268 



DEVELOPMENT OF PHALLALES 



They differ chiefly from the puff balls in that the spore-bearing 

 cavities are surrounded by tougher hyphae. Consequently, 

 when the periderm of these little cup-shaped bodies opens, these 

 tougher parts appear as minute eggs in a nest (Fig. 177, B). 



100. Order f. Phallales or Stink Horns. — These fungi first 

 appear as egg-like structures on rather coarse strands of the 

 mycelium which traverse decaying vegetation. These bodies 

 consist of a white skin-like periderm which encloses a stipe and 



\^ 



Fig. 178. A common form of the Phallales, Phallus: A, the so-called egg- 

 stage which in B, sectional view, is seen to consist of an outer periderm, p, 

 and within is a central stipe, s, capped with a pileus. The spore-bearing 

 cavities of the pileus are shaded. C, stipe and pileus have emerged from the 

 periderm, which forms an irregular sac about the base of the stipe. D, later 

 stage after the spore-bearing layer has dissolved, revealing the cavities on 

 surface of pileus. 



pileus (Fig. 178, A, B). The basidia are formed in honeycomb- 

 like cavities on the outer surface of the pileus. As soon as the 

 spores are matured the stipe quickly elongates, rupturing the 

 periderm and lifting the pileus into the air (Fig. 178, C). In 

 structure and coloration, the Phallales are among the most attrac- 

 tive of the Basidiomycetes, but the majority of the forms are 

 regarded with aversion, since the spore-bearing layer melts 

 down into a slimy mass which emits a carrion-like stench. 



