2.
A. Lycoperdon echinatum.
B. Spines (magnified) which fall off and leave tesselated inner peridium exposed. (After Morgan.)
As has been stated, the two Cohorts in which a hymenium or spore-bearing surface is present are called Hymenomycetes and Gastromycetes. In the first the hymenium is exposed, as in the common mushroom. In the second—Gastromycetes—the hymenium is at first enclosed in a sac or peridium, as in the common puff-ball.
The botanical description of Gastromycetes, given by M.C. Cooke, is: “Hymenium more or less permanently concealed, consisting in most cases of closely-packed cells, of which the fertile ones bear naked spores on distinct spicules, exposed only by the rupture or decay of the insisting coat or peridium.’
The Gastromycetes are usually large, ground-growing fungi. A few grow upon wood. The peridium is of dense structure, usually globose and of considerable thickness. It commonly consists of two layers. These form the sac holding the spore-bearing structure, which is called the gleba. The gleba consists of innumerable chambers or cells, curved and branched, and only to be distinguished by magnifying. The primary structure is retained in some species throughout the life of the plants, excepting changes due to growth and maturing, or in others these cells or chambers are large and few, and form distinct peridiola, which contain the spores.
The maturing of the plant and the consequent changes in the gleba is accompanied by various transformations of the peridium.”
It is impossible within the scope of this book to even name all the genera of Gastromycetes. Professor Morgan’s table of the families and table of the genera of Lycoperdaceæ are here given. The orders are defined as are some of the genera, and the edible species are described.
TABLE OF FAMILIES OF GASTROMYCETES.
A. Terrestrial.