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Show I I 5o 'The Hiflory of p L A ~ T S. nrc dpcning tbJ· s fpungy matter ·l S JrO Un d tl len to ha' ve formed itfefl f hin tfio cells obf fa, n ir. -i ;.e ularl an 'ular form, but principally oblong; and, ~t the furfaces o t e e, may ~ ~u m filgam entys eagc 1 1 wr. un a·m m· g e·t g1 1 t or ten "... othenc ·· th~ mternal p.a rt of. the cell.s , at hti'l lS( 1t une, · ' ili 1 (s Jump nearly filling them · after a very ltttle time mote, t IS 1npe-cl or.ntams a . af~e e d to be' ..... ,..,llul"r placenta fo~med r>f !1 multitude of fibres, elegantly e1s matter 1s oun " '""" '-' , "" ' · h J1 f h · J arranged in a reticular manner, with membranes between; and, l1l t e hce s ~ t 15 t~- centa, lie the feeds, in the fame number wi th ~he anth~rre, or t erea out. e membrane which covers the head is confiderably thick, and IS compofcd of two others, united fo clofely to each other, that they appear to make hu~. one ~afs. . This fpecies is found on fome of our heaths~ ' and fomettmcs m woods. . pn Hmc~head in Suffex it grows very abundantly, and m fome. ~lace s ~b?u.t Goodw.ood: Mtchcli has defcribed it under the name of a Lycoperdw1dcs; It IS m perfechon 1n Sep-tember. 2. Lycoperdon pediculo brevi globttl~ri volva. perjijlente echinata. The jhort-jlalked, globular Lycoperdon, rr.vtth an echuwted, permanent volva. This is a very pretty fpecies, when the volva is entire. .It. ap.pears merely globular an(l feflile, as [een upon the ground; but, when !aken. up, 1t IS found t? have a fl~ort and thick pedicle. This is not more than ba}f an mcb 10 l e~ g th, before 1~ expands !nt~ the globular body, which is u(ually of the b1gnefs o~ a hen s egg, fomctnncs conhdct ably larger and is formed, as the heads of all the pediculated .Lycoperdons are, of ~ne continued fet of membranes with the pedicle. It's fur face IS all over covere~l wHh {h?rt conic bodies terminating in points; thefe are protuberances of the membrane, wh1ch forms the v~lva, and this membrane itfelf is very thin, .and conneCl~d fo clofdy to the next under it, that it feldom feparates, .till the Fungus ts perfeClly npe, and then falls off by piece-meaL Under this is a thicker and tougher .memb!·ane, and un?er ~hat another which immediately inclofes the fpungy matter m whtch the fruCl1 ficatwns are lodged. Th~ fur~ace of the whole pla?t is of a pale, wh.irifl1-brown colo~r; .the fpungy fubfiance Itfelf 1s at fidl: perfetl:l~ ~hite, but afterwards 1t becom~s of a. ~teen ifhyellow and is regularly cellular, contammg antherre and feeds2 lodged m then placentulre, tbough very difficultly difiingui01able. The pedicle .is fafiened to the ground .by a few fibrofe roots, and, at the top of the Fungus, there Is an aperture, out at whtch the feeds, &c. 'are difcharged. This fpecies is very common in. our dr~ pafl:ur.es, and on heaths. J. Bauhine calls it Fungus pulverulentus ditl:us crepttus lup1 vulgans; and ~· Bauhine, Fungus orbicularis. 3. Lycoperdon pediculatum volva hitjuta lac era. The pediculated Lycoperdon, with a hairy, lacerated volva. This grows to three inches in height, and it's head, which is globular,. to about an inch and quarter in diameter. It appears fidl: on the fi1rface of the earth m form of.a roundiili ball, connected to the earth by four or five {hort filaments : by degrees 1t rifes to it's full dimenfions. It's pedicle is as thick as a man's finger, and, at the t?p, expands into the globular head. It arrives at this it's full height, while yet covered wtth it's volva, which is a membrane moderately thick and tough, of a du:fky-brown colour, and hairy: foon after this, however, as the head begins to fwell yet more, the volva, or outer membrane, burfis into three or four parts, which are divided down to the middle of the fialk, and hang from it almoft to the ground, with ragged edges, and lacerated extremities. The head, and part of the pedicle, now naked, are whiti!h and fmooth on the furface, and on the fummit there appears an aperture, out at which the feeds are to be foon after difcharged. The head is full of a fpungy fubfiance, which, as it ripens, is divided into cells, containing the antherre and placentulre, with their feeds, as in the refi. The fpungy fubftance is white at firfi, but afterwards of .a greeniili-yellow. The plant is common in our pafiures in autumn. Ray defcribes It under the name of Fungus pulverul.entus majo~· pediculo longiorc ventricolo. 