  This family includes all fungi which have their spores in closed chambers until maturity. The chambers are called the gleba and this is surrounded by the peridium or rind, which in different puffballs exhibits various characteristic ways of opening to let the spores escape. The peridium is composed of two distinct layers, one called the cortex, the other the peridium proper. The plant is generally sessile, sometimes more or less stemmed, at maturity filled with a dusty mass of spores and thread. It affords many of our most delicious fungus food products. The following genera are considered here:
Calvatia. Fr.This genus represents the largest sized puffballs. They have a thick cord-like mycelium rooting from the base. The peridium is very large, breaking away in fragments when ripe and exposing the gleba. The cortex is thin, adherent, often soft and smooth like kid leather, sometimes covered with minute squamules; the inner peridium is thin and fragile, at maturity cracking into areas. The capillitium is a net-work of fine threads through the tissues of spore-bearing portion; tissue, snow white at first, turning greenish-yellow, then brown; the mass of spores and the dense net-work of threads (capillitium) attached to the peridium and to the subgleba or sterile base which is cellulose; limited and concave above. Spores small, round, usually sessile. Calvatia gigantea. Batsch.The Giant Puffball. Edible. This species grows to an immense size (often twenty inches in diameter); round or obovoid, with a thick mycelial cord rooting it to the ground, sessile, cortex white and glossy, sometimes slightly roughened by minute floccose warts, becoming Not common about Chillicothe, but in the northwestern part of the state they are very plentiful in their season, and very large. Standing in Mr. Joseph's wood-pasture, east of Bowling Green, I have counted fifteen giant puffballs whose diameters would average ten inches, and whose cortex was as white and glossy as a new kid glove. A friend of mine, living in Bowling Green, and driving home from Deshler, saw in a wood-pasture twenty-five of these giant puffballs. Being impressed with the sight and having some grain sacks in his wagon he filled them and brought them home. He at once telephoned for me to come to his house, as the mountain was too big to take to Mohammed. He was surprised to learn that he had found that proverbial calf which is all sweet-breads. That evening we supplied twenty-five families with slices of these puffballs. They can be kept for two or three days on ice. The photograph, taken by Prof. Shaffner of Ohio State University, will show how they look growing in the grass. They seem to delight to nestle in the tall bluegrass. This species has been classed heretofore as Lycoperdon giganteum. Found from August to October. Figure 455.—Calvatia gigantia. One-fifth natural size, showing how they grow in the grass. Calvatia lilacina. Berk. Lilac Puffball. Edible. The peridium is three to six inches in diameter; globose or depressed globose; smooth or minutely floccose or scaly; whitish, cinereous-brown or pinkish-brown, often cracking into areas in the upper part; commonly with a short, thick, stemless base; capillitium and spores purple-brown, these and the upper part of the peridium falling away and disappearing when old, leaving a cup-shaped base with a ragged margin. Spores globose, rough, purple-brown, 5–6.5 broad. Peck, 48th Rep. N. Y. State Bot. It is very common all over the state. I have seen pastures in Shelby and Defiance counties dotted all over with this species. When the inside is white, they are very good and meaty. No puffball is poisonous, so far as is known, but if the inside has turned yellowish at all it is apt to be quite bitter. It will often be seen in pastures and open woods in the form of a cup, the upper portion having broken away and the wind having scooped out the purple spore-mass, leaving only the cup-shaped base. The specimens in Figure 457 are just beginning to crack open and to show purplish stains. They represent less than one-fourth of the natural size. They look very much like the smaller sized C. gigantea, but the purple spores and the subgleba at once distinguish the species. This species, found from July to October, is sometimes classed as Lycoperdon cyathiforme. The photograph was taken by Prof. Longyear. Calvatia cÆlata. Bull. The Carved Puffball. Edible. CÆlata, carved. Peridium large, obovoid or top-shaped, depressed above, with a stout thick base and a cord-like root. Cortex a thickish floccose layer, with coarse warts or spines above, whitish then ochraceous or finally brown, at length breaking up into areola which are more or less persistent; inner peridium thick but fragile, thinner about the apex, where it finally ruptures, forming