234 Journal of the Mitchell Society [May 



Peridium cruml)ling a\v;iy after maturity, the glebal 

 chambers remaining intact and falling apart as 



fine sand-like particles Genus Arachnion 



Peridium with a distinct outer coat which falls away in flakes 

 or wears away by degrees at maturity, or dehisces equatori- 

 ally, or (in Geaster and Astrceus) splits into star-like rays to 

 expose the thin, pliable or (in Calvatia) fragile and brittle 

 inner peridium; glcba (except in Astreceus and Disciseda) 

 composed of small, hollow chambers lined with the hymenium ; 

 spores mixed with a true eapillitium of long, slender, branched 

 or unbranched threads, and escaping as dust through a 

 definite (except in Calvatia) pore or slit. (In several small 

 species of Lycoperdon the outer peridium is very thin, obscure 

 and persistent, and in Myriostoma there are several pores) 



Lycopcvdacece 

 FAMILY PHALLOIDE.'E 



Plants consisting at first of a white, elastic, oval or subspherical 

 * ' egg, ' ' which consists of three coats, the central one soft and gelatin- 

 ous, which break at maturity to allow the elongation and exposure 

 of the curious, spongy, and in some species brightly colored recep- 

 taculum of various shapes which bears above either on itself or on a 

 specialized appendage the slimy, deliquescing gleba which contains the 

 minute, smooth spores, and which in nearly all cases has a very strong 

 and offensive odor by which insects are attracted to scatter the spores.* 



The family is divided into two subfamilies or by some authors 

 (as Corda) into two distinct families which are separated by the po- 

 sition of the gleba and by other important microscopical characters. 

 These subfamilies may be simply defined as follows : 



Gleba (and spore slime) borne on the inner side of the 



receptaculum Clathrcce 



Gleba borne on the outer surface of the receptaculum Phallece 



In addition to the genera treated by us there has been found of 

 the true phalloids in the United States only Anthurus borealis (see 

 Burt, 1. c, 1849, and Lloyd, Myc. Notes No. 17: 183. 1904), which is 

 placed in Lysurus by Lloyd, and an undetermined species of Lysurus 

 from Texas (Lloyd, Phalloids, p. 40; Gerard, 1. c, p. 30). The unique 

 genus Phallogasier, placed by Morgan, its author (1. c, 15: 171, pi. 

 11. 1892), and by Thaxter (Bot. Gaz. 18: 117, pi. 19. 1893) in the 

 Phalloidea, but differing from them in the absence of a volva and in 



* Drawings of spores in species of tliis family will appear on a plate to be published in 

 the continuation of this paper. 



