The reproductive bodies consisting of sporidia mostly definite, contained in asci—mother cells or sacs—springing from a naked or enclosed stratum of fructifying cells and forming a hymenium or nucleus. The sporidia are often accompanied by simple or branched threads, which are abortive asci, called paraphyses.

In Hymenomycetes the spores are entirely unenclosed and are borne on stalk-like processes on the gills of AgaricaceÆ, in the tubes of PolyporaceÆ, on the spines of HydnaceÆ, etc. In Ascomycetes they are enclosed in sacs springing from the external layer of the fruit-bearing surface, which may be on the outer surface of the plant or enclosed.

The most important distinctive feature of Discomycetes consists in the disk or hymenium being fully exposed at maturity. It includes families which contain choice edible species.

FAMILY.—HELVELLA´CEÆ.

Fleshy, waxy or gelatinous; hymenium or sac-bearing surface exposed at first, or at length more or less exposed. Where a distinct stem is present it is surmounted by a more or less definite pileus or the stem is expanded into a club-like head. In Peziza the definite stem is absent and the plant is seated on the supporting surface.

Many more genera than are noted below are included in HelvellaceÆ, but are not known to contain edible species.

Pileus drooping, irregularly waved and lobed.

Pileus drooping, regular, margin entire, thimble-shaped.

Pileus fleshy, discoid.

Surface of pileus furnished with stout, anastomosing ribs bounding deep irregular pits.

Surface of pileus covered with rounded, variously contorted folds.

Pileus subglobose or clavate, surface even.

Pileus flattened, running down the stem for some distance on opposite sides.

HELVEL´LA Linn.

Stem of medium thickness. Pileus hanging loosely over the stem, more or less folded, but not into pits. Hymenium on the upper side only.

Helvella esculenta is now Gyromitra esculenta, and is in bad repute.

Meanings of the unfamiliar words are too lengthy to give in the descriptions of species. They are in the Glossary.

Dr. Badham says: “All HelvellÆ are esculent, have an agreeable odor, and bear a general resemblance in flavor to the Morell.”

H. cri´spa Fr.—curled. Pileus deflexed, lobed or variously contorted, white or whitish. Stem equal or slightly swollen at the base, deeply and uninterruptedly grooved, white or whitish. Spores elliptical, 18×22µ long. Peck, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Distinguished from all other species by the stout, costate, lacunose, hollow stem; entirely glabrous, fragile and with a semi-transparent look. Color variable, included under the following forms:

Var. al´ba. Pileus whitish.

Var. Grevil´lei. Under surface of the pileus reddish; stem white.

Var. incarna´ta. Pileus and stem flesh-color.

Var. ful´va. Pileus yellowish or tawny. Massee.

Pileus whitish, flesh-colored or yellowish, deflexed, lobed, at length free, crisped. Stem hollow, ribbed outside forming deep pits, 3–5 in. high, snowy white.

Edible. Badham, Cordier, Cooke, Berkeley, Peck.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, McIlvaine.

H. crispa is white and variable in shape of cap. In its color it differs from all others of its genus. It is found in the woods only, from July until frost. It is not usually abundant. It is an esculent species and good of its kind.

H. Califor`nica Phillips. Pileus bell-shaped or saddle-shaped, deflexed, sublobate, free, veined beneath, purplish-brown. Stem longitudinally pitted between ridges, rosy-pink. Asci cylindrical, narrowed toward the base. Sporidia 8, elliptical, binucleate, 17×9µ paraphyses linear, clavate and brown at the apices.

2–6 in. in diameter. Stem 2–6 in. high, .75–1.5 in. in diameter.

On the earth in dense forests near rocks. Sierra Nevada mountains; California, Harkness.

Edible. Harkness.

It presents characters essentially different from those of any species hitherto described. Its nearest ally is H. crispa, from which it differs in the color of the hymenium and stem and in being a larger species.

H. lacuno´sa Afzel.—uneven, pitted. Pileus inflated, lobed, cinereous-black, lobes deflexed, adnate. Stem white or dusky, hollow, exterior ribbed, forming intervening cavities; asci cylindrical, stemmed; sporidia ovate, hyaline.

Solitary or gregarious; very variable in size.

North Carolina, Curtis; Massachusetts, Sprague, Frost; White mountains, Farlow; Rhode Island, Bennett; California, H. and M.

Edible. Cordier, Berkeley, Badham, Cooke, Curtis.

H. sulca´ta Afzel.—furrowed. Pileus deflexed, equally 2–3 lobed, even, compressed, darker when dry. Stem 2 in. long, 4–5 lines thick, stuffed, equal, longitudinally furrowed. Spores very broadly elliptic, with a single large globose nucleus, 15–18µ long B. and Br.

Solitary, rarely gregarious.

Var. mi´nor Clem. Bot. Surv. of Neb. Univ. of Neb. Pileus .8–1.2 in., rarely 3.2 in. wide, .8–2 in. high. Stem .8–1.2 in., rarely 4 in. high, .6–1.4 in. wide; sporidia 15×10µ.

On shady ground. Otowanie woods, Lancaster county.

The prominent character in this species, as indicated by the name, is the sulcate stem. The furrows are very deep, and extend, without interruption, the entire length of the stem. The whole stem, as shown by a cross-section, is made up of the costÆ intervening between these furrows. I do not find the stem “stuffed,” as required by the description in Syst. Myc., Vol. II, p. 15. The pileus is generally darker than that of H. crispa. Peck, 31st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

On decaying wood, stumps, trunks. Spring until autumn.

Known to be edible. Peck.

H. elas´tica Bull.—elastic. Pileus free from the stem, drooping, 2–3 lobed, center depressed, even, whitish, brownish or sooty, almost smooth underneath, about 2 cm. broad. Stem 2–3.5 in. high, 3–5 lines thick at the inflated base; tapering upward, elastic, even or often more or less pitted, colored like the pileus, minutely velvety or furfuraceous, at first solid, then hollow. Spores hyaline, smooth, continuous, elliptical, ends obtuse, often 1-guttulate, 18–20×10–11µ; 1-seriate; paraphyses septate, clavate. Massee.

