puff-ball, but is very much smaller; it lacks a stalk, being attached
to the substrate only by mycelial cords. It commences white, but then
darkens to become purplish brown at maturity when it also breaks from
its moorings and rolls about in the wind.
The last three species are found on heaths, in pastures or on the
ground in woods.
_Illustrations_: _C. gigantea_--Hvass 312; LH 217; NB 371; WD 109⁷.
_B. nigrescens_--Hvass 311; LH 219; NB 37³.
[Illustration: Plate 63. Puff-Balls]
Earth-stars and Earth-balls
The earth-stars, i.e. species of _Geastrum_, are closely related to the
puff-balls, but differ in having two very distinct and separate
enclosing walls, the outer one splitting at maturity to expose a
‘puff-ball’ within; an example of the genus is _G. triplex_ Jungh, found
in parks or under beech trees or _G. rufescens_ Pers. (illustrated) in
mixed woodland. The outer skin splits in different ways in different
species: in some it splits like a star--hence the common name of
Earth-star, in some the spore-mass is raised as if on stilts. There are
several species of _Geastrum_ recorded for Britain, but they are
decidedly uncommon.
The Earth-balls are, however, far from uncommon and may be met with from
early summer until late autumn in any wood particularly those on sandy
soils. They are unrelated to the earth-stars.
Earth-balls
~Scleroderma citrinum~ Persoon
Common earth-ball
_Fruit-body_: diameter 25-75 mm.
_Description_:
Fruit-body: rounded or flattened on top, sometimes lobed, very firm,
yellow or clay colour, scaly, thick, white within or pinkish, if cut
when immature, and then purplish black as the spores mature.
Stem: absent or reduced to a small group of mycelial cords.
Spore-mass: purplish black.
Spores: medium to large, dark brown, 8-13 µm in diameter and covered
with a delicate network.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: On the ground in woods or on heaths.
_General Information_: This fungus is found in many books under the
name of _S. aurantium_. _S. verrucosum_ Persoon is closely related,
but has a stem-like rooting base and an umber brown spore-mass. The
spores are also slightly different; they are 10-14 µm in diameter and
ornamented with spines and ridges.
The earth-balls appear to have characters in common with the false
truffles, indeed sometimes they grow partially buried in the sandy
soil of woods. Like the false truffles they have been used to
adulterate pâté as a cheap substitute for true truffles (see p. 244).
It is not wise, however, to eat earth-balls as there are cases of
poisoning known. Although truffle-like, they should be avoided except
under the guidance of an expert, as with agarics.
_Illustrations_: _Geastrum triplex_--Hvass 307; LH 221; NB 155¹.
_Scleroderma citrinum_--Hvass 320; LH 223; NB 155⁵; WD 111³.
[Illustration: Plate 64. Earth-balls and Earth-stars]
Stinkhorns
~Phallus impudicus~ Persoon
Common stinkhorn
_Fruit-body_: Egg: 30-60 mm in diameter--then _Cap_: 25-40 mm and
_Stem_: width 18-25 mm; length 100-150 mm.
_Description_:
Fruit-body: commencing as a white, silky egg-like structure full of
jelly in which is embedded a conical cap attached only at its apex to
a cylindrical white, spongy, hollow stem.
Cap: covered in a slimy mass of dark olive-coloured spores at
maturity.
Stem: cylindrical, rapidly elongating, white, spongy and hollow.
Spore-mass: dark olive-green, smelling strongly, foetid.
Spores: small, pale olive, oblong and 3-5 × 2 µm in size.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Common from summer to autumn on the ground
in woods and in gardens.
_General Information_: Easily recognised by its shape and evil smell
which can be detected at some distance. The unburst eggs are called
‘witches eggs’. Under favourable conditions the egg bursts and the
stem elongates carrying the cap and spore-mass with it. The spore-mass
is attractive to flies and they feed upon it; spores stick to their
feet and so are transported from one place to another.
The very similar _P. hadriani_ Persoon is frequently found in
sand-dunes; it differs in having a lilaceous colour to the egg. An
interesting variety of the common stinkhorn is uncommonly found and
differs in having a skirt-like frill beneath the cap. The jelly in the
egg is a water-store and is used by the fungus to expand rapidly.
