84 PLANT LIFE. 



reproductive phase the whole of the differentiation exhibited 

 is in the direction of plant life, in a rudimentary form, as 

 would be expected. The spores are at first enclosed in a 

 cellulose cell-wall, and the various modes of spore-dispersion 

 are those followed by the Gastromycetous fungi or puff-balls. 

 This however may be the outcome of the Mycetozoa having 

 adopted a terrestrial mode of life. The Mycetozoa are 

 certainly not genetically allied to fungi, differing in the 

 formation of a Plasmodium and the absence of hyphae. 



The Mycetozoa are a terminal group, not connecting 

 with any higher forms ; in other words, they have not given 

 origin by differentiation to a higher group. 



