312 Seavek : Color variation in some fungi 



One of the most striking cases of color variation has been ob- j 

 served in Hypomyces lactifluorum (Schw.) Tul. (Syn. Fung. Car. 4). 

 This species has been studied from various exsiccati in the her- 

 barium of the New York Botanical Garden, including both Amer- 

 ican and foreign specimens and during the past season ample 

 opportunity has been afforded to carry on field observations with 

 the same species. 



Hypomyces parpuretis Peck (Bull. Torrey Club 25 : 327) is 

 stated in the original description to differ from Hypomyces lacti- 

 fluorum (Schw.) Tul. only in the color of the stroma, which is 

 purple instead of orange-yellow. Studies in the herbarium con- 

 vinced the writer that the two species were identical, but for lack 

 of suitable material the matter could not be demonstrated abso- 

 lutely. From recent studies in the field the fact has been estab- 

 lished beyond the shadow of a doubt. 



During the last season in a piece of aspen timber on the Red 

 River near Fargo, North Dakota, numerous specimens of Lactam 

 were found, all of which were entirely parasitized by Hypomyces 

 lactifluorum (Schw.) Tul. The normal color of the plants of this 

 species is a bright orange-yellow and the striking character of the 

 color might be illustrated by the following incident : The collector 

 on returning from a collecting trip with a basket partially filled 

 with the plants of this species chanced to pass a vehicle in w 1 : ' u 

 a little boy was heard to remark to his mother " O mama, 

 big basket of orange peel!" While most of the specimens col- 

 lected showed the normal orange color, in looking over the field a 

 number were noted which showed the purple color characteristic of 

 Hypomyces purpureus Peck. But in every such case the host 

 showed evidences of decay and in advanced cases the host had be- 

 come soft and fallen in a heap. In these extreme cases of decay 

 the purple color was very prominent and would readily suggest to 

 the mind of the collector the association of the purple color with 

 decay. 



In order to test the matter a simple experiment was conducted. 

 A plant which showed the normal orange-yellow color was selected 

 and cut into two pieces. The one was placed in a moist chamber 

 and the other dried at once. As the moist specimen decayed, it 

 assumed the characteristic purple color of Hypomyces purpura 



hich 

 the 



