comatricha] stemoxitaceae 153 



Var. 2. — aequalis Sturgis I.e., 34 : sporangia slender, cylin- 

 drical, 2 to 4 mm. long, on slender stalks 2 to 25 mm. high ; 

 capillitium a dense network of violet-brown threads. — 0. 

 aequalis Peck in Rep. X. York Mus., xxxi. 42 (1879) ; Macbr. N. 

 Am. Slime-Moulds, 131. Stemonitis aequalis Mass. Mon., 80. 



PI. 123. — a. b. round sporangia (England) ; c. capillitium of same ; d. cylindrical 

 sporangia with capillitium of same ; d. cylindrical sporangia with capillitium attached 

 chiefly near the base of the columella (= form named C. alta by Preuss,) ; e. f . 

 capillitium and spore of same ; g. base of a small sporangium (fig. b) showing capillitium 

 with surface net ; h. cylindrical sporangia (England) ; I. sporangia of var. aequalis 

 New Hampshire) ; m, n. capillitium and spore of same. 



A very abundant species in Europe, and not uncommon in some 

 States of North America. A single development often exhibits 

 much variation in the shape and size of the sporangia and in the 

 network of the capillitium. With the usual form, minute sporangia 

 may occur showing a close even surface net in the lower part of the capil- 

 litium, or they may approach C. laxa in having few and rigid capillitium 

 branches (cf. C. Ptrsoonii Cel. fil., I.e.). The var. alta is of frequent 

 occurrence in the British Isles ; the tangle of capillitium at length 

 falls away from the upper part of the columella, leaving the naked 

 spike-like apex exposed. The var. aequalis is a tall slender form 

 connected with typical C. nigra by many intermediate gatherings. 

 C. subcaespitosa Peck has slender ellipsoid sporangia, 2 mm. high with 

 the flexuose capillitium threads forming a more or less distinct surface 

 net in the lower part ; the spores measure 10 to 12 fi ; although an 

 unusually short-stalked delicate form it presents no characters by 

 which it can be separated from C. nigra. 



Hob. On dead wood. — Batheaston, Somerset (B.M. 220) ; Lyme 

 Regis, Dorset (B.M. 1388) ; Boynton, Yorks (B.M. 1095) ; Hexham, 

 Northumberland (B.M. 2578) ; Aberdeen (B.M. 2580) ; Ireland (B.M. 

 2582); France (Paris Herb.); Germany (B.M. 605); Norway (B.M. 

 2579) ; Sweden (B.M. 1728) ; Finland (B.M. 612) ; Poland (Strassb. 

 Herb.); Switzerland (B.M. 2581); Bohemia (Herb. Dr. Celakovsky) ; 

 Portugal (Herb. Dr. Torrend) ; Ceylon (Peradeniya Herb.) ; Japan 

 (B.M. 2583) ; Washington State (B.M. 2584) ; Colorado (B.M. 2585) ; 

 Ohio (Paris Herb.) ; Massachusetts (B.M. 1389) ; Maine (K. 657) ; 

 Antigua (B.M. slide) ; Brazil (B.M. 1774) : var. alta— Stafford (B.M. 

 2586) ; near Salisbury, Wilts (B.M. 2587) ; near Dorchester (B.M. 2588) : 

 var. aequalis — New York (B.M. slide) ; New Hampshire (B.M. 2589) ; 

 New Mexico (Herb. Dr. Sturgis). 



2. C. Suksdorfii Macbr. N. Am. Slime-Moulds, 132 (1899). 

 Plasmodium ? Sporangia scattered, globose or cylindrical, 

 0-5 to 0*9 mm. diam., purple-black. Stalk cylindrical, 0-3 to 

 0-7 mm. high. Capillitium a network of flexuose black threads 

 springing from all parts of the columella. Spores 9 to 13 jj., 

 purplish-grey, faintly spinulose. — Stemonitis Suksdorfii Ellis 

 & Everh. in BuU. Washburn Coll., i. 5 (1882) ; Mass. Mon., 

 76. Comatriclui obtusata Lister Mycetozoa, 118, in part. C. 

 nigra var. Suksdorfii Sturgis in Colorado Coll. Publ., Sci. 

 Ser., xii. 33 (1907). 



PI. 123. — i. capillitium (Colorado) ; k. spore. 



