Puffballs 



of the fleshy interior becomes filled with dust-like spores, when 

 the rind of the ball breaks to let the spores escape. 



Sometimes the wall breaks off in scales ; sometimes it is 

 punctured at the summit with one hole, sometimes with several, 

 and sometimes it splits and turns back to form a star on the 

 ground. Sometimes the balls contain elastic threads (capillitium), 

 which help to push out the spores, and sometimes they do not. 

 Sometimes there are threads massed at the base without spores 

 in them, so that they form a sterile base or sterile subgleba, and 

 sometimes the threads are massed to form a central column 

 (columella) in the interior of the ball. These characters, with 

 others, form the basis on which the puffballs are separated 

 into the genera Lycoperdon, Geaster, Cal-vatia, Bovtstella, Bovista, 

 and Calostoma. 



GENUS LYCOPERDON 



The Lycoperdons, or true puffballs, produce within the ball 

 vast numbers of dust-like spores mingled with elastic threads. 

 When the ball is compressed, the rind or peridium bursts at the 

 summit to form a single mouth, and the 

 elastic threads cause the spores to fly out in 

 puffs like smoke. 



The spore-bearing part of the plant is 

 globe-shaped, obovoid, or top-shaped, and 

 at the base of the gleba no spores are pro- 

 duced ; the cells here are coarse and empty. 

 . The rind or peridium of the ball con- 



Lycoperdon , , 



sists of two parts, the outer bark or outer 

 peridium being adorned with spines or scales or warts or gran- 

 ules. Sometimes the exterior coat may be peeled off, sometimes 

 it dries and falls away in fragments. 

 The inner coat is thin and papery, and 

 opens on the top with one opening. 

 At first the ball is fleshy within, the 

 microscope showing the flesh to con- 

 sist of a great number of simple or 

 branched threads and enlarged cells. 

 The enlarged cells bear usually four 



Section of Lycoperdon 

 Ly'-co-peV-d8n (diagrammatic) 



124 



