30 CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY. [Bull. 



the rupture of the enclosing plant membrane, a dusty, red- 

 dish brown spore mass is disclosed. The spores usually show 

 various stages of development, vary from light to dark reddish 

 brown, are subspherical or spherical, or occasionally elon- 

 gated or irregular, have a thick wall (3-4/O apparently closely 

 covered with verruculations (really very minutely areolately 

 pitted), and are 18-27^ in length. 



Host and Distr. : Panicum virgatum, Conn. (Herb. Far- 

 low) ; East Hartford, July 7, 1903 (Weatherby). 



The wild grass which is host for this smut is often cut for 

 hay in the state, but it is doubtful if the smut does enough 

 damage to be of economic importance. 



Neovossia Korn. 



The sori occur in the ovaries, forming dusty spore masses 

 protected at first by a membrane of plant tissue. The large 

 spores are simple, separate, and produced singly in the swollen 

 ends of the special fertile hyphae, which permanently invest 

 them and taper into conspicuous elongated hyaline appen- 

 dages. Fig. 13. 



This genus is closely related to Tilletia, but can be dis- 

 tinguished by the tail-like appendage to the membrane invest- 

 ing the spores. There are only two species now known that 

 properly come under this genus. 



Neovossia lowensis Hume & Hods. Fig. 13. The sori 

 are found in the ovaries, are ovoid, about 2-3 mm. in length, 

 and show inconspicuously between the spreading glumes. 

 Sterile cells, or immature spores, which are hyaline, thick- 

 walled, and chiefly smaller than the spores, are found in the 

 spore mass. The mature spores are reddish brown, subo- 

 paque, ovoid, ellipsoidal, or rarely subspherical, provided with 

 a hyaline envelope tapering into an irregular tail once or twice 1 

 their length. They have a minutely reticulately pitted cell wall, 

 and are 19-28/M by 13-19/u in size. 



Host and Distr. : Phragmites communis, Montowese, fall, 

 1901 (Evans) ; Oct. 18, 1902. 



This rare species, which has been reported elsewhere only 

 from Iowa, was first found in this state by Professor Evans 

 of Yale. 



