Sumstine: North American Mucorales 



133 



too indefinite for exact determination. The characterization of 

 the third species seems to agree with the plants now usually pass- 

 ing under the name Mucor Mucedo L. Tode found his plants on 

 human dung but he also discovered some plants on dog dung 

 which agree in every way with the former except in size. 



There may be some doubt as to the absolute identity of Tode's 

 plants but authors generally have cited his name as a synonym of 

 the so-called Mucor Mucedo L. It is, at least, the oldest name 

 given to dung inhabiting Mucors with simple sporangiophores 

 unless some one can prove that Haller's species, Lycogola petiola- 

 tum, aquosum, flavescens, is a Mucor (Haller, Hist. Stirp. Helv. 

 3: 112. 1768). 



Key to the Species 



Sporangiophores erect. 



Columella cylindric or somewhat globose. i. H. stercorea. 



Columella pear-shaped. 2. H. Fischeri. 



Sporangiophores flaccid, decumbent. 



Sporangia and sporangiophores brownish or yellow-brown. 3. H. Taeniae. 



Sporangia and sporangiophores yellow or refusecent. 4. H. rufescens. 



I. Hydrophora stercorea Tode, /. c. 1791 

 f Mucor caninus Pers. Obs. Myc. i: 96. 1796. 

 Mucor stercoreus Link, Willd. Sp. PL 6^ : 90. 1824. 

 Mucor Mucedo Pres. Beitr. Myc. 7. 1850. Not Mucor Mucedo 

 L. 



Mucor Mucedo L. (Many authors since 1850.) 



This plant varies considerably in the size of the sporangia and 

 the spores but the shape of the spores is rather constant. I have 

 not found branching sporangiophores although they have been 

 reported (Lendner, Mucor. Suisse 68. 1908). The species is 

 also considered pathogenic ( Neveu-Lemaire Precis de Parasi- 

 tologic humaine. 1906). 



Substrata: On human and horse dung. 



Specimens examined: Indiana, Arthur; New Jersey, Ellis N. 

 A. F. ()'/2; Pennsylvania, Sumstine. 



Illustrations : Pres. /. c. pi. i, f. 1-12; Fischer, Rabenh. 

 Krypt. PL i*: /. 30-31. 



2. Hydrophora Fischeri nom. nov. 

 Mucor piriformis Pischer, /. c. 191. 1892. 



