Badhamia 19 



4. Badhamia utricularis (Bull.) Berk. Trans. Linn. Soc. 21: 153. 



1853. 



Sphaerocarpus utricularis Bull. Herb. Fr. pi. 417, fig. 1. 1788; Bull. Champ. 

 128. 1791. 



Plasmodium chrome-yellow (Lister). Sporangia subglobose 

 or obovoid, 0.5 to 1 mm. diam., free, confluent and lobed, or 

 clustered, sometimes sessile, usually on clustered, often long, 

 branching, straw-colored, membranous stalks, cinereous or irides- 

 cent violet and veined with white; sporangial wall hyaline, with 

 sparsely distributed minute granules of lime. Capillitium as in 

 B. capsulifera. Spores bright brown or violet-brown, adhering 

 in loose clusters of 7 to 10, spinulose, 9-12 n diam. 



Type locality: France. 



Habitat: On dead wood and bark. 



Distribution: *California, Colorado, *Indiana, *Maine, 

 Massachusetts, *Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 

 York, *Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Washington. 



Illustration: Lister, Mycetozoa ed. 3. pi. 4. 



B. utricularis , B. magna, and B. foliicola form a group with 

 free or loosely clustered spores, and sporangia which, except for 

 the stalks, appear similar. In each species the spores vary in 

 size, color, and markings, so that these overlap in their characters, 

 but in all three the warts or spines are uniformly distributed over 

 the entire spore. The spores of B. utricularis are sometimes free, 

 or at least become so after dessication, so that the clusters are not 

 noticeable as they are in those species where the spines are 

 stronger on the exposed surfaces. B. utricularis merges into 

 B. magna, which has much longer stalks, and usually the darkest 

 spores of the three species; and B. utricularis usually has the most 

 strongly marked spores. The stalks of B. foliicola are short, and 

 each bears but a single sporangium. Sessile sporangia of B. utric- 

 ularis, or B. foliicola when on wood, and with free spores, are 

 difficult to distinguish. B. magna is never sessile. 



5. Badhamia foliicola Lister, Jour. Bot. 35: 209. 1897. (N. Y. 



B. G. no. 10733, authentic material.) 



Plasmodium orange (Lister). Sporangia subglobose or occa- 

 sionally piriform, 0.5 to 1 mm. diam., sessile and crowded, or on 

 short, yellowish gray stalks standing singly, grayish or bluish. 



