28o NATURAL HISTORY BULLETIN. 



In this way the spores were found to be 64 in each ascus, 

 although the number may vary as it does in some other 

 cases. 



Genus IV— ASCOBOLUS Persoon. 



Receptacle fleshy-gelatinous, at first closed, spherical, later 

 more or less cup-shaped, externally smooth, furfuraceus, or 

 clothed with hairs. Asci cylindrical or clavate, operculate, 

 protruding at maturity. Spores elliptical, smooth reticulate, 

 or verrucose, at first hyaline, then purple and at last brown. 

 Paraphyses scarcely enlarged upwards. Plants generally 

 found on dung but often found on decaying plant material. 

 The ends of the asci with their dark colored spores appear as 

 black dots on the hymenium. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



a — Plants minute, externally smooth . . A. glaber. 



a — Plants externally furfuraceus or pilose. 



b — Plants minute, partly immersed, pilose with 



soft hair ...... A. immersus. 



b — Plants larger, furfuraceus. 



c — Plants light colored, yellowish, spores retic- 

 ulate ...... A. furfuraceus. 



c — Plants brownish-black, spores verrucose, 



on charcoal ...... A. atro-fuscus. 



ASCOBOLUS GLABER Pcrs. 



Plate XVI, fig. 11. 



1801 Ascobolus glaber Persoon, Syn. Pang., II, p. 677. 



1817 Ascobolus glaber Marti us, F lor a Crypt. Erlang. , p. 472. 



1823 Ascobolus glaber Pries, Syst. Myc, p. 164. 



1833 Ascobolus glaber Link, Handbk, III, p. 333. 



1860 Ascobolus glaber Berkeley, Outl. of Brit. I'ung. , p. 374. 



1871 Ascobolus glaber Cooke, Handbk. of Brit. Fung., p. 728. 



1887 Ascobolus glaber Phillips, Brit. Disc, p. 288. 



1889 Ascobolus glaber Saccardo, Sylloge Fung., VIII, p. 517. 



1897 Ascobolus glaber Engler-Prantl, Pflau. Famil. , I, p. 193. 



Plants sessile, minute, often gregarious, smooth and shin- 

 ing, obconical, base immersed, appearing hemispherical, gen- 

 erally convex, brown or reddish brown, hymenium papillate 

 with its projecting asci filled with dark colored spores; asci 



