GASTEROMYCJETES. 



Hymeuium more or less permauenfcly couceiiled, couHistiug iu most 

 (•:ises of closely jiacked cells of wliich the fertile ones (the basitliii) bear 

 uaked spores on distinct spicules, ex])osed oul}' by the rupture or decay 

 of tlie investing- cout or poridium. Berkeley's Outlines. 



This family has been subjected to numerous revisions since the days 

 of Fries, when its structural charactei istics were not so well understood 

 as at present. 



Montague and Berkeley are credited with being- the first to show the 

 true structure of the hymenium iu the puff-balls, as well as to demon- 

 strate the presence of basidia. This important discovery led to the 

 correlating of the Gasteromycetes with the Hymenomycetes under the 

 common title Basidiomycetes, both having the spores borne upon basidia. 

 The two families still remained distinct, however, not only because of the 

 dissimilarity in their external features but principally on account of the 

 difference in the disposition and character of the hjanenium. 



In the Hymenomycetes the hymeniutn is exposed to the light from the 

 tirst, and the spores drop from the basidia as they mature ; whereas in 

 the Gasteromycetes the hymenial pulp, or gleba, consisting of the spores 

 with the supporting basidia and the hyph?e, is enclosed within the sub- 

 stance of the fungus, and the spores are exposed only on the decay of 

 the investing coat. 



The basidia of the Gasteromycetes, though resembling those of the 

 Hymenomycetes, are more variable in form and the number of the spores 

 not so constant. They perform the same functions and bear spicules, 

 sometimes in pairs, sometimes quaternate, each spicule being surmounted 

 by a spore. They dissolve away as the spores mature and can, therefore, 

 only be observed in the very young stage of the plant. The spores of 

 the Gasteromycetes are usually colored and, except in the subterranean 

 species, globose. As seen through the microscope they have often a 

 rough warty appearance, sometimes spinulose. Paraphyses may be 

 present as aborted basidia, but cystidia are rarely distinguished. A 

 characteristic of a large proportion of the plants is the drying up of the 

 hymenial substance, so that the cavity of the receptacle becomes at length 

 tilled with a dusty mass composed of spores and delicate threads, the 

 remains of the shriveled hypha\ 



The following table will serve to show the distinctive features of the 

 four primary divisions of the Gasteromycetes : 



LycoperdaceiB. — Hymenium fugitive, drying in a dusty mass of threads 

 and spores, dispersed by an opening or by fissures of the peridium 

 Terrestrial. 



Phalloidece. — Hymenium delitpiescent and slimy ; receptacle pileate : 

 volva universal. Foetid fleshy fungi. 



