Puffballs 



Bark or Outer Coat — Pinkish brown, with minute short, stout spin- 



ules, which fall away at maturity. 

 Inner Coat — Ash coloured. Deeply pitted by the falling off of the 



spinules of the outer coat, the pits not surrounded with 



dotted lines. 

 Columella — Present. 

 Subgleba — Small but distinct. 

 Spores and Capillitium — Spores round, minutely warted. Greenish 



yellow, then brownish olive. Threads long, simple, and 



transparent. 

 Time — August to October. 

 Habitat — Old trunks in woods. 



GENUS CALVATIA 



The Calvaiias are puffballs of large size, all with thick cord- 

 like mycelium rooting from the base. They all eject their spores 



through irregular openings in the upper 



part of the peridium, and they all have 



a dense 



network of 



branching 



threads 



(capillitium) 



traversing 



the tissues 



ofthespore- 



bearingpor- 



t i o n, the 

 gleba. These threads are elastic, and project the spores from 

 the rind or case as they twist and turn. The sterile portion, the 

 subgleba, is definitely limited and concave above. 



.. Sterile base 



Calvatia 



Section of Calvatia 



Brain-shaped Calvatia (Edible) 



Calvatia craniformis 



Peridium or Pouch — Very large, obovoid or top-shaped, depressed 

 above. 



Bark or Outer Coat — Smooth, very thin and fragile, easily peel- 

 ing off. Pallid or greyish, often with a reddish tinge ; often 



Cal-va'-sM-a 



Cra-nl-for'-mls 



126 



