CHAPTER XII: SPORE-SAC FUNGI— 

 ASCOMYCETES 



All the fungi which belong in the class Ascomycetes de- 

 velop their spores in little membranous sacs called asci. These 

 asci are, as a rule, collected, together 

 with slender empty asci, called para- 

 physes, in variously shaped bodies, 

 known in different orders by different 

 names, such as perithecium, ascoma, 

 apothecium, and receptacle. This class 

 includes in its numbers individuals 

 ranging in size from microscopic one- 

 celled plants to conspicuous and often 

 beautiful specimens. We shall con- , . ^ 



, • , , ^^^'^ ^nd paraphyses 



cern ourselves with but a few of 



those conspicuous ones which are attractive either from an edible 



or an artistic standpoint. 



ORDER TUBERALES— TRUFFLES 



The order Tuberales contains the truffles, which are subter- 

 ranean fungi, ranging in size from an acorn to a good-sized po- 

 tato. The asci or spore-sacs are formed 

 on the inte- 

 rior of the 

 fungus, the 

 warty truffle 

 itself being 

 called an as- 

 coma, as it 

 contains the 

 asci. 



Since the time of Pliny and Dioscorides, truffles have been 

 known and esteemed as a table delicacy. Since they mature 



As'-c6-my-ce' -tes Tu'-b^r-a'-les 



135 



Section to show position of 

 asci 



Truffles, ascoma 