~Mutinus caninus~ (Persoon) Fries, the ‘Dogs stinkhorn’, is found
around old stumps or on piles of leaves. It has the spore-mass
covering an orange-red pear-shaped cap which is itself fused to the
stem.
The stinkhorns and their allies appear to be commoner in warmer
countries where they take on many bizarre shapes. Other than the three
species noted above stinkhorns are rarely found in this country, but
when they are it would appear they have been introduced with foreign
imports such as timber, ornamental plants, vegetables etc.
Eggs of phalloids brought into the laboratory can be surrounded by wet
tissues or blotting paper and then allowed to develop further in a
dish or box. Provided the skin covering the spores is not broken or
injured the fungus will not smell and therefore before it becomes
unpleasant, the whole mechanism of expansion can be studied.
_Illustrations_: Hvass 323; LH 215; NB 153¹; WD 108¹.
[Illustration: Plate 65. Stinkhorns]
Birds nest fungi
~Crucibulum laeve~ (de Candolle) Kambly
_Fruit-body_: diameter 8-12 mm.
_Description_:
Fruit-body: ochraceous brown or sand-colour, downy and then smooth,
truncate, cup-shaped with the cup at first closed by a yellowish
membrane which finally splits to expose a group of pale brown or dingy
whitish, circular, lens-shaped ‘eggs’ (peridioles), scattered on a
shiny pale ochraceous interior.
Spores: medium-sized, in packets within ‘eggs’, ellipsoid, hyaline,
smooth and 8-10 × 4-6 µm in size.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Common in crowded groups on dead twigs,
fern stems, straw and wheat stubble.
_General Information_: _Cyathus_ differs from _Crucibulum_ in the more
complex fruit-body which consists of three layers, and the peridioles
forming on distinct stalks. Two species are frequently seen: _Cyathus
striatus_ Persoon has a grey, fluted inner surface to the cup and
strongly hairy red-brown outer surface; the spores measure 16-22 ×
9-10 µm. _Cyathus olla_ Persoon has a smooth, shiny, grey surface and
minutely silky, yellowish grey outer surface. _C. striatus_ is found
on twigs, and about dead stumps; _C. olla_ is more frequent in gardens
on herbaceous debris and dead pieces of perennial flowers--or even in
plant pots.
~Sphaerobolus stellatus~ Persoon is more distantly related and grows
on decaying leaves, bracken fronds, partially buried twigs and dung.
It is an intriguing fungus because it possesses a remarkable
spore-dispersal mechanism. The inner layer of the fruit-body when ripe
suddenly turns inside out catapulting the inner spore-mass to
distances of anything up to 4,200 mm, that is a distance of 1,000
times the size of the fruit-body. The fruit-body is externally whitish
or pale yellow, but this layer splits into lobes like a star exposing
the bright orange inner surface and pale spore-mass.
_Illustrations_: _Crucibulum laeve_--LH 223; WD 111⁷. _Cyathus
striatus_--LH 223; WD 111⁹. _Sphaerobolus stellatus_--LH 223; WD 111⁵.
[Illustration: Plate 66. Bird’s nest fungi]
E. CUP FUNGI AND ALLIES
_General Notes._
The Ascomycetes differ from all the other fungi so far dealt with in
that the spores develop enclosed in a microscopic envelope or
sac--called the ascus. Usually eight spores are produced in each ascus
and they are often dispersed violently into the air. Elf-cups and morels
are typical Ascomycetes, but the group also includes innumerable minute
forms of the microscopic fungi, small discs, minute flask-like
structures, some of which are parasitic on leaves and stems of higher
plants. In number the large species of Ascomycetes are few when compared
with the others and therefore can only be given but a mention in the
present account. When collected the Ascomycetes can be distinguished
from the Basidiomycetes by simply examining a slice of the
spore-producing tissue where the tell-tale asci will be seen (see p.
21). If the fruit-body is placed in a tin when collected and opened in a
warm room all the mature asci explode at once producing a cloud of
spores visible in the air immediately over the fruit-body.
