United States Species of Lycoperdon. 309 



and when thej fall off they leave the usual areolae or im- 

 pressions and reticulations. Inasmuch, therefore, as the 

 difference in the warts is the only character for distinguish- 

 ing this plant from the ordinary forms of the species I have 

 followed Fries in regarding it as a mere variety. Dr. 

 Bonorden regards L. hirium as a good species and de- 

 scribes its spines as ventricose and says that they are 

 not surrounded by small warts or papillae and that they 

 do not fall off and leave areolae, but dry up and persij^t, 

 from which it is probable that his plant differs from the 

 one we have in view. Yet our specimens agree so accurately 

 with the characters which Fries assigns to the variety hir- 

 tum, that we refer them to it with confidence. The follow- 

 ing are the characters assigned by him to the two varieties 

 recognized here. 



Var. hirtum. Turbinate, subsessile, hairy with soft 

 slender warts, which generally became blackish. 



Var. jpapdlatum. Subrotund, sessile, papillose, furfura- 

 ceous-pulverulent. 



lie also regards L. excipuUforme Pers. as a variety of 

 this species, but I have seen no specimens that fully accord 

 with his description, although Schweinitz reports the 

 plant as occurring in Korth Carolina and Pennsylvania. 

 It is characterized as having a subrotund peridium with 

 scattered subspinulose warts and an elongated stem sub- 

 plicate at the base. 



Typical forms of L. gemmatum sometimes have the larger 

 warts blackish or tipped with black and occasionally these 

 warts manifest a tendency to group themselves in a stellate 

 manner. The plant is sometimes caespitose and forms 

 tufts of considerable extent. Tufts fully two feet in 

 diameter and containing scores of plants crowded together 

 so compactly that their usual rounded form was lost have 

 fallen under my observation. 



Trans, ix.'] 40 



