174 THE NORTH AMERICAN SLIME-MOULDS 



ORDER IV. 

 LYCOGALACE^. 



Fructification gethalioid; peridium membranaceous, tough, 

 simple, without vesiculose with protoplasmic masses, within 

 gelatinous ; the capillitium of cortical origin, consisting of irreg- 

 ular lobate or branching tubules, varying much in width, and 

 marked by numerous corrugations, irregular warts or bands ; 

 spores minute, ashen or pallid. 



This order includes but a single genus, 



Lycogala Micheli. 



1729. Lycogala Micheli, Nov. Plant. Gen., pp. 216, 217. 

 1753. Lycoperdoti Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. (in part). 

 1794. Lycogala Persoon, Romer, N. Bot. Mag., p. 87. 



Micheli's description and figures, Nov. Plant. Gen., pp. 216, 

 217, Tab. 95, leave no doubt but that this illustrious man had 

 species of Lycogala before him when he described the genus. 

 His Fig. i no doubt portrays the second species in our present 

 list. More recent writers, from Persoon down, have used 

 Micheli's designation, but differed in regard to the limits to 

 which the name should be applied. It is here used sub- 

 stantially as in 1729. Fries and, after him, Rostafinski make a 

 mistake in quoting Retzius as writing Lycogala (1769). Retzius 

 wrote Lycoperdon sessile, Kongl. Vetenskaps Acad. Handling. 

 for Ar, 1769, p. 254. 



Key to the Species of Lycogala. 



A. /Ethalia conical 3- L - conicum 



B. ^Ethalia irregularly globose. 



a. Cortex smooth, size large . . . 2. L. flavo-fusaim 



b. Cortex minutely roughened or warted ; about half an inch in 



diameter i. L.epidendrum 



c. Cortex rough ; diameter one-fourth an inch or less, 



4. L. exigunni 



