y among the spores, everywhere marked by
transverse wrinkles, ridges, and warts, the free ends of the ultimate
branchlets rounded, concolorous with the spores; spore-mass, when fresh,
rosy, or ashen with a rosaceous or purplish tinge, becoming with age
sordid or ochraceous, spores by transmitted light colorless, minutely
roughened or reticulate, 5-6 mu.

This is not only a cosmopolitan species, but is no doubt, the most
common slime-mould in the world. Found everywhere on decaying wood of
all sorts, more particularly on that of deciduous trees. It has likewise
been long the subject of observation. It is doubtless the "_Fungus
coccineus_" of Ray, 1690, and the type of Micheli's genus as here, 1729.
The different colors assumed, from the rich scarlet of the emerging
plasmodium to the glistening bronze of the newly formed aethalium, have
suggested various descriptive names,--as _L. miniata_ Pers., _L.
chalybeum_ of Batsch, and _L. plumbea_ Schum. The peridium is by authors
described as double. This is for description only. In structure the
outer and inner peridium completely blend. The outer is predominately
vesiculose, the inner more gelatinous. For discussion of the microscopic
structure see under the next species.

Common. New England, west to Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado,
Washington, Oregon, California; Alberta to Nicaragua.

_Lycogala terrestre_ Fr., _Syst. Myc._, III., 83, appears to be a
variety of the present species. In spores and capillitial thread the
forms are indistinguishable; the difference is a matter of size, and to
some extent, of the color of the wall. The specimens are a little
larger, depressed and angular. The peridium is paler, smoother, though
sometimes almost black, thin, ruptured irregularly. But the form and
color of the peridium in the sporocarps of the older species vary much
in response to external conditions; on a substratum affording scant
nutrition the forms of fructification are minute; and in all cases, if
maturity be hastened, the peridium responds in darker colors. Under more
favorable conditions the wall is smoother and brighter.

2. LYCOGALA FLAVO-FUSCUM (_Ehr._) _Rost._

1818. _Diphtherium flavo-fuscum_ Ehr., _Syl. Myc. Berol._, p. 27.
1829. _Reticularia flavo-fusca_ (Ehr.) Fries, _Syst. Myc._, III.,
p. 88.
1873. _Lycogala flavo-fuscum_ (Ehr.) Rost., _Versuch_, p. 3.

Aethalia solitary or sometimes two or three together, large 2-4 cm. in
diameter, spher