~Aleuria aurantia~ (Fries) Fuckel
Orange-peel fungus or Scarlet elf-cup
_Fruit-body_: diameter 25-50 mm.
_Description_:
Fruit-body: cup-shaped then undulating and becoming flattened,
irregular, sometimes split and lacking a stem.
Inner surface: bright orange.
Outer surface: whitish and minutely downy.
Flesh: thin and white.
Spores: very long, ellipsoid, ornamented with a coarse network which
projects at each end, and 17-24 × 9-11 µm in size; eight contained in
an elongate, cylindric ascus.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Common on bare soil in woods and open
spaces, on road verges, between stone sets and on lawns.
[Illustration: Plate 67. Cup-fungi]
~Peziza repanda~ Persoon
Elf-cup
_Fruit-body_: diameter 20-50 mm.
_Description_: Plate 67.
Fruit-body: cup-shaped with white, crenulate margin, becoming expanded
and undulating, and lacking a stem.
Inner surface: light chestnut brown.
Outer surface: whitish or pale fawn and finely scurfy.
Flesh: whitish or fawn, and appearing as if layered.
Spores: very long, ellipsoid, smooth and 15-16 × 9-10 µm in size;
eight contained in an elongate, cylindrical ascus.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: On bare soil in woods, farm-yards,
hedgerows, etc.
_General Information_: There are many different species of _Peziza_
classified on the shape and ornamentation of the spores and colour of
the fruit-body--see pp. 216 and 220. _P. badia_ is darker, although
similar in other ways; it is found on pathsides in woods and has
roughened spores.
~Morchella esculenta~ St Amans
Common morel
_Cap_: width 30-40 mm; length 35-60 mm. _Stem_: width 15-25 mm; length
50-80 mm.
_Description_:
Fruit-body: consisting of a head with a honeycomb-like arrangement of
narrow ridges surrounding angular and often slightly elongated,
shallow pits, on a cylindric or swollen stem.
Cap: brownish grey then reddish brown or ochraceous brown.
Stem: cylindrical or slightly enlarged at the base, brittle, hollow,
minutely scurfy and/or furrowed.
Flesh: ochraceous.
Spore-print: cream.
Spores: very long, broadly ellipsoid, pale honey, smooth but for some
small granules at each end, and 16-23 × 11-14 µm in size; eight
contained in an elongate cylindrical ascus.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Infrequent in gardens, on river-banks,
sites of bonfires, etc., in spring.
_Illustrations_: F7^{c}; LH 41; NB 41³.
[Illustration: Plate 68. Morels and related fungi]
~Gyromirta esculenta~ (Persoon) Fries
Turban-fungus
_Cap_: width 30-40 mm; length 35-45 mm. _Stem_: width 15-25 mm; length
50-80 mm.
_Description_: Plate 68.
Fruit-body: consisting of a subglobose, more or less lobed, wrinkled
and convoluted head on a short stem.
Cap: yellow-brown to reddish brown and becoming hollow or chambered.
Stem: flesh-coloured or creamy grey and powdery.
Flesh: yellow-buff, darker in the cap.
Spores: very long, ellipsoid, usually containing two or more yellowish
oil drops and 18-22 × 9-12 µm in size; eight contained in an elongate
cylindrical ascus.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: This fungus is found in the spring, under
conifers, but also on railway embankments, river banks, etc. This
fungus is also known as the ‘Lorel’ or ‘Elephant’s ears’.
_General Information_: _Mitromorpha semilibera_ (Fries) Léville
differs from species of _Morchella_ in that the head is for its
greater length free from the stalk. It is frequently found in the
spring in gardens, tennis courts, etc.
_Illustrations_: G. esculenta--F 6^{d}; Hvass 327; LH 39.
~Helvella crispa~ Fries
Common white helvella
_Cap_: width 18-28 mm. _Stem_: width 8-12 mm; length 40-65 mm.
_Description_:
Fruit-body: consisting of a saddle-shaped cap on a short stem.
Cap: convoluted towards the centre, two lobed, wavy at the margin,
white or cream-coloured.
Stem: cylindric and hollow, white or cream-coloured and unevenly and
deeply longitudinally furrowed.
Flesh: thin and pale.
