General Features 303 



found as a saprophyte on the burned forest soil, it attracted Httle 

 attention until the close proximity- of the fruiting bodies to dead 

 coniferous seedlings was noted to be of frequent occurrence. 

 A close examination of the roots of the dead seedlings showed 

 the mass of white m\celium clinging to and ramifying in the 

 cortical tissues of the root to be in connection with the near-by 

 fruiting structures of Rhizina inflata. In some cases the sporo- 

 phorcs of this fungus surrounded the stem of the seedling." 



From his own experiments W^eir concludes that the species 

 is an active parasite on the seedlings of a number of conifers in 

 the Northwest. 



In Mycologia (27: 452. 1935) S. M. Zeller writes: 



"Associated with and parasitic in roots of Piniis contorta in 

 Sandy Hummocks near the ocean beach at Big Creek, Lincoln 

 County. There were great quantities of the fruiting bodies in 

 the sand covering an area about 30 feet in diameter. If this 

 fungus is not parasitic it at least smothers seedlings 2 to 3 years 

 old. This is the first report of the species west of Idaho." 



It is not imlikely that other species which have been con- 

 sidered harmless saprophytes may be found under proper con- 

 ditions to be parasitic or at least to become facultative parasites. 



