are typically disc-shaped or cup-shaped, and when young are closed or
nearly so, opening when mature. They vary in size from minute species to
large fleshy ones, 3 to 4 inches in diameter. They are generally small,
thin, and tough. They grow on twigs, leaves, dead wood, or on the
ground. Many are stemless. They are both solitary and densely clustered.
The color varies from pale brown to a dark gray, resembling, when moist,
india-rubber cloth, and then, again, there are many of brilliant
hues--red and orange. Some are erect, some are split down at the side
like the ear of a hare. The Cup fungi are found in August and September,
growing near ditches, and by the roadside where there is moisture. The
ear-shaped Pezizas somewhat resemble the Jew’s ear, and the beginner
might easily confound them. This latter fungus belongs to the third
class of membrane fungi (Hymenomycetes), and it is included in the
descriptions of fungi.

+THE MORELS or MORCHELLAS = the honey-combed fungi.+

The collector during the months of April and May will enjoy a new
experience when he first finds a fungus of a bright brown color, deeply
pitted, spongy looking, cone-shaped or nearly round; its head supported
on an erect, white stem. He will probably find it on a grassy hillside
or along a running brook under some forest trees. He has perhaps seen
its picture and at once exclaims, “my first Morel.” He will notice its
peculiar honey-combed depression, and then cutting it open will find
both the head and the stem hollow. Where are the spores? There are no
gills as in the Agarics, nor are they concealed in a covering
(peridium), as in the Puff-balls, but they are contained in delicate
sacs on the cap. The exterior surface of the cap is the spore-bearing
portion, and the spores are developed in their sacs, but only seen under
a microscope.