103 
MONSTROSITIES IN FUNGI. 
By Mr. Witr1aM PHILLIPS, F.L.S. 
[With Plate. ] 
Mr. Putts called attention to the frequent occurrence of monstrosities in the 
Hymenomycetes and other fungi recorded by different authors and observed in the 
course of the Forays of the Club. Referring to the works of Dr. Masters, Mons. 
de Seynes, and Mr. Worthington Smith in this field of study, he exhibited a 
series of drawings copied from various sources, with some original ones made by 
himself, together with a very remarkable Polyporus, found in a cellar, the stems 
>f which were drawn out to a great length ; and repeatedly branches, supporting 
small convex heads or pilei, with little or no hymenium developed. Proceeding 
with his subject he said: “Diversified and curious as these monstrosities are, 
they all seem capable of being classified under the following heads :—Adhesion, 
Prolification, Hypertrophy, and Atrophy. But itis by no means easy to assign some 
deformities to their proper cause, and opinions are found to widely differ when an 
explanation is asked for. Before proceeding to enumerate and describe the mal- 
formations that have been observed, it may be well to call attention to the general 
structure of the Hymenomycetes, as it will throw some light on the ease with 
which they unite with each other or become altered by external impediments to 
their growth.” 
‘By the germination of the spores, a much-branched mycelium, consisting of 
cellular filaments, is produced, which may either form itself into dense balls, called 
sclerotia, capable of surviving for at least twelve months, and then giving rise to 
perfect plants ; or, after forming a loose cottony layer, producing at once little 
spherical or conical balls, composed of radiating or parallel hyphe, growing at 
their apices, which develope into perfect plants. Supposing it to be the mycelium 
of the common mushroom, we shall see it as a white woolly mass, occupying the 
interstices of the soil, and enveloping in its web anything that happens to come 
in its way, so that if we attempt to separate it from such accidental accretions, we 
find it exceedingly difficult to do so. Where portions have become divided by 
impediments of this kind, the mycelium finds no difficulty in uniting again on 
the opposite side of the impediments, thus showing a property at this early stage 
which we shall see hereafter follows it even when it has assumed its perfect fructi- 
fication in the form of a mushroom. The mushroom, in fact, is but a modified 
condition of the mycelium, for if we examine, by the aid of the microscope the 
stem and the pileus, we find them composed of parallel cellular filaments or hyphe, 
growing vertically up to the top of the stem, and then gradually taking a hori- 
zontal and radial direction for the purpose of forming the pileus. Some of the 
hyphe terminate on the upper surface and margin of the pileus, having thus per- 
formed their work of building up and strengthening the fabric, while a more im- 
portant duty devolves upon other portions, namely, to take a new direction down- 
