CRATERIUM.] 
PHYSARACEiE. 
69 
red-brown. Capillitium of abundant filiform forking pale yellow 
threads, with few minute fusiform yellow lime-knots, and yellow 
spine-like processes 2 mm. long, 20 />t thick, extending from the 
outer wall of the sporangium to the walls of the pseudo-columella, 
densely charged with granules of lime. Spores violet-brown, 
nearly smooth, 6 to 8 diam. — Macbride, Bull. Nat. Hist. Iowa, 
ii., p. 151. Trichamphora ohlonga Berk. & Curt., in Grev., ii., 
p. 66 (1873). Tilmadoche ohlonga Eost., Mon., App., p. 13 ; 
Mass., Mon., p. 334. Physarum rufibasis Berk & Br., in Linn. 
Joiu-n., xiv., p. 85 ; Mass., Mon., p. 279. Tilmadoche Mans Eost., 
Mon., App., p. 14. Physarum Mans Mass., Mon., p. 296 (in 
part). Tilmadoche minuta Berl., Sacc. Syll., vii., p. 361. 
Plate XXV., B. — a. sporangia, x 20 ; b. transverse section of same, x 20 ; 
c. sporangium after dehiscence and dispersion of spores, x 20 ; d. capillitium, 
and calcareous spines arising from the sporangium-wall, x 280 ; e. spore, 
X 600 (United States). 
The examination of Berkeley's type specimens of Physarum rufibasis 
Berk. & Br. from Ceylon, and Trichamphora ohlonga Berk. & Curt, from 
Michener, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., shows that they are the same species, 
and possess the same characters of sporangium and capillitium as 
Physarella mirahilis — characters so remarkable that the species well 
deserves to rank as the type of a distinct genus. Forms occur in 
imperfect developments with short broad stalks and funnel-shaped 
sporangia, examples of which are seen in Berkeley's type specimen of 
Physarum i-ufibasis, as well as in American specimens. Tilmadoche 
hians is described by Rostafinski as having the tube of the stalk 
hollow and completely traversing the oblong sporangium, and the 
lime-knots of the capillitium irregularly elongated, taking origin for 
the most part from the sporangium-wall. He quotes two gatherings 
only : one, the above-mentioned P. rufibasis Berk. & Br., from Ceylon ; 
the other referred to as follows : " T?he specimen seen was gathered 
by Jan Kickx (father) in Flanders, and marked by him Craterium 
minutum Fr." (Rost., Mon., p. 425.) 
Hah. On dead wood. — Ceylon (L:B.M.44) ; Java (K. 1312); 
Borneo (L:B.M.44) ; Pennsylvania (B. M. 852, 882). 
Genus 7.— CRATERIUM Trentepohl, in Eoth. Catal. Bot., i., 
p. 224 (1797). Sporangia stipitate, goblet-shaped, with a lid of 
thinner substance, or subglobose, rugose ; sporangium-wall charged 
with granules of lime, and cartilaginous at least in the lower 
part. Capillitium of large lime-knots connected by more or less 
branching hyaline threads. In the centre of the sporangium the 
lime-knots are usually larger and confluent, foi-ming a pseudo- 
columella. Stalk cartilaginous. 
KEY TO THE SPECIES OF CRATERIUM. 
A. Sporangium- wall smooth, glossy: — 
Lime-knots white. 1. C. pedunculatum 
Lime-knots brown. 2, C. concinnum 
