334 Groom . — On Thismia Aseroe ( Beccari ) 
slightly elongated longitudinally ; they include no intercellular 
spaces. They have thin walls of cellulose, and protoplasm 
lining the walls and coating the hyphae. The latter are 
widely different from those of the preceding layer; they 
consist of very slender hyphae , often spirally twisted , which 
suddenly swell out into conspicuous intercalary bladder-like 
bodies often filled with densely staining protoplasm. Usually 
there is only one, or at most two bladders, in one cell. The 
hyphae may be traced from the exocortex and from the 
deeper layers of cortex into this limiting layer. 
(4) Mediocortex. — The next two layers of cells lying within 
are much larger, and are more or less isodiametral and hexa- 
gonal, or the inner slightly elongated longitudinally. The 
intercellular spaces are small. They contain conspicuous dead 
yellow mycelial masses , consisting of portions of defunct hyphae 
which are connected by slender portions of hyphae with one 
another. In addition these cells may contain large quantities 
of starch. Here it may be mentioned that the starch through- 
out the plant assumes a red colour with iodine, as is often the 
case with starch in holosaprophytes. In this region of the 
cortex there are a considerable number of large raphide- 
mucilage sacs. In accordance with the terminology before 
suggested, these two layers constitute the mediocortex , charac- 
terized by containing inert refractive fungal masses. In 
parts of the axis these layers are immediately succeeded by 
the endodermis; in other thicker portions there is a third 
layer of parenchyma with cellulose-walls ; but in this third 
layer the cells are markedly elongated longitudinally, and as 
a rule they are utterly devoid of hyphae though often rich in 
starch. 
(5) Endodermis consists of a somewhat irregular single 
layer of feebly protoplasmic cells with thin suberised walls 
displaying the radial dots. The cells are elongated in a longi- 
tudinal direction, but they are considerably smaller than the 
cortical cells outside them. 
Central Cylinder. — The stele is very narrow in comparison 
with the well-developed layers of parenchyma constituting 
