Lewton-Brain . — Cor dy ceps op kiog loss aides (Bkr/i.). 525 
larly. The outer layers are composed of larger hyphae, with 
thicker walls and less cell-contents than the central ones : 
these outer hyphae are interwoven as are the central ones, but 
they are more regular ; their general course is parallel to the 
long axis of the stroma (Figs. 15 and 16 a). There appear to 
be no special conducting or £ laticiferous 5 tubes present. 
Connexion between Cordyceps and Elaphomyces. 
When sections were made of the lower part of the Cordyceps 
stroma, they were found sheathed with a layer of large, rather 
thick-walled hyphae belonging to Elaphomyces. Lower still, 
masses of these hyphae appeared as islands in the central mass 
of the Cordyceps stroma. These hyphae were considerably 
larger even than those of the outer layers of the Cordyceps (com- 
pare Figs. 1 6 a and b ) : they were much more loosely arranged, 
and their walls always stained more readily than those of the 
Cordyceps hyphae, so that there was little difficulty in dis- 
tinguishing between the two sets. 
The relation that the Cordyceps thus bears to the Elaphomyces 
tuber has a broad resemblance to that borne by the young 
sporophyte of an Archegoniate plant to the gametophyte, 
which is essentially a parasitic one. The basal part, then, of 
the Cordyceps stroma may be compared to the foot of the 
Anthoceros or Fern embryo, or to the absorbent cotyledon of 
a grass or palm in the endosperm. In all my material, which 
only showed mature Cordyceps stromata, very little of the 
original Elaphomyces tuber remained : it has been exhausted, 
and the tissue replaced by the advancing 4 foot 5 of the 
Cordyceps. 
If the Elaphomyces hyphae be more closely examined, they 
are found to be interwoven with smaller, thin-walled hyphae 
of Cordyceps. It seemed possible that the parasitic hyphae 
developed haustoria, by means of which the nutriment was 
absorbed from the host. I spent accordingly a considerable 
time in examining a large number of sections, taken in all 
directions and from several specimens, in order to determine, 
if possible, the presence or absence of haustoria. 
