Order 2. NIDULARIÆ, THE BIRD’S-NEST FUNGI.
This is again divided into three genera. The Crucible (crucibulum), the Cup (Cyathus), the Bird’s-nest proper (Nidularia.)
We often find on a wood-pile or a fallen tree some of the members of the Bird’s-nest family. It is fascinating to examine them in their various stages of development. First we see a tiny buff knot, cottony in texture and closely covered; next, another rather larger, with its upper covering thrown aside, displaying the tiny eggs, which prompts one to look around for the miniature mother bird; then we find a nest empty with the fledglings flown. The characteristic that distinguishes the Bird’s-nest fungi from others consists in the fact that the spores are produced in small envelopes that do not split open, and which are enclosed in a common covering, called the peridium. One species is known by the fluted inside of the covering, which is quite beautiful. They are all small and grow in groups.
Order 3. LYCOPERDONS, THE PUFF-BALLS.
The Lycoperdons contain several genera, among which we select the Puff-balls proper and the Earth stars.
What child is there who lives in the country and does not know the Puff-ball? With what gusto he presses it and watches what he calls
the smoke pouring from the chimney. Indeed, the outpouring of myriads of spores in its ripe stage does suggest smoke from a chimney. The puff-ball, when young, is of a firm texture, nearly round, grayish, or brownish outside, but of a pure white within. There are several genera, but we have selected two—1, Lycoperdon; and 2, Earth Star, or Geaster.
LYCOPERDON = the puff-ball.
The puff-balls vary greatly in size, the smallest measure ½ inch up to the largest, about 15 inches. Professor Peck describes them thus: “Specimens of medium size are 8 to 12 inches in diameter. The largest in the State Museum is about 15 inches in the dry state. When fresh it was probably 20 inches or more. The color is whitish, afterward yellowish or brownish. The largest size was called the Giant Puff-ball (Calvatia bovista).”