Lycoperdon
(from lykos, a wolf, and perdein, to break wind; some of the older writers believed that this fungus developed from the dung of the wolf). A genus of fungi, known also as "Puff-balls." This latter name is given to them because of the abundant brown dusty spores, like snuff, that are emitted when the plant is mature and bursts, either naturally or by pressure from without. Lycoperdon belongs to the group of Trichogastres, together with the "Starry Puff-balls" (see Geaster), which have the outer rinds splitting like a star, and recurved. There are several kinds common in Britain on meadows and lawns, in woods, &c. Among the most widely known is L. gemmatum which, in size and general appearance, may be regarded as a fair type of the genus. On their first appearance they are like white balls, and of a fleshy texture; some kinds form an indistinct stalk, while others have no stalk. When cut across in this state, they are found to have a compact rind, filled with loose tissue of indistinct threads, which leave between them small spaces; on the sides of these spaces are situated larger cells, each bearing at their free end four spores, supported on short slender stalks. The fungus changes from yellowish-brown to dark brown as the spores ripen. At last, the rind tears open at the apex, and the spores are ejected, leaving a fibrous mass of filaments behind them. The Puff-balls, while white and fleshy, are edible; and L. giganteum, a species that grows so large as to suffice for a meal for ten or twelve persons, is esteemed as an article of food by many people. The balls cease to be good for food when they begin to turn brown. The fibrous mass that remains after the spores have escaped is sometimes used as a styptic for wounds, or in making tinder.