a large, irregular, torn opening. Subgleba occupying nearly half the peridium, cup-shaped above and for a long time persistent; the mass of spores and capillitium compact, farinaceous greenish-yellow or olivaceous, becoming pale to dark-brown; the threads are very much branched, the primary branches two or three times as thick as the spores, very brittle, soon breaking up into fragments. Spores globose, even, 4–4.5 in diameter, sessile or sometimes with a short or minute pedicel. Peridium is three to five inches in diameter. Morgan. This species is much like the preceding but can be easily distinguished by the larger size and the yellowish-olive color of the mature spore-mass. The sterile base is often the larger part of the fungus and, as will be seen in Figure 459, it is anchored Calvatia craniiformis. Schw.The Brain-Shaped Calvatia. Edible. Craniiformis is from Cranion, a skull; forma, a form. The peridium is very large, obovoid or top-shaped, depressed above, the base thick and stout, with a cord-like root. The cortex is a smooth continuous layer, very thin and fragile, easily peeling off, pallid or grayish, sometimes with a reddish tinge, often becoming folded in areas; the inner peridium is thin, ochraceous to bright-brown, extremely fragile, the upper part, after maturity, breaking into fragments and falling away. The subgleba occupies about one-half of the peridium, is cup-shaped above and for a long time persistent; the mass of spores and capillitium is greenish-yellow, then ochraceous or dirty olivaceous; the threads are very long, about as thick as the spores, branched. The spores are globose, even, 3–3.5µ in diameter, with minute pedicels. Morgan. It is difficult to distinguish this from C. lilacina when fresh, but when ripe the color will tell the species. Figure 460 shows the plant as it appears on the ground, and figure 461 shows the subgleba or sterile base, which is frequently found on the ground after weathering the winter. This plant is very common on the hillsides under small oak shrubbery. I have gathered a basketful within a few feet. They grow very large, often five to six inches in diameter, seeming to delight in rather poor soil. When the spore-mass is white this is an excellent fungus, but exceedingly bitter after it has turned yellow. Found during October and November. Calvatia elata. Massee.The Stemmed Calvatia. Edible. Elata means tall; so called from its long stem. The peridium is round, often slightly depressed above, plicate below, where it is abruptly contracted into a long stem-like base. The base is slender, round, and frequently pitted; mycelium rather plentiful, fibrous and thread-like. When in good condition it is a rich cream color. The cortex consists of a coat of minute per The plant grows on low mossy grounds among bushes, especially where it is inclined to be swampy. The plant in Figure 462 was found in a sphagnum swamp near Akron and was photographed by Prof. G. D. Smith. I am inclined to think it the same as Calvatia saccata, Fr. Lycoperdon. Tourn.Mycelium fibrous, rooting from the base. Peridium small, globose, obovoid or turbinate, with a more or less thickened base; cortex a subpersistent coat of soft spines, scales, warts or granules; inner peridium thin, membranaceous, becoming papyraceous, dehiscent by a regular apical mouth. Morgan. This genus includes puffballs with apical openings and is divided into two series, a purple-spored and an olive-spored series. The microscope shows that the gleba is composed of a great number of spores mixed with simple or branched threads. There are two sets of threads; one set arises from the peridial wall and the other from the subgleba or columella. PURPLE-SPORED SERIES. Lycoperdon pulcherrimum. B. & C.The Most Beautiful Puffball. Edible. Pulcherrimum, most beautiful. The peridium is obovoid, with a short base, the mycelium forming a cord like a root. The cortex is covered with long white spines, converging at the apex, as will be seen in Figure 463. The spines soon fall from the upper part of the peridium, leaving the inner peridium with a smooth purplish-brown surface, often slightly scarred by the base of the spine. The subgleba occupies at least a third of the peridium. The spores and the capillitium are at first olivaceous, then brownish-purple, the spores rough and minutely warted. The plant is one to two inches in diameter. It is found in low, rich ground, in fields and wood margins. Only young and fresh plants are good. The lower plant in Figure 463 shows where the spines have begun to fall, also the strong mycelial cord referred to in the description. I am indebted to Mr. Lloyd for the photograph. Found in September and October. Lycoperdon umbrinum. Pers.The Smooth Puffball. Edible. Umbrinum, dingy umber. Peridium obovate, nearly sub-turbinate, with a soft, delicate, velvety bark; yellowish; inner peridium smooth and glossy, opening by a small aperture. The spores and capillitium, olivaceous, then purplish-brown. The capillitium with a central columella. A very attractive little plant, not frequently found. This plant is also called L. glabellum. In woods, September and October. OLIVE-SPORED SERIES. Lycoperdon gemmatum. Batsch.The Gemmed Puffball. Edible. Photo by C. G. Lloyd. Plate LXI. Figure 465.