It is not uncommon to find the pileus attached in one or two points to the stem. Peck, 32d Rep.

Var. al´ba (Pers.) Sacc.

On decaying wood. August to frost.

Massachusetts, Frost; Rhode Island, Bennett; Nebraska, Clements; New York, Peck, Rep. 24, 32, 51.

Edible. Unger, Cordier. Known to be edible. Peck.

H. in´fula Schaeff.—a head dress. Pileus hooded, in 2–4 irregular, drooping lobes, at length undulate, strongly adherent to the sides of the stem, reddish-brown or cinnamon more or less deep in color, whitish and downy underneath, 1.5–3 in. broad. Stem 1½-2½ in. long, ½ in. and more thick, usually smooth and even, sometimes compressed and irregularly pitted, pallid or tinged with red, covered with a white meal or down, solid when young but becoming hollow with age; asci cylindrical, apex somewhat truncate, 8-spored. Spores hyaline, smooth, continuous, elliptical, ends obtuse, 21–23×11–12µ Massee.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania. Decaying trunks, stumps and roots. McIlvaine.

Edible. Cooke, Curtis, Peck.

Equal to any Helvella.

VER´PA Swartz.

Ascophore stipitate, campanulate, attached to the tip of the stem and hanging down like a bell, surrounding but free from the side of the stem, regular, smooth or slightly wrinkled but not ribbed, persistent, thin, excipulum formed of interwoven, septate hyphÆ, hymenium entirely covering the outer surface of the ascophore; asci cylindrical, 8-spored. Spores elliptical, continuous, hyaline or nearly so, 1-seriate; paraphyses septate. Stem elongated, stuffed.

Very closely allied to Helvella; distinguished by the ascophore being more regular in form, and more evidently deflexed round the apex of the stem, which it surrounds like a thimble on a finger, and is quite free from the stem except at the apex.

The species grow on the ground, in spring. Massee.

V. digitalifor´mis Pers.—digitus, a finger. Pileus at first nearly even, olivaceous-umber, dark at the apex. Stem obese, furnished at the base with a few reddish radicles, white with a slight rufous tinge, marked with transverse reddish spots; smooth to the naked eye, but under a lens clothed with fine adpressed flocci, the rupture of which gives rise to the spots, which are, in fact, minute scales. In the mature plant the pileus is ¾ in. high, bell-shaped, finger-form, or subglobose, more or less closely pressed to the stem, but always free, the edge sometimes inflexed so as to form a white border, wrinkled, but not reticulated, under side slightly pubescent; sporidia yellowish, elliptic. Stem 3 in. high, ½ in. or more thick, slightly attenuated downward, loosely stuffed, by no means hollow. Berkeley.

Minnesota, Johnson; California, H. and M.; New York, Buffalo, Clinton; Oneida, Warne, May. Peck, 30th, 32d Rep.

Mt. Gretna, July, 1897. Road-side bank. McIlvaine.

Sold in Italy. Vittadini. Not to be despised when one can not get better nor to be eaten when one can. Badham.

The substance of this fungus is the same as that of Helvella. It is pleasant but rather tasteless.

LEOTIA Hill.

Ascophore stipitate, substance fleshy, soft and somewhat gelatinous. Pileus orbicular, spreading; margin drooping or incurved free from the stem, glabrous, hymenium entirely covering the upper surface. Stem central, elongated; asci cylindric-clavate, apex narrowed, 8-spored. Spores hyaline, continuous or 1-septate, elongated and narrowly elliptical, obliquely 1–2 seriate; paraphyses present.

Growing on the ground, or on decaying wood. Hill. Emended. Massee.

Stem long. Pileus flattened, margin incurved, covered everywhere with the smooth, somewhat viscid hymenium.

L. chloroceph´ala Schw.—chloros, green; kephalos, a head. Cespitose, stipitate. Pileus 4–6 lines across, depresso-globose, somewhat translucent, more or less wavy, margin incurved, dark verdigris-green to blackish-green. Stem 1–1½ in. long, almost equal, green but often paler than the pileus, pulverulent, often twisted; asci cylindric-clavate, apex rather narrowed, 8-spored. Spores smooth, hyaline, narrowly elliptical, ends acute, often slightly curved, usually 2–3-guttulate, 17–20×5µ, irregularly 2-seriate; paraphyses slender, hyaline.

On the ground.

Distinguished from L. lubrica by the green stem. Massee.

North Carolina, Curtis; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. Cespitose. In mixed woods, moist ground. July until long after frosts. McIlvaine.

A small clustered plant having a green gelatinous appearance. Quarts of it can frequently be gathered after rains. Both it and L. lubrica have less flavor than the larger HelvellaceÆ, but they make a palatable dish.

L. lu´brica, Pers.—slippery. Gregarious or in small clusters, stipitate, somewhat gelatinous. Pileus irregularly hemispherical, inflated, wavy, margin very obtuse, yellowish olive-green, 6–8 lines across. Stem 1.5–2 in. high, nearly equal or more or less inflated at the base, pulpy within then hollow, externally yellowish and covered with minute white granules; asci cylindrical, apex slightly narrowed, 8-spored. Spores obliquely 1-seriate, hyaline, continuous, smooth, often guttulate, narrowly elliptical, straight or very slightly curved, 22–25×5–6µ; paraphyses slender, cylindrical, hyaline.

On the ground in woods. Massee.

North Carolina, Curtis; Massachusetts, Frost; Minnesota, Johnson; New York, Ellis.

New York, Peck, 23d Rep.; Trenton, N.J. Cespitose on damp ground in woods. Forty specimens, July, 1898. E.B. Sterling; New Jersey; Pennsylvania. Gregarious and cespitose in several localities. July to frost. McIlvaine.

