PHYCOMYCETES— (b) ZYGOMYCETES 



413 



are often of considerable stature. Phycomyces nitens, which comes 

 commonly on brewer's grains, may be several inches in height, the 

 coarse sporangiophores ending in sporangia easily seen with the naked 

 eye. 



Fig. 312. 



A plant of Mucor, showing the mycelium of branched hyphae (m) and sporangio- 

 phores (g). A is a single sporangium more highly magnified, containing spores. 

 (After Brefeld.) 



Another common type is Empiisa muscae (Entomophthorales), 

 which lives parasitically on the House Fly. In autumn the infected 

 flies become sluggish, and finally resting on a window pane, or else- 

 where, they appear as though surrounded by a white halo. This is 

 formed by the conidia thrown off to a distance by the stalks that 

 bear them, which radiate outwards from the body of the fly killed by 

 the fungus in its vegetative stage. Thus, while most of the fungi 

 of this group are saprophytes, some may be parasitic, even on 

 animals. 



