ORDER PHALLALES 



543 



dendroidally branching system of supporting branches arising at the base. 

 The peridium disappears at an early stage of development in Gautieria so 

 that the gleba is exposed. The spores in this genus are ribbed longitudi- 

 nally and resemble those of Clitopilus and Octojuga in the Agaricaceae and 

 Chamonixia in the Hydnangiaceae. In Hysterangium the peridium persists 

 and the glebal branches may grow fast to and spread along its inner 

 surface. A gelatinous subperidial layer may develop from the trama where 

 it comes into contact with the peridium. The cartilaginous -gelatinous 

 tramal character and the production of the gelatinous subperidial layer 

 are the main distinctions between this family and the Hymenogastraceae. 

 Protubera and Phallogaster are genera that show further transitional steps 

 toward the Clathraceae in the Order Phallales. (Fig. 175.) 



Order Phallales. These are noteworthy because of the dissolution of 

 their gleba into a usually evil-smelling slimy mass filled with spores. This 

 attracts flies, especially those that feed upon and lay their eggs in carrion. 

 They serve to carry the spores far and wide. It was shown by Cobb (1906) 

 that the spores were not injured in their passage through the alimentary 

 canal of these insects. At first the spore fruits are completely or partially 

 subterranean, more or less spherical, with a firm, somewhat leathery 

 peridium, underneath which is a thick layer of slime resembling the white 

 of a raw egg. This, according to Lohwag (1925), is a modified outer por- 

 tion of the gleba. The functional portion of the gleba is supported upon 

 the surface of a pileate "receptacle" in the Phallaceae or upon or between 

 a framework of radiating or anastomosing branches in the Clathraceae. In 



Fig. 176. Phallales, Family Clathraceae. (A) Clathrus ruber Mich, ex Pers. (B, C) 

 Pseudocolus javanicus (Penz.) Lloyd. (B) Fully expanded spore fruit. (C) Cross section 

 of "egg" just about to open, showing volva and four receptacular arms surrounding 

 the mass of gleba. (A, courtesy, Lloyd: Mycological Writings, vol. 3. B-C, after 

 Bernard: Ann. Jardin Botan. Buitenzorg, 31:93-102.) 



