270 
THE LARGER FI^XGI 
GASTEROMYCETES. 
The second main (livision of file Basidiomycctes consists of the Gasteroinvcetes 
which include the puff-balls and allied plants. Here the hymenium or spore- 
bearino- surface is not exposed from an early stage but is contained within a 
continuous membrane, the peridiuin, the spores being liberated in various wavs 
when mature. Thus the peridium or “cover” may rupture to enable the S])ores 
to bo exposed, or it may disintegrate and allow the spores to escape as dust, ,or 
the spores may issue out of detinito orifices as in the puff'-balls, or the plant 
may actually have to decay to enalile the spores to reach the outside world. 
The Gasteromycetes are divided into five main divisions. The first of these, 
the Phallales, coni])risos the various, often remai’lvable and highly coloured 
phalloid fungi or stijikhorns and the lattice-fungi. In the young stage, the 
fungus appears as a globose phalloid “egg” which may be an inch or more 
in diameter. If such an egg be cut open, there will be seen inside, embedded 
in the gelatinous middle layer of the peridium or enclosing covering, a folded 
structure on wliich may be seen the dark green gleba. containing the spores. 
At maturity, the outer layer of the peridium rujdures through swelling of the 
jelly-like layer and this enables the folded structure, the receptacle, to expand, 
carrying with it the spore mass. The receptacle may consist of a hollow 
cylindrical or fusoid structure, which may or may not possess a cap, or may 
have arms or tentacle-like processes extending upwards or outwards from a 
flaring or cylindrical tube, or the iccei)ta<de maj' consist of a lattice which may 
be white nr red. The crinoline fungi have, in addition to a cap, a net-like 
structure depending from the upper part of the rceeptaele and hanging down- 
wards and outwards so as to resemble a crinoline; the net, and tlie stem and 
pileus sujjporting if, may be brilliantly and variously coloured. Jse?’oe i\ubt*a, 
a common phalloid in the coastal areas of New South Wales, is very like a 
long-stalked sca-anenione with briglit red disc and arms. 
Alost of the ])halloid fungi have a foetid smell which occasionally may be so 
strong as to be noticeable wlien walking past one of them, before tlie fungus 
itself is seen. The smell is faecal or like highly tainted meat. Carrion-visiting 
flies may bo attracted by the smell, though I liave not noticed this in connection 
with our Australian species. When thus visited by a fly, the spores arc doubt- 
less distributed partly by being ingested and passed througli the alimentary canal, 
and partly by extermil contamination of the insect’s legs. 
fcionth Australia is not rich in species or in, individual members of tlie phalloid 
fungi. The commonest is the lattice-work fungus, Clathrim yracilis, which may 
be found in tlie Mount Lofty Ranges, the sleiider-l.iarreil white lattice being 
readily dislodged from the cup-shaped volva in wliicL some of the gelatinous 
layer will be found remaining. The thicker-barred Clathrun cUiairius has only 
been found once. Occasionally in the autumn after .heavy rains or profuse 
watering, the (piaint Ly.sttriis »ulc<i1us may come up in tlie suburbs of Adelaide, 
especially on buffalo-grass lawns; it 1ms a long white to cream-buff hollow 
cylimliical stem from the apex of which project live to seven erect rugose arms. 
Tlie brilliant rod or reddisii HhyphaUiis rubiciiudus has been found once in a 
buffalo-grass lawn in an Adelaiile suburli and twice in the South-East, and 
Coliifi hiriidino-'--UK, a rod clatliratc species, has been found once. 
Australia is unusually rich in species belonging to the second main division, 
the llynienogastvales. In the llymenogastiaeeae, the little more or less globose 
]ilants are often jiartly bulled in the ground or are found covered by loose 
debris and sticks and disclosed by scratcliing these away. Two spocies; of 
lihizopog^'/n arc found, more or less emei'ged from the ground, in association with 
species of Pimm ami, as already mentioned in the first part of this work, it 
is tliouglit that thore is an association between the mycelial strands of the fungus 
and the rootlets of Pimis which is in some way advantageous to the latter 
and whicli < (mseiiuently lieljis ])ine-secdliiigs to establish themselves. The 
Hymeiiogastraceae are unstalked but in the Wecotiaceae the plants [lossess a more 
or less evident .stem. A remarkable and interesting feature in the genus 
Secotiiim is 1lie resemblance that some sjiecies have to malformed agarics. It 
has in fact been suggested tluit they are arrested forms of the Agarics, pro- 
ducing spores ill a jiartly developed state (paedogonesis). Dr. G. II. Cunningham 
lias found that in the early stages of development they do rcscmblo agarics but 
the nature of the gleba. and the peridium link them to the llymenogastraceae. 
SecoUum melcmospormn, wdiich may be found at Monarto South, has a close 