Irregular in appearance. Helvella-like but with a very soft gelatinous stem, yellow. The color of the stem distinguishes it from L. chlorocephala, which has a green stem. It is a small plant, but of good food value. Where it occurs there is often a goodly quantity.

MORCHEL´LA Dill.

Stipitate or subsessile. Pileus globose or ovate, adnate throughout its length to the sides of the stem, remaining closed at the apex, hollow and continuous with the cavity of the stem; externally furnished with stout, branched and anastomosing ribs or plates, every part bearing the hymenium. Stem stout, stuffed or hollow; asci cylindrical, 2–4–8-spored. Spores 1-seriate, continuous, hyaline, elliptical; paraphyses septate, clavate.

Most nearly allied to Gyromitra; differs in the ribs of the pileus being deep and plate-like, and anastomosing to form elongated or irregularly polygonal deep pits.

Growing on the ground in the spring. Massee.

Stem stout; pileus ovoid or conical, deeply folded into pits, resembling honeycomb.

Notwithstanding Dill, the author of the genus, describes the caps as adnate throughout their length to the stem, such is not the case. Professor Peck arranges the genus into two groups, “in one of which the margin of the cap is wholly attached to the stem, in the other it is free.” In the latter group are M. bispora and M. semilibera.

The species are so much alike that botanical descriptions are omitted of all but M. esculenta and Professor Peck’s species.

Not one of the Morells is even suspicious. They are favorites wherever found. The Morell is one of the few species known to the settler and to the farmer. It loves old apple orchards, probably because ashes have been used about the trees; ashes and cinders are its choice fertilizers. In Germany peasants formerly burned forests to insure a bountiful crop. Mr. Moore, of San Francisco, Cal., says: “We find it in profusion on burnt hillsides all along the Pacific coast.”

But it does not confine its habitat to burned surfaces. It grows in thin open woods or on borders of woods. It grows under pine, ash, oaks and other trees. Strange to say it grows under the walnut tree where very few fungi of any kind grow. Especially does it love the white walnut or butternut.

Morchella dry well and keep well for winter use.

M. esculen´ta Pers.—esculent. (Plate XLVI, fig. 2, p. 214.) Pileus globose, ovate or oblong, adnate to the stem at the base, hollow, ribs stout, forming irregular, polygonal, deep pits, pale dingy yellow, buff or tawny, 1.25–2.5 in. high and broad. Stem stout, whitish, almost even, hollow or stuffed, 1.25–2.5 in. high, .8 in. and more thick; asci cylindrical, 8-spored. Spores continuous, smooth, hyaline, elliptical, ends obtuse, 19–20×10µ, paraphyses rather slender, slightly thickened upward.

On the ground. Spring and early summer. Edible.

Variable in form, size and color, but distinguished by the pileus being adnate to the stem at the base, and the stout ribs anastomosing to form irregular, polygonal pits of about equal size, and not elongated. Massee.

Common over the states, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. In orchards, on ashes and cinders, under walnut, pine and oak trees. May and June. McIlvaine.

The common Morell varies in size, 2–4 in. high, sometimes larger. The cap, usually broader than it is long, oval, at times tapering to a rounded top. The cavities resemble those of a weather-beaten honeycomb, and are whitish, or grayish or brownish. The stem is about ½ in. in diameter. It is an easily recognized species. Edible. Choice. Total nitrogen, according to Lafayette B. Mendel, 4.66 per cent.

M. cras´sipes Pers.—crassus, thick; pes, a foot. Agreeing with M. esculenta in having the pits of the pileus irregular in form, not much, if at all, longer than broad, and in not having a main series of more or less parallel and vertical ribs; differing in the stout stem being much longer than the pileus. Massee.

Attains a height of 9 in. or more.

Not rare in May. Kansas, Cragin; Minnesota, Johnson.

Esculent. Cooke.

M. delicio´sa Fr. The Delicious morell is easily known by the shape of its cap, which is cylindrical or nearly so. Sometimes it is slightly narrowed toward the top and occasionally curved, as in the preceding species, but its long narrow shape and blunt apex is quite strongly contrasted with that species. It is usually two or three times as long as it is broad, and generally it is longer than the stem. Specimens also occur in which the cap is slightly more narrow in the middle than it is above and below, and rarely it is slightly pointed at the apex. The pits on its surface are rather narrow and mostly longer than broad. The stem is often rather short.

The plant varies from 1½-3 in. high. Peck, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Its name gives it esculent properties.

M. con´ica Pers.—conical. The Conical morell has the cap conical or oblong-conical, as its name indicates. The longitudinal ridges on its surface run more regularly from top to base than in the Common morell. They are connected by short transverse ridges which are so distant from each other or so incomplete that the resulting pits or depressions are generally longer than broad, and sometimes rather irregular. The color in the young plant is a beautiful buff-yellow or very pale ochraceous, but it becomes darker with age.

The plants are generally 3–5 in. high, with the cap 1½-2 in. thick in its broadest part, and distinctly broader than the stem. Peck, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Kansas; California; Rhode Island; Ohio, Lloyd; New York; Indiana, H.I. Miller, orchards, thin woods; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, McIlvaine.

The conical form distinguishes M. conica from M. esculenta, if they are really different species, as some writers doubt. For the table there is not any difference.

M. bi´spora Sor.—Two-spored. The Two-spored morell is very similar to the Half-free morell in external appearance. It is distinguishable by its cap, which is free from the stem almost or quite to the top. The stem of the European plant has been described as stuffed, but in our plant it is hollow, though possibly in very young plants it may be stuffed. The remarkable and very distinctive character which gives name to the species can only be seen by the aid of a microscope. In this species there are only two spores in each ascus or sack and these are much larger than the spores of the other species. They are two or three times longer and sometimes slightly curved. The spores of the other species are eight in an ascus and are very much alike in size and shape, and do not furnish decided specific characters; but in this species their importance can not be overlooked. Their length is about 60µ, while in the others it is 20–25µ.

