CHAPTER V. COMPARATIVE REVIEW. HYMENOMYCETES. 291 



from it in consequence of the special localisation of the epinasty. Coprinus lagopus l 

 on the one hand, and Agaricus melleus 2 on the other, represent the extreme cases 

 which have been observed. In the former the hyphae from the periphery of the stipe 

 reach to the apex of the young pileus from the first commencement of its formation, 

 and hyphae pass downwards from the whole outer surface of the young pileus, except 

 the extreme apex, and become interwoven with those from the periphery of the stipe 

 to form the veil. The margin of the pileus and the edges of the lamellae moreover 

 lie so close to the stipe up to the time of the hyponastic upward extension, that the 

 veil has an extremely narrow slit to cross. In Agaricus melleus the formation of the 

 veil is comparatively late in beginning, the young pileus being already delimited from 

 the stipe by a deep annular furrow, and the only hyphae which take part in it are the 

 exterior hyphae of the margin of the pileus and those of the stipe which bound the furrow. 

 Moreover the margin of the pileus is at some distance from the surface of the stipe, 

 almost at right angles to it, and the veil therefore spans from the first a comparatively 

 broad channel, and grows as the pileus increases in size into a collar which in 

 vigorous specimens may be more than a centimetre in breadth. Most marginal 

 veils are formed in the same way as that of Agaricus melleus, and Fig. 132 of 

 A. campestris will serve to illustrate these remarks. Something will be added further 

 on with regard to its first origin. Fig. 134 shows the phenomena in most species of 

 Coprinus in the state succeeding the very early ones and in more advanced stages of 

 development. 



The veil continues to grow in all these cases with the general growth of the 

 pileus until the time of the hyponastic upward expansion of the latter; then it is 

 ruptured and in more than one way. In most species of Coprinus it separates 

 smoothly in the direction of the surface of the stipe without leaving any conspicuous 

 trace of itself behind either on the stipe or on the margin of the pileus. In other 

 cases, as Hypholoma and Cortinarius, it separates from the stipe and remains 

 hanging to the margin of the pileus as a membrane which usually tears into irregular 

 perishable shreds, the veil or velum in the narrower sense of Persoon, the curtain 

 (cortina) of Fries. Thirdly, the separation takes place at the margin of the pileus, 

 the veil remains attached to the stipe as a ring running down its surface, the 

 annulus or annulus mferus, as in Agaricus (Armillaria) melleus above described, 

 A. (Psalliota) campestris, and many others. 



Lastly, in Coprinus ephemerioides 3 hyphae of the veil grow downwards at 

 first from the margin of the pileus between those which ascend from the stipe, while 

 the margin of the pileus and the lamellae lie close to the stipe, as in the other species 

 of the genus (see Fig. 134). When the elongation of the upper portion of the stipe 

 and the upward expansion of the pileus begin, the veil is first of all torn away in 

 consequence of the stretching from its connection with the stipe, and continuing to 

 be united to the margin of the pileus on the stipe is carried upwards with it. Then 

 when the upward expansion of the pileus begins, it separates from its margin and 

 remains behind on the stipe, forming an annular sheath broader above and capable 



Brefeld, Schimmelpilze, III, t. VII. 

 R. Hartig, Wichtige Krankheiten d. Waldbaume, t. 2. 

 Brefeld, Schimmelpilze, VI. 

 U 2 



