BLACK-SPORED AGARICS. 45 



PANAEOLUS Fr. 



In FciHiioliis the pileus is somewhat tlesliy, or thin, the mar^'in 

 even, that is, not striate. The margin extends beyond the gills, and 

 the gills are not uniform in color, being clouded or spotted with black 

 and brown colors, the edge of the gills often white in contrast. The 

 spores are black. The stem is usually smooth, sometimes tloccose 

 scaly, often long, firm, generally hollow. The veil is of interwoven 

 threads, sometimes quite compact, especially when the plants are 

 young. Peck, 23rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 10 et seq., gives a 

 synopsis of ti\'e species. 



Paaxolus retirugis Fr. — The color of this plant is not attractive, 

 but it is one of the most beautiful species 1 have studied if one 

 regards form and the general features in its development. It is said 

 to occur on dung. I have found it in lawns or grassy places, 

 especially freshly made lawns or greenswards which have been 

 heavilv manured. The illustrations in Figs. 45-48 were made from 

 photographs of plants which grew in a newly made boulevard along 

 Buffalo street, Ithaca, N. Y. (No. 2356 C. U. herbarium). The 

 plants are from 7-15 cm. high, the cap from 1-3 cm. in diameter, and 

 the stem is 3-4 mm. in thickness. The size of the plants varies 

 greatly according to the environment, being larger in moist soil and 

 wet weather and smaller in dry soil and dry weather. It occurs in 

 late spring and during the summer. 



The pileus is oval to ovate and conic, and in some cases it 

 becomes more or less expanded, but never, so far as 1 have observed, 

 does it become depressed or even plane, in wet weather it is usually 

 at first dark smoky in color, viscid, becoming grayish in age, and as 

 the pileus dries it becomes shining, in lighter colored forms the 

 pileus is at first light leather color to cream color. Toward the 

 center of the pileus are irregular wrinkles or sliallow pits, the 

 wrinkles anastomosing more or less, and it is because of this char- 

 acter of the surface of the pileus that the plant receives its specific 

 name. During dry weather there is a tendency for the pileus to 

 crack, separating the dark color of the surface into patches showing 

 the white flesh beneath. The pileus is often umbonate or gibbous, 

 and the center is often darker than the margin. The pileus in rare 

 cases is entirely white. The gills are adnate, broad in the middle, 

 and in the more expanded forms as the gills separate more and more 

 from the stem there is a tendency for them to become somewhat 

 triangular. The spores are black in mass, are elliptical or short 

 fusiform, and measure from 10-12 x i q-iS//. The stem is cxMin- 



