228 Fulton . — On the Dispersion of Fungi 
other fungi are so coloured ; and, further, that while the 
great majority (73* 1 per cent.) of other fungi are of dull tints 
— browns, slate, blacks, etc. — such colours are not represented 
among the Phalloidei, with the doubtful exception of Dictyo- 
phora radicata. And this is not all, for while a large number 
of those included among other fungi as red or white have 
impure tints, the great majority of the Phalloidei have colours 
very brilliant and pure. 
I think the inference is evident that the brilliant tints of the 
Phalloidei have been developed to render them conspicuous. 
The utility of a colour in making an object striking or in 
concealing it of course depends upon the background, and in 
order to test how the colours of fungi may serve for either of 
these purposes I made the following experiments. I placed a 
series of equal-sized, differently coloured discs perpendicularly 
in the ground in the locality where Phallus grows (dark-brown 
soil with a sprinkling of green herbs, in a wood), and observed 
the relative effect at various distances, with the following results : 
(1) Brown, blackish, and purple soon became indistinct and 
indistinguishable : they served to conceal. (2) Blue was fairly 
conspicuous near, but not at a distance. (3) Green was con- 
spicuous against the bare soil only. (4) Pale yellow was much 
more conspicuous than any of the above, and to considerable 
distances. (5) Red was strikingly conspicuous near, and to 
considerable distances. (6) White was very conspicuous near, 
and to the greatest distance of all. A glance at the habitats 
of the Phalloidei, given in Table II, will show that against 
such backgrounds red and white and yellow must be very 
conspicuous. There are two apparent exceptions in the case 
of Dictyophora radicatus. Mont., and Aseroe viridis , Berk. 
The former is described as being all sooty black, and it grows 
on ‘the ground’ in Cayenne. If this be the colour of the 
receptacle while the hymenium is exposed, it forms a striking 
exception to all other Phalloidei. The case of Aseroe viridis 
is different and very interesting, inasmuch as two varieties are 
found, one metallic green, growing on ‘ clay-banks,’ and the 
other of a more or less deep red, growing on the ground, and 
