ON THE SEXUALITY OF THE FUNGI. 281 



quantity, and soon regains its former appearance, like that of 

 the macrocyst. 



The paracyst and macrocyst both become enlarged, and 

 hyphye bud out from below, enclosing them as described before. 

 Meanwhile, buds appear on the paracyst, which are from the 

 first much thicker than the paraphyses, and are evidently the 

 ascogenous hyphae. 



The macrocyst is therefore an ascogonium, and the paracyst 

 is morphologically an antheridium. Whether these sexual 

 organs are so physiologically is very doubtful. 



Comparison with the CoUemacese^ suggests that the hook- 

 like prolongation from the macrocyst is really a tiichogyne; 

 and it is not impossible that here, as in the Collemacese, an 

 extremely small quantity of material may pass into the asco- 

 gonium, and the sexual act be physiologically complete also. 



Proceeding to compare the foregoing "with what we know of 

 other Discomycetes, Kihlmann thinks that the sexual pro- 

 cess in A SCO bolus furfuraceus- is still less established than 

 inPyronema. The ascogonium in Ascobolus is large and 

 well marked, it is true, but the so-called pollinodium is very 

 little, if at all, different from the ordinary mycelium. Probably 

 in this, as in other Ascoboli,^ the male organ is degenerated. 

 Reference is then made to recent researches on other Disco- 

 mycetes. Mattirolo's^ and Brefeld's^ investigations of P e z i z a 

 sclerotiorum show that the process of reduction has gone 

 still further in this case; even the ascogonium seems to have 

 disappeared. Other Pezizse,^ so far as the researches allow us 

 to judge, seem to present similar degenerations. 



Kihlmann thinkswe may probably say that Pyronema con- 

 fluens possesses sharply distinguished sexual organs — at anj' 

 rate, morphologically. Ascobolus furfuraceus probably 

 produces its fructification pavthenogenetically, while Peziza 

 ' Stabl, 'Beilrage zur Entw. der ElechtcD,' H. i. 

 2 Janczewski, 'Bot. Zeit./ 1871. 

 ^ E.g. A. pulcherriiiius; Worouiu, ' Beitr. zur Morpli.,' B. ii. 



* ' Nuovo. Giorn. Bot. Ital.,' vol. xiv. 

 '" ' Schimmelpilze,' iv. 



* Cf. WoroniD, op. cit., and Tulasne, ' Ann. des Sc. Nat.,' ser. 5, t. vi. 