Spores: very long, broadly ellipsoid, with a large central oil drop
and 18-20 × 10-13 µm in size; eight contained in an elongate
cylindrical ascus.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Frequent in damp woods with deciduous
trees, from early summer until autumn.
_General Information_: Plate 68.
~Helvella lacunosa~ Fries, ‘Slate grey Helvella’ is similar in stature
but differs in being ash-grey or dark grey.
~Leptopodia elastica~ (St Amans) Boudier is better placed in the genus
_Helvella_. It differs in having a slender, smooth, cylindric stem and
irregularly 2-3 lobed, yellow or tan-coloured cap.
~Cyathipodia macropus~ (Fries) Dennis is sometimes placed in
_Helvella_. It differs in having a grey cup-shaped cap on a long,
slender stem. The spore-bearing tissue in the last species is the
inner surface of the cup whilst in _Helvella_ and _Leptopodia_ it is
on the outer surface of the saddle-like cap.
~Mitrula paludosa~ Fries, the ‘Bog beacon’, is a similar fungus
growing in spring to early autumn on old leaves and detritus in
swamps. It is widespread and has a bright orange head on a white
stem--as the common name might suggest. It grows to a height of about
20 mm.
_Illustrations_: _H. crispa_--F 6^{e}; Hvass 331; LH 41. _H.
lacunosa_--F 6^{b}; Hvass 330; LH 39; NB 153⁴. _L. elastica_--Hvass
332; LH 39. _C. macropus_--F 6^{a}; LH 39.
~Rhizina undulata~
Pine fire fungus
_Fruit-body_: width 20-60 mm, or several coalescing.
_Description_: Plate 69.
Fruit-body: chestnut-brown to rust colour with a distinct white or
cream margin, fleshy, smooth, concave and thrown up into irregular
humps.
Stem: lacking, but undersurface pale, ochraceous, and bearing numerous
cylindrical branched, whitish root-like structures, 1-2 mm thick.
Flesh: reddish brown, tough and fibrous.
Spores: very, very long, spindle-shaped with two or more internal
droplets, with hyaline extensions at each end, and 22-40 × 8-11 µm in
size; eight contained in an elongate cylindrical ascus.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Infrequent in pine woods but common at the
sites of bonfires in pine woodlands.
~Daldinia concentrica~ (Fries) Cesati & de Notaris
Cramp-balls
_Fruit-body_: diameter 20-40 mm × 20-60 mm.
_Description_:
Fruit-body: date-brown at first finally black or dark brownish black,
tough, minutely pimply over entire surface although at first covered
in a powdery dust of asexual spores (conidia).
Stem: lacking.
Flesh: pale grey or buff, concentrically zoned with darker purplish
black layers below which are small, black dots.
Spores: very long, black, ellipsoid with one flattened side and 12-17
× 6-9 µm in size; eight contained in an elongate cylindrical ascus.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Common on old deciduous wood, particularly
of ash and beech.
_General Information_: These two fungi are unrelated; the first is
related to the disc-fungi, like species of _Peziza_, whilst _Daldinia_
is related to the Dead man’s finger fungus. _Rhizina undulata_ has
been shown to be able to attack roots of pine or larch trees and cause
death. _Daldinia_ is a pure saprophyte rotting down wood into more
simple compounds later to be incorporated into the soil-system. The
common name ‘Cramp-balls’ refers to the old belief that if one of the
fruit-bodies is carried in the pocket it saves the possessor from
cramp and rheumatism. The other common name for the same fungus is
‘King Alfred’s cakes’. The black colour of the fruit-body is like that
of charred cakes--resembling the cakes in the legend which King Alfred
allowed to burn.
_Illustrations_: _R. undulata_--LH 37; NB 111⁶. _D. concentrica_--F
7^{b}; LH 47; NB 147⁷.
~Xylosphaera polymorpha~ (Mérat) Dumortier
Dead man’s fingers
_Fruit-body_: width 10-20 mm; length 30-60 mm.
_Description_:
Fruit-body: more or less club-shaped, irregularly or evenly lobed at
apex, at first light brown due to development of asexually produced
spores (conidia) but finally almost black.
