con- 
TRIBE 2.—PODAXINEAE.—Plant stalked. Stalk 
tinuous to the apex of the peridium forming an axis. 
Gleba with irregular persistent chambers, 
Peridium, club-shaped,. Cauloglossum. 
Peridium, round or conical, . Secotium. 
Gleba with sinuate, lamellate plates, .... Gyrophragmium. 
Walls of the gleba chambers not persistent, .... Pod axon. 
TRIBES 3.—SCEERODERMEAE.—Plant not stalked, or stalk 
short, confluent with the peridium. Capillitium none.* 
Peridium of a single layer, 
Walls of the gleba chambers persistent forming per- 
idioles,. Polysaccum. 
Walls of the gleba chambers most disappearing or 
only partially persistent,. Scleroderma. 
Peridium, double, 
Outer peridium, thin (a cortex). Arachnion. 
Outer peridium, thick, gelatinous, .... Mitremyces. 
TRIBE 4.—LYCOPERDEAE.—Plant not stalked. Spore mass, 
dry spores mixed with capillitium. 
Tribal Alliance 2.—Geastrae,—Earth Stars. — Peri¬ 
dium double, outer peridium thick, persistent, splitting into seg¬ 
ments and recurving. 
Mouth, one,. Geaster- 
Mouths, several,. Myriostoma. 
Tribal Alliance 2.—Bovistae,—Tumblers.—O uter peri¬ 
dium thin (cortex mostly peeling off). Inner peridium firm or papery. 
Mature plant loosened from place of growth. 
Capillitium of separate threads, with slender pointed 
branches, * . . ... .... Bovista. 
Capillitium of separate threads bearing spiny points, 
.Mycenastrum. 
Capillitium threads broken into short fragments with 
blunt ends, Catastoma. 
Tribal Alliance 3.—Eycoperdae.—True Puff Balls.— 
Outer peridium thin (cortex, mostly disappearing.) Inner peridium usu¬ 
ally flaccid. Plants normally remaining attached to place of growth. 
Capillitium of separate threads with slender pointed 
branches, Bovistella. 
Capillitium long threads more or less broken in fragments, 
Peridium, opening by definite mouth, Eycoperdon. 
Peridium, irregularly ruptured, no lining mem¬ 
brane . . . ... . . Calvatia. 
Peridium. irregularly ruptured, furnished with a 
lining membrane,. Hypoblema. 
♦Basing the Tribe thus for convenience on the absence of capillitium, it embraces widely 
diverging genera, but we prefer to do this at least for the present rather than to multiply the 
tribes. Mitremyces is the type of a good tribe, Arachnion perhaps of another. 
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