—Lycoperdon gemmatum. The peridium is turbinate, depressed above; the base short and obconic, or more elongated and tapering, or subcylindric, arising from a fibrous mycelium. The cortex consists of long, thick, erect spines or warts of irregular shape, with intervening smaller ones, whitish or gray in color, sometimes with a tinge of red or brown; the larger spines first fall away, leaving pale spots on the surface, and giving it a reticulate appearance. The subgleba is variable in amount, usually more than half the peridium; mass of spores and capillitium greenish-yellow, then pale-brown; threads simple or scarcely branched, about as thick as the spores. Spores globose, even, or very minutely warted. Morgan. The species is readily recognized by the large erect spines which, because of their peculiar form and color, have given the notion of gems, whence the name of the species. These and the reticulations can be seen in Figure 465 by the aid of a glass. They are frequently found about Chillicothe. Lycoperdon subincarnatum. Pk. The Pinkish Puffball. Edible. Subincarnatum means pale flesh-color. The peridium is globe-shaped, sessile, without a stem-like base. Not large, rarely over one inch in diameter. The subgleba is present but small. The outer peridium is pinkish-brown, with minute short, stout spinules, which fall away at maturity, leaving the inner ash-colored peridium neatly pitted by the falling off of the spinules of the outer coat, the pits not being surrounded by dotted lines. The capillitium and spores are first greenish-yellow, then brownish-olive. The threads are long, simple, and transparent. The columella is present and the spores are round and minutely warted. They are often found in abundance on decayed logs, old stumps, and on the ground about stumps where the ground is especially full of decayed wood. They are found from August to October. Lycoperdon cruciatum. Roth.Peridium broadly ovate, often much depressed, plicate underneath, with a cord-like root; cortex a dense white coat of convergent spines, which at maturity peel off in flakes, as can be seen in the photograph, revealing a thin furfuraceous layer of minute yellowish scales covering the inner peridium. The subgleba broad, occupying about one-third of the cavity. The spores and capillitium are dark- From July to October. Lycoperdon Wrightii. B. & C.Edible. The specific name is in honor of Charles Wright. The peridium is globe-like, sessile, white, minutely spinulose, often converging at the apex; when denuded, smooth or minutely velvety. The spores and capillitium greenish-yellow, then brown-olive; the columella present, but very small. Spores small, smooth, 3–4µ. The plants are very small, scarcely more than two cm. in diameter. They are generally cÆspitose in short grass, along paths, and in sandy places. I have frequently seen the ground white with them on Cemetery Hill where the specimens in Figure 468 were found. They were photographed by Dr. Kellerman. Found from July to the last of October. Lycoperdon pyriforme. Schaeff. The Pear-Shaped Puffball. Edible. Plate LXII. Figure 469.—Lycoperdon pyriforme. Pyriforme means pear-shaped. The peridium is ovate or pear-shaped, with a profusion of mycelial threads, as will be seen in Figure 470. The cortex is covered with a thin coat of minute brownish scales or granules, which are quite persistent. These can be seen in the photograph by the aid of a glass. They are sessile or have a short stem-like base; the subgleba is small and compact; the capillitium and spores are first white, then greenish-yellow, then dingy olivaceous; the inner coat is smooth, papery, whitish-gray or brownish, opening by an apical mouth; the spores are round, even, greenish-yellow to brownish-olive. They grow in dense clusters, as will be seen in Figure 470. An entire log and stump, about four feet high, and the roots around it, were covered, as shown in Plate LXII. I gathered about three pecks, at this one place, to divide with my friends. It is one of the most common puffballs, and you may usually be sure of getting some, if you go into the woods where there are decayed logs and stumps. A friend of mine, who goes hunting with me occasionally, eats them as one would eat cherries. Found from July to November. Lycoperdon pusillum. Pr. The Small