6 



Figs. 2 and 3.— Lycoperdon gemmatum Batsch. '' Warted Piiff-Ball" "Studded 



Puff-BalV' 



Plant sub-globular, with a stem-like base ; white or cinereous, turning 

 to light greyish-brown, the surface warty, the warts unequal, the larger 

 ones somewhat pointed, the smaller granular. As the warts fall off they 

 leave the surface of the denuded peridium somewhat dotted or slightly 

 reticulated. Flesh, when young, firm and whitish. The plants of this 

 species are small, variable in form, sometimes turbinated, sometimes nearly 

 globuse, or dejoressed globose, but usually the basal portion is narrower 

 than the upper portion. The stem varies in thickness and length ; some- 

 times it is quite elongated, in some instances absent. Capillitium and 

 spores yellowish-green, turning dark olive or brown. Columella present. 

 When the spores are fully ripe the peridium opens by a small apical ap- 

 erture for their dispersion. The plants are sometimes densely csespitose, 

 and crowd together on the ground or on decaying wood in large patches 

 after warm rains. They are found both in fields and open woods during 

 summer and autumn. They are edible when young, but not specially 

 well flavored. There are several varieties. Plants sometimes oval or 

 lens-shaped. 



In Var. hirtum the plant is turbinate, subsessile, and hairy, with slen- 

 der, spinous warts. The vSiYieij papulation is subrotund, sessile, papillose 

 and pulverulent, the warts being nearly uniform in size. Plants from one 

 to two inches in height. 



Figs. 4 and 5. — Lycoperdon pyriforme Schaeffer. "Pear-Shaped Puff-Ball.'''' 



Plant dingy white or brownish yellow ; pear-shaped, or obovate pyri- 

 forme, sometimes approaching L. gemmatum in size and shape, but easily 

 distinguished from that species by the surface features of the peridium 

 and the internal hy^Dhse. The persistent warts which cover the surface 

 of the peridium are so minute as to appear to the naked eye like scales. 

 In some instances the peridium is almost smooth, and sometimes cracks 

 in areas, inner peridium thin and tough. The hyphpe are thicker than the 

 spores and branched, continuous with the slightly cellular base, and form- 

 ing a columella inside the peridium. Spores greenish-yellow, then brown- 

 ish-olive, smooth and globose. 



The short stem-like base of the plant terminates in fiber-like rootlets, 

 creeping under the soil and branching, thus attaching large clusters of 

 the young plants together. They are often found in quantity on the 

 mossy trunks of fallen trees. 



Fig. fi. — Lycoperdon giganteum Batsch. " Giant l^tiff-Ball." 



The Giant Puff-Bali, so generally neglected, is one of the most valu- 

 able of the edible mushrooms. It is readily distinguished from other puff- 

 balls and allied fungi b}' its large size. It is subglobose in form, often flat- 



