164 THE NORTH AMERICAN SLIME-MOULDS 



just below the obtuse apex; inner capillitial network very open, the 

 branches far apart, anastomosing but a few times before breaking into 

 the surface net to form large, irregular meshes, 50-125 /u,; spores 

 minutely roughened, fuscous, 8-9 /n. 



These three forms, 8, 9, 10, are sometimes entered as varieties of a 

 single species. Dr. Rex himself was inclined to take that view. 

 There is no doubt of close similarity; it is a question of clearness in 

 our dealing with the subject. 



All three forms occur abundantly in the Mississippi Valley, but 

 are generally, — always, as it seems to the writer, — distinguishable 

 by the hand-lens. If we take No. 9 as type, 10 has an eccentric col- 

 umella; 8 is shorter, about 1 cm., of a different tint, Dr. Rex even says 

 "spores ferruginous in mass". To the west and southwest, the 

 capillitium becomes coarser, more decidedly brown. In short, however 

 similar in presentation the phases may sometimes appear, it would 

 seem that each at its best is distinct enough for immediate recog- 

 nition. 



West of the Mississippi River chiefly: Iowa, South Dakota, Ne- 

 braska, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, etc. 



9. Stemonitis splendens Rost. 



Plate VI., Figs. 6, 6 a, 6 c, 7, 7 a. 



1875. Stemonitis splendens Rost., Mon., p. 195. 



1880. Stemonitis morgani Peck, Bot. Gaz., V., p. 33. 



1893. Stemonitis splendens Rost., Macbr., Bull. Lab. Nat. Hist., Vol. II, 

 p. 381. 



1894. Stemonitis splendens Rost., List., Mycetozoa, p. 112, in part. 

 1899. Stemonitis morgani Peck, Macbr., N. A. S., p. 118. 



1911. Stemonitis splendens Rest., List., Mycetozoa, 2nd ed., p. 145. 



Sporangia clustered irregularly, sometimes forming patches 6-10 

 centimetres or more in extent, rich purple-brown in mass, cylindric, 

 long, 15-18 mm., stipitate; stipe black, polished, shining, rising from 

 a common hypothallus, which extends as a thin silvery film beneath 

 the entire colony, but does not usually transcend its limits ; columella 

 black, percurrent, sparingly branched ; capillitium of fuscous threads, 

 within forming a network very open, the branches scarcely anasto- 

 mosing until they reach the surface where they form the usual net of 



