38 



The North American Cup-Fungi 



Ascophores plleate, subglobose or columnar 

 (never cup-shaped or discoid); pileus 

 saddle-shaped or bell-shaped, always sup- 

 ported by a distinct stem. 

 Asci inoperculate (opening by a simple pore at 

 the apex). 



* Not treated in this work. 



Family 2. Elvelaceae. 



Section 2. Inoperculates.* 



Family 1. PEZIZACEAE 



Apothecia cup-shaped to discoid or more rarely convex, 

 sessile or stipitate, variously colored, externally naked or clothed 

 with hairs; substance fleshy, waxy, leathery, cartilaginous or 

 corneous; hairs varying from a soft tomentum to stiff bristles, 

 hyaline or colored; asci cylindric to ovoid, operculate or more 

 rarely opening by a transverse slit at the apex giving the open 

 ascus a bilabiate appearance, occasionally marked by a thickened 

 ring or collar near the apex, two- to many-spored; spores globose, 

 ellipsoid or fusiform, hyaline or colored, the color ranging from 

 yellowish to brown, violet, or more rarely greenish, smooth or 

 variously sculptured; paraphyses present, filiform to clavate, 

 hyaline or variously colored. 



Spores globose, hyaline to pale-brown. 

 Spores ellipsoid to fusoid or fusiform, more 

 rarely subglobose. 

 Spores becoming violet, later brown to 



blackish. 

 Spores permanently hyaline or at most pale- 

 brown. 

 Spores becoming reticulate at maturity, 



and often apiculate. 

 Spores smooth or sculptured but never 

 reticulate. 

 Apothecia small, rarely exceeding 1 

 cm. in diameter and often less 

 than 1 mm., sessile or subsessile. 

 Apothecia naked, or at least not 



conspicuously setose or hairy. Tribe 4. Humarieae. 

 Apothecia conspicuously setose or 

 hairy. 

 Apothecia medium to large, usually 

 exceeding 1 cm. in diameter 

 when mature. 

 Apothecia strongly unequal sided 



or split on one side. 

 Apothecia normally symmetrical 

 in form. 



Tribe 1. Sphaerosporeae- 



Tribe 2. Ascoboleae. 



Tribe 3. Aleurieae. 



Tribe 5. Lachneeae. 



Tribe 6. Otideeae. 