This is probably our rarest species. I am not aware that it has been found in but one locality in our state. A few years ago Mr. H.A. Warne detected it growing among fallen leaves in a ravine near Oneida. I have not tested its edible qualities, but would have no hesitation in eating it if opportunity should be afforded. Peck, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Var. trunca´ta. Pileus broadly rounded or truncate, its costÆ slightly prominent, the margin often a little recurved; paraphyses numerous. Stem long.

Michigan. May. Hicks. Peck, 46th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

M. angus´ticeps Pk.—angustus, narrow; caput, head. Pileus oblong-conical and subobtuse or narrowly conical and acute, adnate to the stem, 1–2 in. high, and about half as broad at the base, ribs longitudinal, here and there anastomosing or connected by transverse veins. Stem subequal, hollow, whitish, furfuraceous without and within, even or rarely rough with irregular longitudinal furrows; asci cylindrical. Spores elliptical, whitish tinged with ocher, 20–25×12.5–18µ; paraphyses short, clavate, with one or two septa near the base.

Sandy soil in the borders of woods and in open places. West Albany and Center. April and May.

Two forms occur, one with the pileus oblong-conical, rather obtuse, often tipped with a slight umbo or papilla, and with a diameter a little surpassing that of the stem from which the base is separated by a slight groove; the other with the pileus narrowly conical, rather acute, scarcely exceeding the stem in diameter and without any separating groove. The stem and fruit are alike in both forms. The stem is usually about equal in length to the pileus. The species is related to M. conica and M. elata, but may be separated from both by the size of the spores and the character of the paraphyses. In our plant I have never seen these as long as the asci. Large forms appear also to approach M. rimosipes, but that species has the margin of the pileus more free, the stem proportionately longer, and the paraphyses as long as the asci, if we may rely upon the figure of it. Our plant is edible. Peck, 32d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

The plants are commonly 2–3 in. high, with the cap generally less than an inch broad in its widest part, but sometimes much larger specimens occur. Peck, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

M. semilib´era D.C.—half-free. The Half-free morell has a conical cap, the lower half of which is free from the stem. It rarely exceeds 1 in. or 1½ in. in length, and is usually much shorter than its stem. The pits on its surface are longer than broad. Deformed specimens occur in which the cap is hemispherical and very blunt or obtuse at the apex; in others it is abruptly narrowed above and pointed.

The plants are 2–4 in. high. The species is rare with us. Peck, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Spores pale-yellow.

Odor feeble, becomes stronger in drying. Much less sapid than M. esculenta. Neither of these funguses should be gathered after rain, as they are then insipid and soon spoil. Badham.

GYROMI´TRA Fr.

Ascophore stipitate; hymenophore subglobose, inflated and more or less hollow, or cavernous, variously gyrose and convolute at the surface, which is everywhere covered with the hymenium; substance fleshy; asci cylindrical, 8-spored. Spores uniseriate, elongated, hyaline or nearly so, continuous; paraphyses present.

Helvella of old authors.

Distinguished from Morchella by the thick, brain-like folds of the hymenophore not anastomosing to form irregularly polygonal depressions; and from Helvella in the hymenophore not being free from the stem at the base.

Growing on the ground. Massee.

G. esculen´ta Fr. (Plate VI, fig. 6, p. 6.) Pileus rounded, lobed, irregular, gyrose-convolute, glabrous, bay-red. Stem stout, stuffed or hollow, whitish, often irregular. Spores elliptical, binucleate, yellowish, 20–22µ long.

The Edible gyromitra, formerly known as Helvella esculenta, is easily recognized by its chestnut-red irregularly rounded and lobed cap with its brain-like convolutions. The margin of the cap is attached to the stem in two or three places. When cut through it is found to be hollow, whitish within and uneven, with a few prominent irregular ribs or ridges. The stem is whitish, slightly scurfy, and when mature, hollow. In large specimens it sometimes appears as if formed by the union of two or more smaller ones.

The plant is 2–4 in. high and the cap commonly 2–3 in. broad. Specimens sometimes occur weighing a pound each. It is fond of sandy soil and is found in May and June. It grows chiefly in wet weather or in wet ravines or springy places in the vicinity of pine groves or pine trees. Peck, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

G. esculenta crispa n. var. Whole surface of the pileus finely reticulated with anastomosing costÆ (ribs or veins).

Under evergreens. North Elba. June. Peck, 51st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Since 1882 myself and friends have repeatedly eaten it. In no instance was the slightest discomfort felt from it. It was always enjoyed. Mr. Charles H. Allen, San Jose, Cal., writes to me that G. esculenta grows plentifully in his region, and that it is not only edible, but he has found it one of the best. But the species, though long ago esteemed highly in Europe and by many in America, now rests under decided suspicion. It is not probable that in our great food-giving country anyone will be narrowed to G. esculenta for a meal. Until such an emergency arrives, the species would be better let alone.

G. cur´tipes Fr.—curtus, short; pes, a foot. Pileus inflated, gyrosely undulated, oblong, rotund, at first pallid then brownish; margin of pileus closely adnexed to the stem. Stem irregular, short or almost absent. Asci cylindrical. Sporidia .30×9µ fusiform, uninucleate. Paraphyses clavate.

On the ground. Spring. Readily distinguished from other species by the almost obliterated stem. Fries commends it highly as an esculent.

Separated from G. esculenta by paler color, shorter stem and different spores.

G. Carolinia´na (Bosc.) Fr. Pileus rotund, base free, surface woven into deep irregular undulating folds. Stem conical, sulcate. Asci cylindrical. Sporidia 3–3.2×1µ; somewhat fusiform; paraphyses thickened toward the top.

In woods. Esculent.

Massachusetts. Sprague.

