MORPHOLOGY 



51 



most other Myxomycetes, the amoeba? ultimately give rise to a Plas- 

 modium (»). 



Although each one of the amoebae is so small that it can only be seen 

 with the aid of a microscope, the plasmodium into which they become 

 united may attain a size large enough to be measured in centimetres. 



^1 









iC 



-is: 



JfeA 



V 



4^^<k, 



M. 



^/ Uh 



Pig. 5S.—Chondnoderma difforme. u, Dry, shrivelled spore ; 6, swollen spore ; c and d, spores 

 showing escaping contents ; e, /, y, swarm-spores ; ft, swarm-spore changing to a myxoamreba ; 

 yyounger, I; older myxoamceba ; I, myxoamceba about to fuse; m, small Plasmodium; •«, 

 portion of fully-developed plasmodium. (a-m, x 540 : %, x 90.) 



In a single amoeba of the Myxomycetes, and still better in a 

 Plasmodium, it can be seen that the fundamental substance of the 

 cytoplasm is hyaline and viscid. This fundamental substance is called 

 HYALOPLASM. The hyaloplasm is denser on the surface of the plas- 

 modium, entirely free from granules, and forms a homogeneous superficial 

 layer, sometimes referred to as the protoplasmic membrane. In the 



