The North American Slime-Moulds Part 8

i. Spores free 3. _B. decipiens_

ii. Spores adhering 4. _B. nitens_

_b._ Sporangia grey, spores free

i. Always sessile 5. _B. panicea_

ii. Stalked, at least some of them

O Stipe when present black

+ Globose, small .5 mm. 6. _B. affinis_

++ Larger, spores strongly spinulose 7. _B. macrocarpa_

+++ Discoidal or annulate 8. _B. orbiculata_

OO Stipes membranous yellowish

+ Stipes long, sporangia iridescent 9. _B. magna_

++ Stipes short or none; iridescent 10. _B. foliicola_

_c._ Sporangia grey, spores adherent

i. Stipe when present yellowish

+ Wall iridescent, spores uniformly marked 11. _B. utricularis_

++ More calcareous, spores strongly marked on one side 12. _B. capsulifera_

+++ Colorado, spores anon barred 13. _B. populina_

ii. Stipe when present black 14. _B. papaveracea_

_d._ Sporangia brown, lilacine

i. Sessile 15. _B. lilacina_

ii. Stipitate, columellate 16. _B. rubiginosa_

1. BADHAMIA OVISPORA _Racib._

1884. _Badhamia ovispora_ Racib., _Myx. Ag. Cracov._, XII., p. 72.

Sporangia sessile depressed-globose or plasmodiocarpous, white or ochraceous, covered by dense calcareous scales; capillitium white, the lime-granules sometimes aggregate at the center to form a pseudo-columella; spores not adhering, brownish-purple ellipsoidal, 8 10-10 x 15 .

Reported from Bohemia, England, Pennsylvania.

2. BADHAMIA VERSICOLOR _Lister_.

1901. _Badhamia versicolor_ List., _Jour. Bot._, x.x.xIX., p. 81.

1911. _Badhamia versicolor_ List., _Mycetozoa 2nd ed._, p. 35.

Sporangia scattered or cl.u.s.tered, minute, .3-.5 mm., grey or flesh-colored, sessile, the calcareous deposits slight; capillitium white or apricot-colored; spores ovoid, 8 10-9 12 , cl.u.s.tered, purplish, and warted at the broader end, elsewhere colorless and smooth.

This little species, as it comes to us, is grey, very uneven in size, .2-.5 mm. and generally irregular in form and habit, perhaps scarce mature. The capillitium is white, physaroid. The spores furnish the distinguis.h.i.+ng character. Sometimes globose, about 9-10. They are most of them definitely and permanently affected in shape by the fact of cl.u.s.ter-a.s.sociation, narrower in the direction of the cl.u.s.ter center.

The indications are that these may become globose with maturity.

Colorado,--_Bethel_; Scotland.

3. BADHAMIA DECIPIENS (_Curtis_) _Berk._

1848. _Physarum decipiens_ Curtis, _Am. Jour. Sci._, VI., p. 352.

1873. _Badhamia decipiens_ Berk., _Grev._, II., p. 66.

1873. _Physarum chrysotrichum_ Berk. & C., Grev. II., p. 66.

1876. _Badhamia chrysotricha_ (Berk. & C.) Rost., _App._, p. 4.

Sporangia gregarious, depressed-spherical or ovate, sessile, occasionally plasmodiocarpous, dull yellow, roughened by the rather large numerous calcareous scales; columella none; capillitium dull orange, strongly calcareous, only slightly widened at the nodes; spore-ma.s.s black; spores pale violet, minutely spinulose, free, 10-12 .

Among badhamias this and the next species are at once distinguished by the color. If the brief description (_Grev._, II., p. 66) can be regarded as defining anything, this is the same as _P. chrysotrichum_ Berk. & C. It resembles somewhat _P. serpula_ Morg., but differs externally in color and in the surface scales, which are not perceptible in the _Physarum_. The present species also resembles _Cienkowskia reticulata_ (Schw.) Rost., but has a different capillitium. See under that species.

Chiefly eastern and American. New England, Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Carolina; reported recently also from Sweden and Germany.

4. BADHAMIA NITENS Berk.

1852. _Badhamia nitens_ Berk., _Trans. Linn. Soc._, XXI., p. 153.

1863. _Badhamia inaurata_ Currey, _Trans. Linn. Soc._, XXIV., p. 156.

1873. _Badhamia nitens_ Berk., Rost., _Mon. App._, p. 3.

Sporangia gregarious or closely crowded, globose or depressed-globose, .5-1 mm. in diameter, yellow or greenish yellow, rugulose, sessile; capillitium yellow, forming an open net with occasional thickenings at the nodes; spores cl.u.s.tered, delicately roughened, violaceous-brown, 10-12 .

This much resembles the preceding species except in the cl.u.s.tered spores, and more commonly aggregate habit. The spores, as usual when cl.u.s.tered, are conspicuously echinulate on the outer side. This did not escape the notice of the author of the species, _op. cit._

Colorado, Oregon. Reported from West Indies, Ceylon, various parts of Europe.

5. BADHAMIA PANICEA (Fries) Rost.

1829. _Physarum paniceum_ Fries, _Syst. Myc._, III., p. 141.

1873. _Badhamia panicea_ (Fr.) Rost., f.u.c.kel, _Sym. Myc. Nachtr._, 2, p. 71.

Sporangia gregarious or aggregated in closely compacted cl.u.s.ters, globose or hemispherical, sessile, the peridium thin, transparent, thickly dotted with white calcareous scales; stipe none; columella none, although a pseudo-columella sometimes appears, formed by a more dense development of the capillitium near the centre of the sporangium below; capillitium abundantly developed, quite uniformly thickened, but showing an occasional delicate connecting thread, the nodes also somewhat flattened and enlarged; spore-ma.s.s black; spores by transmitted light, bright violaceous-brown, minutely roughened, 10-13 . Plasmodium is said to be white.