Notes on Malayan Mycetozoa. A. R. Sanderson. 241 
felling. The method of felling is to cut into one side 3 to 4 ft. 
from the ground with an axe, the tree falling over towards the 
cut side. On the top of the stump a brush of torn wood fibres 
is usually left; on these the sporangia of Mycetozoa are found, 
and also in the deep cracks in the wood which are constantly 
damp since the stumps are in dense forest. The soft woods 
which decay rapidly provide the most suitable habitats for 
fungi and Mycetozoa generally. 
So far as my experience goes, dead leaves, fallen twigs and 
dead herbaceous plants have been singularly unproductive of 
Mycetozoa, but a few striking instances have been noted of 
their occurring amongst rank decaying vegetation even in the 
gloomy depths of heavy jungle. In some cases they have been 
observed on fallen leaves before decay has advanced very far; 
it was then difficult to determine whether the plasmodia actually 
developed on the leaf, or crept to that position from other 
material and continued to feed there, or merely passed on to 
the leaves to fruit. As even living leaves in the tropical forests 
often carry a micro-flora consisting of algae, mosses, hepatics 
and lichens, it is quite possible there may be sufficient material 
on nearly fresh leaves to feed plasmodia. When once leaf-decay 
sets in a host of fungi and bacteria quickly appear and complete 
the process of destruction. 
Although the decaying leaves and vegetable débris on the 
ground have not so far proved productive, yet similar material 
collected in the fork of a branch or about dead leaf-bases still 
attached to the tree may often yield quite a large number of 
species. 
The trunks of living trees covered with a rich epiphytic flora 
of ferns, mosses and lichens, provide Mycetozoa with a suitable 
arboreal habitat. The arboreal species almost invariably occur 
along the lines of the natural rain track down the trunk, the 
direction of the lines being determined by the branching of the 
trunks or in the case of the palms by the arrangement of the 
leaf-bases. According to my observations the leaf-bases of wild 
bananas and some aroids have never provided a single species. 
From the very equable temperature and from the rainfall 
being distributed throughout the year, it is not surprising that 
many species of Mycetozoa seem to have no definite season for 
making their appearance, and sclerotium, the resting stage of 
plasmodium, is rarely met with, at least in the district of 
Petaling. 
So far as my limited experience goes, Mycetozoa require very 
careful search in the virgin forest, the results being as a rule 
disappointing. This apparent scarcity, for I believe it is only 
apparent, may be due largely to the wealth of insect life, which 
