294 Setchell: Lycoperdon sculptum 



broken up into coarse pyramidal areas which surpass in size, 

 especially in height, those of any known puff ball, unless it may be 

 such species as those of Phellorina or Scleroderma strobilinnm. 

 These pyramidal projections in Lycoperdon sculptum are well rep- 



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resented in the right middle specimen in the accompanying plate, 

 which, however, is reduced to one half the proper diameter. They 

 are often as much as 3.5 cm. in basal diameter and reach a height 

 of 3 cm. ; they taper to a more or less sharp apex, which is gen- 

 erally incurved, and are marked with horizontal lines, representing 

 the layers of the thick outer peridium. They are reasonably well 

 shown in the original figure of Harkness (loc. at.) but do not show 

 very well in the figure given by Lloyd {loc. cil. 203. / 81). They 

 remain persistent until the final breaking up of the whole peridium, 

 not in any way appearing to be evanescent or caducous. 



Many specimens of Lycoperdon sculptum are affected by the 

 attacks of insects or by dry conditions, or some other influence, 

 so that they do not develop beyond a certain stage, such as is rep- 

 resented in the two lowermost figures in the photograph which 

 accompanies this paper. They become somewhat mummified and 

 in this condition are easily transported and preserved. They show 

 fairly well the main external characters of the projections, but do 

 not reach the normal size or attain the normal shape. The speci- 

 men figured by Lloyd {loc. cit.) seems to be one of this sort. Such 



specimens well represent stages in development, but not the typical 

 adult plant. 



The gleba, in well-developed specimens, is white at first, later 

 turning yellowish, then an intense yellow and finally a decided 

 umber, as the spores ripen. It is early readily separable from the 

 peridium and from the tissues of the stipe. The spores are rough 

 and about 2-3.5/1 in diameter, light yellowish and nearly smooth 

 when young, becoming dark and slightly but evenly warted when 

 mature. Harkness, and all who follow him, say that the spores 

 are smooth, and young spores, which, judging from the descriptions 

 of the color of the gleba (" yellow ") are all that they have had to 

 examine, appear smooth, but, in the really mature glebae which I 

 have, the spores are plainly rough even with ordinary high powers, 

 while with the one-twelfth inch oil-immersion, the regular warted 

 character is plainly to be seen. The size of the spores is the same 



