152 SEVENTEENTH REPORT, 



HELICOSTYLU^r AXD CUXXINGHAMELLA : TWO GENERA 

 OF THE MUCORALES NEW TO THE STATE. 



With two plates. 



BY ALFRED II. W. POVAH. 



The mucorales are divided into two suborders ; a. Sporangioph- 

 orae, b. Conidiophorae, according to whether the asexual spores 

 are borne in sporangia or on conidia. Under the first sub-order 

 Lendner* (4) recognizes fonr families: Mucoraceae, Thamnidiaceae, 

 Pilobolaceae and Mortierellaceae, while under the Conidiophorae 

 he has but two: Chaetocladiaceae and Cephalidaceae. 



While studying the Mucors during the past few years, I have 

 found several interesting foiins, among them the two which 1 

 wish to discuss, since they appear only in the foreign literature, 

 never having been found, or at least, not reported in this country 

 to the best of ni}- knowledge. They are Helicostylum piriforme Bain, 

 and Cunninghamella elegans Lend, and belong to the Thamnidiaceae 

 and the Chaetocladiaceae respectively. 



Helicostylum (PI. XVI) differs from the more common Thamni- 

 ■dium by the fact that the sporangiophores, bearing the sporangioles 

 are circinate, and also that the sporangioles are deciduous. Cun- 

 ninghamella differs from Chaetocladium by the fact that the conidia 

 are bom on the globular, distal portions of the conidiophore. More- 

 over Cunninghamella is a saprophyte. 



HELICOSTYLUM PIRIFORME BAIX. 



This species was found, during the fall of 1013, on horse dung 

 which had been brought into the laboratory and placed in a moist" 

 chamber. It showed as a tiny black-headed stalk, not more than 

 2 mm. tall. Cross transfers were made to insure its growth, and 

 then a single spore culture was made, Kauffman's (3) method being 

 used. 



^Vhen cultivated on bread it forms a dense, pak' gray, serieeus 

 turf, up to 4cm. tall, which in old cultures, becomes browuisli l)Iack. 

 The branching of the sjiorangiophores is quite as variable as that 

 of Thamnidium elegans. Instances of unbranched sporangiopliores. 



•Fi»;iiros refer to the bibMogrjiijli.v at the end of the paper. 



