calcareous, the
lime-knots rounded, angular; spore-mass brown, spores clear
violaceous-brown, 6-7 mu, distinctly warted.

This delicate, inconspicuous species is well defined by the characters
given. It occurs not rarely on richly manured ground, in meadows, lawns,
or even on the open prairie. The plasmodium may form rings several
inches in diameter, scattered here and there over a surface several
square feet in extent, in fruit ascending the blades of grass,
completely covering these with the crowded sporangia. The color of the
fruit is well described in the specific name; gray or ashen gray. The
spores are very distinctly papillate; in some specimens, however, almost
smooth; in few instances, rough.

Common. New England west to the Black Hills and Pacific coast.
Cosmopolitan.

The present species well illustrates the difficulty confronting the
author of to-day who, discussing a group of microscopic organisms, would
fain use the nomenclature of his predecessors, honored, but equipped
with insufficient lenses. Here is a species reported common in Europe,
observed by every mycologist there, from Micheli down, and yet awaiting
adequate description until Rostafinski in his great book, gives the
results of microscopic analysis. We are now really dealing with _P.
cinereum_ Rost; _P. cinereum_ Batsch is a compliment to certain rather
clever water-color drawings.

Rostafinski gives a long list of synonyms, none, it is believed,
represent American forms; and without taking careful thought, surely no
one would rudely disturb such honorable interment; but, in his
description the range of spore-measurement, 7-13.3 mu, gives us pause,
and raises the suspicion that possibly, in one case or another, the
sepulture were perhaps premature. The range is too great! Perhaps, in
the series offered in confirmation, small-spored forms represent one
species, large-spored, something else?

European students may decide this at their leisure. But Rostafinski
having, not without much labor, practically completed his review of the
physaroid forms had almost finished the last genus _Badhamia_, when his
mind perhaps returned, no doubt with some lingering misgivings, to the
thirteenth species in his physarum list. There were there, he recalled,
some large-spored specimens which had rather badhamioid capillitium.
The sessile physarums of Fries were also before him, those especially,
"floccis albis." Of these one shall be _B. panicea_, one _B. l