Leucosporae 



PLEURO'TUS. 



Gr. a side ; Gr. an ear. 



Stem excentric, lateral or none. EpipJiytal (very rarely growing on pieurotus. 

 the ground), irregular, fleshy or membranaceous. Fries. 



The excentric, generally lateral stem, absent in some of the species, 

 separates this from other genera of the white-spored series. 



Pileus varying from fleshy in the larger to membranaceous in the 

 smaller forms, but never becoming woody. Veil generally wanting, 

 when present its remains sometimes appear on the margin of thepileus, 

 or as an evanescent ring on the stem. Gills, edge acute, generally de- 

 current, in some species with a well-marked tooth, rarely simply adnate. 

 Stem fleshy, confluent and homogeneous with the pileus. 



Wood, dead or alive; a few species appear on the ground. 



P. ulmarius and others of the larger forms, when growing in an up- 

 right position, may have the stem central and the pileus horizontal. 

 The stems of some species of Clitocybe and Omphalia if growing later- 

 ally are sometimes excentric and oblique. 



This genus is analogous to Claudopus, pink-spored, and Crepidotus, 

 brown-spored. 



Spores white, but those of P. sapidus are faintly tinged with lilac, 

 and of P. ostreatus, var. euosmus, with purple. 



ANALYSIS OF TRIBES. 

 EXCENTRICI. Page 137. 



Pileus entire, laterally extended, excentric, not truly lateral. 

 * Veil fugacious, fragments adhering to stem or margin of pileus. 

 ** Veil none; gills sinuate or obtusely adnate. 

 *** Veil none, gills very decurrent, stem distinct, almost vertical. 

 **** y e jj nonej gills very decurrent, stem proper absent, pileus lat- 

 eral, extended behind into a short, stem-like oblique base. 



DIMIDIATI. Page 144. 



Pileus not at first resupinate, lateral, prolonged without , a definite 

 margin behind, into a very short lateral, stem-like base. 



US 