Lycoperdon. Edible. Pusillum means small. Peridium is one-fourth to one inch broad, globose, scattered or cespitose, sessile, radicating, with but little cellular tissue at the base, white, or whitish, brownish when old, rimose-squamulose or slightly roughened with minute floccose or furfuraceous persistent warts; capillitium and spores greenish-yellow, then dingy olivaceous. Spores smooth 4µ in diameter. Peck. These are found from June to cool weather in the fall, in pastures where the grass is eaten short. When mature they dehisce by a small opening, and when broken open will disclose the olive or greenish-yellow capillitium. The spores are of the same color, smooth and round. Lycoperdon acuminatum. Bosc.The Pointed Lycoperdon. Edible. Acuminatum means pointed. The peridium is small, round, then egg-shaped; with a plentiful mass of mycelium in the moss in which the plants seem to delight. The plant is white and the outer rind is soft and delicate. There is no subgleba; the spores and I have found the plants frequently about Chillicothe on damp, moss-covered logs and sometimes at the base of beech trees, when covered with moss. They are very small, not exceeding one-half inch in diameter. The small ovoid form, with the white, soft, delicate cortex, will serve to distinguish the species. Found from September to October. Bovista. Dill.The genus Bovista differs from Lycoperdon in several ways. When the Bovista ripens it breaks from its moorings and is blown about by the wind. It opens by an apical mouth, as does the genus Lycoperdon, but the species of Bovista have no sterile base. They are puffballs of small size. The outer coat is thin and fragile and at maturity peels off, leaving an inner coat firm, papery, and elastic, just such a coat as is suitable for the dispersion of its spores. Leaving its moorings at maturity, it is blown about the fields and woods, and with every tumble it makes it scatters some of its spores. It may take years to accomplish this perfectly. The species of the Lycoperdon do not leave their moorings naturally; their spores are dispersed through an apical mouth by a collapse of the walls of the peridium, after the fashion of a bellows, by which spores are driven out to the pleasure of the wind. In Bovista the threads are free or separate from the peridium, but in Lycoperdon they arise from the peridium and also from the columella. Bovista pila. B. & C.The Ball-Like Bovista. Photo by C. G. Lloyd. Plate LXIII. Figure 471.—Bovista pila. Pila means a round ball. The peridium is globe-like, sessile, with a stout mycelium, a cortex thin, white at first, then brown, forming a smooth continuous coat, breaking up at maturity and rapidly disappearing. The inner peridium is tough, parchment-like, elastic, smooth, persistent, purplish-brown, fading to gray. The dispersion of spores takes place through an apical mouth. The capillitium is firm, compact, persistent, at first clay-colored, then purple-brown; threads small-branched, the ends being rigid, straight, pointed. There is something so noticeable about this little tumbler that you will know it when you see it, and if you often ramble over the fields you will soon meet it. However, I have as yet seen only the matured specimens. Bovista plumbea. Pers. Lead-Colored Bovista. Edible. The plant is small, never growing to more than an inch and a fourth in diameter. The peridium is depressed globose, with a fibrous mycelium. The outer peridium is rather thick and when the plant is nearing maturity it breaks up readily unless handled very carefully; at maturity it scales off, except a small portion about the base. The outer peridium is white and comparatively smooth, the inner is thin, tough, smooth, lead-colored, dehiscent at the apex by a round or oblong mouth. Mass of spores and capillitium not solid or hard; yellowish-brown, or olivaceous, then purplish-brown; the threads three to five times branched, the ends of the branches slender and tapering to a point. The spores are oval and smooth, with long transparent pedicels. This species grows on the ground in old pastures, being quite plentiful after warm rains, from the first of May till fall. It is one of the best of the puffballs, but should be eaten before the inner peridium begins to assume the tough form. Bovistella. Morgan.Bovistella, a diminutive of Bovista, though the plants are usually larger than the Bovistas. The mycelium is cord-like; peridium nearly round, cortex a dense floccose coat; inner peridium thin, strong, elastic, opening by an apical mouth; subgleba present, cup-shaped; threads free and separate, branched; spores white. The genus Bovistella has the internal character of Bovista, and the habits of Lycoperdon. Bovistella Ohiensis. Morgan. Peridium globe-like or broadly obovoid, sometimes much