152 Mycetozoa of North America 



This species holds an intermediate position between 5. spen- 

 dens and S. flavogenita, and must be considered as a center with 

 connecting forms between the two mentioned, and more often 

 with S. pallida. Typical examples are distinguished from S. 

 splendens by the denser capillitium, the closer surface-net, and the 

 frequent habit of fruiting on herbaceous matter; from 5. flavo- 

 genita by the somewhat larger meshes of the surface-net, and the 

 slightly darker, more purplish spores; from S. pallida, by the 

 appearance of the net as observed along the edge which is more 

 even, and the habit and habitat. In S. pallida the net often has 

 closer meshes, and is uneven along the edge, in both respects more 

 like that of S. flavogenita. At Albertson, Long Island, there occur 

 each year many developments of a small form of the species on 

 leaves and otherwise typical, but the spores are constantly 5 n 

 diam. Var. confluens is a curious form. The Connecticut col- 

 lection was made at New Haven, in 1890, by Prof. R. Thaxter, 

 and used by Lister as one of the specimens on which the variety 

 was based. It is finely matured and close to the genus Amauro- 

 chaete in its capillitium, but the spores are those of 5. herbatica and 

 measure 6 /x diam. The form represents those obscure forms con- 

 necting the genera Stemonitis and Amaurochaete, which must be 

 classified on the characters of the spores. 



9. Stemonitis pallida Wing.; Macbr. N. A. Slime-Moulds 123. 

 1899. (N. Y. B. G. no. 12045, authentic material.) 



Stemonitis tenerrima Morg. Jour. Cine. Soc. Nat. Hist. 16: 137. 1894. Not 



S. tenerrima Curt. 1848. 

 Stemonitis carolinensis Macbr. N. A. Slime-Moulds 122. 1899. 



Plasmodium white. Sporangia resembling those of S. herba- 

 tica, but erect, somewhat smaller, scattered or in small groups of 

 a few sporangia. The pale surface-net is uneven, with closer 

 meshes, and formed of flexuose threads. Spores similar to those 

 of S. herbatica. 



Type locality: Pennsylvania. 



Habitat: On dead wood. 



Distribution : Not rare throughout eastern continental North 

 America; *Iowa, *Oregon, *Washington. 



Illustration: Lister, Mycetozoa ed. 3. pi. 120, figs. h-l. 



This form merges directly into S. herbatica, and in large de- 

 velopments on wood the extremes with intermediates may be 

 observed. It is perhaps no more than a variety of S. herbatica, 



