THE SAPROPHYTIC FUNGI OF EASTERN IOWA. - ; 



purple tinge and a section of the sporocarp suggests a 

 Scleroderma. Meanwhile the outer peridium breaks up and 

 falls off in silvery scales, the inner peridium shows signs of 

 cleavage and finally throws back four or live principal seg- 

 ments each of which is more or less deeply cleft at the apex. 

 As the dehiscence becomes complete, the sporocarp is de- 

 tached at base and. driven by the wind, goes rolling over the 

 ground spilling the dry purple spores. The basal capillitium 

 persists a long time even under these circumstances. No 

 specimen before us is quite empty. 



The habitat is rich ground, as around unused cattle-sheds, 

 where the plant is found not rarely in autumn from year to 

 year, generally a dozen or more at a place. 



VII. GE ASTER Michel i. 



Sporocarp at first globose, closed, outer peridium at length 

 dividing into several stellately formed segments, disclosing 

 the globose inner peridium which then opens by one or more 

 distinct definite mouths, or irregularly. Capillitium consist- 

 ing of threads, branched or reticulately united or. more com- 

 monly, of well differentiated threads simple and separable. 



The genus Geasier is readily distinguished through the 

 peculiar behavior of its peridia at the time when the sporo- 

 carp matures. According to Winter the unopened sporocarp 

 exhibits the following structure: 1 the peridial wall consists of 

 six different layers; | i i the outermost a flocculent. brownish, 

 fibrous envelope connected on the one hand with the mycelial 

 threads below, on the other with the second layer: (2) a 

 thick, dry, brown membrane enclosing the entire sporocarp. 

 Next comes (3) a white envelope which is especially devel- 

 oped at the base of the sporocarp and here passes immedi- 

 ately into the inner peridium and gleba. The two last 

 named layers form the fibrous envelope. The white layer is 

 lined on the inside by the (4) colloid stratum, a somewhat 



1 Winter uses here G. kygrometricus as type; in other species the succes- 

 sive layers are less distinct. The principal layers in the type can be made 

 out even with dry specimens. 