depressed, with small plications or wrinkles underneath, and a thick cord-like base or root, as will be seen in Figure 473. The outer coat is dense, floccose, or with soft warts or spines, white or grayish, drying to a buff color, and in time falling away; the inner coat is smooth, shining, with a pale brown or yellowish surface. The subgleba is large, occupying half of the peridium, extending up on the walls of the peridium, making it cup-shaped, and quite persistent. The spores and capillitium are rather loose, friable, clay-color to pale-brown. The threads, originating within the spore mass, and having no connection with the inner coat, are free, This can be readily distinguished from the species of Bovista because it has a sterile base; and from Lycoperdon because its threads are separate and free, while those of the Lycoperdon are attached both to the tissues of the inner peridium and to the columella or sterile base. They are found growing on the ground in old pastures, or in open woods. Scleroderma. Pers.Scleroderma is from two Greek words: scleros, hard; derma, skin. The peridium is firm, single, generally thick, usually bursting irregularly, and exposing the gleba, which is of uniform texture and consistency. There is no capillitium, but yellow flocci are found interspersed with the spores. The spores are globose, rough, usually mixed with the hyphÆ tissue. Scleroderma aurantium. Pers.The Common Scleroderma. Edible. Photo by C. G. Lloyd. Plate LXIV. Figure 474.—Scleroderma aurantium. Aurantium means colored like an orange. This is usually called S. vulgare. The peridium I have followed Mr. Lloyd's classification in separating the species, calling the rough-surfaced one S. aurantium, and the smooth-surfaced S. cepa. In labeling it edible I wish only to indicate that it is not poisonous, as it is generally thought to be; however, it cannot be claimed as a very good article of food. It has a wide distribution over the states. The plants in Figure 475 were found on Cemetery Hill, Chillicothe, and photographed by Dr. Kellerman. Found from August to November. Scleroderma tenerum. Berk.This species is often regarded as a small form of S. verrucosum, but it always seemed strange to me that this rather smooth plant should be called "verrucosum" when its frequently near neighbor, S. aurantium, is very verrucose. S. tenerum is a very widely distributed species in the United States, somewhat constant as to form and quite frequent in occurrence. Mr. Lloyd, in his Mycological Notes, gives a very clear photograph of a plant that is quite local in this country and which he thinks should be called S. verrucosum of Europe. The plant differs very widely from the one we find so commonly which by many authors has been called S. verrucosum. Some have even called it Scleroderma bovista. The plant is nearly sessile, somewhat irregular, peridium The species may be known by the thin and comparatively smooth peridium and yellow flocci. It is quite common in the United States, while the typical plant, S. verrucosum, is confined to a few localities along the Atlantic coast. Scleroderma Cepa. Pers.Cepa meaning an onion; having very much the appearance of an onion. The peridium is thick, smooth, reddish-yellow to reddish-brown, opening by an irregular mouth. The plant is sessile and quite strongly rooted with fine rootlets. Its habitat, with us, is along the banks of small brooks in the woods. It has been classed heretofore as S. vulgare, smooth variety. I sent some to Prof. Peck, who quite agrees that they should be separated from S. vulgare. Found from August to November. Scleroderma geaster. Fr.Photo by C. G. Lloyd. Plate LXV. Figure 477.—Scleroderma geaster. Geaster, so called because it has a star-like opening somewhat similar to the genus Geaster. Peridium subglobose, thick, with a very short stem, or almost—sometimes entirely—sessile; hard, rough, splitting into irregular stellate limbs; frequently well buried in the ground. Inner mass dark-brown or blackish, sometimes with rather a purplish tinge. Some grow quite large with the peridium very thick. My attention was first attracted by some of the peridium shells upon the ground on Cemetery Hill. The plant is quite abundant there from September to December. Catastoma. Morgan.This is a small puffball-like plant, growing just beneath the ground and attached to its bed by very small threads which issue from every part of the cortex, which is quite thick. Breaking away at maturity in a circumscissile manner, the lower part is held fast to the ground, while the upper part remains attached to the inner peridium as a kind of cup. The inner peridium, with the top part of the outer peridium attached, becomes loose and tumbles over the ground, the mouth being in the base of the plant as it grew. Catastoma