G. brun´nea Underwood—brunneus, brown. A stout, fleshy, stipitate plant, 3–5 in. high, bearing a broad, much contorted, brown ascoma. Stem ¾-1.5 in. thick, more or less enlarged and spongy, solid at the base, hollow below, rarely slightly fluted, clear white; receptacle 2–4 in. across in the widest direction, the two diameters usually considerably unequal, irregularly lobed and plicate, in places faintly marked into areas by indistinct anastomosing ridges, closely cohering with the stem in the various parts, rich chocolate-brown or somewhat lighter if much covered with the leaves among which it grows, whitish underneath; asci 8-spored. Spores oval, 28–30µ long, by about 14µ wide, hyaline, somewhat roughened-tuberculate, usually nucleate, the highly refractive nucleus spherical or oval, 11µ or, if oval, 14×11µ in diameter; paraphyses slender, enlarged at the apex, faintly septate.

In rich woods, mostly in beech-leaf mold. Putnam county, Ind., May, 1892, 1893 and 1894. First found by Dr. W.V. Brown.

The plant is esculent, tender and possesses a fine flavor. Often as many as 8 or 10 plants would be found in one small area, but the plant appears to be local and never very abundant. Some single plants would weigh nearly half a pound.

MI´TRULA Fr.

Ascophore stipitate, fleshy. Head subglobose, ovate, or clavate, even, glabrous, everywhere covered with the hymenium, adnate throughout to the more or less elongated stem; asci cylindric-clavate, 8-spored. Spores narrowly elliptic-fusiform, hyaline, continuous or septate, irregularly 1–2-seriate; paraphyses present. Fries.

M. vitelli´na Sacc., var. irregularis Pk.—vitellus, egg-yolk. Pileus clavate, often irregular or compressed and somewhat lobed, obtuse, glabrous, yellow, tapering below into the short, rather distinct, yellowish or whitish stem. Spores narrowly elliptical, 8–10µ long.

When the Irregular mitrula is well grown and symmetrical it closely resembles the typical European plant, but usually the clubs or caps are curved, twisted, compressed or lobed in such a way that it is difficult to find two plants just alike. The plants are usually only one or two inches high, so that they would scarcely be thought of any importance as an edible species. But sometimes it grows in considerable profusion in wet mossy places in woods, so that it would not be difficult to gather a pint of them in a short time. Its beautiful bright yellow color makes it a very attractive object. It is our largest species of Mitrula and occurs in autumn.

It was first reported as an edible species in the forty-second report. Its flesh is tender and its flavor delicate and agreeable. Peck, 48th Rep.

Ontario, Dearness (LI. R. 4). West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. Common, gregarious in moist woods. September to November. McIlvaine.

Those fortunate enough to find this species will hunt for it again assiduously. Even raw, when cut in strips, it makes a picturesque and delicious salad.

SPATHULA´RIA Pers.

Receptacle erect, spathulate, compressed, hollow, adnate to the stem, down which it runs for some distance on opposite sides, everywhere covered with the hymenium. Stem subcylindrical, hollow; asci clavate, apex narrowed, 8-spored. Spores elongated, cylindric-clavate, multi-septate at maturity, arranged in a parallel fascicle in the ascus; paraphyses filiform, septate.

Distinguished by the broad, flattened ascophore running down opposite sides of the stem.

Growing on pine leaves or on the ground among moss. Massee.

Resembling a spatha, an instrument for stirring a liquid, shaped like an apothecary’s spatula.

Pileus irregular, compressed, folded, running down into the stem on either side.

S. clava´ta (Schaeff.) Sacc.—club-shaped. S. flavida Pers. Elvela clavata Schaeff. (Plate CXXXVI, p. 508.) Head spathulate or broadly clavate, obtuse or sometimes more or less divided at the apex, hollow, much compressed, running down the stem for some distance on opposite sides, glabrous, margin crisped or undulated, surface wavy or slightly lacunose, yellow, rarely tinged red, .8–1.2 in. high, .6–1 in. broad. Stem white then tinged yellow, 1.2–2.4 in. long, .2–3 lines thick, hollow, cylindrical or slightly compressed; asci clavate, apex narrowed, 8-spored. Spores arranged in a parallel fascicle, hyaline, linear-clavate, usually very slightly bent, multiguttulate then multiseptate, 50–60×3.5–4µ; paraphyses filiform, septate, often branched, tips not thickened, wavy. Massee.

New York. Woods in hilly and mountainous districts. Common. Peck, 22d Rep.

Professor Peck gives S. rugosa, which has the club wrinkled.

This odd, pretty little plant was found by me in great numbers at Eagle’s Mere, Pa., August, 1897, growing among mosses. The contrast of its bright yellow paddle-shapes against the moss-green is very pleasing to one who loves choice bits of color. Its consistency when stewed is tenacious but tender, and its flavor is delicate.

GEOGLOS´SUM Pers.

Entire fungus more or less clavate, erect, the apical, thickened portion everywhere covered with the hymenium; glabrous or hairy, often viscid; asci clavate, apex narrowed, 8-spored. Spores elongated, arranged in a parallel fascicle, cylindrical or very slightly thickened above the middle, and inclined to become cylindric-clavate, brown, septate, usually slightly curved; paraphyses septate, brown at the tips, often longer than the asci.

Distinguished among the clavate species by the long, narrow, brown, septate spores. The entire plant is black in all British species.

Growing on the ground, among grass, etc. Massee.

G. glutino´sum Pers. Ascophore 1.5–2 in. high, black, glabrous; ascigerous portion about ? of the entire length, oblong, lanceolate, up to .4 in. broad, obtuse, slightly viscid, more or less compressed, passing imperceptibly into the somewhat slender, cylindrical, viscid, brownish-black stem; asci clavate, tapering downward into a long, slender pedicel. Spores 8, arranged more or less parallel near the apex of the ascus, cylindrical, ends obtuse, 3-septate and clear-brown at maturity, straight or very slightly curved, 65–75×5–6µ; paraphyses numerous, distinctly septate, about 2µ thick, pale-brown, apex broadly pyriform and filled with dark-brown coloring matter.

