224 i:\DOSrOREAE [HEMITRTCHIA 



marked with four to five closely set spiral bands sometimes 

 connected with longitudinal striae, densely spinulose. 

 Spores yellow, minutely warted, 9 to 10> diam. — Macbr. N. 

 Am. Slime-Moulds, 205. Hemiarcyria intorta Lister in Journ. 

 Bot,, xxix. 268, tab. 312, fig. 3 (1891). H. longifila Rex in 

 Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., 1891, 396. 



PI. 172. — a. sporangia ; b. capillitium and spores ; (England). 



This species appeared in considerable abundance on an old elm 

 log, near Hitchin, Herts, in March, 1889, and January, 1890. It was 

 also gathered near Birmingham by Mr. Camm in October, 1889, and 

 was described in the Journal of Botany, I.e. A few months later it 

 was independently recorded by Dr. Rex I.e., under the name of H. 

 longifila. Specimens received from Dr. Rex from Fairmount Park, 

 Philadelphia, and Prof. Macbride, from Iowa, are essentially identical 

 with the English gatherings. 



Hah. On dead wood. — Hitchin, Herts (B.M. 1483) ; Philadelphia 

 (B.M. slide) ; Iowa (B.M. slide). 



3. H. leiotricha Lister. Plasmodium watery - white. 

 Sporangia stalked, rarely sessile, scattered, subglobose, 

 0-5 to 0-9 mm. diam., shining, dull yellow or olivaceous ; 

 sporangium-wall usually of two layers, the outer composed of 

 scattered deposits of dark brown refuse matter, the inner 

 translucent, marked with scattered ring-shaped or crescentic 

 thickenings. Stalk dark brown or black, stout, 0*1 to 0*3 mm. 

 high. Capillitium a twisted tangle of sparingly branched 

 smooth yellow threads, with few or many rounded or pointed 

 free ends, marked with 3 to 6 often faint spiral bands. Spores 

 yellow or olivaceous, minutely warted, 9 to 13 /x diam. — 

 H. intorta var. leiotricha Lister Mycetozoa, 176 ; R.E. Fries 

 in Arkiv. Bot., iv. no. 7, 5 ; Petch in Ann. Perad., iv. 363. 



PI. 172. — c. sporangia ; d. capillitium and spores ; (England). 



In the former edition of the present work this species was described 

 as a variety of H. intorta, to which it is undoubtedly nearly allied. 

 The constancy of the form, with its olivaceous sporangia and smooth 

 capillitium, has now been proved by gatherings from six English 

 counties, from Norway, Sweden, and Germany, and also from Ceylon. 

 The capillitium may vary considerably in the sporangia of even a single 

 group, consisting either of long free elaters, or of the typical Hemi- 

 trichia network. In a cold weather development obtained by Mr. W. B. 

 Allen on bramble stems near Broseley, Salop (B.M. 2982), some of the 

 nearly sessile sporangia have normal capillitium, while in others it con- 

 sists of both short and long, simple or branching threads, without spiral 

 markings, but provided with many broad ring-like thickenings. 

 In a specimen gathered by Mr. Petch on the leaf of a Talipot palm 

 (Corypha) in Ceylon (B.M. 2985), the sporangia were rose pink when 

 immature, and are nearly or quite sessile ; the capillitium differs from 

 typical H. intorta in being marked with five to six close spiral bands ; 

 the sporangium-wall has scanty deposits of refuse matter. 



