282 THE MYXOMYCETES 



Rare. Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Ontario, Montana (?) ; 

 Europe. 



The var. crenulata Meylan, Bull. Soc. Vaud. Sc. Nat. 55 : 244, 1924 

 (= T. crenulata Meyl., 1. c. 57 : 47, 1929) has regular, somewhat spiny 

 and crested spores. The spiny elaters suggest T. iowensis which, how- 

 ever, together with T. inconspicua, Lister and Meylan regard as 

 merely a developmental variation of T. contorta. 



2. Trichia inconspicua Rost. 



Mon. 259. 1875. 

 PI. XVIII, Figs. 492, 493; PI. XIX, Fig. 494. 



1889. Trichia advenula Massee, Jour. R. Micr. Soc. 336. 

 1891. Trichia andersoni Rex, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phila. 395. 



1893. Trichia rostafinskii Cel. fil., Myx. Bohm. 37. 



1894. Trichia contorta (Ditm.) Rost., var. inconspicua (Rost.) Lister, Myce- 

 tozoa 169. 



Sporangia sessile, gregarious or crowded, small, hemispherical, ellip- 

 soidal or arcuate, about 0.5 mm. across, yellow-brown or reddish 

 brown ; hypothallus sometimes not evident ; capillitium dull, dark, ochra- 

 ceous, the elaters long, slender, even, about 4 /x wide, the spirals three 

 or four, rather closely wound, the apices attenuate, acute, sometimes 

 turned to one side; spore-mass concolorous; spores pale ochraceous, 

 minutely but distinctly warted, 10-12 fx. 



One of the smallest of the trichias, not uncommon in the Mississippi 

 valley on decaying fallen stems of Populus. Distinguished at sight 

 from all except T. iowensis by its small size and brown color. Under 

 the lens the long, delicate, finely sculptured capillitial threads, with 

 fine tapering ends, are distinctive. 



Not common, or at least not often collected, but widely distributed. 

 Northern United States and Canada across the continent; Europe, 

 Manchuria. Specimens from Oregon have spores 13-14 fx in diameter. 



3. Trichia iowensis Macbr. 



Bull. Lab. Nat. Hist. Iowa 2 : 133. 1892. 

 PI. XIX, Figs. 496, 497, 498. 



1908. Trichia contorta (Ditmar) Rost. var. iowensis (Macbr.) Torrend, Broteria 

 7 :55. 



Sporangia sessile, gregarious, spherical or reniform, with no hypo- 

 thallus, purple-brown; spores and spore-mass yellow; elaters with 

 three or four spiral bands unevenly distributed, and with occasional 

 inflations, sparingly branched, spinulose, especially where inflated, 



