THE PUFFBALLS 



543 



OLIVE-SPORED SERIES. 



Lycopcrdon gcmmatum. Batsch. 



The Gummed Pueebaix. Edible. 



The peridium is turbinate, depressed above ; the base short and obconic, or 

 more elongated and tapering, or subcylindric, arising from a fibrous mycelium. 

 The cortex consists of long, thick, erect spines or warts of irregular shape, with 

 intervening smaller ones, whitish or gray in color, sometimes with a tinge of red 



Figure 464. Lycoperdon pulcherrimum. 



or brown ; the larger spines first fall away, leaving pale spots on the surface, and 

 giving it a reticulate appearance. The subgleba is variable in amount, usually 

 more than half the peridium; mass od: spores and capillitium greenish-yellow, 

 then pale-brown ; threads simple or scarcely branched, about as thick as the 

 spores. Spores globose, even, or very minutely warted. Morgan. 



The species is readily recognized by the large erect spines which, because 

 of their peculiar form and color, have given the notion of gems, whence the name 

 of the species. These and the reticulations can be seen in Figure 465 by the aid 

 of a glass. They are frequently found about Chillicothe. 



