Cystidia of Coprinus atramentarius . 615 
De Bary 1 states that both he and Brefeld could never satisfy themselves 
that this is done spontaneously. However, Massee 2 has upheld the older 
view. In one of his first papers he stated that cystidia, when mature, con¬ 
tain glycogen, which is emitted through the nipple-like openings at their 
apices and poured over the surrounding hymenium, where it serves as food. 
In his recent monograph on Inocybe , he 3 states that in this genus the 
cystidia become crowned with mucilage, which escapes from the interior 
after the deliquescence of the thin portion of the walls at their apices. 
Massee 4 remarks that in Peniophora ‘ the cystidia are colourless, thin- 
walled, and eventually become rigid, due to a superficial crust of particles 
of lime. When young the cystidia appear to act as organs of transpiration ; 
very minute drops of water containing the lime salt in solution are liberated 
by the cystidia, and as the water evaporates, the lime is deposited as a 
superficial crust. In Hymenochaete the cystidia are'brown in colour, thick- 
walled, and not at all encrusted with lime.’ From these observations it 
seems not unlikely that in some cases at least cystidia have excretory 
functions comparable with those of certain epidermal hairs of flowering 
plants ; but we shall see that such functions cannot possibly be attributed 
to the cystidia of Coprinus atramentarhis t 
Worthington Smith, 5 twenty-nine years ago, figured the cystidia of 
Coprinus atramentarius , Gomphidius viscosus, and Agaricus radicatus as large 
flask-like structures with narrow necks, each provided with an operculum. 
He stated that the opercula drop off when the cystidia are mature, and thus 
permit the cell-contents to escape. It will become evident from what 
follows that these observations, in so far as they concern Coprinus 
atramentarius , were in the main erroneous. 
The best suggestion for the function of the large cystidia which occur 
on the gill-surfaces of many Coprini was made by Brefeld. 6 In his mas¬ 
terly account of the life-history of Coprinus stercorarius , he recorded the 
observation that during the development of the gills the cystidia grow 
towards the neighbouring gills and often press into them ; and he adds: ‘Man 
mochte fast glauben, als ob sie dazu dienten, die Lamellen in gemessener 
Entfernung von einander zu halten, damit sie mit der Streckung, wahrend 
welcher die Sporenbildung vor sich geht, sich nicht storen und gegenseitig 
bedrucken.’ He further remarks: ‘Der Gedanke, dass die Cystidien seitliche 
Schutzpfosten sind, deren Gestalt sie nachahmen, konnte vielleicht noch darin 
eine Stiitze finden, dass die kiirzeren Lamellen an ihrer Spitze keine 
Cystidien ausbilden wie die grossen, die bis zum Stiel reichen.’ From 
1 De Bary, Comparative Morph, and Biol, of Fungi, 1887, p. 304. 
2 G. Massee, Journ. Roy. Micr. Soc., 1887, p. 205. 
3 G. Massee, A Monograph of the genus Inocybe. Ann. of Bot., vol. xviii, 1904, p. 462. 
4 G. Massee, A Textbook of Fungi, London, 1906, p. 350. 
5 \V. Smith, Grevillea, vol. x, 1881, p. 304; also Gardeners’ Chronicle, 1881, p. 367. 
6 O. Biefeld, Untersuchungen, Heft 3, 1887, pp. 57 and 58. 
U U 3 
