BEITISH FUNGI. 



GENERAL IXTEODUCTIOX. 



Morphology. 



What is a fungus ? This question np^turally suggests 

 itself as first claiming attention in a work treating 

 exclusively of the fungi, yet in reality the answer can 

 only be clearly understood after some insight has been 

 gained of the peculiarities of structure and mode of 

 life of the fungi as a group, and also of their origin 

 and relationship with other groups of the vegetable 

 kingdom, because a definition of any group consists of 

 the most pronounced morphological and physiological 

 peculiarities possessed generally by its component 

 members ; nevertheless, one or two of the leading 

 characters may be given at this stage. Chlorophyll, 

 the green colouring matter so general in the vegetable 

 kingdom, is entirely absent from fungi, and as chloro- 

 phyll is an indispensable factor in enabling plants 

 to utilize inorganic matter as food, it follows that 

 fungi cannot assimilate inorganic food, but are entirely 

 dependent on organic matter for food, and may be 

 divided into two groups, depending on the condition 

 in which organic matter is used as food ; those that 

 obtain their food material from dead organic matter 

 are called saprophytes j such are the fungi growing on 



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