On the ground among grass, etc.

The most important features of the present species are 3-septate brown spores and compressed ascophore. Massee.

New Jersey, E.B. Sterling. Mt. Gretna, Pa., August, 1899, gregarious in wet ground. Over a quart found in one patch. McIlvaine.

Stewed it is delicious.

PezizÆ, a sort of mushroom without root or stalk, mentioned by Pliny.

Ascophore sessile, but sometimes narrowed to a short, stem-like base, fleshy and brittle, closed at first, then expanding until cup-shaped, saucer-shaped, or in some species quite plane or even convex; disk even, nodulose or veined; externally warted, scurfy, or rarely almost glabrous; cortical cells irregularly polygonal; asci cylindrical, 8-spored. Spores obliquely 1-seriate, continuous, hyaline (rarely tinged brown), elliptical, epispore smooth or rough; paraphyses present. Dill. Emended. Massee.

The genus is large. Professor Peck reports 150 American species. Some are large, others require the microscope to find them.

They are rather indiscriminate in their habitats; some are eccentric; these grow on damp walls, on dung, in cellars and cisterns, on spent hops and on old fungi. One or two species grow on sticks under water, an unusual place for fungi of any kind. Minute species grow upon stems of herbaceous plants; nine or ten upon the nettle. Two species contain a milky fluid, P. succosa and P. saniosa. Many are known in Europe which have not been found in America. European authors differ as to their qualities; some call them insipid, some speak of them with kindly respect. Much depends upon their cooking. They are, as a rule, tenacious in texture. To cook them properly requires time and slow stewing. They then become soft and rather glutinous. Their flavor is slight but pleasant, and their consistency agreeable.

Externally powdered or with a woolly scurf.

Externally hairy or downy.

Externally almost naked, smooth. No edible species reported.

I.—Aleuria Fr.

Fleshy or fleshy-membranaceous, externally powdered or with a woolly scurf.

* Macropodes—macros, long; podes, feet. Stem firm, elongated, furrowed.

** Cochleata—cochleatus, spiral. Subsessile, oblique or twisted.

*** Cupulares. Subsessile, regular.

**** Humaria. Small, somewhat fleshy, margin downy. (None known to be edible.)

***** Encoelia. More or less coriaceous. (None known to be edible.)

P. aceta´bulum Linn.—a cup. Ascophore stipitate, cup-shaped, fleshy, rather tough, disk dark umber-brown, externally paler and minutely scurfy or flocculose; mouth somewhat contracted; 1.2–2 in. broad, 1.2–1.4 in. high. Stem .4-.6 in. high, often .4 in. thick, imperfectly hollow, with parallel or anastomosing ribs, which continue for some distance up the ascophore as branching veins, pale umber; cells of the cortex give off short, rather closely septate hyphÆ in groups; asci cylindrical, 8-spored. Spores obliquely 1-seriate, hyaline, smooth, broadly elliptical, ends obtuse, with a very large oil-globule, 18–22×12–14µ; paraphyses straight, septate, the brownish, clavate tip 5–6µ thick.

The fluted stem and veined outside of the excipulum mark the present species. The colorless hypothecium is composed of very densely and compactly interwoven hyphÆ. Massee.

Season spring.

North Carolina, Curtis; New Jersey, Ellis; Massachusetts, Frost; Rhode Island, Bennett; Ohio, Lloyd, R. 4.

Esculent. Cordier, Cooke.

P. ma´cropus Pers.—macros, long; pous, a foot. Solitary, 1–3 in. high, cups 1–2 in. broad. The cups become expanded, and sometimes reflexed; the exterior is ash-colored and clothed with little hairy or villous warts, the hairs consisting of concatenate cells, their extremities free. The stem is enlarged downward, often pitted, occasionally becoming hollow with age. Phillips.

Asci cylindrical, 8-spored. Spores 1-seriate, smooth, hyaline, elliptical, 28–33×11–13µ; paraphyses straight, tips brownish and thickened in a clavate manner up to 8–10µ Massee.

On the ground in shady places. Summer and autumn.

North Carolina, Curtis; New Jersey, Ellis; Minnesota, Johnson; Massachusetts, Frost; New York, Peck, Rep. 22.

Esculent. Cordier.

P. veno´sa Pers.—venosus, full of veins. Smell strong, nitrous; sessile or contracted into a short, stout, stem-like base; cup-shaped and with the margin incurved when young, then expanding and the margin becoming more or less split or lobed and wavy, 1.2–2 in. across; disk umber-brown, externally whitish, minutely granular, and furnished with rather stout, anastomosing ribs which radiate from the base; excipulum pseudoparenchymatous, cells largest at the periphery, where some run out as clavate, free tips; asci cylindrical, 8-spored. Spores obliquely 1-seriate, smooth, hyaline, often with 1 large oil-globule, elliptical, ends obtuse, wall rather thick, 18–24×11–13µ; paraphyses septate, tips clavate, brownish. On the ground. Spring. Massee.

Massachusetts, Frost; California, H. and M.; Rhode Island, Bennett; New York, Peck, Rep. 24.

Edible. Has a most decided nitrous odor and also fungoid flavor. Cooke.

P. ba´dia Pers.—of a brown or bay color. (Plate CLII, p. 554.) Gregarious or cespitose, sessile or narrowed into a very short, stout, stem-like base and often more or less lacunose; subglobose and closed at first, then cup-shaped or more expanded, margin entire or nearly so, the entire cup often wavy, rather thick, 1.2–2 in. across; disk dark-brown, externally paler-brown and minutely granular, often with a purple tinge; hypothecium and excipulum formed of stout, septate, irregularly inflated hyphÆ, hypothecium compact, excipulum spongy and cavernous; cortex compact, the hyphÆ running out in irregular lumps to form the external granulations; asci cylindrical, apex truncate, 8-spored. Spores obliquely 1-seriate, hyaline, continuous, elliptical, with one large oil-globule, minutely warted at maturity, 15–19×9–10µ; paraphyses septate, tips slightly clavate.

