46 
tlio same type of liabitat viz., in leaf litt(‘r in rainfor(*st 
friuginj; eomitry; the second collection Avas found as- 
sociated Avitli Octaviania sp. Tlie specimens Avere Avhite 
Avhen fresli, drying: yelloAvish ; the gleba Avas yelloAvish, 
and the spores Avith tlieir thick broAvn Avails could be seen 
distinctly Avith the aid of a hand lens. The plant is (jAiite 
firm, to 6 mm. diam., and tlion^ii externally resembling 
members of the Hynienogastraceae, it is actually a Phy- 
comycete, closely related to Mucor. 
E. macrocarpa is distino'uished from all other species 
of Endogone by the laro-p size of its o-lobose chlamydos- 
pores, AA'hich, in the specimen from Lamino'ton National 
Park, are up to 200 u in diameter, Avith the broM’ii endo- 
spore Avail to 15 u thick and the hyaline exospore to 8 u 
tiiick. The Tasmanian collection and the specimen from 
Mt. Glorious have spores PiO-170 u diameter; Europea !i 
specimens sIioav a variation of the maximum diameter 
112-230 u; in American material, the spores are smaller, 
beino' 80-100 u in «'reatest diameter. In the different col- 
lections, the hyphal matrix varies in looseness; in some 
it is densely com])acted, so that spore-origins are not 
often clearly seen; in the Queensland material the matrix 
is quite loose, and the spore-origins eoi*respondingly 
conspicuous. 
FAIRY RINGS IN COLONIES OF 
BLUE-GREEN ALGAE. 
A. B. Gril)b. 
Over the ])eriod May, 1952 to Nov., 1954, the Avriter 
has had under periodic observation an extensive colony 
of blue-green algae developed ov(n* ])ortion of the sand- 
clay surface of a tennis coui't at IpsAvicli. QVieensland. 
This blue-green slund is composed mainly of tAvo species, 
namely, Schizofhrix arevaria (Berk.) Gom. and ^fic■ro~ 
coleus nipicola (Tilden) Drouet. After rain these algae 
become very prominent as a bright l)lue-green or olive - 
green statum Avhich fades on drying. 
OA^er this algal stratum there has appeared after eacli 
fall of rain a number of roughly circular uneolonised 
01 * very sparsely colonised patdies varying fi'om 1 cm. or 
l(*ss to about 30 cm. in diameter. Tlu‘ pale colour oi‘ these 
uncolonised areas contrasts very sliarply Avith the sur- 
rounding olive-green of the algae and can be distinguished 
clearly at a distance of about 60 ft., tliough becoming 
almost indistinguishable after drying of the soil. In most 
of the larger bare circles, particularly tliose over 7 cm, 