Stem: black and short.
Flesh: white, fibrous and tough.
[Illustration: Plate 69. Cup-fungi allies]
Crust: black, thin, pimply with the protruding tips of the perithecia,
and sometimes irregularly furrowed.
Spores: very long, fusiform with one flattened side, black and 20-32 ×
5-9 µm in size; eight contained in an elongate cylindrical ascus.
_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Common either solitary or in clusters on
dead stumps or on buried wood, especially that of beech. This fungus
may be found throughout the year.
~Xylosphaera hypoxylon~ Dumortier
Stag’s horn fungus
_Fruit-body_: width 4-8 mm; length 25-60 mm.
_Description_: Plate 69.
Fruit-body: slender, subcylindrical to strap-shaped and usually forked
repeatedly near the tip, white at first due to production of conidia
and then black or dark brown and covered in pimples.
Stem: black and hairy.
Spores: very long, bean-shaped, black and 11-14 × 5-6 µm in size;
eight in an elongate ascus.
_General Information_: Another name for _X. hypoxylon_ is
‘Candle-snuff fungus’. Other club-shaped ascomycetes include members
of the genus _Geoglossum_ (already mentioned p. 172) and members of
the genus _Cordyceps_. Plate 69.
~Cordyceps militaris~ (St Amans) Link, the ‘Scarlet caterpillar
fungus’, produces orange-red or orange, minutely roughened
fruit-bodies up to 50 mm high, which grow on larvae and pupae of moths
buried in the soil. It is not infrequent late in the autumn in pasture
land.
~C. ophioglossoides~ (Fries) Link produces long (up to 100 mm high)
yellow stemmed, dark and rough headed fruit-bodies growing on the
subterranean fungus _Elaphomyces_--see p. 244.
~C. capitata~ (Fries) Link also grows on fungi beneath the soil
surface but has a rounded head. _Leotia lubrica_ Persoon the ‘Gum-drop
fungus’ is similarly coloured but grows on soil under trees and is
gelatinous. It grows in autumn and is quite common and in fact more
related to the Discomycetes than to _Cordyceps_.
_Illustrations_: _X. polymorpha_--F 7^{d}; LH 47; NB 147⁶. _X.
hypoxylon_--F 7^{e}; LH 47; NB 147⁵. _C. militaris_--LH 48.
F. SPECIALIZED HABITATS
(i) Fungi of dung and straw heaps
~Bolbitius vitellinus~ (Fries) Fries
Yellow cow-pat toadstool
_Cap_: width 20-40 mm. _Stem_: width 2-5 mm; length 30-60 mm.
_Description_:
Cap: chrome-yellow or lemon-yellow when young, paling with age at
margin to become cinnamon-buff, bell-shaped but rapidly expanding to
become plane or slightly umbonate, smooth, viscid but soon drying;
margin striate then radially grooved, often split and the whole cap
soon collapsing.
Stem: slender, whitish, cream colour to pale yellow, at apex covered
in small, white floccose scales but downy at the base, fragile and
soon collapsing.
Gills: adnexed or free, cinnamon-buff, thin and crowded.
Flesh: yellowish, very thin and lacking distinct smell.
Spore print: rust-brown.
Spores: long, yellow-brown under the microscope, ellipsoid with a very
distinct germ-pore about 13 × 8 µm in size (11-15 × 6-9 µm).
Facial cystidia: rare, balloon-shaped.
Marginal cystidia: swollen, flask-shaped with a variable, elongate
neck.
_General Information_: This fungus is common on horse droppings or
other manures, but it may also be found amongst grass in pastures and
in sand-dunes, and gardens on piles of rotting grass stems or straw.
It is easily recognised by the colour and rapid expansion of the cap
and the sudden collapse of the whole fruit-body. ‘Vitellinus’ means
yolk of an egg and refers to the persistently bright yellow
cap-centre, so obvious even when the fruit-body collapses. This
collapsing is not one of autodigestion as described for members of the
genus _Coprinus_. It is variable both in size and habitat, and I even
have records of the fungus growing within herbaceous stems.
_Illustrations_: LH 153; WD 80⁶.
