LYCOGALA 175 



I. LYCOGALA EPIDENDRUM (Buxb.) Fries. 



1721. Lycoperdon epidendron, etc., Buxbaum, En. PI. Hal., p. 203. 



1753. Lycoperdon epidendrum Linn., Sp. PL, p. 1184. 



1829. Lycogala epidendrum (Buxb.) Fries, Syst. Afyc., III., p. 80. 



^Ethalia solitary or clustered, depressed spherical, or, when 

 crowded, irregular, olivaceous or blackish, minutely warted, 

 3-10 mm. in diameter, dehiscing irregularly, but more often 

 near the apex ; periclium thin, but tough and persistent, made 

 up of numerous agglutinated tubules enclosing in their meshes 

 peculiar cell-like vesicles ; capillitium parietal, consisting of long, 

 branching, and anastomosing flattened tubules extended inwardly 

 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 p. 



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 glisten- 

 ing bronze of the newly formed aethalium, have suggested 

 various descriptive specific names, --as L. miniata Pers., L. 

 chalybeum of Batsch, and L. plunibca 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 gelati- 

 nous. For discussion of the microscopic structure see under 

 the next species. 



Common. New England, west to Nebraska, South Dakota, 

 Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and California. 



Lycogala terrestre Fr., Syst, Myc,, III., 83, appears to be a 

 variety of the present species. In spores and capillitial thread 



