66 AGARICINI. 



Paxillus. I. — LEPISTA. 



1. P. giganteus Fr. — Tan-white. Pileus fleshy, comparatively 

 thin, depressed then piano- infundibuliform, soft, margin in- 

 volute, then spreading, smooth, silicate in the form of small 

 channels. Stem solid, obese, smooth. Gills somewhat decurrent, 

 very crowded, here and there branched and anastomosing, whitish 

 then tan-colour. 



Large. The pileus is smooth when moist, flocculose or rivulose when dry, 

 easily splitting from the margin to the stem. Hymenophore not horny. Very 

 remarkable, very distinct from A. maxi?nus. 



In meadows and woods. Uncommon. Sept.-Oct. 



Pileus 4-14 inches broad, fleshy, often splitting at the margin, broadly 

 infundibuliform, the base of the funnel sunk into the stem with no trace of an 

 umbo, dirty white with an ochraceous tinge, minutely adpresso-squamulose 

 to the naked eye, sometimes guttate ; the whole surface under a lens clothed 

 with a fine matted silkiness ; margin grooved, the grooves shallow. Gills 

 close, forked, yellow-white, as broad as the flesh of the pileus. Stem 2^-3 

 inches high, nearly 2 thick at the base, firm, fleshy, elastic, quite solid, sub- 

 bulbous, sometimes attenuated upwards, minutely but conspicuously pubes- 

 cent, when bruised dirty rufescent. Odour strong like that of M. oreades. 

 M.J.B. Name—gigantetis, of gigantic size. Fr. Hym. Eur. p. 401. S. 

 My col. Scot. n. 509. Ag. Sow. t. 244. Fr. Monogr. \. p. 118. Sv. at I. Sv. 

 /. 86. Berk. Eng. Fl. v. p. 33. Out. p. no. Letell. t. 682. Quel. t. 3./. 3. 

 A. maximus C. Hbk. n. 95. 



2. P. lepista Fr.— Pileus 7.5-10 cent. (3-4 in.) and more broad, 

 dingy whitish, sometimes (young) compactly fleshy, sometimes 

 (full grown) thin, piano-depressed, obtuse, without stria 7 , but 

 rimidoso-squamiilose towards the circumfere7ice, dry, the involute 

 margin commonly undulato-flexuous ; flesh white. Stem some- 

 times curt, 2.5 cent. (1 in.) or little more, attenuated downwards, 

 sometimes elongated to 7.5-10 cent. (3-4 in.), equal, always blunt 

 at the base, about 12 mm. {% in.) thick and more, solid, compact, 

 spongy-elastic, and at length pierced by larvas and hollow, whit- 

 ish, sometimes rufescent or inclining to fuscous, white-villous at 

 the base. Gills deeply decurrent, somewhat branched but simple 

 at the base, 4-6 mm. (2-3 lin.) broad, very crowded, quite entire, 

 dingy white, at le7igth darker. 



The cuticle of the stem is somewhat horny, continuous with the hymenophore 

 and similar to it. Solitary and sporadic, very changeable. Odour mealy, 

 somewhat rancid, approaching that of A. prunulus, to which it is somewhat 

 allied. 



In woods. Slough. 



Spores reddish, then becoming fuscous-pallid. Fr. Name— lepista, a pan. 

 From its shape. Fr. Monogr. ii. p. 116. Hym. Eur. p. 402. Icon. t. 164. 

 /.i. B. & Br. n. 1554. Ag. Sterb. t. 19. C. 



