FAMILY IV. POLYANGIACEAE 



875 



o.chra'ce.um. Gr. noun ochra yellow 

 ochre; M.L. adj. ochraceus of the color of 

 yellow ochre. 



Vegetative cells: Not described. 



Fruiting bodies: Orange to light red in 

 the form of a single spherical or ellipsoidal 

 cyst 60 to 80 by 50 to 130 microns, each with 

 a thick, yellow-brown membrane. The cyst 

 content often (particularh- in the ellipsoidal 

 cysts) is constricted by the membrane which 

 penetrates deeply. From the side the cyst 

 appears to be divided. Rods in cj^sts meas- 

 ure 0.5 by 4.0 to 8.0 microns. 



Source: Grown on sterilized rabbit dung 

 on soil (Poland). 



Illustrations: Krzemieniewski (ibid., PI. 

 V, Figs. 50-51). 



8. Polyangiuin fuscum (Schroeter, 

 1886) Thaxter, 1904. {Cystobader fiiscus 

 Schroeter, in Cohn, Kryptogamenflora v. 

 Schlesien, 3, 1, 1886, 170; Thaxter, Bot. Gaz., 

 37, 1904, 414.) 



fus'cum. L. adj. fuscus dark, tawny. 



Vegetative cells: Rods slender, elongate, 

 0.6 by 5.0 to 12 microns. Grows readily on 

 agar, also on dung agar. Baur states rods 

 are 15 to 20 microns in length. 



Fruiting bodies: Cysts flesh-colored when 

 young, chestnut-brown when ripe, spher- 

 ical, about 60 microns (Thaxter, 50 to 150 

 by 50 to 70 microns) in diameter, with defi- 

 nite membrane, lying in considerable num- 

 bers in large sori, usually 30 to 40 sometimes 

 up to 100. The slime envelope is much more 

 delicate and evanescent than that in P. vi- 

 tellinum. Occasionall}^ a form is found with 

 cysts measuring 100 microns: under these 

 often lie kidney-shaped cysts even 150 mi- 

 crons in length; apparently a variety. Rods 

 in cysts about 0.8 to 1.5by 3.0 to 3.5 microns. 

 Cysts (Baur) on dung decoction break in 

 10 to 12 hours, and rods pour out, apparently 

 passively at first. 



P. juscuyn var. velatum Krzemieniewski 

 differs from the type in that the membrane 

 is thin, separated from cysts and folded. 



Source: Isolated from rabbit dung from 

 southern California. Kofler (Sitzber. d. 

 kais. Akad. wiss. Wien. math.-nat. Klasse, 

 122 Abt., 1913, 845) also found it on rabbit 

 dung from Vienna. Jahn (Beitrage zur bot. 

 Protistologie. I, Die Polyangiden. Geb. 

 Borntraeger, Leipzig, 1924) states that it 



is common on dung; it also occurs on decay- 

 ing lichens and on poplar bark which is kept 

 moist. 



Habitat: Found on decaying organic mat- 

 ter in soil and in the dung of various ani- 

 mals. Quite common in Polish soils ac- 

 cording to Krzemieniewski (Acta Soc. Bot. 

 Poloniae, 5, 1927). 



Illustrations: Thaxter (Bot. Gaz., 23, 

 1897, PI. 31, Figs. 37-39), Baur (Arch. Pro- 

 tistenkunde, 5, 1905, PI. 4, Figs. 14, 15 and 

 17), Quehl (Cent. f. Bakt., II Abt., 16, 1906, 

 PI. 1, Figs. 8 and 16), Jahn {op. cit., 1924, 

 PI. 2, Fig. 12; also Fig. A, page 9) and Krze- 

 mieniewski (Acta Soc. Bot. Poloniae, 4, 

 1926, 34, PI. IV, Figs. 42-43; also var. vela- 

 tum, PI. IV, Figs. 44-46). 



9. Polyangiuin aureuni Krzemieniew- 

 ska and Krzemieniewski, 1930. (Acta Soc. 

 Bot. Poloniae, 7, 1930, 255.) 



au're.um. L. adj. aureus golden. 



Separated from Pohjangium morula on the 

 basis of pigmentation. 



Vegetative cells : Straight rods of uniform 

 diameter; rounded ends, 0.7 to 0.9 by 2.8 to 

 5.3 microns. 



Fruiting body: Cysts reddish brown, var- 

 iable in number, embedded in yellow slime 

 to form a sorus with a common slime en- 

 velope. Cysts nearly spherical or slightly 

 elongate, averaging 32 by 37 microns. Cyst 

 wall orange-yellow, about 3 microns thick. 

 Older cysts contain shortened rods, a gran- 

 ular mass and a colorless or yellowish ole- 

 aginous liquid. 



Habitat: Soil. 



Illustrations: Krzemieniewski {ibid., PI. 

 XVII, Figs. 14-17). 



10. Polyangium stellatum Kofler, 1913. 

 (Sitzber. d. kais. Akad. wiss. Wien, math.- 

 nat. Klasse, Abt. I, 122, 1913, 19.) 



stel.la'tum. L. part. adj. stellatus set with 

 stars, stellate. 



Vegetative cells: Not described. 



Fruiting bodies: Cysts elongate, 80 to 120 

 by 160 to 200 microns, flesh-colored when 

 young, brownish red when old; star-shaped 

 with 2 to 9 rays fixed by the narrowed base 

 upon a kind of hypothallus. 



Source: Found on hare dung from Vienna. 



Illustrations: Kofler {ibid., PI. ?, Fig. 6). 



