38 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
Oct., 1921 
m ulticolor, one of the phalloids or stinkhorn group of fungi. 
A fly can be indistinctly seen 011 the left-hand side of the 
cap or pileus ; the pileus is covered with a stinking brown, 
more or less liquid substance, termed the gleba, which 
■carries the spores. Carrion-feeding insects are attracted to 
the gleba by its offensive odour, and thus the spores are 
spread. 
The two ear-shaped fungi on either side are specimens 
of Jew ’s ear ( Hirneola polytricha) ; this species and its ally, 
II. auricula- juda e, are used by the Chinese to thicken soups. 
Three Notable Fungi. 
(Photo by R. L. Higgins.) 
They can be used after drying, and are imported from 
different countries into China. 
The small specimen in the left-hand corner is a speci- 
men of earth star or Geaster. The body of the fungus 
consists of two coats, an outer and *an inner one, respec- 
tively. The outer, which is of a thick leathery nature, 
eventually splits in a stellate manner; the inner one is 
papery and dehiscent at the apex, allowing the minute 
•dust-like spores to escape. — C.T.W. 