circumscissum. B. & C. Circumscissum means divided into halves. The peridium is usually round, more or less depressed, commonly rough because of the soil attached; the larger part of the plant remaining in the soil as a cup; the upper part with the inner peridium, depressed-globose, thin, pallid, becoming gray, with branny scales, with a small basal mouth. A thin spongy layer will frequently be seen between the outer and inner peridium. The mass of the spores is olivaceous, changing to pale-brown. The spores are round, minutely warted, 4–5µ. in diameter, often with very short pedicels. The plants are usually found in pastures along paths. I have seen them in several parts of Ohio. They are found from Maine to the western mountains. This is called Bovista circumscissa by Berkeley. There is a species of a western range called C. subterraneum. This differs mainly in having larger spores. It seems to be confined to the middle west. However, it does not grow under the ground, as its name would suggest. There is also another species called C. pedicellatum. This species seems to be confined to the southern states and differs mainly in the spores having marked pedicels and closely warted. PodaxineÆ.This tribe is characterized by having a stalk continuous with the apex of the peridium, forming an axis. Some of the plants are short stalked, some long stalked. The tribe forms a natural connecting link between the Gastromycetes and the Agarics. Thus: Podaxon is a true Gastromycetes, with capillitia mixed with spores; Caulogossum, with its permanent gleba chambers, is close to the Hymenogasters; Secotium is only a step from Caulogossum, the tramal plates being more sinuate-lamellate; and Montagnites, which is usually placed with the Agarics, is only a Gyrophragmium with the plates truly lamellate. KEY TO THE GENERA.
—Lloyd. Secotium. Kunz.This is a very interesting genus. When I found my first specimen I was much in doubt whether it was an Agaric or a puffball, as it seemed to be a sort of connecting link between the two classes. The genus is divided into smooth-spored and rough-spored species, both having a stalk continuing, as an axis, to the apex of the plant. The peridium is round or conical and it dehisces by breaking away at the base. Secotium is from a Greek word meaning chamber. Secotium acuminatum. Montagne.This is an exceedingly variable species, as found about Chillicothe, yet the variability extends only to the outward appearance of the plant; some are almost round, slightly depressed, some (and a large majority) are inclined to be irregularly cone-shaped. The peridium is light-colored, of a soft texture, not brittle; it slowly expels its spores by breaking away at the base; the stalk is usually short, but distinct and prolonged to the apex of the peridium, forming an axis for the gleba. The This species is widely distributed in America, and occurs in Northern Africa and Eastern Europe. Polysaccum. DeC.Polysaccum is from polus, many, and saccus, a sack. Peridium irregularly globose, thick, attenuated downward into a stem-like base, opening by disintegration of its upper portion; internal mass or gleba divided into distinct sac-like cells. Allied to Scleroderma and distinguished by the cavities of the gleba containing distinct peridioles. Massee. Polysaccum pisocarpium. Fr.Pisocarpium is from two Greek words meaning pea and fruited. Peridium irregularly globose, indistinctly nodulose, passing downward into a stout stem-like base, peridioles irregularly angular, 4–5×3µ, yellow. Spores globose, warted, coffee-color, 9–13µ. Massee. I have found this plant only a few times about Chillicothe. Mr. Lloyd identified it for me. It has very much the shape of a pear. The skin is quite hard, smooth, olivaceous-black with yellow mottling patches not unlike the skin of a rattlesnake. The peridioles, which are small ovate sacs bearing the spores within, are very distinct. The interior of the plant when mature is dark, and it breaks and disintegrates from the upper part very like C. cyathiformis. This is a very interesting plant whose ovate sac-like cells will easily distinguish it. Found from August to October, it delights in sandy soil, in pine or mixed woods. Mitremyces. Nees.Mitremyces is made up of two words: mitre, a cap; myces, a mushroom. It is a small genus, there being but three species found in this country. The spore-mass or gleba, in its young state, is surrounded by four layers. The outer layer is gelatinous and behaves itself somewhat differently in each species. This outer layer is known as the volva or volva-like peridium, which soon disappears. Mitremyces cinnabarinus. Desv.The rooting strands are long, compact, dark when dry. Exporidium bright red, smooth internally; the outer layer thick, gelatinous when fresh, finally