liV LEONARD liODWAV, GOVKUNMENT BOTANIST. T.l 



is developed. T)ie Ascomycetes contain the little elf-cups 

 so common everywhere; Cyttaria found on our Beech, 

 Morels, the white mould of Roses, some underground 

 species, and other forms which need not be considered fur- 

 tlier. In the Basidionivcetes the basidia are nearly always 

 very numerous and closely packed upon the surface of gills, 

 tubes, spines, or other apparatus for enconomically enlarg- 

 ing the surface, and, therefore, the spore output, but yet 

 in some genera the surface is plain. We are familiar with 

 gill-bearing forms in such Agaries as Mushroom and most 

 Toadstools, with spinous forms in the Urchin, tube-bearing 

 forais in Punk. In all thes? the layer of basidia forms a 

 superficial membrane, and on accovxnt of this they are 

 grouped together into a sub-class named Hymenomycetes. 



But there is a large group of Basidiomycetes in which 

 the basidia are not formed upon an exposed surface, but 

 line convoluted tubes or spaces within the substance of the 

 fungus, and the spores can only escape after maturity by 

 the rupture or rotting of tha outer case. This sub-class 

 from the spore development taking place in a body that is 

 enclosed within a coat of barren tissue is called Gastro- 

 mycetes. We are all familiar with such forms in tha 

 P.uffballs. 



There is much variety amongst members of the Gastro- 

 mycetes, and consecjuently they are divided into many 

 families and genera. Most of the forms are superficial at 

 maturity, and a common habit with these and some of the 

 underground genera is for the spore-bearing portion to be- 

 come dry and dusty at maturity, as in Puffball. 



The family which is the subject of this paper consists 

 of irregvilarly spherical, underground fungi, whose basidia 

 line irregular chambers or convoluted tubes. The substance 

 does not break down at maturity, and no provision is made 

 for the exit of the spores. Dispersal takes jDlace by rotting 

 or more often subsequently to being eaten by small mar- 

 supials. Four parts of a tuber will be named. The 

 outer barren coat is the peridium ; the spore-bearing sub- 

 stance is the gleba; and there may be a sterile base; also, 

 when the fungus is ripe, the barren part of the gleba be- 

 tween the spore spaces is the trama. The size of these 

 fungi ranges from one to three centimetres diameter. The 

 measurement of the spores is given in micromillimetres. 

 A miciomillimetre is xoVu of a millimetre, or, roughly, 

 "a 5^0 <^f ^^ inch. Students may note that we have 

 two underground tubers belonging to the Ascomycetes that 

 may at first be mistaken for Hymencgasters. They are 



