arcyria] arcyriaceae 243 



(Strassb. Herb.); Bohemia (B.M. 3077) ; Switzerland (B.M. 3078) ; 

 Portugal (B.M. 3079) ; South-west Africa (B.M. 1634) ; Java (B.M. 3080) ; 

 Australia (K. 892) ; New Zealand (B.M. 3081) ; Washington State 

 (B.M. 3082) ; Colorado (B.M. 3083) ; Kansas (B.M. 3084) ; Philadelphia 

 (B.M. slide) ; South Carolina (K. 843) : var. fulgens : Epping Forest 

 (B.M. 3085) ; Luton, Beds (B.M. 3086) ; Staffordshire (B.M. 3087). 



11. A. stipata Lister Mycetozoa, 189(1894). Plasmodium? 

 Total height 1-5 to 2 mm. Sporangia stalnep or nearly sessile, 

 crowded, cylindrical, erect or curved, 1 to 1-5 mm. high, 0-6 mm. 

 broad, either copper-coloured, or deep brown with a carmine 

 tinge or scarlet ; sporangium-wall irregularly evanescent above, 

 the cup plaited and smooth below, papillose or faintly reticulated 

 at the rim. Stalk cylindrical, 0-1 to 1 mm. long, red-brown or 

 brownish-black, filled with spore-like cells, rising from a mem- 

 branous hypothallus. Capillitium a more or less elastic network 

 of freely branching threads, 2*5 to 3-5 ^ diam., marked with a 

 loose spiral of broad-based spines or transverse ridges, and 

 with three to four faint spiral bands, sometimes with minute 

 spines in addition ; with many free clavate ends and few 

 attachments to the cup. Spores pale red, smooth, or with 

 few scattered warts, 6 to 8 /x diam. — Petch in Ann. Perad., 

 iv. 367. Leangium stipatum Schwein. in Tram. Amer. Phil. 

 Soc, n.s. iv. 258 (1832). Hemiarcyria stipata Rost. 

 Mon., App. p. 41 (1876). Hemitrichia stipata Macbr. N. 

 Am. Slime-Moulds, 204 (1899) ; Torrend Fl. Myx., 107. 



PI. 178. — a. sporangia, with expanded capillitium ; b. threads of upper part of 

 capillitium ; c. threads from base of capil'itium ; d. spore (Ceylon) ; e. sporangia 

 (Iowa) ; /. upper part of capillitium ; g. threads from base of capillitium. 



This species is widely distributed, and appears to be especially abun- 

 dant in the United States. The faint spirals on the threads are often 

 only evident in parts of the capillitium, and are usually most conspicuous 

 on the basal threads ; the latter are almost free from spines and trans- 

 verse bands. The sporangia vary much in colour and in the length of 

 their stalks. Some developments are nearly sessile, and have closely 

 compacted curved copper-coloured sporangia with deep ill-defined 

 cups, and a loose network of flaccid capillitium, the threads of which are 

 sometimes nearly smooth. In other gatherings the sporangia are deep 

 red, scarlet or coppery, the stalks are long, the cups well-defined, and the 

 capillitium forms an elastic network of freely branching threads marked 

 with close-set blunt-ended transverse bands and numerous spinules. 

 Faint spiral bands are also met with occasionally in A. pomiformis, A. 

 globosa and A. Oerstedtii, but their presence does not appear to be a 

 sufficient reason for removing these species from the genus Arcyria. 



Hob. On dead wood. — Reigate, Surrey (B.M. 1718) ; Holstem 

 (B.M. 3088) ; Finland (K. 933) ; Ceylon (B.M. 709) ; Nepaul (K. 951) ; 

 Fiji (B.M. 3089) ; Iowa (B.M. slide) ; Maine (B.M. 1632) ; New Hants 

 (B.M. 3090) ; Philadelphia (B.M. 950). 



12. A. nutans Grev. Fl. Edin., 455 (1824). Plasmodium 

 watery-white. Sporangia stalked, clustered, cylindrical, when 



