United States Sjyedes of Lycojperdon. 299 



olive-brown, subshining and very thin or membranous, 

 breaking up into irregular fragments which sometimes 

 adhere to the capillitium for a considerable time, the stem- 

 like base cylindrical or narrow^ed downwards, sometimes 

 thick ; capillitium rather dense, subpersistent and with the 

 spores dingy-olive or dingy-brown, sometimes verging 

 towards purplish-brown ; spores rough, .00016'-.0002' in 

 diameter. Edible. 



Low mossy g^-ounds and bushy swamps, especially under 

 alders. Sandlake, Center and Adirondack Mountains. 

 August — October. It is also said to occur in Kew Eng- 

 land, Berkeley and Curtis, and in Minnesota, Johnson. 



The Long-stemmed puff-ball is one of our finest species. 

 Its symmetrical shape, pure color, soft and delicate appear- 

 ance all conspire to render it attractive. The peridium 

 is sometimes nearly globose, but usually it is more or less 

 depressed and hemispherical or lens-shaped. Its warts are 

 soft and delicate and so minute that to the naked eye the 

 plant appears to be mealy or almost pruinose. They are 

 persistent, but in the mature plant they shrivel or dry up 

 80 that they are scarcely noticeable. In the mature plant 

 the peridium shrinks to a thin delicate membrane in which 

 respect it differs from the peridium in the preceding spe- 

 cies. The under surface is sometimes marked by radiating 

 folds, and in some instances the stem is also rendered 

 uneven by shallow depressions which give it an undulate 

 appearance. The stem sometimes persists long after the 

 disappearance of the peridium and its contents. Before 

 maturity this species bears some resemblance to L. molle, 

 the Soft puff-ball, but when mature the two are easily 

 separated by the different manner in which the peridium 

 ruptures. The American specimens, so far as I have seen 

 them, are smaller and more delicate in appearance than 

 the European specimens that I have, and the mature 

 spores are less strongly warted, but the plants agree fully 

 with the description of the species as given by Fries. 



