North American Fungi. 169 



becoming brownish and tinged with violet and purple, commonly 

 areolate above; inner peridium thin, violet to purple, velvety, 

 extremely fragile, after maturity the upper part soon breaking up 

 into fragments and falling away. Subgleba occupying but a small 

 portion of the peridium, cup-shaped above, persistent; mass of 

 spores and capillitium from violet to pile purple ; the threads very 

 long, mostly thinner than the spores, scarcely branched ; spores 

 globose, minutely wartecl, 4-5.5 mic. in diameter, sessile. 



Growing on the open prairies. Wisconsin, Brown; Iowa, 

 Mc Bride; Nebraska, Wyoming, Webber; Kansas, Cragin ; Califor- 

 nia, Harkness. Peridium 1^2-3 inches in diameter. While 

 evidently closely related to C. cyat/uformis, this is plainly a differ- 

 ent species; it is smaller in size, and the spores and capillitium are 

 paler in color, being more persistently violet ; the spores are 

 smaller and very minutely warted. It is no doubt the Lycoperdon 

 radicatwn, YV. & C, of the Pacific Coast Catalogue, this name 

 being most likely a synonym of L. fragile, Vitt. Bovista cinerea, 

 Ellis, in Bulletin of Washburn College, is founded on specimens 

 of this species. 



5. C. sigillata, Cragin. Peridium large, depressed above, 

 narrowed below into a stem-like base. Cortex very thin and frag- 

 ile, white, easily abraided; inner peridium subcoriaceous, with a 

 fragile ferrugin ms brown lining, marked off above into polygonal 

 areas by lines of depression, at length breaking up into fragments 

 and falling away. Mass of spores and capillitium violet to dark 

 purple ; spores globose, even, 3.5-4.5 mic. in diameter, with a long 

 pedicel. 



Growing on the open prairie. Kansas, Cragin. Peridium 4-5 

 inches in diameter. The species is well marked by the even pedi- 

 cellate spores. 



b. Mass of spores and capillitium olivaceous. 



6. C. c.elata, Bull. Peridium large, obovoid or turbinate, 

 depressed above, with a stout thick base and a cord-like root. Cor- 

 tex a thickish floccose layer, with coarse warts or spines above, 

 whitish then ochraceous or finally brown, at length breaking up into 

 areolae which are more or less persistent ; inner peridium thick but 

 fragile, thinner about the apex, where it finally ruptures, forming a 

 large irregular lacerate aperture. Subgleba occupying nearly half 

 the peridium, cup-shaped above and a long time persistent; mass 

 of spores and capillitium compact, farinaceous, greenish-yellow 



