BASIDIOMYCETES— PHALLINEAE 245 



PHALLINEAE 



Mycelium consists of branched strands matted together ; from this is 

 produced an oval body consisting of an outer wall, the peridium, and an 

 inner peridium ; between the two is a layer of gelatinous material ; the outer 

 portion of the oval body forms the volva; the central portion pushes through 

 the peridium with a long cellular stalk, the upper one bearing the cap-shaped 

 gleba; the spores are brown on club-shaped basidia, surrounded by a mucilag- 

 inous material giving off an offensive odor. This sub-order contains the 

 Clathraceae and Phallaceae. The Phallus impudictis and the Mutinus cani- 

 nus have been regarded as suspicious. 



CLATHRACEAE 



Receptacle latticed or irregularly branched ; gleba enclosed by the re- 

 ceptacle. The following genera of this order are known to occur in the 

 United States, chiefly in the southern states : Clathrus, Phallogaster, Simhlum, 

 and Anthurus. Dr. Farlow * is authority for the report from Gerald Mac- 

 Carthy to the effect that in North Carolina hogs had been killed by eating 

 Clathrus columnatus which a correspondent, Mr. G. W. Lawrence found 

 growing in oak woods near Fayetteville. The animals died within twelve or 

 fifteen hours after eating the fungus. According to Gillot, hogs are poisoned 

 by these and by Phalloideae. 



PHALLACEAE. 



Receptacle tubular or cylindrical with an external gleba. The common 

 Stinkhorn Phallus impudicus has a thick hollow stalk of whitish color per- 

 forated with pores; the upper part is honey-combed, resembling the morel. 

 During the early stages, an egg-shaped body may be seen coming from a mass 

 of white mycelium. The egg-shaped body is more or less mucilaginous and 

 contains the stalk and gleba, the latter becomes exposed later. Flies, attracted 

 by the carrion-like odor and mucilaginous material of the gleba, scatter the 

 spores and, apparently, are not poisoned. The fungus, however, is usually 

 regarded as poisonous as are several related genera and species such as Mutinus 

 caninus. The common Stinkhorn (P. impudicus) was formerly used as a salve 

 in gout. 



HYMENOGASTRINEAE 



This contains the family Hymenogastraceae.. The sub-order Lycoperdineae 

 includes two families, Tylostomataceae and Lycopcrdaceae. 



LYCOPERDACEAE 



Fruiting bodies globular, oval or pear-shaped, solid and fleshy, often of 

 great size; before maturity, a dense white mass of homogenous hyphae occurs; 

 the fruit is surrounded by a peridium, in some cases double; the interior is 

 made up of branched threads called the capillitium, containing the spores; 

 fruiting bodies break open in various ways at maturity. This group contains 

 several interesting families. Many of the Lycopcrdaceae are well known; 

 among these are the Earth-star (Geaster), the Lycoperdon giganteum and 



* Farlow, W. G. Poisonous Nature of Clathrus columnatus. Bot. Gaz. 15:45-56. See 

 also Halsted, B. D.., Rept. N. J. Agrl. Exp. Sta., 1894:417. 



