YI. THE HYMEXOMYCETE.E. 



The nmshrooms to be noticed in tltis and succedi)ig articles 

 belong to a very large class of fungi kno^vn to botarists as Hij- 

 menomyceteae, a word composed of two parts, signifying "mem- 

 brane fungi," and indicating that the spores are produced on 

 thin or membranous parts or surfaces. In the common mush- 

 rooms, and in all others of similar structure, these spore-produc- 

 ing membranes are found on the under surface of the cap. They 

 consist of thin lamellae or leaves, which are attached by their 

 upper edge to the cap, and which extend in a radiating manner 

 from the stem to the margin of the cap. That space may not be 

 wasted, shorter ones usually intervene between the longer, espe- 

 cially toward the margin of the cap. In a few species in which 

 the stem is attached to the side of the cap, or in which the stem 

 is wholly wanting, the cap being attached to its place of growth 

 by some point or part of its margin, the lamellae, which are often 

 called "gills," radiate from this point of attachment, or from the 

 lateral stem to the other parts of the circumference of the cap. 

 All species of Hymenomycetese that have these radiating la- 

 mella:^ constitute a great family called Agaricineae. 



There is another group of species in which the under sur- 

 face of the cap is full of small holes or pores — in some large 

 enough to be easily seen, in others so small as to be scarcely vis- 

 ible to the naked eye. These pores are closely crowded together, 

 and in them the spores of the fungus are produced. They take 

 the place of the lamellae in the Agaricineae, and may be sup- 

 posed to be formed by radiating lamellae, connected by innumer- 

 able transverse partitions. All species that have them are 

 grouped under the general name Polyporeae. 



In a third group the under surface of the cap has neither la- 

 mellae nor pores, but in their place are numerous awl-shaped pen- 

 dant teeth or spines. The spores are produced on the surface of 

 these teeth. Theoretically, these teeth may be supposed to be 

 formed by the regular and fine gnashing of lamellae, but they 

 are not ai'ranged in radiating rows, as they would be if actually 

 formed in this way. Those species which have these spine-like 

 teeth constitute the group Hydneae. In one edible species of 



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