CLASSIFICATION OP AOARK 



en1 species are of ;ill shades between Bhining white and i 

 and this fact alone separates them from anj one of the Bpore-color 

 groups of the Agaricaceae. Borne authors consider the Forking of the 

 gills as well as the veining in the interspaces of the '-ills imporl 

 diagnost ic characters. These two characters are intimately related 

 and forking is for the mosl pari merely ;i pronounced developu 

 of veining. in fact such a Large number of Bpecies have been ob 

 Berved with veined interspaces and some forked gills thai this 

 character loses mosl of its value. In />'. va/riata the forking is 

 dichotomous or mostly so and reaches its highest development. The 

 dififerenl Lengths of the gills are, on the contrary, much more impor 

 tanl characteristics. Thej may be alternately long and Bhorl as in 

 the Compactae, or they may be all of one Length with rarely any 

 secondary or shorter gills. Intermediate cases occur in the Sub- 

 rigidae, bu1 even here the shorl gills are not numerous. Their shape 

 and width are also of value, since the anterior and posterior ends 

 have a characteristic width which accompanies other characters 

 the given subgenera. The STEM is usually white, sometimes red or 

 slightly ochraceous, in some species changing to ashy, etc., with age. 

 The reticulations <»n the surface are obscure and of do diagnostic 

 value. It is usually spongy-stuffed within and may become cavern 

 ous in age or hollowed by grubs; in the Compactae, however, il is 

 asually solid. The TRAMA is composed <>f Large bladder-like cells 

 arranged in groups and surrounded by strands of slender hyphae, 

 as in Lactarius. Such a structure is said i" be vesiculosi and 

 counts for the more or less brittle consistency of the plants. Since 

 the difference in this consistency is accompanied bv othei Rood 

 characters, it is made the basis of ;i division of the genus into its 

 subgenera. The TASTE as in the Lactarius, is sharply acrid in Borne 

 species, slowly or slightly acrid in others, and entirely mild in a 

 considerable number. This is an importanl character for the identi- 

 fication of the species and is fairly constant, h is necessary 

 have fresh plants to be suit in some cases thai the acridity is \ 

 ent. Sometimes plants which are apparently mild will be found 

 to have a slight acridity only when very young, or only in the ^ilN 

 and no1 elsewhere. The ODOB of Bome species, e. g . R . I' 



foetantula, R. compacta, etc., is quite characteristic and should 

 never be unconsidered. One must no1 confuse this test by apply 

 ing ii to plants already in the first stages of decay. SPOKH 

 PRINTS are considered by most as the most essentia] mei 

 settling the identity of closely related species. It has 

 that the color is constant and with this claim I . _ 



