478 FUNGUS-FLORA. 



witli the hymenium; substance fleshy; asci cylindrical, 

 8-spored ; spores uniseriate, elongated, hyaline or nearly so, 

 continuous ; paraphyses present. 



Gyromitra, Fries, Suinma Veg. Scand., p. 346 ; Phil., Brit. 

 Disc, p. 8 ; Sacc, Syll., viii. p. 15. 



Helvetia, of old authors. 



Distinguished from Morchella Ly the thick, brain-like 

 folds of the hyinenophore not anastomosing to form irregu- 

 larly polygonal depressions ; and from Helvetia in the 

 hymenophore not being free from the stem at the base. 



The species are amongst the largest of the Discomycetes, 

 hymenophore bullate and subglobose ; spores smooth. 

 Edible. Bare everywhere. Growing on the ground. 



Gyromitra gigas. Cooke, Mycogr., p. 191, pi. 327 ; 

 Phil., Brit. Disc, p. 9; Sacc, Syll., n. 32 (fig. 16, p. 188). 



Hymenophore subglobose, 7-12 cm. diameter, cavernous, 

 coarsely lobed or in irregular, wavy, overlapping pleats, 

 more or less attached to the stem, colour variable, whitish, 

 ochraceous, or with a brown or olive tinge ; stem 2 '5-4 cm. 

 thick and long, cellular, wax}-, whitish, more or less lacu- 

 nose, almost glabrous ; asci cylindrical, apex obtuse, base 

 attenuated into a pedicel, and often curved ; spores 8, 

 obliquely uniseriate, hyaline, continuous, smooth, fusiform, 

 ends rather acute, and often terminated by a minute papilla, 

 often 1-guttulate, 28-33 x 10-12 /x; parajmyses numerous, 

 3-4 /a thick, apex broadly pyriform or sometimes rather 

 irregular, 7-8 /x thick, brown, not septate. 



Helvetia gigas, Krombh., Schw., iii. p. 28, tab. 20, figs. 1-5. 



On the ground. 



Distinguished from G. esculenta by its fusiform spores, 

 larger size, and paler colour. According to Krombholz the 

 pileus may be deep clear yellow or brown. 



Gyromitra Phillipsii. Mass. 

 The pilei varied in size from 3 in. to 3 feet in circum- 

 ference, being in form globose, hemispherical, fusiform, or 

 irregular; in the young state the folds of the hymenium 

 were of the typical form of Gyromitra, but when older they 

 became flattened into broad, pendent, crisped flounces, 

 resembling fig. 327 in Cooke's MycograjjJiia ; while young 

 they were creamy white, often tinged with pale purple, 



