222 Mycetozoa of North America 



nearly black, minutely warted; cortex varying in thickness, 

 minutely warted with irregular superficial vesicles. Pseudo- 

 capillitium arising from the inner side of the cortex in the form of 

 loosely branching and anastomosing thin-walled tubes, varying in 

 thickness, 3-20 n diam., usually marked with close transverse 

 wrinkles; free branches numerous, clavate or rounded at the ends. 

 Mass of spores pinkish gray or pink, becoming ochraceous with 

 age, almost colorless by transmitted light, closely reticulate over 

 the greater part of the surface, the remaining part marked with a 

 loose reticulation or with short, raised lines and warts, 4-7 ^ diam. 

 (Plate 16, fig. 12.) 



Var. exiguum (Morg.) Lister; Minakata, Bot. Mag. Tokyo 27: (415). 1913, 

 Lycogala exiguum Morg. Jour. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist. 15: 134. 1893. 



Aethalia small, dark, 2 to 5 mm. diam., without chambered 

 vesicles; otherwise as the typical form. 



Var. tessellatum Lister; Penzig, Myx. Buit. 77. 1898. 



Aethalia small, dark, 2 to 10 mm. diam.; superficial vesicles 

 of the cortex dark, lobed, flattened, divided into numerous, poly- 

 gonal chambers 20-50 ju diam., and one or two layers deep. 

 (Plate 13, fig. 2.) 



Type locality: Europe. 



Habitat: On dead wood. 



Distribution: Common and abundant everywhere in North 

 America; varieties not so common. 



Illustration: Lister, Mycetozoa ed. 3. pi. 156. 



This species sometimes forms thousands of aethalia from a 

 single Plasmodium, and in such colonies are seen all sizes down to 

 the small size of var. exiguum, which is no more than a dark 

 variety. Dark sporangia are occasionally found up to 8 mm. 

 diam., or more. Var. tessellatum, which resembles var. exiguum 

 in the dark color, is sharply set off by the chambered vesicles, 

 which may be observed in most cases by reflected light as a close 

 punctuation. The two varieties are about evenly divided in 

 specimens here, and are not rare. 



3. Lycogala conicum Pers. Syn. Meth. Fung. 159. 1801. 



Plasmodium rose-red or scarlet (Lister). Aethalia conical, 

 sessile on a broad base, crowded or scattered, 1.5 to 3 mm. high, 

 0.8 to 1.5 mm. broad, sometimes subglobose, yellowish brown, 



