

LYCOPERDACEAE 137 



strongly furfuraceous, particularly below, when fresh, the mouth usually elevated and 

 conical or at times flattened in a depressed zone. 



Spores (of plants from New Jersey, Ellis, No. 3472) spherical, faintly warted, 

 3.5-4m thick. Capillitium threads wavy, up to 6.5m thick. 



A plant of sandy soil in Europe and America and evidently rare. It is the plant 

 distributed by Ellis as No. 110 in his North American Fungi (as G. mammosus), and a 

 letter to Ellis from Morgan at the New York Botanical Garden states this to be the 

 same as his umbilicatus. The species is known from New Jersey (Ellis) and from Florida 

 (Lloyd). Morgan thinks that G. Smilhii Lloyd (Geastrae, p. 21) is the same, but 

 Cunningham does not agree with this. It should certainly occur on our North Carolina 

 coast. 



The rays in this species while distinctly hygroscopic are more delicate and pliable 

 than in G. mammosus and much more so than in Astraeus. From G. Drummondii 

 (G. modulus) and G. asper the plant is easily separated by the delicately and softly 

 furfuraceous, not warted or asperulate spore sac, and by the smaller spores. From 

 G. Schmiddii, which is very near, it is separated by its hygroscopic and not revolute 

 rays and by the sessile spore sac. The spores of the two are very nearly alike. Lloyd 

 has seen the type of G. ambiguus and thinks it different from G. striahdus, to which he 

 refers the present plant (Myc. Notes, p. 311). 



Geastrum minimum Chev. (Fl. Gen. Env. Paris 1: 360, pi. 10, fig. 3. 1826) does 

 not look much like this species. It has a distinct, slender stalk, though short, and that 

 is why Chevallier considered it new. He gives the sessile G. badium Persoon under his 

 species as a form alpha. Hollos considers G. badium and G. umbilicatus the same as 

 G. clegans Vitt. (which see under G. Schmiddii). From the description there is no 

 reason to think that G. striatus var. minimus Wallroth (Fl. Crypt. Germaniae 2: 400 

 (No. 2274)) is the same as our American plant above described. He refers to Chevallier's 

 G. minimum as the same. 



Illustrations: Hollos. 1. c, pi. 9, figs. 15-17 fas C. ambiguus). 



Lloyd. Myc. Notes, p. 71 (as G. striatulus). Also copied on pi. 98, figs. 3, 4. 

 Morgan. North Amer. Geasters, fig. 4. 



Florida. Mrs. Sams, coll. (Lloyd Herb., asG. Smilhii). 



New Jersey. New-field. Ellis (N. Am. Fungi, No. 110. Also several other collections by Ellis at the 

 N. Y. Bot. Card. Herb., as mammosus or umbilicatus) . 



Geaster Drummondii Berk. 

 G. involutus Massee 

 G. Sckweinfurlhii Hennings 



Plates 115 and 116 



At the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium are two good plants from Bris- 

 bane, Australia (Herb. Massee) which appear to truly represent this species. The 

 plants are : 



Hygroscopic, rigid; fleshy layer blackish; outer surface covered with sandy humus; 

 spore sac small, subglobose, sessile. 



One plant has the inner peridium 12 mm. broad, spiny-granular; mouth blackish, 

 12-ridged. Spores faintly rough, spherical, 5.4-6.5^. 



