38 THE GASTEROMYCETES OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 



composed of cells which are almost as thick as they are long. These cells elongate at 

 the distal end to form a narrower tube and on the end of this tube the spores are borne. 

 Since there is no cross wall between the cell and the tube and since both empty their 

 entire contents into the spores, both together must be considered the basidium. After 

 the spores are formed the tube collapses. A somewhat similar condition has been found 

 and is described here for certain species of Rhizopogon and Odaviana purpurea. 



8271. Under deep layer of decaying oak and dogwood leaves, slightly buried in the soil, Oct. 22, 1927. 



MELANOGASTER Corda 



Fruiting bodies rounded or irregularly lobed with branched fibrils springing from 

 any part of their surface. Peridium tough, fleshy, not readily separable from the 

 gleba. Gleba with rounded to polygonal chambers which are larger towards the 

 center and become nearly or completely filled with spores. Tramal plates directly 

 continuous with the peridium, bearing the numerous basidia which are not arranged 

 in a definite hymenial layer but are irregularly distributed throughout a broad periph- 

 eral zone which may nearly fill the cavity. Basidia club-shaped, 2-8-spored; spores 

 usually apical on the basidia but not rarely somewhat laterally placed, elliptic, smooth, 

 furnished with a cup at the proximal end. At maturity the gleba breaks down into a 

 slimy mass and escapes by the final rupture of the peridium. 



The irregularly distributed basidia and the nearly solid interior at maturity gives 

 this genus a superficial approach towards Scleroderma. The essential structure is, 

 however, quite different as the chambers are not really stuffed solidly at all stages and 

 the basidia are not surrounded by a ground tissue which nourishes and matures the 

 spores. The distribution of the spores in a slime and not a powder is also a fundamental 

 difference. Rhizopogon seems the nearest relative. 



We are including four species, two from New York State and two from North 



Carolina. 



Key to the Species 



Spores less than 11m long and the distal end not pointed 



Peridium 300-600^ thick, composed of irregularly swollen hyphae 7.4-33m thick 



Odor strong and nauseous: basidia long, club-shaped M. nauseosus (p. 39) 



Odor not strong; basidia short and thick M. rubescens (?) (p. 40) 



Peridium 50-320m thick, composed of threads 3-7m thick M. variegatus (p. 38) 



Spores over 11m long and the distal end pointed M. ambiguus (p. 41) 



Melanogaster variegatus Vitt. 

 M. mollis Lloyd 



Plate 109 



Part of a collection of this plant preserved in formalin was sent us by Dr. Fitz- 

 patrick from Cornell University. From this collection the following descriptive notes 

 have been made: 



Fruiting bodies up to 3.7 cm. in diameter, irregular in form; attached at base by 

 elaborately branched rhizomorphs. Peridium simple, composed of closely packed, 

 much entangled, clamp-connected threads, 3-7/* thick; surface of peridium covered with 

 numerous, thick-walled, swollen, club-shaped cells; peridium deep brown in section, 

 quite variable in thickness, 50-300/i thick. Tramal plates directly continuous with 



