These Fungi have the appearance of clubs, bells, or mushrooms,
consisting of an upright _stalk_ bearing a _large and fleshy_ head, on
the _exterior surface_ of which the _hymenium_ is spread. The ascocarps
are probably gymnocarpic from the beginning, and on this account
these plants are placed in a separate family. The development of the
ascocarps is unknown. The _Morchella_ (Morell) grows on the ground;
some species are edible. 1 order.
Order. =Helvellaceæ.= _Spathulea_ is yellow and club-shaped,
and forms “fairy rings” in woods.--_Geoglossum_ (Earth-tongue)
projects above the ground as a black tongue, or as a
club-shaped body. Several species are found in meadows and
on heaths.--_Helvella_ has a stalk, bearing an irregularly
folded head, on the external surface of which is the
hypothecium.--_Morchella_ (Morell, Fig. 130), the stalk bears on
its summit the conical or spherical head, the external surface
of which is reticulate and bears the asci.--_Mitrula. Verpa._
[Illustration: FIG. 130.--_Morchella esculenta_: _a_ an entire
specimen, about one half natural size; _b_ longitudinal section
through the head.]