PHE MOUTH OF CATASTOMA ANOMALUM. 



Having received from F. M. Re'ader, Australia, some fine spec- 

 imens of Catastoma anorrralum, we present a photograph (Fig 153, 



enlarged 3 times), to show the 

 protruding mouth which no 

 other species of Catastoma has. 

 It also shows the thin, brittle 

 exoperidium peculiar to this 

 species. It might be said, and 

 and truly said, that as the 

 genus Catastoma (typically) 

 has neither a protruding 

 mouth nor a thin, brittle ex- 

 operidium, the plant could be 

 made into a "new genus." 

 While it could be done, it 

 should not be done, in my 

 opinion, for the plant nat- 



Fig. 153. 



arally falls into the genus in every other character. It is an easy 

 matter to make /'new genera," and one can make a new genus for 

 almost every species if he wants to. It is only another form of name- 

 juggling, having just about the same merit as the jugglers who look 

 up so-called synonyms in a date dictionary and shuffle the specific 

 .lames about. 



LYCOPERDON PSEUDOGEMMATUM. 



This is one of the very few of Spegazzini's "new species" that 

 be known in Europe because Balansa sold sets, and this is found in 



several of the museums. 

 It is only a form of Ly- 

 coperdon gemmatum, not 

 differing from the usual 

 form more than dozens 

 of others that occur in 

 Europe and the United 

 States. It has a con- 

 stricted base and is 

 grooved or wrinkled 

 above as shown in our 

 cut, Fig. 154. Lyco- 

 perdon gemmatum is at 

 home in temperate re- 

 gions. This form seems 

 to me to be a poorly 



Fig. 154. 



leveloped state, due to growing under climatic conditions not con- 

 ienial to it. We have noted somewhat similar forms in hard, clayey 

 ril in the United States. 



319 



