282 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [OCTOBER 
become thicker and less densely protoplasmic. As the developing 
ascogenous hyphae grow up and branch among these vegetative 
hyphae, the older parts of the vegetative hyphae cease to have the 
appearance of paraphyses, while the younger parts still form a 
layer ahead of the ascogenous hyphae. When the place where the 
hymenium is to be formed is finally reached, the layer of paraphyses 
is thus already completely developed (plate fig. 4). The continued 
upward growth and branching of the vegetative and ascogenous 
_ hyphae causes the hymenium to have a much greater diameter 
than it would have had if it had been formed before the branching 
had taken place. Some of the vegetative hyphae in the sub- 
hymenial layer give off branches which form large, densely staining 
storage cells. These in turn give rise to more paraphyses (fig. 15). 
In a few cases nuclei in these storage cells have been seen to be 
fusing, and since in some cases the fusing nuclei are exceptionally 
large, it may be that nuclei which have been formed by fusion may 
themselves fuse. The fusion of nuclei in the storage cells is of 
regular occurrence in Leotia (BROWN 6), but is probably excep- 
tional in Lachnea scutellata, as most of the nuclei in the storage 
cells of this species are small and of nearly uniform siz 
While the storage cells are being formed in the cabh eral 
layer, the ascogenous hyphae can be seen, in the same region, as 
rows of large multinucleate cells. These give off smaller multi- 
nucleate branches which extend upward into the lower part of the 
hymenium (fig. 16). It is from these branches that the asci are 
to be formed. The tips of these branches frequently contain two 
nuclei, and it seems probable that these are cut off together in a 
single cell, as no such uninucleate cells have been observed in the 
hymenium or subhymenial layer, although binucleate cells are of 
frequent occurrence. It is, of course, still possible that uninucleate 
cells may sometimes be cut off, and that these may have been over- 
looked, as the uninucleate condition would probably last only a 
short time. The cutting off of two nuclei in the tip of an ascoge- 
nous hypha has been described by McCuppin (28) in Helvella 
elastica. ‘The cutting off of two nuclei or a single one, which subse- 
quently divided, in Lachnea scutellata would probably not have 
any effect on the further development, since, as has already been 
