12 Mas see, — A Monograph of 
persisting as the peridium, which in Cyathus becomes further 
differentiated into three layers, in 'Crucibulum into two, and in 
Nidnlaria remains homogeneous. In Crucibulum the apical 
portion of the external layer of the peridium ceases to grow 
at an early stage, while the inner layer keeps pace with the 
expansion of the sporophore and forms a white membrane or 
epiphragm which eventually falls away, leaving a wide opening. 
Following the formation of the peridium, and while the sporo- 
phore is yet increasing in size, gelification of the tissue extends 
towards the centre, certain isolated portions of the primitive 
tissue remaining, which constitute the primordia or starting- 
points of the peridiola, which remain at the bottom of the 
peridium after the disappearance of the mucilage resulting 
from disintegration of the surrounding tissue. When mature, 
the species of Cyathus and Crucibulum resemble small inverted 
bells containing minute lentil-shaped bodies, each attached to 
the basal portion of the peridium by a more or less elongated 
slender cord. These lentil-shaped bodies, considered by the 
earlier observers as seeds, are peridiola, homologous w r ith the 
closed cavities of the gleba in other Gastromycetes, their 
isolation being due to the gelification and total disappearance 
of the central portions of the tramal plates. When the peridiola 
are fully developed a section reveals a central cavity lined with 
hymenial elements consisting of bisporous or tetrasporous ba- 
sidia and paraphyses ; large fusiform cystidia are also present 
in Nidularia pisiformis (Fig. 37, a). The cord or funiculus 
by which the peridiolum is attached to the inner wall of the 
peridium presents a complex structure, first clearly described 
by Tulasne 1 . In Cyathus striatus the funiculus varies from 
2-3 mm. in length, and is cylindrical with a constriction in 
the centre. The distal end which is attached to the peridium, 
as also the thin central isthmus-like portion, are solid, and 
consist of slender, thick-walled hyphae. The thick portion 
above the central constriction is hollow, its walls passing into 
the tissue of the peridiolum at a depressed point on the centre 
1 Ann. Sci. Nat., Ser. 3, vol. i. p. 14. 
