FUNGI IN GENERAL 115 



chlamydospores there are gonidia which are produced within 

 special fruit-bodies, or perithecia. Another form of fruit is 

 beheved to be possible, but has not been found, and these are 

 ordinary sporangia. The simplest form of gonidia in the 

 Taphrineae is developed directly from the ascospore, or from 

 another gonidium. A further advance is the production of a 

 germ tube on which gonidia are borne. From this it is a short 

 transition to mycelium bearing gonidia on its surface. These 

 simple forms may be traced through complex stroma-beds into 

 the highest specialisation of closed fruit -bodies, sometimes 

 called pycnidia. Free gonidiophores and gonidial fruit bear 

 usually but one kind of spores, but sometimes the last pro- 

 duced are of a different shape from the first. Although the 

 ascospore is the highest form of fructification, the Fungus often 

 reproduces itself for generations without developing asci ; and 

 hence many gonidia and chlamydospores have been classed as 

 " imperfect Fungi " under Hyphomyceteae, Sphaeropsideae, etc. 

 The Basidiomycetes are a very large group, and their 

 important character is the possession of basidia, which are 

 sporophores or gonidiophores, restricted in size, shape, and the 

 number of spores. Ordinary gonidiophores produce spores one 

 after the other, indefinitely, but a basidium produces only a 

 definite number of spores, and only once, and in a particular 

 place, and then it shrivels up. Most basidia bear four spores, 

 but some produce two, six, or eight. As a rule basidiospores 

 are borne on long sterigmata. The Basidiomycetes are arranged 

 in two groups : (1) the Protobasidiomycetes, in which the 

 basidia are septate, and (2) the Autobasidiomycetes, in which 

 the basidia are not septate, and bear a definite number of 

 basidiospores. The Protobasidiomycetes, or Fungi with a 

 septate basidium, are ranged in four distinct groups : (1) the 

 Uredineae have horizontally septate basidia, always free, never 

 borne in fruit-bodies, and always produced from a chlamydo- 

 spore or teleutospore ; (2) the Auricularieae have basidia 

 resembling the Uredineae, but gymnocarpous, viz. having fruit- 

 bodies which from the beginning form open hymenia ; (3) 

 Pilacreae, with horizontally septate basidia, but angiocarpous 

 or closed fruit - bodies ; (4) Tremellineae, having vertically 

 divided basidia borne in gymnocarpous fruits. 



