The Myxomycetes of the Miami Valley, Ohio. 129 



fragments which persist at the extremities of the capillitium, 

 and a narrow collar at the base of the columella. Stipe very 

 long, thick and brown below, tapering upward to a pellucid 

 oblong swelling, thence abruptly narrowed to the apex ; the 

 columella extremely short, capillitium of very slender pale- 

 brown semi-pellucid threads, divergently forking, the ultimate 

 branchlets often joined 2-4 together at their tips by fragments 

 of the sporangial wall. Spores globose, even, violaceous, 8-9 

 mic. in diameter. vSee Plate XI, Fig. 25. 



Growing in rather a scattered way on old rotten wood. 

 Sporangium .20-. 25 mm. in diameter, the stipe .7-1 -3 mm. 

 long. Orthotricha microcephala, Wingate. Blytt's species 

 was found in Norway, Wingate's in Pennsylvania; I have 

 met with it several times in this locality. It is possibly more 

 common than it appears, as by reason of the difficulty of see- 

 ing the minute sporangium it is passed by as some mold. 

 Blytt's spore measurements are 9.5-1 1 mic; in some speci- 

 mens I have seen a few spores of this size, but they are 

 abnormal. 



II. LAMPRODERMA, Rost. Sporangia regular, globose, 

 stipitate ; the wall thin and fragile, rugulose, shining with 

 metallic tints, breaking up irregularly and gradually falling 

 away. Stipe more or less elongated, smooth, brown or black 

 in color, arising from a hypothallus, tapering upward and 

 entering the sporangium as a short columella scarcely reach- 

 ing the center. Capillitium of numerous threads radiating 

 from the columella, usually forking several times and com- 

 bined into a net by lateral anastomosing branchlets. Spores 

 globose, brown or violaceous. 



Lamproderma is distinguished by the shining metallic 

 tints of the sporangial wall, and by the short columella 

 scarcely reaching half the height of the sporangium. 



I. lyAMPRODERMA PH YSAROIDE.S, A. & S. Sporangium glo- 

 bose ; the wall with a silvery metallic luster, at length breaking 

 up and falling away. Stipe long, slender, brown or blackish, 

 arising from a small circular hypothallus; columella clavate, 

 obtuse, not reaching the center cf the sporangium. Cap- 



