PHALLACEAE* 



Plants consisting at first of a white, elastic, oval or subspherical "egg," which 

 consists of three coats, the central one soft and gelatinous, which break at maturity to 

 allow the elongation and exposure of the curious, spongy, and in some species brightly 

 colored receptaculum of various shapes which bears above either on itself or on a 

 specialized appendage the slimy, deliquescing gleba which contains the spores, and which 

 in nearly all cases has a very strong and offensive odor by which insects are attracted to 

 scatter the spores. Basidia, so far as known, club-shaped (very peculiar in Anlhurus), 

 with several (4-8) sessile (no mucro), smooth, minute, apical spores. 



The family is divided into two subfamilies or by some authors (as Corda and 

 Fischer) into two distinct families which are separated by the position of the gleba 

 and by other important microscopical characters. These subfamilies may be simply 

 defined as follows : 



Gleba (and spore slime) borne on the inner side of the receptaculum Clathreae 



Gleba borne on the outer surface of the receptaculum Phalha? 



The unique genus Phallogaster , placed by Morgan, its author (1. c, 15: 171, pi. 

 11. 1892), and by Thaxter (Bot. Gaz. 18: 117, pi. 19. 1893) in the Phallaceae, 

 but differing from them in the absence of a volva and in other ways, is treated by Fischer 

 in the Hysterangiaceae (1. c, Pflanzenfamihen, p. 307), and we are following him in this. 

 PkaUogasler, Protubera, and Protophallus mark a distinct advance toward the Phalloids 

 and indicate their descent from the Hysterangiaceae. The last mentioned genus is, 

 in fact, so Phalloid-like that it is placed by its author among them. It is distinctly 

 intermediate between the two families and if put in the Phalloids, their family character- 

 istics would have to be modified. 



As the number of our species of Phalloids is small, we key all of them under the 

 family, and for the convenience of students we include all species described from the 

 United States. 



Literature 



Atkinson. Origin and Taxonomic Value of the Veil in Diclyoplwra and Ilhyphallus. Bot. Gaz. 51: 



1, pis. 1-7 and one text figure. 1911. 

 Bambeke. La Relation du Mycelium avec le Carpophore chez Ithy phallus impudicus et Mutinus 



caninus. M6m. Acad. Roy. Belgique, 2nd ser., 2: 1910. 

 Bambeke. Recherches sur certain elements du mycelium d'lthypliallns impudicus. Bull. Acad. Roy. 



Belgique, No. 6, p. 280. 1914. 

 Burt. A Xorth American. ■Inthiirus. Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 3, No. 14: 1894. 

 Burt. The Phalloideae of the United States— I. Bot. Gaz. 22: 273, pis. 11 and 12. 1896. 

 Burt. The Phalloideae of the United States— II. Bot. Gaz. 22: 379. 1896. 

 Burt. The Phalloideae of the United States— LU. Bot. Gaz. 24: 73. 1897. 



• A peculiar new plant, Claustuta Fischeri, recently described from New Zealand (Curtis, 1. c.) is obviously related to this 

 family, but if included would necessitate modification of the family characters. The receptaculum is a complete hollow sac 

 bearing the hymenium on the entire inner surface. The spores are larger than in typical Phalloids and have a very distinct 

 mucro. There is also no obvious slime. 



