Berkeley's idea of the genus was expressed as follows: "Peridium naked or furfuraceous. Spores in groups, enclosed, at first, in a hyaline sack." Rostafinski, while accepting Berkeley's generic name, redefined it, emphasized the calcareous capillitium, and made reference to the spore-adherence only to assert that Berkeley's description was, in this particular, based on mistaken observation. In some species, the spores do, in fact, show a tendency to cling together, a characteristic which Badham was perhaps first to notice; but that this is occasioned by their being surrounded by a sac or common pellicle has not been proved nor even suggested, by any subsequent investigator. Berkeley's genus was therefore founded upon a slight mistake; but we may conserve his rights in the premises if we write Badhamia (Berk.) Rost., and so keep history straight.
Key to the Species of Badhamia
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 µ.
Reported from Bohemia, England, Pennsylvania.
2. Badhamia versicolor Lister.
- 1901. Badhamia versicolor List., Jour. Bot., XXXIX., p. 81.
- 1911. Badhamia versicolor List., Mycetozoa 2nd ed., p. 35.
Sporangia scattered or clustered, minute, .3–.5 mm., grey or flesh-colored, sessile, the calcareous deposits slight; capillitium white or apricot-colored; spores ovoid, 8 × 10–9 × 12 µ, clustered, purplish, and warted at the broader end, elsewhere colorless and smooth.