Addendum 223 



THE FUNGUS FOOD OF CERTAIN TERMITES. 



By AvERiL M. BoTTOMLEY, B.A.. and Claude Fuller, 

 Department of Agriculture, Pretoria, S. Africa. 



ADDENDUM. 



Since the foregoing was sent to press, a further occurrence of 

 the agaric in question has been noted in Pretoria under conditions 

 similar to those at Klerksdorp. As before, it appeared after 

 a spell of rainy weather and developed from '* spheres ** present 

 in the triturated fungus comb brought up by termites and deposited 

 in patches on the surface of the soil. The agarics were produced 

 in great abundance enabling us to make an examination of large 

 numbers of fresh specimens, as a result of which it was found 

 that the fungus is almost identical with that described by Fetch 

 as Entoloma micro car pum and this name is, therefore, adopted by 

 us. It was also found that the fresh specimens differed somewhat 

 from the dried material originally at our disposal and, in view 

 of this, the description is amended as follows: — 



Entoloma microcarpum. Caespitose, arising from small white 

 *' spheres " developed in triturated fungus comb deposited by 

 termites, and forming dense white flower-like patches on the 

 surface of soil, etc. ; varying in size according to the humidity 

 of the situation in which they occur. 



Pileus. Fleshy but thin and delicate, pale buff or dirty white 

 when young, pure white or white tinged with pale yellow at the 

 umbo when mature; conico-campanulate becoming expanded and 

 umbonate. Margin irregular, often splitting into several segments 

 giving the pileus a characteristic flower-like appearance. 

 Diameter 5 mm. to 1 . 7 cm. according to situation. 



Gills. Pure white, becoming dirty white or pale buff with 

 age, free, irregular, subdistant. 



Stipe. White, smooth, except at base, where villose; solid or 

 slightly stuffed; somewhat bulbous; 4 nmi.-5 cm. in length, by 

 1-2 mm. diameter according to situation. 



Spores. Subglobose to oval, obliquely apiculate, 5-7 x 4-5 p ; 

 colour in mass, Vinaceous Buff to Avellaneous. (Ridgeway 

 Plate XL). 



