228 THE NORTH AMERICAN SLIME-MOULDS 



13. Cribraria purpurea Schrad. 



1797. Cribraria purpurea Schrad., Nov. Gen. PL, p. 8. 



Sporangia gregarious, large, 1 mm. in diameter, dark purple, erect, 

 stipitate, depressed-globose; stipe concolorous, furrowed, about twice 

 the diameter of the sporangium in length, with a distinct hypothallus ; 

 calyculus persistent, less than half the sporangium, obscurely ribbed, 

 marked by concentric plications, the margin toothed ; the net poorly 

 differentiated, the meshes irregular in form and size, as are also the 

 flat, unthickened nodes, the threads pale, free ends short and not 

 numerous; spore-mass purple; spores by transmitted light, pale or 

 colorless, 5-6, /x, smooth. 



Rare. Found on rotten coniferous wood in deep forests. Easily 



recognized by its large size and uniform purple color. To the next 



species it offers a general resemblance, but has larger sporangia and 



an entirely different net. The Plasmodium just before the formation 



of the fruit is scarlet. ' 



I 

 Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Ontario, Oregon, Colorado. 



14. Cribraria elegans Berk. & C. 



1873. Cribraria elegans Berk. & Curt., Grev., II., p. 67. 



Sporangia gregarious, erect or nodding, small, .4— .5 mm., bright 

 purple, stipitate; stipe long, slender, tapering upward, almost black, 

 arising from a scanty hypothallus; calyculus about half the sporan- 

 gium, finely ribbed, covered especially above with small purple gran- 

 ules, the margin toothed or perforate ; net well developed, the meshes 

 small, polygonal, the threads delicate, colorless, with many free ends, 

 the nodules dark-colored, numerous and somewhat prominent; spore- 

 mass pale purple; spores by transmitted light pale violaceous, smooth, 

 6-6.5 II. 



To be compared with the preceding. The small-meshed net with 

 well-defined, dark-colored nodules is distinctive, aside from the fact 

 of the much smaller sporangia. The stipe is also different, more 

 slender, smooth, and dark-colored. The habitat of the two species 

 appears to be the same. The present species is much more common, 

 ranges farther west, and is to be looked for on the Pacific coast. 



