I860.] CHAPTERS ON FUNGI. 177 



CHAPTEKS ON FUNGI. 



By Archibald Jerdon. 



CHAPTER V. 



Having finished my illustrations of the large and important 

 Order Hymenomycetes, I now come to the second great Order, 

 namely, Gasteromycetes, which is characterized by having .the 

 hymenium enclosed in a peridiwn, which generally bursts in 

 various modes, at maturity, and discloses the spores, which are 

 usually very numerous. The common Puff-ball may be taken 

 as a general type of the group, but there is great variety both in 

 form and substance. 



Suborder 1. Podaxinei. 



I am not aware of any representative of this suborder having 

 been found in Great Britain. Several species occur in Australia 

 and other warm countries, but the group is comparatively a small 

 one. 



Suborder 2. Hypog^i. 



The Fungi of this suborder are characterized by their subter- 

 ranean habit. A few species are found in the south of England, 

 but they are rare elsewhere. They are distinct from the real 

 Trvjffles in internal structure, though bearing considerable re- 

 semblance to them in outward form. 



I shall only give one example. 



Rhizopogon. 



•Uterus sessile, bursting irregularly, marbled internally with 

 anastomosing veins. Sporangia sessile. 



Rhizopogon albus, Bull. White Trvffle. Round, rather 

 rugged, whitish, then reddish-brown, slightly fibrillose at the 

 base. 



On sandy ground, in woods, rare. Spores ochraceous or red- 

 dish-brown. 



Suborder 3. Phalloidei. 



In this suborder the hymenium, when mature, deliquesces, 

 which is exactly the opposite of what takes place in the other 

 suborders of the Order. 



I shall take as the type of the group the genus Phallus. 



N. S. VOL. IV, 2 a 



