172 



RESEARCHES ON FUNGI 



'tS^ 



are derived, but are often the product of a compound mycelium 

 made up of many mycelia, the number doubtless varying from a 

 few to many thousands. 



Social Organisation in Other Fungi. — So far as social organisa- 

 tion is concerned, in all probability the Gastromycetes behave like 

 the Hymenomycetes, a single fruit-body often being produced by 

 the joint efforts of many united mycelia. 



Among the Ascomycetes, hyphal fusions have been observed in 

 many species of Pyrenomycetes and Discomycetes. De Bary,i in 



his well-known text-book, stated that 

 the coalescence of two hyphae may 

 take place even when they belong 

 to mycelia which have sprung from 

 different spores, and he illustrated 

 his remark with a drawing showing 

 eight conidia of Nectria {Spicaria) 

 Solani connected together by their 

 germ-tubes (Fig. 97). The brothers 

 Tulasne observed and illustrated 

 similar unions in Cryiitospora aucta,^ 

 Pleospora herbarum,^ Hypocrea ruja,^ 

 Hypomyces rosellus,^ and Nectria 

 Stilbosporae.^ Woronin ^ has pro- 

 vided us with a drawing showing 

 anastomoses between several young mycelia derived from the 

 ascospores of Sordaria fimiseda. The same author ^ observed 

 the fusion of one hypha with another and the formation of 

 bridges between parallel hyphae in the mycehum of Ascobolus 

 •pulcherrimus, and Brefeld ^ observed numerous hyphal fusions and 



1 A. de Bary, V ergleichende Morphologic und Biologie der Pilze, Leipzig, 1884, 

 p. 2, Fig. 1. 



2 L.-R. and C. Tulasne, Seleda Fungorum Carpologia, Parisiis, Tonius IT, 1863, 

 Tab. XVII, Figs. 3 and 4. 



3 Ibid., Tab. XXXII, Fig. 4. ^ Ibid., Tomus III, Tab. Ill, Fig. 8. 

 •^ Ibid., Tab. V, Fig. 3. « Ibid., Tab. XI, Fig. 16. 



' M. Woronin, in de Bary and Wuronin's Beitrdge zur MorphoJogie und Physiologie 

 der Pilze, Frankfurt a. M., Dritte Reilie, 1870, Tab. IV, Fig. 1. 

 8 Ibid., Zweite Reihe, 1866, Tab. II, Figs. 9 and 10. 

 » 0. Brefeld, Untersuchungen iiber Pilze, Leipzig, Heft IV, 1881, Taf. IX, Fig. 14. 



Fig. 97. — Germinating conidia of 

 Nectria Solani Reinke : a, de- 

 veloping by itself ; the others 

 have anastomosed so as to form 

 several compound myceUa. 

 Drawn by A. de Bary ; repro- 

 duced from Fig. 1 of his Ver- 

 gleichende Morphologie und Phy- 

 siologie der Pilze, 1884. Magni- 

 fication, 390. 



