ON THE SEXUALITY OF THE FUNGI. 277 



In structure^ apart from peculiarities iu the development of 

 the spores in the two cases — secidia and perithecia present 

 many points of agreement^ while the spermogonia and sperraatia 

 of both groups are quite alike. It cannot be overlooked, how- 

 ever, that the peculiar development of the secidiospores affects 

 the question of this alliance. De Bary does not even allude to 

 the similarity between these and the "conidia^^ of Cystopus; 

 and it is of course obvious that the asexually-produced spores 

 of the latter are rather to be regarded as homologous with one 

 of the conidial forms of the iEcidiomycetes ; for if the 

 recidium fruit is homologous with the perithecium of Podo- 

 splisera, its further homologies are with the oogonium, &c., of 

 Cystopus. It has been suggested, however, that a solution 

 of these difficulties should be sought in the direction hinted at 

 here. 



De Bary thus considers the ^cidiomycetes as a group allied 

 to the Ascomycetes genetically, though we have not sufficient 

 knowledge as yet to enable us to place them at any particular 

 spot in the scheme of that series. The Tremellini are 

 Basidiomycetes, with basidiospores so suggestive of the 

 teleutospores of Uredinese that De Bary does not hesitate 

 to place them as derived — with considerable reduction and sim- 

 plification — from those of Uredinea? which possess no secidia 

 (e.g. Chrysomyxa). This is regarded as no more extraor- 

 dinary than the peculiar simplification of phanerogamous water- 

 ])lants, &c., or of Saccharomycetes, if they are reduced 

 Ascomycetes. The Tremellini would then lead us to the 

 Hymenomycetes and Gastromycetes, though it is by no 

 means clear how this came about. We are here plunged into 

 the greatest difficulties, because the development and life- 

 history of these groups are so little known ; and we may thus 

 leave the discussion of their phylogeny for the present. It 

 must suffice to add that De Bary believes it possible that the 

 Tremellini having arisen by degeneration of Uredinous forms, 

 the other Basidiomycetes developed anew progressively as 

 forms adapted to special modes of life. 



The annexed scheme sums up the whole of the preceding* 

 Vol. xxiv — NEW ser. t 



