Helvellaceae 



LEOTIA Hill. 



Leotia. Ascophore stipitate, substance fleshy, soft and somewhat gelatinous. 

 Pileus orbicular, spreading; margin drooping or incurved free from the 

 stem, glabrous, hymenium entirely covering the upper surface. Stem 

 central, elongated; asci cylindric-clavate, apex narrowed, 8-spored. 

 Spores hyaline, continuous or I -septate, elongated and narrowly ellip- 

 tical, obliquely 12 seriate; paraphyses present. 



Growing on the ground, or on decaying wood. Hill. Emended. 

 Massee. 



Stem long. PileilS flattened, margin incurved, covered everywhere 

 with the smooth, somewhat viscid hymenium. 



L. elllorocepll'ala Schw. chloros, green; kephalos, a head. Cespi- 

 tose, stipitate. Pileus 4-6 lines across, depresso-globose, somewhat 

 translucent, more or less wavy, margin incurved, dark verdigris-green 

 to blackish-green. Stem i-i^ in. long, almost equal, green but often 

 paler than the pileus, pulverulent, often twisted; asci cylindric-clavate, 

 apex rather narrowed, 8-spored. Spores smooth, hyaline, narrowly el- 

 liptical, ends acute, often slightly curved, usually 2 3-guttulate, 17 

 2OX5/A, irregularly 2-seriate; paraphyses slender, hyaline. 



On the ground. 



Distinguished from L. lubrica by the green stem. Massee. 



North Carolina, Curtis; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. 

 Cespitose. In mixed woods, moist ground. July until long after frosts. 

 Mcllvaine. 



A small clustered plant having a green gelatinous appearance. Quarts 

 of it can frequently be gathered after rains. Both it and L. lubrica have 

 less flavor than the larger Helvellaceae, but they make a palatable dish. 



L. lll'brica Pers. slippery. Gregarious or in small clusters, stipi- 

 tate, somewhat gelatinous. Pileus irregularly hemispherical, inflated, 

 wavy, margin very obtuse, yellowish olive-green, 68 lines across. 

 Stem 1.52 in. high, nearly equal or more or less inflated at the 

 base, pulpy within then hollow, externally yellowish and covered with 

 minute white granules ; asci cylindrical, apex slightly narrowed, 8-spored. 

 Spores obliquely i-seriate, hyaline, continuous, smooth, often guttulate, 



540 



