86 ANDREWS: ABNORMAL ELATERS OF PORELLA PLATYPHYLLA 
ascertain their behavior when in dry or moist air. Many of the 
elaters branched, as was shown in my former account, but in 
the elaters here being considered the branching was more 
extensive. In one case an elater had sent out two branches from 
the sides, FIG. 1, so as to give rise to four prongs or divisions. 
In another case, Fic. 2, the original elater, A, had produced three 
branches, B, C and D, of different lengths; and the branch D 
had again produced a short branch E, so that the elater then had 
six branches. 
Peculiarities were also observed in the number of spiral 
thickenings of the elaters. In a few of the elaters only one 
spiral was present, but generally there were two. Underwood* 
states that the number varies from two to three. Fic. 3 is 
given here in order to show how the spiral thickenings are often 
torn away from the wall of the elater by handling. Macvicart 
states that the spiral bands vary in some species from two to four. 
In most of the elaters observed, from the specimens under 
consideration here, the number of spiral thickenings was two 
in the unbranched elaters. A good many of the unbranched 
elaters showed three spiral thickenings (Fic. 3), which extended 
the entire length of the elater. In many cases they extended 
only part way from thecenter. In quite a number of instances the 
elater possessed four full length spirals (Fic. 4), and several 
had five such thickenings (Fic. 5). A few others had six (FIG. 
6), and one very short, more or less reniform, elater showed ten 
spiral thickenings (Fic. 7). The last elater was so short and 
thick as scarcely to resemble in shape the general form of ordi- 
nary elaters, and the numerous crossing bands were difficult to 
observe separately and to follow. As regards its shape the 
elater shown in Fic. 7 somewhat resembles the “‘verrucosa”’ 
form of elater described by Macvicart for Fossombronia caes- 
pitiformis, which has from three to five spirals. As above 
mentioned under Fic. 3 and shown also in Fics. 1 and 5 the 
spiral bands are more or less extensively torn away from the 
wall of the elater. The form of the simple or unbranched 
elaters is sometimes rather unusual, as in the case of Fic. ws 
* Gray, Man. Bot. Ed. 6, 708. 1889. 
} Student’s Handb. British Hep. 402. 1912. 
, OP: cit. 83. 
