160 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF FUNGI 



being borne upon a long cylindrical stem, gradually attenuated 

 upwards, into and up to the apex of the capitulum, like a 

 columella ; the differentiation of the gleba, until the maturity 

 of the spores, taking place while the Fungus remains under 

 ground. There is an absence of the sinuous cavities, bounded 

 by well-defined tramal plates, so characteristic of Gastromycetes, 

 but from the earliest condition, according to Mr. Massee, " the 

 gleba presents a sponge-like structure, its very irregular walls 

 consisting of thin-walled, sparsely-septate hyphae, originating- 

 as lateral branches from the hyphae forming the central axis 

 or the inner portion of the outer protective wall. Mixed with 

 the colourless, thin-walled hyphae are others which originate 

 from the hyphae of the axis ; these eventually become coloured, 

 and form the capillitium ; the thin-walled, colourless hyphae 

 forming the irregular walls of the gleba send into the inter- 

 stices numerous long, lateral branches ; these branches — the 

 ascogenous hyphae — are aseptate, have very thin colourless 

 walls, are richly supplied with granular vacuolated protoplasm, 

 and at the tips produce two or more short branches, which in 

 turn emit short secondary branches, the whole forming a com- 

 pact tuft; these terminal branches differ from the parent 

 hyphae in being broken up into numerous short cells by trans- 

 verse septa; each component cell produces a lateral outgrowth, 

 at first papillaeform, then cylindrical, and eventually broadly 

 obovate, and attached to the parent cell by a narrow neck ; 

 these terminal cells — the asci — after receiving all the proto- 

 plasm from the parent cell, are cut off from the latter by the 

 formation of a septum across the narrow basal portion. Owing 

 to the fasciculate arrangement of the terminal branches the 

 asci are densely crowded, varying in number from ten to fifty, 

 or even seventy on specially vigorous heads. The asci are 

 developed in succession, and it is not unusual to meet with 

 empty shrivelled asci, others with the spores not yet differen- 

 tiated, and others quite young, in the same cluster. I am 

 inclined to believe that the short ascigerous branches are also 

 produced laterally on the aseptate hyphae, but am not certain 

 on this point. The asci are usually constant in form and size, 

 but now and again an exceptionally large one may be seen, 

 and sometimes one or more lateral prominences disturb the 



