Zygospores of Sporodinia grandis . 465 
These plastid-like bodies may be related to the elaioplasts described 
by Zimmermann ( 38 ) in the stems of P silo turn , and in the perianth leaves of 
Maxillaria picta, and in several other forms. Wakker ( 37 ), in 1888, first 
described and named the elaioplasts as found in the epidermal cells of 
Vanilla planifolia. He described the elaioplast as somewhat larger than 
the nucleus, possessing a well-defined outline and a peculiar yellowish 
colour. Raciborski ( 27 ), in 1893, described elaioplasts in the tissues of 
Ormthogalum , Albiica, Funkia, and Gagea. Zimmermann and Raciborski 
describe the structure of the elaioplast as being finely granular, due to the 
presence of a number of small refractive bodies. Areas of lesser refraction 
may occur within it. 
Raciborski describes the elaioplasts of Gagea as somewhat different 
from this. They possess a plasmatic envelope with a lesser development 
of the stroma. Walker and Zimmermann have shown that the elaioplast 
consists of a plasmatic matrix saturated with oil droplets. 
Garjeanne ( 19 ), in a paper on the oil bodies of the Jungermanniales, 
concludes that the oil bodies here originate in the vacuoles, the oil 
droplets lying in a semi-fluid substance. The oil bodies are said to 
multiply by division in the earlier stages, but when once formed remain 
unchanged. 
Beer ( 1 ), in 1909, describes elaioplasts in the floral regions of Gaillardia , 
a Composite. He describes the elaioplasts as appearing first as refractive 
granules in the cells, and as being loosely aggregated at first, but becoming 
compact later. He concludes that the mature elaioplasts are the result of 
the aggregation of numerous plastids, and may be formed in several ways 
in the same cell. He suggests that the close massing of the plastids into 
compact elaioplasts is probably connected with their degeneration, and that 
it is unlikely that the elaioplasts have any particular function for the life of 
the cell. The author has made brief preliminary studies of the oil bodies 
in the endosperm and cotyledons of the seed of Ricinus communis. There 
appears to be a close resemblance between these and the plastids that are 
found in Sporodinia. These oil bodies and plastids have been described 
by many others in the tissues of many monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous 
plants. 
It would appear from these comparisons that these large plasmatic 
bodies occurring in the zygospore of Sporodinia are closely related to, if not 
identical with, the elaioplasts described by these various investigators, and 
that these oil plastids must be recognized as occurring in the Fungi, as well 
as in the higher plants. 
These oil plastids are undoubtedly the £ spheres embryonnaires ’ of 
Leger, and they may also be the nuclei of Lendner. 
Leger describes two of the embryo spheres as being present in all 
cases, and maintains that they fuse upon germination of the zygospore. 
