5. Hemitrichia stipata (Schw.) Macbr.
[Plate I]., Figs. 8, 8 a, 8 b.
- 1834. Leangium stipatum Schw., N. A. F., p. 258, No. 2304.
- 1876. Hemiarcyria stipata (Schw.) Rost., Mon. App., pp. 41, 42.
- 1894. Arcyria stipata (Schw.) Lister, Mon. Mycetozoa, p. 189.
Sporangia distinct, crowded, cylindric or irregular, overlying one another, rich copper-colored, metallic, shining, becoming brown, stipitate; peridium thin, the upper portion early evanescent, the base persistent as a cup, as in Arcyria; capillitium concolorous, the thread abundantly branched to form a loose net, with many free and bulbous ends, pale under the lens, marked by three or four somewhat obscure spiral bands and a few wart-like or plate-like thickenings; stipe very short; spore-mass reddish, spores by transmitted light pale, nearly or quite smooth, 6–8 µ.
This species is known at sight by its peculiarly beautiful tint when fresh, as by the crowded prolix habit of the singular overlying sporangia. The netted capillitium and the evanescent peridium suggests Arcyria, but there are abundant free tips, and the threads are unmistakably spirally wound, especially in the large, handsome sporangia characteristic of the Mississippi valley. It is a boundary form unquestionably. The stipe is generally very short, about one-tenth the total height; sometimes, when the peridium is more globose, the stipe is proportionally longer. Specimens from Iowa show fructifications several centimetres long and wide.
Not rare. New England to the Black Hills and south.
6. Hemitrichia leiocarpa (Cke.) Macbr.
- 1877. Hemiarcyria leiocarpa Cke., Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y., XI., p. 405.
- 1891. Hemiarcyria varneyi Rex, Proc. Phil. Acad., p. 396.
Sporangia simple, obovate or pyriform, rarely almost globose, pallid, with a stem of the same color, as long as the diameter of the sporangium; spore-mass and capillitium concolorous, or with slight ochraceous tint; capillitium forming a loose net, the tubes branching in a reticulate manner; spirals three, thin, prominent, along the convex sides of the tubes mixed with a few obtuse spines; spores globose, with a thin membrane, 12–14 µ.