LYCOPERDON 35 



42. L. molle Pers. Molle, soft. 



Pe. 1-3 cm., white, then yellowish, or tan colour, turbinate, or globose, 

 depressed above, and abruptly attenuated into a short, thick, stem- 

 like base, and attached by a white, fibrous mycelium; exoperidium 

 consisting of fugacious, furfuraceous spines and granules; endo- 

 peridium olive brown, thin, papyraceous, collapsing, shining. Mouth 

 small, irregular. G-leba greenish yellow, then brownish olivaceous. 

 Sterile base paler, cellular, one-third of the peridium. Spores 

 ochraceous olive, very minutely warted, globose, often shortly pedi- 

 cellate, 3-4/i. Capillitium yellow, branched, 4-6/u, in diam. Woods, 

 especially oak. Sept. Oct. Uncommon, (v.v.) 



43. L. nigrescens Pers. Lloyd, The Genus Lycop. in Eur. t. 123. 



Nigrescens, becoming black. 



Pe. 3-5 cm. high and wide, brown, subglobose, depressed above, 

 attenuated downwards into a stem-like base; exoperidium con- 

 sisting of long, stiff, brown spines, connivent at their apices and 

 surrounded by a circle of minute, brown warts, or granules, which, 

 when the larger spines fall away, give a net-like appearance to 

 the endoperidium ; endoperidium paler, thin, smooth. Gleba olive 

 umber, somewhat lax. Sterile base of large cells, filling the stem- 

 like portion of the peridium. Spores olivaceous umber, globose, 

 very minutely verrucose, with caducous pedicels 4-5 p. Capillitium 

 olivaceous, rarely branched, 4 6/^t in diam. Woods. Sept. Nov. 

 Uncommon, (v.v.) 



44. L. pyriforme (Schaeff.) Pers. Grev. Scot. Crypt. Fl. t. 304. 



Pyrus, pear;/orma, shape. 



Pe. 2-5-10 cm. high, 1-3 cm. wide, white, grey, or brownish, pyri- 

 form, or subglobose, subumbonate, attached at the base by long, 

 white, cord-like mycelial strands, thin, flaccid; exoperidium con- 

 sisting of minute, fugacious, pointed spines and granules; endo- 

 peridium concolorous, smooth. Mouth small, apical, torn. Gleba 

 white, then greenish yellow, and finally brownish. Sterile base white, 

 becoming discoloured, of rather small cells, forming the stem-like 

 portion of the peridium. Spores olivaceous, globose, 4//,. Columella 

 distinct, subglobose. Capillitium olivaceous, branched, long, 4-5 //, in 

 diam. Generally caespitose. Stumps, logs and buried debris of wood. 

 May Feb. Common, (v.v,) 



var. serotinum (Bon.) Hollos. Lloyd, The Genus Lycop. in Eur. t. 50, 

 figs. 1-2, as Lycoperdon serotinum. Serotinum, late. 



Differs from the type in the peridium becoming broken up into 

 areolae. Stumps and logs. Oct. Dec. Not uncommon, (v.v.) 



32 