On the ground among grass, etc., also on scorched places.

Readily distinguished by the bay or umber-brown disk, and the minutely-warted spores. Massee.

North Carolina, Curtis; California, H. and M.; Minnesota, Johnson; Nebraska, Clements; New York, Peck, Rep. 25.

Alabama. On ground, Alabama Bull. No. 80, West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. On ground. Frequent. July to October. McIlvaine.

Esculent. Cordier.

P. badia is frequent on bare ground, along wood roads, etc. In the West Virginia mountains it occurs where there have been brush fires. It is a meaty plant, without much flavor. It must be cut fine and slowly cooked if stewed, or can be quickly fried in a hot buttered pan. It has more flavor fried crisp than stewed.

P. cochlea´ta—spiral. Sessile, cespitose, variously contorted and plicate, fleshy, brittle, disk umber-brown, externally paler and pruinose, sometimes altogether paler and leather-color or pale dingy-ochraceous, 2–3.2 in. diameter; when solitary or almost so, at first globose, then expanding with the margin involute, finally spreading and irregularly plicate; excipulum spongy and cavernous, due to the loose weft formed by interlacing, hyaline, thin-walled, flaccid, septate hyphÆ, cortex compact, running out into irregular groups of cells that form the scurfy exterior; asci cylindrical, apex slightly truncate, 8-spored. Spores obliquely 1-seriate, hyaline, continuous, smooth, usually 2-guttulate, 16–18×7–8µ; paraphyses slender, septate; tip slightly clavate, often curved and sometimes branched.

The entire substance is brittle and rather watery, and usually assumes a yellowish tint when bruised. Smell and taste almost none.

Sometimes the ascophores are closely crowded, hence irregular and much contorted, and resembling a foliaceous Tremella or a small specimen of Sparassis crispa. Massee.

New York. Ground in woods. Helderberg mountains and Greenbush. June. Peck, Rep. 23; Alabama, Peters, Ala. Bull. No. 80; North Carolina, Curtis; Massachusetts, Frost; Ohio, Lloyd, Rep. 4.

This species is quite insipid and somewhat leathery, but Mr. Berkeley has seen it offered for sale under the name of Morell. Badham.

Esculent. Cordier, Cooke.

P. lepori´na Batsch.—lepus, a hare. Cup 1–3 in. high, 1–3 in. broad, gregarious, often cespitose; margin involute, divided to the base on one side; disk even or rarely wrinkled, a shade darker than the exterior; paraphyses slender, hardly thickened at the summits, but almost invariably crooked. This fine species grows as large as O. onotica at times, but is not so brightly colored, being throughout of a sober tan-color, resembling common wash leather used for cleaning plate. Phillips.

Asci cylindrical, 8-spored. Spores obliquely uniseriate, hyaline, smooth, continuous, 1–2 guttulate, elliptical, 12–15×7–8µ; paraphyses filiform, septate, apex slightly swollen, and usually strongly curved.

On the ground in woods, among leaves, etc. Massee.

California, edible, H. and M.

Esculent. Cordier.

P. onotica Pers. Very variable in form, usually elongated on one side and ear-shaped, but sometimes almost equal-sided and entire, 1–3 in. high, up to 2 in. wide, becoming narrowed to a more or less wrinkled, short stem-like base; disk pale orange, usually with a rosy tinge, externally pale tawny-orange. Asci elongated, narrowly cylindrical, 8-spored. Spores obliquely 1-seriate, hyaline, smooth, colorless, ends obtuse, 1–2-guttulate, 14–15×8–9µ; paraphyses straight, septate, apex clavate.

On the ground in woods, among leaves, etc. Massee.

North Carolina, Curtis; Iowa, Fitzpatrick (Ll. R. 4); New York, Peck, Rep. 28.

Esculent. Cordier.

P. unici´sa Pk.—implying one incision. Cup large, thin, split on one side to the base, sessile or with a short stem, externally wrinkled, minutely pulverulent under a lens, yellow, within pale-yellow slightly tinged with pink. Spores elliptical, usually containing two nuclei, 12–15µ.

Ground in woods. Croghan. September.

The cups are about two inches broad. The species is related to P. onotica. Peck, 26th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Minnesota, Johnson; Mt. Gretna, Pa. On ground in mixed woods, gravelly ground. September to October. McIlvaine.

Many specimens were found scattered and in patches, and were eaten. They were of slight flavor but good.

P. auran´tia Pers. (Plate CXXXVI, fig. 3, p. 508.) Sessile or protracted into a very short stem-like base, cespitose and irregular, or growing singly and then circular in outline and regular, becoming almost plane; thin, brittle, disk clear, deep orange or sometimes orange-red, externally much paler, or sometimes almost white, with a pink tinge, delicately tomentose, due to the presence of short, stout, blunt, 1–2-septate hyaline hairs; varying from ½-3.2 in. broad. Spores 15–16×7–8µ.

On the ground, often near stumps or among chips.

Sometimes crowded, large, with the margin raised and very much waved and more or less incised, at others scattered, smaller, almost or quite even and finally spread flat on the ground. Easily recognized by the large size, bright orange disk, pale, downy exterior, and the broadly elliptical spores covered with a delicate net-work of raised lines at maturity. Massee.

Massachusetts, Frost; Rhode Island, Bennett; Minnesota, Johnson; California, H. and M.; Alabama, Peters; New York, October, Peck, 23, 24 Rep.; Indiana, Richmond, November, Dr. J.R. Weist; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. On ground. September to October. McIlvaine.

Esculent. Cordier.

At Mt. Gretna, Pa., patches of it twenty feet long, made the ground along a road on the margin of a woods golden with its clusters. The plants grew from sand mixed with leaf-mold. I have eaten it for fifteen years. Fair flavor.

