158 
of a very friable, white, floccose membrane which breaks up into 
evanescent, star-shaped rosettes and flakes and forms a False 
ring-like appearance at the apex of the sterile basal stratum 
and finally disappears almost completely it is LYCOPERDON 
VELATUM Vitt; if it is covered with very floccose, pyramidal or 
flattened warts surrounded by a mesh work of furrows that 
give it a ¢essellated appearance it is LYCOPERDON CAELATUM 
bull. 
In the five following species the exoperidium is characterized 
by having the spines separate at the base but drawn together 
more or Less at the apex into a point. If the exoperidium is 
covered with spznulose warts which are united at the apex and 
rntermixed with minute simple spines and fur furaceous 
granules all of which wear away with age it is LYCOPERDON 
DEPRESSUM Bon.; if it is bristling with very long, curved, 
crowded, rigid, light coloured spines* which are surrounded at 
the base by a circle or tessellated group of brown warts it is 
LYCOPERDON ECHINATUM Pers., if the spines are shorter 
and of medium size and the capillitium is ofzve it is LYCOPER- 
DON HOYLE! Berk. ; if it is comentose with floccose spines which 
fall away in flakes it is LYCOPERDON EXCIPULIFORME Scop. ; 
if it is covered with short, rigid, fragile spines and granules 
which agglomerate together in circles which are larger at the 
centre, and are either mucronate or reduced to flat brown warts 
it is LYCOPERDON SACCATUM Fr. . 
In the rest of the British species of Lycoperdon the sznes of 
the exoperidium are fointed, free from one another and only 
very rarely united at their apices. If the exoperidium 1s 
covered by a series of flattened soldered warts it is LYCOPER- 
DON GEMMATUM FI. D.; if it is covered with a series of long, 
straight, rigid, fragile, caducous spines which are surrounded 
at their bases by circles of short warts it is LYCOPERDON PER- 
LATUM Pers.; if it is covered more or less with short, thin, 
crowded, fragile, pointed, caducous warts which are more 
pointed and acicular generally on the stem it is LYCOPERDON 
PYRIFORME Schaeff., and if it presents a ¢essel/ated and spotted 
appearance it is the variety TESSELLATUM Pers:; Si it 8 
bristling with thin, crowded, soft, rigid, fragile bistre spines 
it is LYCOPERDON UMBRINUM Pers., and if it is covered with 
slender, soft spines that wither away it is LYCOPERDON ATRO- 
PURPUREUM Vitt. 
If there are cord-like rooting strands of mycelium attached 
to the base of the specimen then we have either ee 
ECHINATUM, HOYLEI, CEPAEFORME or PYRIFORME to dea 
*C. G. Lloyd in his work ‘* The Genus Lycoperdon in Europe” at p.208 sab any 
‘*the cortex has long édack spines.” I have never gathered them in ber tiene at 
and should think that this colour must be due to some preservative that had bee ’ 