4· Lycoperdon globulare volva mzdti.fida glabra. The globular Lycoperdon, with a multifid, Jmooth volva. This rpecies . of Lycoperdon approaches fo nearly to the fl.cllated kind called gea_{l rJ and yet IS fo evidently a common Lycoperdon, that we are apt to believe every bod will The Hi.flory of P L A N T S. will be convinced by it, that geafier is not a genus fufficiently difiinCl from Lycoperdon. It grows to the bignefs of a large apple, and is of a tolerably regular, glo bu l~r Jigure. It is fixed down to the earth by a great tuft o filaments, and from thef~ It at firfl: rifes in form of a little globule, of the fize of a nut. . It gro:-vs very quick, however, and, in two or th ree days, is arrived at it's ful~ matu.nty. It 1s, at ~rfi, covered with it's volva in fo rm of an outer membrane, and lt conttm!eS to be fo, t1ll nearly of it's full bignefs. When full grown, there appears in the ~enter a kind of commi.ff~re, from which, foon after, the volva, or outer membrane, begms to crack. It then divides into fix or eight regular fegments, which are fmooth at the edges, broad at the bafe, and terminate in points, and in all things refemble the geafier, or fi llate Lycoperdo~ , except that they are not divided to th~ baf~ of the plant, and, confequently, cannot he expanded on the ground, but turn their J?Oints ~utward s. The top of the Fungus, un~ covered, appears iinooth, and of a grey10J-wh1te colour, at_Jd fo.on af~er open ~ at the top, and difcharges the feeds. The fpungy fubfiance. con tamed m t~Is h~ad IS at firft of a bluifh colour but it afterwards becomes white, The frutl:tficat1ons are the fame in it as in the, other fpecies. We have this Lycoperdon with us on heaths, but not common. I have met with it in Suffex and in Derbyfhire in two or three places. Micheli defcribes it under the name of Lycoperdail:rum rotundum majus leucophreum pulpa fordide crerulea. 5. Lycoperdon volva flellata radiis lanceolatis ofculo jimbriato. The }larry Lycoperdon, wilh lanceolated rays, and a fringed ofculum. T his is one of the mofl: fingular and mofl: elegant of the Fungus kind, and is one of thofe plants difl: inguiDJed by authors into a peculiar genus., under the nai?e of Geafl:er. When it firfl: appears, it has the fo rm of a fmall roundlfh body, but with five or fix, or more, evident marks, in form of lines, running from the center toward the circumference ; foon after, thefe lines open in to fo many cracks,. and the v~lva, yvhich had before en ti rely covered the body of the F ungus, now budls Into fix or etght parts, which recede fi·om one another, and leave th body of the Fungus bare : thcfe divifions reach half way down the fu bfiance of the volva, and, as ~hey fi:and ~~und .the body of the Fungus, much reprefent the volve of the former ~pectes, before It s pou:ts bend downwards ; the difference between thefe is only, that, m that plant, the entire part of the volva remains fixed to the body of the Fungus, and the tops of t!le fe~ments, the refore, unable to fupport themfelves erect, bend downwards; whereas, m this, foon after the fegments feparate, the whole or entire part of the volve ~lfo becomes l_oofe, and expands itfelf flat upon the ground, with the fegments in form of r.ays, exte~d.mg themfelves flat alfo from it; the volva, thus extended on the ground, JS of a wh~uf11 colour, and fungous fu bfiance: and of about two inches and a half in diameter. It 1s compofed of two membranes, with a foft and fomewhat glutinous matter ben~een ~hem. The body of the Fungus is roundi!h; it il:ands on an extremely fhort pedtcle, m the ce!Jt~r of the volva, and is of the bignefs of a fmall walnut; it's aperture, or ofculu.m, 1s 111 the center, and, being elegantly fimbriated , it forms a fort of corona, or _fL~mmit, of an obtufely conic figure. This body confitl:s of a fi~gle membrane, contammg a fpungy matter, white at firfi, but afterwards of a browmili-yellow, and of a regularly cel ~ular fubfiance, in which are contained placentulre, with their feeds in them, and unquefl:w.nably flowers alfo, like thofe of the ref!: of the Lycoperdons; though. the fo le opportumty 1 have had of examining this fpcci es in it's mature fiate was at a time when they were pafi:, and the very cellular fubfl:ance containing the placentulre was falling to .powder. At this time the fimbrire of the aperture feparate, and the ofculum becomes d1fl:ended, fo that the feeds are eafily difch:1rged. This is a native with us, but is very fcarce. I found it, in a lane ncar Catthorp in LeicefierD1ire, in October, where, th?ugh I watched it from the begin ning, it ripened, before I was a~are. ! .never fa~ It elfewhere. Micheli defcribes it under the name of Geafler maJor umblliCo fimbrmto. 6. Lyc"operdon v olva flellata, radiis multifidis, ofculo jlellato. . The }larry Lycoperdon, with tmdti.fid rays and a Jlellated ojctdum. This is a very fingular fpe cies. It makes it's firfi appearance in form .of a round ball, lying on the fur face of the ground: in a little time there appear~ number of lme~ on the fummit of th is ball and foon after this, the volva> which had h1therto covered lt, burfi:s and ' ' fplits |