breaking into areas and curling inward. The separation is caused by the fact that the cells of the thick gelatinous portion expand by the absorption of water, while those of the inner layer do not, hence the rupture occurs. The endoperidium The spores are elliptical-oblong, punctate-sculptured, varying much as to size in specimens from different localities; 6–8×10–14 in West Virginia specimens. Massachusetts specimens, 6–8×12–20. Lloyd. I have seen these specimens growing in the mountains in West Virginia. They quickly arrest the attention because of their bright red caps. They seem not, as yet, to have crossed the Alleghenies—at least I have not found it in Ohio. It has a number of synonyms: Scleroderma calostoma, Calostoma cinnabarinum, Lycoperdon heterogeneum, L. calostoma. The plants in Figure 481 were photographed by Dr. Kellerman. Mr. Geo. E. Morris of Waltham, Mass., sent me some specimens early in August, 1907. Geaster. Mich.Geaster, an earth-star; so called because at maturity the outer coat breaks its connection with the mycelium in the ground and bursts open like the petals of a flower; then, becoming reflexed, those petals lift the inner ball from the ground and it remains in the center of the expanded, star-like coat. The coat of the inner ball is thin and papery, and opens by an apical mouth. The threads, or capillitium, which bear the spores proceed from the walls of the peridium and form the central columella. The threads are simple, long, slender, thickest in the middle and tapering towards the ends, fixed at one end and free at the other. The Geaster is a picturesque little plant which will arrest the attention of the most careless observer. It is abundant and is frequently found in the late summer and fall in woods and pastures. Geaster minimus. Schw.The outer coat or exoperidium recurved, segments acute at the apex, eight to twelve segments divided to about the middle. Mycelial layer usually attached, Nature seems to give it the power to lift up the spore-bearing body, the better to eject its spores to the wind. It is very frequently found in pastures all over the state. I have found it in many localities about Chillicothe. It is called "minimus" because it is the smallest Earth-star. Geaster hygrometricus. Pers.Water-Measuring Earth-Star. The unexpanded plant is nearly spherical. The mycelial layer is thin, tearing away as the plant expands, the bark or skin falling with the mycelium. The outer coat is deeply parted, the segments, acute at the apex, four to twenty; strongly hygrometric, becoming reflexed when the plant is moist, strongly incurved when the plant is dry. The inner coating is nearly spherical, thin, sessile, opening by simply a torn aperture. There is no columella. The threads are transparent, much branched, and interwoven. The spores are large, globose, and rough. The plant ripens in the fall and the thick outer peridium divides into segments, the number varying from four to twenty. When the weather is wet the lining of the points of the segments become gelatinous and recurve, and the points Geaster Archeri. Berk.Young plant acute. Exoperidium cut beyond the middle into seven to nine acute segments. In herbarium specimens usually saccate but sometimes revolute. Mycelial layer closely adherent, compared to previous species relatively smooth. As in the previous species the mycelium covers the young plant but is not so strongly developed, so that the adhering dirt is not so evident on the mature plant. Fleshy layer when dry, thin and closely adherent. Endoperidium globose, sessile. Mouth sulcate, indefinite. Columella globose-clavate. Capillitium thicker than the spores. Spores small, 4 mc. almost smooth. Lloyd. I first found the plant in the young state. The acute point, which will be seen in the photograph, puzzled me. I marked the place where it grew and in a few days found the developed Geaster. The plant is reddish-brown and it differs from other species "with sulcate mouths, in its closely sessile endoperidium." I have found the plant several times in Hayne's Hollow, near Chillicothe. I found it in the tracks of decayed logs. The plant has been called Geaster Morganii in this country but had previously been named from Australia. Geaster asper. Michelius. Exoperidium revolute, cut to about the middle in eight to ten segments. Both mycelial and fleshy layers are more closely adherent than in most species. Pedicel short and thick. Inner peridium subglobose, verrucose. Mouth conical, beaked, strongly sulcate, seated on a depressed zone. Columella prominent, persistent. Capillitium threads simple, long tapering. Spores globose, rough. The characteristic of this plant is the verrucose inner peridium. Under a glass of low power it appears as though the peridium were densely covered with grains