Aa natural history bulletin. 



or turbinate with stem-like base; strongly depressed-flattened 

 above; the stipe often short, generally from one-half to two- 

 thirds the entire height, coarsely cellular within, stout, thick, 

 contracted below and mycelium attached; outer peridium thin, 

 furfuraceous, transparent, breaking up into rather small areoles; 

 the inner peridium thicker, velvety, extremely fragile; after 

 maturity all the upper parts of both peridia deciduous; gleba 

 bright yellow or greenish-yellow, becoming darker with age, 

 compact, persistent; capillitial threads long, branching freely; 

 ■spores smooth, short-pedicellate, about 3.5 p. 



Formerly not uncommon in undisturbed woodlands, where 

 in autumn great numbers of individuals could be found within 

 quite narrow limits; now much less seldom seen. As in cog- 

 nate species, it sometimes happens that a single large speci- 

 men occupies the ground; usually, however, several are found 

 plainly the product of one mycelium. The stipe is but an 

 exaggerated columella or sub-gleba remarkable for its coarse 

 cellular structure. The entire gleba at length disappears, 

 leaving only the sterile, now cup-shaped base. 



Delaware, Johnson, Muscatine counties. 



II. LYCOPERDON ( Tourn.) Morgan. 



Sporocarp globose or pear-shaped, generally more or less 

 distinctly stalked, or furnished with a stem-like base: perid- 

 ium double, the outer usually, at least partially, deciduous, 

 often consisting chiefly of warts, spines or granules; the 

 inner thin, paperv, persistent, dehiscent by a regular apical 

 mouth; gleba variously tinted, purple, olivaceous or olivaceous 

 brown, the capillitium of slender delicate threads arising both 

 from the peridium and the columella; the sub-gleba usually 

 coarsely cellular. 



The Lycoperdons are at first white or yellowish-white, soft 

 and moist within, and in this condition are said to be edible. 

 The upper surface is nearly always rough, warted or spines- 

 cent at first, later, generally smooth. The spores mature 

 with liquefaction of some of the hyphal elements after which 

 they assume the color characteristic in the several groups. 



