196 THE NORTH AMERICAN SLIME-MOULDS 



capillitium dense, of rigid, straight, sparingly branched or anasto- 

 mosing, brown threads, which are sometimes white or colorless just 

 as they leave the columella; spores globose, rough, violaceous brown. 



This is L. irideum of Cooke and of Massee's Monograph. Its 

 capillitium is remarkable, and constitutes an easy diagnostic mark. 

 The threads appear at first sight entirely simple, but are really sev- 

 eral times furcate, and not infrequently anastomose. The spores are 

 covered with sparsely sown large papilla, easily seen under moderate 

 magnification. 



This is one of our earliest species. To be sought in May on beds 

 of decaying oak leaves in the woods, especially in wet places, near 

 streams, etc. 



Rare. New England, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa. 



5. Lamproderma violaceum (Fries) Rost. 



1829. Stemonitis violacea Fries, Syst. Myc, III., p. 162. 

 1875. Lamproderma violaceum (Fries) Rost., Mon., p. 204. 



Sporangia closely gregarious or scattered, depressed-globose, more 

 or less umbilicate below, metallic blue or purple, sessile or short stipi- 

 tate ; stipe stout, dark brown or black, even ; hypothallus, when the 

 sporangia are crowded, a thin, continuous, purplish membrane ; when 

 the sporangia are scattered, the hypothallus discoidal ; columella 

 cylindric or tapering slightly upward, the apex obtuse, black, attain- 

 ing the centre of the sporangium ; capillitium lax and flaccid, made 

 up of flexuous threads branching and anastomosing to form a net- 

 work, open in the interior, more dense without, the threads at first 

 pale brown as they leave the columella, becoming paler outward to 

 the colorless tips ; spores minutely warted, violaceous gray, 9-1 1 /t. 



This is our most common species ; found on decaying sticks and logs 

 late in the fall. Its pale capillitium will usually distinguish it, espe- 

 cially where the sporangia are empty; then the pallid free extremities 

 of the capillitial branches give to the little spheres under the lens a 

 white or hoary appearance not seen in any other species. 



The Plasmodium is at first almost transparent, then amber tinted, 

 sending up tiny semi-transparent spheres on shining brownish stalks. 