P. repan´da Wahlenb.—bent backward. Clustered or scattered, subsessile, contracted into a short, stout, stem-like base, which is often rooting; saucer-shaped, then quite expanded and the margin more or less split and wavy, sometimes drooping and revolute, extreme edge often crenate; 1.6–4 in. across; disk pale or dark brown or umber, more or less wrinkled toward the center, externally whitish, minutely granular. Spores obliquely 1-seriate, hyaline, smooth, continuous, elliptical, ends obtuse, 18–22×11–12µ; paraphyses septate, clavate and brownish at the tips. Massee.

On the ground, often in beech-woods; also on decayed trunks.

New York, Ellis; Minnesota, Johnson; Ohio, Lloyd, R. 4. New York. Ground and decaying wood. Croghan. September. Peck, 28th Rep.

Specimens sent to the writer by Dr. W.B. Miller, Altoona, Pa., were 3½ in. across, and a beautiful velvety brown. Cooked they had a mushroom flavor.

P. vesiculo´sa Bull.—full of bladders. Clustered, often distorted from mutual pressure, sessile but more or less narrowed at the base, globose and closed at first, then expanding, but the margin usually remaining more or less incurved and somewhat notched; disk pale brown, externally brownish and coarsely granular from the presence of minute, irregular warts, 1.2–3 in. across. Spores obliquely 1-seriate, smooth, hyaline, continuous, elliptical, ends obtuse, 21–24×11–12µ; paraphyses slender, septate, clavate.

Var. ce´rea Rehm. Similar in size, habit and general structure to the typical form; differing in the wax-yellow color, the more distinct stem-like base, and the slightly smaller spores, 18–19×10µ; very brittle. Massee.

North Carolina, Curtis; California, H. and M.; Massachusetts, Frost; New Jersey, Ellis; Ohio, Lloyd, Rep. 4; var. minor, Sacc.; Nebraska, Clements; New York, Peck, Rep. 25.

Esculent. Cordier.

II.—Lachnea.

P. odora´ta Pk. Cups .5–3 in. broad, gregarious or scattered, thin, sessile, rather brittle when fresh, shallow, expanded or even convex from the decurving of the margin, at first brownish, then white or whitish, the hymenium ochraceous-brown; asci cylindrical, opening by a lid, .01-.012 in. long, .0006-.0008 in. broad, paraphyses filiform, obscurely septate, slightly thickened at the tips. Spores elliptical, even, 20–22.2×10–12.5µ.

Ground in cellar. Maine. June. F.L. Harvey.

The plant when fresh has the peculiar fungoid flavor suggestive of that of chestnut blossoms. The species is apparently allied to P. Petersii, from which it may be distinguished by its larger spores and distinct but peculiar odor. The spores also are not binucleate, as in that species. In drying, the hymenium is apt to become blackish. Peck, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 23, No. 10.

A cluster 4 inches across, in general appearance resembling P. repanda, was found by the writer at Mt. Gretna, Pa., June, 1898, growing from between the staves of an empty flour barrel which was exposed to the weather. The margin, instead of being revolute, turned inward (involute) until it touched the short stem. The cluster was eaten and had the flavor of P. repanda. In June, 1899, several pounds grew on and around the same barrel. Professor Peck recognized it as P. odorata.

P. cocci´nea Jacq.—scarlet or crimson. Geopyxis coccinea Mass. (Plate CXXXVI, fig. 2, p. 508.) Scattered or in groups of 2–3 specimens, stipitate; at first closed, then expanding and becoming shallowly cup-shaped, margin entire, .8–1.6 in. across; disk clear and deep carmine, externally whitish or pinkish, delicately tomentose, due to the presence of wavy, usually aseptate, hyaline, cylindrical hyphÆ, 5–6µ thick. Stem .4-.8 in. long, 1.2–2 in. thick, whitish and tomentose. Spores 1-seriate, elliptic-oblong, ends obtuse, hyaline, wall rather thick and forming a hyaline border, straight, 25–30×8–9µ; paraphyses very slender, hardly thickened at the tips.

On rotten branches lying on the ground. Spring.

Readily distinguished among the large, stipitate PezizÆ by the deep rose-red or carmine disk and the whitish, tomentose exterior. The stem varies considerably in length; when the fungus springs from the underside of a branch the stem is often elongated and curved. The base of the stem is attached to the branch by a mass of whitish, tomentose mycelium. Massee.

New York. Half-buried sticks. April and May. Peck, 23d Rep.; New Jersey, E.B. Sterling; Mt. Gretna, Pa., New Jersey. On sticks on ground. Spring. McIlvaine.

This brilliant fungus is one of the beauties of the woods. Though small it attracts the eye by its deep carmine in striking contrast with the somber carpeting. It is frequent when in season. A half pint of it may be gathered from a few acres. Its substance is tenacious, taste pleasant. Mr. Massee mentions that it is abundant in some of the woods near Scarboro, England, and is regularly collected and sold along with moss for decorative purposes. Exquisite effects may be produced by arranging the brightly colored fungi among moss and leaves. “Fairy Cups,” they are called. Rosy must be the lips that do not pale beside them.

P. calyci´na Schum.—resembling a bud. Ascophores cespitose, gregarious or scattered, narrowed into a short, stout, stem-like base, rather fleshy, 1–3 mm. broad; disk orange-yellow, externally white and villose, hairs rather wavy, cylindrical, obtuse, colorless, minutely rough, 100–150×4–5µ; asci subcylindrical, apex obtuse, 8-spored. Spores 1-seriate or inclined to be 2-seriate above, hyaline, elliptic-fusiform, continuous, 18–25×6–8µ; paraphyses slender, hyaline, cylindrical.

On bark of larch and Scotch fir. Massee.

North Carolina, Curtis; Massachusetts, Frost; New York. Gum spots on spruce, bark of pines, Peck, 22d Rep.

Esculent. Cooke.