the Ascocarp in Mon asciis. 207 
to enclose the asci without the aid of the central cell. 
Viewed from this point of view, the ascocarp seems to be 
of the same nature as those of the Gymnoascaceae. A re- 
lationship to this group is also indicated by the shape, size, 
and method of development of the asci, and by the number 
and size of the ascospores. The archicarp is also very similar 
to that of Gymnoascus Reessii. In both forms the antheri- 
dium is typically a short straight hypha around which is 
coiled more or less the ascogonium. Fusion takes place 
between these organs, and the ascogonium subsequently 
develops further by producing a short branch, which gives 
rise to the ascogenous hyphae 1 . 
While these facts point to a relationship to the Gymnoas- 
caceae, there are certain features which are opposed to the 
idea of a very close connexion with this group. In the first 
place the investing hyphae of Monascus are only partially 
comparable to those of the Gymnoascaceae. In the former 
they arise from a definite point, i. e. immediately below the 
central cell ; in the latter this is not so markedly the case. In 
the former also they grow closely applied to the ascogonium, 
resembling rather the earliest sterile hyphae of the ascocarps of 
the Aspergillaceae, Erysipheae, Sphaeriales, and Pezizineae ; 
while in the latter the investment as a whole is of a compara- 
tively loose character. Attention may here, however, be 
called to the curious development of small branched clasp- 
like hyphae from the hyphae bearing the archicarp, at some 
distance below this structure (see Fig. 14), and even in some 
cases from neighbouring hyphae. They may serve to show 
a possible connexion between the investments in the cases 
under consideration. A second difficulty is the nature of the 
ascogonium. In Monascus , although filamentous when first 
formed, after fertilization it swells considerably, becoming 
more or less spherical before the production of ascogenous 
hyphae. In the Gymnoascaceae it remains unchanged through- 
out ; in some cases, e.g. in Ctenomyces serratus and Gymnoascus 
1 I have obtained the facts concerning Gymnoascus from Miss Dale, whose 
paper on the subject has not yet been published. 
