28 Mas see,- — A monograph of 
stellate manner, the lobes when moistened curling inwards 
owing to expansion of the external mucilaginous portion, 
and soon breaking away at the base. The rupture of the 
exoperidium is described by Hitchcock as follows: ‘A 
specimen dissected in a young state exhibits this envelope 
covering every part of the spherical head, with no seam 
discernible in it, but ere long it opens at the top, beginning 
to separate into numerous divisions or rays, like the opening- 
calyx or petals of a common flower. Several valves on 
the top of the plant, opening into its head, are thus disclosed. 
A portion of the jelly, often fa of an inch thick, adheres 
to these calyx-like divisions of the envelope now under 
consideration, and as the inner part of it is very tender, 
they rarely become much expanded before they begin to 
coil inwards and break off at the base ; merely from their 
weight they drop to the ground, or as is more usual adhere 
to the footstalk V 
Several specimens in the Kew Herbarium show this apical 
splitting of the exoperidium, which is however sometimes 
ruptured in a circumscissile manner at or near the base, 
the margin splitting into irregular teeth as represented in 
an exaggerated manner by Nees 2 , who selected the name 
Mitremyces as expressive of the mitriform exoperidium or 
calyptra as it is called by Berkeley. One specimen of C. 
cinnabarinum and one of C. fusca (Fig 24 a) in the Kew 
Herbarium illustrate this mode of rupture, which is probably 
abnormal, as in each specimen the spores are quite mature, 
but prevented from escaping owing to the persistent ex- 
operidium. In most species the exoperidium becomes com- 
pletely disorganised, often remaining in the form of warts 
on the endoperidium, as in many species of Lycoperdon. 
When dry the endoperidium is cartilaginous and brittle, of 
a dirty ochraceous colour and less than 1 mm. thick, becoming 
much swollen when moistened. When young it consists of 
thick-walled, closely compacted hyphae more or less gela- 
1 1 . c. p. 57 - 
2 Pilze und Schwamme, T. 11, f. 129, a. 