~Stropharia semiglobata~ (Fries) Quélet
Dung-roundhead
_Cap_: width 10-35 mm. _Stem_: width 4-7 mm; length 25-50 mm.
_Description_:
Cap: hemispherical or slightly umbonate, sometimes flattened and
hardly expanding even with age, very viscid, smooth, pale yellow-ochre
or yellowish tan.
Stem: slender, straight, white then yellowish, smooth, viscid, but
then dry and shiny below an imperfectly formed, thin ring.
Gills: adnate, almost triangular in shape, crowded, dark brown to
purplish black, but with ochraceous areas at maturity.
Flesh: pale ochre.
Spore-print: purplish brown.
Spores: very long, dark brown under the microscope, smooth, ellipsoid
with large germ-pore and about 18 × 10 µm in size (17-20 × 9-10 µm).
Facial cystidia: spindle-shaped, thin-walled and filled with amorphous
contents which become yellow in solutions containing ammonia.
Marginal cystidia: spindle-shaped or flask-shaped, numerous,
thin-walled and typically yellowing as above.
_General Information_: ‘Semiglobata’ means hemispherical and refers to
the shape of the cap of _S. semiglobata_; it is a very variable fungus
in both size of the cap and the prominence of the ring. The
Dung-roundhead grows only on dung which is acidic in its soil status,
whilst _Panaeolus semiovatus_ (Fries) Lundell next described (p. 210)
grows on slightly to distinctly base-rich dung. This may explain why
in Britain the Dung-roundhead is the commoner of the two species.
However, _P. semiovatus_ was formerly placed in the genus _Stropharia_
because of its blackish spores and distinct ring. The spores of
_Stropharia_ in the mass are violaceous black whilst those of _P.
semiovatus_ are brownish black. Under the microscope they are also
differently coloured and have different chemical compositions as their
reaction with dilute solutions of ammonia shows; the spores of the
first species turn purplish olive in ammonia and those of the second
species become very dark brown.
_Illustrations_: F 33^{b}; Hvass 171; LH 153; NB 31⁵; WD 75³.
[Illustration: Plate 70. Dung-fungi]
Mottle-gills--on dung from Spring until Autumn.
~Panaeolus semiovatus~ (Fries) Lundell
_Cap_: width 20-70 mm. _Stem_: width 5-10 mm; length 80-160 mm.
_Description_:
Cap: oval or bell-shaped, not expanding, dingy whitish or pale clay
colour, smooth, slimy when moist, but soon drying and then becoming
shiny, often wrinkled and cracked, and ornamented with fragments of
veil at the margin.
Stem: dull, straight, rather rigid, tapering upwards, white, and
striate at apex above a whitish erect and membranous, often
collapsing, ring; yellowish below the ring and whitish and cottony at
the slightly swollen base.
Gills: adnate, greyish then black, mottled and crowded.
Flesh: whitish or pale ochre.
Spore-print: black.
Spores: very long, very dark brown under the microscope with large
obvious germ-pore and 18 × 10 µm (16-20 × 9-11 µm) in size.
Facial cystidia: flask-shaped and with amorphous contents.
Marginal cystidia: numerous, flask-shaped.
~Panaeolus sphinctrinus~ (Fries) Quélet
_Cap_: width 15-35 mm. _Stem_: width 3-6 mm; length 60-95 mm.
_Description_:
Cap: bell-shaped, hardly expanding, expallent, dark grey to olivaceous
black, much paler when dry and zoned when half dry; margin ornamented
with a white fringe of veil fragments.
Stem: long, slender, straight, rather rigid but fragile, grey and
completely powdered with white.
Gills: adnate, crowded and grey then blackened, mottled throughout
except at the white fringed edge.
Flesh: reddish brown.
Spore-print: black.
Spores: long, very dark brown under the microscope, broadly
lemon-shaped with large germ-pore, smooth and 14-15 × 9-10 µm in size
(14-19 × 8-10 × 10-12 µm).
Facial cystidia: absent.
Marginal cystidia: numerous, cylindrical, flexuous and hyaline.
General Information: _P. sphinctrinus_ is recognised by the overall
grey colouration and very distinct white fringe to the cap-margin.