XXVIII. SOME PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON 

 DICTYOPHORA RAVENELII BURT. 



C. S. SCOFIELD. 



The name Dictyo-phora was first applied by Desvaux in 1809 

 to a plant bearing a netted veil or indusium, and the genus so 

 named was later included under the general family Phalloidese, 

 established by Fries in 1823. The family was given thorough 

 systematic arrangement by Dr. Ed. Fischer * in 1888, and in 

 1896 Dr. E. A. Burt f published a systematic account of the ten 

 known North American species under six genera. 



The development of the sporophore has been especially 

 studied in plants of this family, and this process has been de- 

 scribed for many of the species. In the present paper less at- 

 tention has been given to this particular feature of the life 

 history, not that it is less interesting', but because in some of the 

 stages it is not dissimilar to other species that have already been 

 well described and figured. 



Collection of material. The material for the study of Dic- 

 tyo-phora raveneln was collected about September 25, 1899. 

 It was found on low moist ground in rather dense woods near 

 the west shore of Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

 The mycelium of the plant was more or less abundant over an 

 area of five or six square yards, and the sporophores seemed to 

 occur over most or all of this extent. The period of fruiting is 

 evidently long, for photographs of the mature plants were made 

 at least a month before the material was collected, and at the 

 time of collection sporophores in nearly all stages of develop- 

 ment were abundant. 



Two collections of material were made : that of the first col- 

 lection was put directly into thirty per cent, alcohol and after- 

 ward passed gradually into ninety per cent. ; while that of the 



* Saccardo, Syl. Fung. 7 : 1888. 

 tBot. Gaz. 22: 1896. 



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