May 1907] The Phalloideae of Texas 103 



a hill that was originally covered with post oak (Quercus minor) 

 and black jack {Q. nigra), but the trees had been cut off for 

 some years and the old stumps were in various stages of decay. 



At the base and in the immediate vicinity of these rotting 

 stumps the plants mentioned were usually found. On the mar- 

 gin of this field in the grassy unbroken sod Simblum texense was 

 collected. This field was planted in v/heat in the fall of 1901 

 and was used as a pasture for cattle during 1902. 



Nearly all of the photographs secured were taken by a local 

 photographer on cloudy days and in some instances v/Iien the 

 rain was falling, as this group will not admit of delay if photo- 

 graphs of the freshly expanded plants are desired. Some here 

 reproduced therefore do not show details as well as could be 

 desired. 



The abundance of material at hand of some species made 

 it possible for the writer to determine the relative values of 

 the various characters of a given species. 



The following characters were found to be constant for 

 any given species, viz : Color of stipe, pileus and eggs, surface 

 markings of cap. structure of stipe as to number, shape and 

 openings of the chambers ; variable characters v/ere : shape of 

 both stipe and pileus within narrow limits, presence or absence 

 of a veil, size of stipe and cap and shape and size of ,eggs. 



Take the cap of Phallus impudiciis for instance. It was 

 invariably white and strongly reticulate, but its size and shape 

 was very variable in some plants being very unsymmetrical but 

 more or less conic to campanulate but even in specimens only 

 two inches tall the surface had the characteristic crests and 

 ridges. On some specimens no veil could be detected, while 

 on others there was a strongly developed veil, but this point 

 %\'ill be discussed more in detail later in this article. 



In Simblum texense the variation in shape and size of pileus 

 and stipe was very marked ; the stipe being cylindrical, fusiform, 

 clavate. attenuate downward or upward, terete or angular, while 

 its color and structure was constant ; the pileus likewise was very 

 variable as to shape and size, some specimens being deeply con- 

 stricted at juncture of pileus and stipe, while in others there 

 was no constriction. Some had the Simblum characters well 

 defined, while others looked more like a Lysurus with short 

 arms than a Simblum. Indeed it is difficult to determine the 

 genus of this plant from the ordinary field specimens. 



The first specimens found of Phallus impndicus var. imper- 

 ialis, consisted of two separate bunches of eggs. One bunch of 

 four eggs from a common rhizomorph, the other of eight plants 

 also from a common root. All of the eggs in the first group 

 were infested by the larvae of some unknown fly (Mttscidae), 

 also several eggs in the second group. This is the first instance 

 to the writer's knowledge of an insect attacking the eggs of 



