Sumstine: North American Mucorales 129 



Gleditsch (Meth. Fung. 158 seq. 1753) describes a number 

 of Mucors among which is M. vulgaris. He cites Micheh, Mal- 

 pighius and Linnaeus. Haller (Hist. Stirp. Helv. 3: 113. 1768) 

 Hsts Mucor Mucedo growing on bread. Batsch (Elench. Fung. 

 157. 1783) enumerates and describes six Mucors. The first 

 one is Mucor Mucedo. Fries (Syst. Myc. 3: 310. 1829) Hsts 

 Ascophora Mucedo but gives as synonym Mucor Mucedo, Auct. 

 pro parte. The description fits very clearly the species under 

 consideration. 



These various names were applied to the plant of Linnaeus 

 until 1850, when Fresenius (Beitr. Myk. 4-13. pi. i, f. 1-12. 

 1850) described and figured quite a different plant under the name 

 Mucor Mucedo. His plant was no other than Hydrophora ster- 

 corea Tode (see under Hydrophora) , and quite distinct from 

 Mucor Mucedo L. But since the time of Fresenius many 

 authors have considered Mucor Mucedo L. and Mucor Mucedo 

 Fres. synonymous, although the plants described by these two 

 men are very different. 



Zimmerman (Das Genus Mucor 4. 1870) recognized the 

 real identity of Mucor Mucedo. He says that the description 

 and figure of Malpighius undoubtedly refer to Mucor stolonifer 

 Ehrenberg but he ignores the Mucor Mucedo of Linnaeus. 



I. Mucor Mucedo L. Sp PI. 1185. 1753. Not Mucor 



Ascophora Mucedo Tode, /. c. 1790.. 

 Mucor stolonifer Ehrenb. /. c. 1818. 

 Rhizopus nigricans Ehrenb. /. c. 1820. 

 Mucor ascophorus Link, Willd. Sp. Plant. 6^: 85. 1824. 

 See Fischer /. c. for further synonymy. 



This is the common black mould of bread and of decaying 

 vegetable matter. The shape and the size of the spores are 

 exceedingly variable. 



Key to the Species 



Rhizoids abundant, at the nodes of the stolons, spores large, 



irregular. 



Rhizoids few, short, spores smaller, oval or round. 

 Rhizoids few, sporangiophores with swellings. 



I. M. Mucedo. 



2. M. arrhizus. 



3. M. nodosus. 



Mucedo Fres. 



