CHAPTER III 



CHYTRIDIINEAE 



THE Chytridiineae, also called the Archimycetes, are a 

 group of microscopic, parasitic fungi. They are named 

 from a feature common to them all : propagation by zoo- 

 spores formed in receptacles, 1 which have walls of cellulose. 

 Their systematic definition by Engler and Prandtl, 1897, 

 reads : " Mycelium wanting or in the form of fine proto- 

 plasmic strands. Sporangia always produce zoospores." 



The protoplasm which fills the sporangium is rich in fat. 

 Considered by themselves they present biological and cyto- 

 logical features worth careful study ; their affinities to 

 algae, Peronosporineae, and mucors on the one side, and to 

 the Mycetozoa and Protozoa on the other give them added 

 interest. 



The genus Chytridium was founded by A. Braun in 1850. 

 Before that time the sporanges of these parasites had been 

 mistaken for reproductive organs of their hosts ; a mistake 



1 The Greek word chytridion means a little pot, and angeion and soros mean vessel 

 or urn. In botanical writings the adjective chytridiacean is used ; by a simple elision 

 I have shortened this, and in this book the words chytridian, olpidian, and 

 synchytrian are used both as adjectives and nouns. 



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