XXVIII. SOME PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON 
DICTYOPHORA RAVENELII BURT. 
Ce Sv Scorirep. 
The name Dzctyophora was first applied by Desvaux in 1809 
to a plant bearing a netted veil or indusium, and the genus so 
named was later included under the general family Phalloidee, 
established by Fries in 1823. The family was given thorough 
systematic arrangement by Dr. Ed. Fischer * in 1888, and in 
1896 Dr. E. A. Burt ¢ published a systematic account of the ten 
known North American species under six genera. 
The development of the sporophore has been especially 
studied in plants of this family, and this process has been de- 
scribed for many of the species. In the present paper less at- 
tention has been given to this particular feature of the life 
history, not that it is less interesting, but because in some of the 
stages it is not dissimilar to other species that have already been 
well described and figured. 
Collection of material.—The material for the study of Dzc- 
tyophora ravenelit was collected about September 25, 1899. 
It was found on low moist ground in rather dense woods near 
the west shore of Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 
The mycelium of the plant was more or less abundant over an 
area of five or six square yards, and the sporophores seemed to 
occur over most or all of this extent. The period of fruiting is 
evidently long, for photographs of the mature plants were made 
at least a month before the material was collected, and at the 
time of collection sporophores in nearly all stages of develop- 
ment were abundant. 
Two collections of material were made: that of the first col- 
lection was put directly into thirty per cent. alcohol and after- 
ward passed gradually into ninety per cent. ; while that of the 
* Saccardo, Syl. Fung. 7: 1888. 
+ Bot. Gaz. 22: 1896. 
