148 MR. R. H. BIFFEN ON THE 
half of the stipes like white-wash, and gave the plant quite a new 
aspect." 
It is exquisitely figured in Hussey's * * Illustrations of British 
Myeology, and complete descriptions are to be found in the 
works of Saccardo, Cooke T, and Massee +. 
Collybia velutipes belongs to the Leucosporee. The pileus 
is from 1 to 3 inches in diameter; at first it is convex, with 
a distinetly recurved margin, then it becomes plane and even 
slightly umbonate. In young specimens the surface is smooth 
and dry, but as they grow older it beeomes slimy, especially in 
wet weather. The flesh is thin, especially at the margins, where 
it is semitransparent. The gills are ochraceous, subdistant, broad, 
and slightly adnate. The stem is slender, and varies a great deal 
in length; usually it is about 2 inches long, but occasionally 
as much as 9 inches. It is hollow and stuffed, and spreads 
downwards into a rooting base of a deep brown colour, with a 
velvety surface. The colour is a rich tawny ochre, becoming 
grey on the upper surface when slimy. On drying, the cartila- 
ginous sporophores become more brittle. They may be found 
throughout the greater part of the year, but most abundantly 
in the winter and early spring, 
Apparently no very complete study of the anatomy of 
Collybia velutipes has yet been made, although Costantin and 
Matruchot § described a method by which pure cultures of it 
could readily be obtained, and exhibited their results at the 
Exposition de Champignons de la Société mycologique in 1884. 
Van Tieghem || has described the formation of oidia and recog- 
nized their purely vegetative function, and also the interesting 
fact that fragments of sporophores are capable of giving rise to 
fresh sporophores. 
Brefeld *| examined the adult anatomy of Collybia velutipes 
among other species of Collybia, and obtained oidia from the 
mycelium formed by germinating basidiospores. The growth 
of his cultures, however, did not extend beyond the oidial 
* Hussey, Illustr. Brit. Myc. pl. 56. 
T Cooke, Handbook Brit. Fungi, vol. i. p. 55; Illustr. pl. 184 A. 
+ Massee, Brit. Fung. Flora, vol. iii. p. 127. 
$ Costantin et Matruchot, Comptes Rendus, vol. 119, p. 752. 
| Van Tieghem, Bull. de la Soc. bot. de France, t. xxiii. p. 101. 
«| Brefeld, Unters. aus d. Cesammtgeb. d. Mykol., H. viii. p. 56, 
