing a single indehiscent, glebal locule 



Protogastraceae 

 1. Basidiocarps several centimeters in diameter, gleba of several loc- 

 ules, indehiscent 

 2. Tramal folds radiating from the base, not closely connected 



with the peridium Hvsterangiaceae 



2. Tramal folds arising from the peridium Hymenogastraceae 



The fructifications usually originate as enlargements at the ends 

 of rhizomorphs and are at first wholly undifferentiated. In the 

 Protogastraceae, represented by Protogaster rhizophihis [Zeller 

 (1934)] and Gasterella hitophila [Zeller and Walker (1935)], 

 the basal part of the basidiocarp remains sterile and develops 

 upward as a conical peg into the single glebal locule. 



Among the Hvsterangiaceae the development of Phallogaster 

 saccatiis, Hysteranghnn stolonifenrnt var. americaniinty and 

 Gaiitieria graveolens \v2ls given consideration by Fitzpatrick 

 (1913). In Phallogaster the columella is a continuation of the 

 medulla of the rhizomorph. The chambered gleba has interposed 

 sterile avenues that arise from the columella. These avenues 

 eventually unite peripherally to form a gelatinous layer that 

 separates the peridium from the glebal chambers. In Hysteran- 

 gium the fertile tissues and peridium are not separated by a gelati- 

 nous laver. In Gautieria the peridium is present in the young 

 basidiocarp, but it early dissolves and disappears. 



In the Hymenogastraceae, represented by Hymenogaster, the 

 development of columella is variable, but the gleba is filled with 

 labyrinthiform cavities. In Hy777enogaster hiteiis [Fischer 

 (1927)] no columella is formed; in H. behrii there remains a 

 hemispherical, sterile basal portion. Fischer (1927) noted that 

 glebal cavities arise in a dome-shaped area apically and just be- 

 neath the peridium, and subsequently others form basipetally. 



Hydnanghmi carneinn, studied by van Bambeke (1904), is of 

 interest because the entire complement of 4 basidial nuclei may 

 migrate into a single spore. 



Problems of taxonomy and classification in this order are dealt 

 with by Coker and Couch (1928) and Zeller and Dodge (1918, 



