168 THE MYXOMYCETES 



13. Stemonitis smithii Macbr. 



Bull. Nat. Hist. Iowa 2 : 381. 1893. 

 PI. XII, Figs. 268, 269. 



1911. Stemonitis Jerruginea Ehr. var. smithii Lister, Mycetozoa ed. 2. 150. 



Sporangia subcylindric, larger in center, tapering to base and tip, 

 erect, not spreading, occurring in small, close-packed clusters; light 

 cinnamon-drab * to vinaceous fawn *, 2.5-5 mm. in height; stem jet- 

 black, shining, about % of total height; columella dark, becoming 

 brown at tip, gradually tapering and dissolving into capillitium some 

 distance below apex; capillitium light brown, of abundant, sparingly 

 united branches of uniform thickness; peridial net delicate, of small, 

 regular, polygonal meshes with few peridial processes; hypothallus 

 thin but distinct, common to each cluster; spores pale, almost color- 

 less by transmitted light, nearly smooth, but in most cases sparsely 

 and minutely warted when viewed under oil immersion; spherical or 

 slightly irregular, 4-5 fx in diameter. Plasmodium greenish yellow to 

 reddish purple. 



Originally described from Nicaragua, whence we have several col- 

 lections made by Mr. C. L. Smith and Professor Shimek. Widely dis- 

 tributed in the United States but apparently not common. Miss Lister 

 reports it as a variety of S. Jerruginea ( = S. axifera) from a number 

 of old-world localities. It is also reported from Japan. 



14. Stemonitis flavogenita Jahn 



Abh. Bot. Ver. Brandenb. 45 : 165. 1904. 

 PI. XII, Figs. 270, 271. 



1829. Stemonitis Jerruginea Ehr. ex Fr., Syst. Myc. 3 : 158, in part. 



1899. Stemonitis axifera (Bull.) Macbr., N. A. Slime-Moulds 120, in part. 



Sporangia cylindrical, obtuse, closely fasciculate, wood-brown * at 

 first, becoming natal-brown * when blown, usually 4-8 mm. tall, 

 sometimes 12 mm.; stipe short, black, passing into a columella which 

 usually ceases abruptly below the apex, often with plate-like prolifera- 

 tions; capillitium a loose network with many broad expansions; peridial 

 net delicate, the meshes small but uneven, 6-15 ju or larger, with many 

 projecting points; hypothallus common to a cluster; spores lilaceous 

 brown by transmitted light, verruculose, 7-10 fx. Plasmodium yellow, 

 or occasionally pallid or white. 



Distinguished from 6". axifera, with which it has often been confused, 

 by the usually yellow plasmodium, the larger, more distinctly marked 

 spores, the darker and more vinaceous color and often by the proliferate 

 tip of the capillitium. Apparently less common in the United States 



