188 



COMPARATIVE MORPHOLOGY OF FUNGI 



Elaphomycetaceae. — This family may be divided into two tribes 

 each with a single genus, the Elaphomyceteae and the Mesophellieae, 

 the former widely distributed in Europe and America with many species 

 confined to Italy, the latter confined to Australia. 



The fructification in Elaphomyces cervinus (E. granulatus) and E. 

 muricatus develops from a complex hyphal knot which is first differenti- 

 ated into an outer layer, the fundament of the crust and cortex, then 

 the inner layer is separated into peridium and core. The peridium 

 becomes more or less pseucloparenchymatous traversed by aeriferous 



SVsf*--^^ 



Fig. 119. — Elaphomyces cervinus. A, B. Mature fructifications attached to pine roots. 

 C. Mature fructification. D. Section of nearly mature fructification. E. Ascus. {A X 

 l^i; C natural size; after Reess and Fisch, 1887.) 



veins, while the core remains a loose hyphal tissue. The sexual proc- 

 esses have not been observed, but the ascogenous hyphae grow out 

 from the inner wall of the peridium into the core and by repeated branch- 

 ing form groups of asci, (Fig. 119, E) which early disappear. In some 

 species these spore masses form small balls resembling those of Polysac- 

 cum, while in others they completely fill the central cavity (Reess and 

 Fisch, 1887). 



The ontogeny of the fructifications of the Mesophellieae have not 

 yet been studied, but observations on the morphology of the mature 

 fructifications suggest that it may be similar to that of the Elaphomy- 

 ceteae. In Mesophellia castanea the sexual organs appear in little 

 loculi near the aeriferous veins of the peridium. Two large septate 



