PHY S ARUM 51 



Plasmodium scarlet. Sporangia gregarious, sessile, globose or sub- 

 globose, or sometimes plasmodiocarpous, yellowish or orange, every- 

 where, when fresh, spotted with minute scarlet granules; the 

 peridium thin, more or less rugulose; columella none; capillitium 

 delicate, generally yellow, with nodules conspicuous, yellow or red- 

 dish; spores violet-brown in mass, by transmitted light pale violet, 

 minutely roughened, 7-9 /*. 



A well-marked species easily recognized by the characters cited. 

 The extent of lime deposit at the capillitial nodes varies ; sometimes 

 very little. This accounts for Berkeley's generic reference. On 

 the other hand. Lister makes the rounded lime knots "each knot with 

 a red centre surrounded by yellow, round, lime-granules" diagnostic. 

 This pied condition does not come out in any of our specimens. 

 The capillitium in broken specimens soon fades, tends to white, etc. 



New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, and south. Ceylon, 

 Java, Brazil. 



3. Physarum vernum Somm. 



1829. Physarum vernum Somm., Fries, Syst. MycoL, III., p. 146. 



1875. Physarum cinereum (Batsch), Rost., Mon., p. 102, in part. 



1875. Badhamia verna Rost, Mon., p. 145. 



1894. Badhamia panicea Rest., List, Mycetozoa, p. 34. 



1899. Physarum cinereum (Batsch) Rost, Macbr., N. A. S., p. 34 (in 

 part). 



1911. Physarum vernum Somm., Lister, Mycetozoa, 2nd ed., p. 75. 



"Plasmodium white." Sporangia sessile, generally plasmodiocar- 

 pous white, nearly smooth ; peridium more or less testaceous not scaly, 

 but breaking irregularly; capillitium densely calcareous, the nodules 

 angular, branching, sometimes united to form a pseudo-columella; 

 spores dusky violaceous, rough, 10-12 {x. 



Sommerfeldt's description quoted by Fries, /. c, evidently con- 

 cerned a less calcareous phase. Fries by his annotation relieves some- 

 what the reader's uncertainty. 



Rostafinski calls this a badhamia but describes a physarum, and the 

 form has, as is believed, been consistently confused with P. cinereum 

 by every student of the group from the days of DeBary until now. 

 In the second edition of the Mycetozoa, Lister clears the situation 



