THE PUFFBALLS 541 



sis tent granules or spinules. The inner peridium is white or cream-colored, 

 becoming- brown or olivaceous, quite thin and fragile, the upper part at maturity 

 breaking up and falling away. The subgleba occupies the stem. The mass of 

 spores and capillitium is usually brown or greenish-brown. The threads are very 

 long, branched, branches slender. Spores round, even, sometimes slightly warted, 

 4-5/x, with a slight pedicel. 



The plant grows on low mossy grounds among bushes, especially where it is 

 inclined to be swampy. The plant in Figure 462 was found in a sphagnum swamp 

 near Akron and was photographed by Prof. G. D. Smith. I am inclined to think 

 it the same as Calvatia saccata, Fr. 



Lycoperdon. To urn. 



Mycelium fibrous, rooting from the base. Peridium small, globose, obovoid 

 or turbinate, with a more or less thickened base ; cortex a subpersistent coat of soft 

 spines, scales, warts or granules; inner peridium thin, membranaceous, becoming 

 papyraceous, dehiscent by a regular apical mouth. Morgan. 



This genus includes puffballs with apical openings and is divided into 

 two series, a purple-spored and an olive-spored series. The microscope shows 

 that the gleba is composed of a great number of spores mixed with simple or 

 branched threads. There are two sets of threads ; one set arises from the peridial 

 wall and the other from the subgleba or columella. 



PURPLE-SPORED SERIES. 



Lycoperdon pulcherrimum. B. & C. 



The Most Beautiful Puffball. Edible. 



Pulcherrimum, most beautiful. The peridium is obovoid, with a short base, 

 the mycelium forming a cord like a root. The cortex is covered with long white 

 spines, converging at the apex, as will be seen in Figure 463. The spines soon fall 

 from the upper part of the peridium, leaving the inner peridium with a smooth 

 purplish-brown surface, often slightly scarred by the base of the spine. The sub- 

 gleba occupies at least a third of the peridium. The spores and the capillitium are 

 at first olivaceous, then brownish-purple, the spores rough and minutely warted. 

 The plant is one to two inches in diameter. It is found in low, rich ground, in 

 fields and wood margins. Only young and fresh plants are good. 



The lower plant in Figure 463 shows where the spines have begun to fall, 

 also the strong mycelial cord referred to in the description. I am indebted to Mr 

 Lloyd for the photograph. Found in September and October. 



