ON THE SEXUALITY OP THE FUNGI. 267 



much opinion has been expressed as to the signification of the 

 cross unions made by the "sporidia'' developed from the 

 promycelium of the germinating spores^ in some cases. "We 

 must regard the view as to its supposed sexual character with 

 grave suspicion. 



The Uredineje, apart from their interest as parasites on 

 economic and other plants, have absorbed much attention from 

 the point of view we are concerned with. It was natural to 

 look for sexual organs in them^ especially after the successes 

 met with elsewhere. Nevertheless, from Tulasne^ and De 

 Bary's^ earlier investigations, more than thirty years ago, down 

 to the present time, no one has succeeded in demonstrating 

 even a trace of any intelligible sexual process or organs. This 

 is the more remarkable since many of the ^Ecidiomycetes 

 produce no less than four forms of reproductive bodies. More- 

 over, the group has been studied with extraordinary success, 

 and our knowledge of the nature of parasitism and heteroccism 

 is largely if not chiefly due to this success. The best views as 

 to the reproduction of these Fungi held up to 1880 may be 

 fairly stated thus. They form at most two kinds of asexual 

 spores (uredospores and teleutospores) and secidia and 

 sperraogonia; the latter were regarded as probably the bodies 

 concerned in sexual reproduction, the spermatia emitted by 

 the spermogonia being the male organs, and the " secidium 

 fruit " probably resulting from a fertilised body equivalent to 

 the ascogonium of the Ascomycetes. This view was 

 strengthened and supported by Stahl's discovery of the sexual 

 process in Lichens ; but no organs like the ascogonium or 

 trichogyne have yet been discovered in spite of much labour. 

 Finally, we may dismiss the larger Basidiomycetes by 

 referring to Brefeld's magnificent research ^ on certain types, 

 and particularly on Coprinus. 



Brefeld placed beyond all reasonable doubt that the stalked 



^ Tulaane, op. cit. 



» Op. cit. 



3 Op. cit. 



•* ' Sclummelpilze,' H. iii* 



