SECT. m. PEZIZJE. 291 



fungi, from the little white and red Peziza elegans, which 

 is sprinkled over almost every fallen twig of the larch 

 and other conifers ; the pale toothed cups of the P. coro- 

 nata, which abounds on the dead stems of herbaceous 

 plants ; the scarlet P. scutellata with its edge fringed 

 with tawny hairs, and the graceful mouse-grey P. ma- 

 cropus, to the gorgeous P. coccinea, which attracts atten- 

 tion from its elegant form and bright colours ; the more 

 irregular, but not less brilliant P. aurantia, and the font- 

 shaped P. acetabulum, which might form an elegant 

 pattern for an architect or silversmith. Fifty others 

 might be mentioned of equal pretensions to grace of 

 form and brilliancy of colouring.' 7 Some of the genus 

 are peculiar in their fructification, for in several plants 

 of this group, besides asci containing eight sporidia, M. 

 Tulasne met with cells full of eel-shaped particles like 

 those in the Algae, and although without motion he con- 

 sidered them to be analogous to the pollen of flowering 

 plants. In the Peziza aurantia, however, the particles 

 were staff-shaped and motile. 



The genus Helvella may be regarded as Peziza with 

 the cup inverted ; consequently, it assumes the character 

 of a pileus or hat, like a common mushroom, though 

 often very different in shape, and, instead of spore-bear- 

 ing gills, it has asci containing eight sporidia sunk in 

 its fleshy texture. The pileus is ovate or mitre-shaped 

 in some species and the margin free, in others it is 

 more or less attached to the stem. When the pileus 

 and stem are perfectly soldered together, we get the 

 club-shaped species of the group. 



Some obscure forms of this group, forming the genus 

 Ascomycetes, cause the leaves of the peach, walnut, and 

 pear to blister. They consist of little more than asci, 

 accompanied by short necklace-shaped threads. 



The Morchella esculenta, which is the morel, is so 



7 Berkeley's c Cryptogamie Botany.' 

 U 2 



