294 



RESEARCHES ON FUNGI 



a 



c 



The Projectile. — The glebal mass of Sphaerobolus is the largest 

 known fungus projectile. In S. stellatus, at the time of its discharge 

 (Figs. 145 and 160, d, e, p. 315), it is a viscid, smooth, shining, 

 blackish-brown, solid, spherical body having a diameter of 1 to 

 1-25 mm. Its consistence is that of softened glue or beeswax, and 

 it readily adheres to whatever it strikes. Notwithstanding its high 



content of fat, its specific gravity 

 is greater than that of water, for 

 it sinks when immersed therein. 

 The glebal mass of S. stellatus, 

 at the time of its discharge, con- 

 sists of a thin, brown, outer wall 

 (Fig. 146, a) and of a large, dirty- 

 white, internal core. The wall, 

 referred to by Pillay as the 

 sporangial wall, is derived from 

 the outer part of the innermost 

 peridial layer (no. 6 in Figs. 

 148-150) and consists of slimy 

 or adhesive matter composed 

 of disintegrated cell-walls and 

 brownish cell-contents of what 

 were isodiametric cells. The 

 core or gleba consists of a dense 

 mass of fat in which are em- 

 bedded : ( 1 ) rounded or oval cells 

 which Pillay refers to as cystidia, 



Fig. 145. — Sphaerobolus stellatus. Glebal 

 masses after discharge from a horse - 

 dung culture ; a, kept moist since 

 discharge the same morning ; b, 

 allowed to dry up since discharge ; 

 c, soaked in water for 24 hours since 

 discharge ; d, e, and /, the same as 

 a, b, and c respectively, but photo- 

 graphed again next morning after 

 they had all dried up. A comparison 

 of d with a and of / with c shows 

 that the glebal masses contract 

 appreciably on drying. Natural 

 size. 



(2) spores, and (3) gemmae. The 

 rounded or oval cells are larger than the spores and have a diameter 

 of 6-16 /x. They lie just beneath the outer wall where they form a 

 layer 2-3 cells deep, and they decrease in size centripetally 1 (Fig. 

 146, 6, also some in view above the layer no. 6 in Fig. 150). The 

 spores, which are colourless and very numerous, are well distributed 

 in the gleba from its centre to the rounded cells (Fig. 146, d ; the 

 spores in Figs. 148-150 are darkly stained). The gemmae, which are 

 oval or elongated colourless bodies, sometimes provided with one 



1 T. P. Pillay, loc. cit., p. 209. 