of sharp sand. This plant alone has this characteristic, to our knowledge; and although it is indicated in the figures of G. cornatus of both Schaeffer and I have found the plant frequently about Chillicothe. The plants represented were photographed by Mr. Lloyd. Geaster triplex. Jung.The unexpanded plant acute. Exoperidium recurved (or, when not fully expanded, somewhat saccate at base), cut to the middle (or usually two-thirds) in five to eight segments. Mycelial layer adnate. Fleshy layer generally peeling off from the segments of the fibrillose layer but usually remaining partially free, as a cup at base of inner peridium. Inner peridium subglobose, closely sessile. Mouth definite, fibrillose, broadly conical. Columella prominent, elongated. Threads thicker than spores. Spores globose, roughened, 3–6 mc. Lloyd, in Mycological Notes. The color of Geaster triplex is reddish-brown. Notice the remains of a fleshy layer forming a cup at base of inner peridium, a point which distinguishes this species and which gives name to the species—triplex, three folds or apparently three layers. The photograph was made by Dr. Kellerman. Geaster saccatus. Fr. The unexpanded plant is globose. Mycelium is universal. Exoperidium cut in six to ten segments about half way, the limb deeply saccate. Mycelial layer adnate to fibrillose. Fleshy layer, when dry, thin, adnate. Inner peridium sessile, globose, with a determinate fibrillose mouth. The spores are globose, almost smooth. Lloyd. Mr. Lloyd thinks this plant is practically the same as the G. fimbriatus of Europe, differing from it in being more deeply saccate and having a determinate mouth. This plant is very common on all the wooded hillsides about Chillicothe. I have seen the ground on the top of Mt. Logan almost completely covered with them. They are identified by Mr. Lloyd, Prof. Atkinson, and Dr. Peck. The plants in Figure 487 were photographed by Mr. Lloyd from typical specimens. Geaster mammosus. Chev.Exporidium thin, rigid, hygroscopic, smooth, divided almost to the base into about ten linear segments, often umbilicate at the base; inner peridium globose, smooth, sessile, furnished with a conical, even, protruding mouth, seated on a definite area. Columella short, globose, evident (though distinct in mature plants). Capillitium simple, tapering, hyaline, often flattened, slightly thinner than the spores. Spores globose, roughened, 3–7 mc. Lloyd. This plant is found in the woods from July till late in the fall. It differs from G. hygrometricus by its even, conical mouth. I found specimens several times in Haynes's Hollow. Geaster velutinus. Morg.Unexpanded plants globose, sometimes slightly pointed at apex. Mycelium basal. Outer layer rigid, membranaceous, firm, light colored in the American plant. The surface is covered with short, dense, appressed velumen, so that to the eye the surface appears simply dull and rough, but its true nature is readily seen under a glass of low power. The outer surface separates from the inner as the plant expands, and in mature specimens is usually partly free. The thickness and texture of the two layers are about the same. The fleshy layer is dark reddish-brown when dry, a thin adnate layer. Inner peridium sessile, dark colored, globose, with a broad base and pointed mouth. Mouth even, marked with a definite circular light-colored basal zone. Columella elongated, clavate. Spores globose, almost smooth, small, 2½—3½ mc. Lloyd. Myriostoma coliformis. Dick. Exporidium usually recurved, cut to about the middle into six to ten lobes; if collected and dried when first open, rather firm and rigid; when exposed to weather becoming like parchment paper by the peeling off of the inner and outer layers. Inner peridium, subglobose, supported on several more or less confluent pedicels. Surface minutely roughened; mouths several, appressed fibrillose, round, plain or slightly elevated; columellÆ several, filiform, probably the same in number as the pedicels; spores globose, roughened, 3–6 mc.; capillitium simple, unbranched, long, tapering, about half diameter of spores. The inner peridium with its several mouths can be, not inaptly, compared to a "pepper-box." The specific name is derived from the Latin colum, a strainer, and the old English name we find in Berkeley "Cullender puffball" refers to a cullender (or colander more modern form) now almost obsolete in English, but meaning a kind of strainer. Lloyd. Found in sandy soil. It is quite rare. Both the generic and specific names refer to its many mouths. The specimens in Figure 490 were found on Green Island, Lake Erie, one of the points where this rare species is found. It is found at Cedar Point, Ohio, also. The plant was photographed by Prof. Schaffner of the Ohio State University. | |||||||||||||||
|
