14 



GUIDE TO THE MODELS OF FUNGI. 



14. Agaricus sulphureus Bull. — Pileusat first silky, then smooth 

 and even ; gills adnexed, somewhat thick and distant ; stalk often 

 curved, striate and fibrous. 



A. sulphureus is not uncommon in mixed woods, and is pro- 

 bably poisonous. It is easily known by the bright sulphur-yellow 

 colour of all its parts, and its strong odour of gas-tar water. 



15. Agaricus gambosus Fr. St. George's Mushroom. — Pileus 

 very flesh}', hemispherical or distinctly convex, with the margin 

 incurved or inrolled ; gills crowded and sinuate; stalk thick, solid, 

 firm, and fleshy, not bulbous. The whole plant is usually biscuit- 

 coloured. 



There need be no fear of mistaking A. gambosus for any other 

 species, if its season of growth, April and May, and its habitat, upon 

 downs and in pastures, are remembered in connection with its habit 

 of growing in " fairy-rings," often of immense size, and its very 

 simple structural characters, as seen in the outline section. A. 

 gambosus may often be seen growing in abundance on St. George's 

 Day, April 23rd. 



The odour is strong of fresh meal ; generally pleasant, but some- 

 times rank and strong. 



A. gambosus is edible, and is highly esteemed by some, and 

 much eaten in France and Italy. It is too dry for the manufacture 

 of ketchup, but may be further dried and kept suspended on strings 

 for winter use. It should be gathered in dry weather; not after 

 rain, when the plant is full of water. 



16. Agaricus albellus Fr. — Pileus ot typical specimens conical, 

 then convex, fleshy, white, becoming grey when dry; gills attenuated 



near the stalk and not sinuate, crowded 

 and white ; stem thick, solid, somewhat 

 bulbous. The odour is mild, and the 

 taste, when raw, not unpleasant. 



A. albellus is a close ally of A. gam- 

 bosus ; the model exhibits an abnormal 

 form ; typical examples resemble small 

 specimens of A. gambosus, but A. albellus 

 grows in woods, and is rare. Sometimes 

 a large number of very small specimens 

 of A. albellus grow together in one con- 

 joined mass ; but a typical specimen would 

 be represented by a solitary plant with a 

 pileus about three inches in diameter. 



Fig. 9. — Type lorm of Clitocybe. 

 Agaricus ncbiilaris Uatsch. 



(One-fifth natural size.) SuB-GENUs 5. CUtocybe. — There are 



more than seventy British species of Clitocybe ; ten of these are 

 represented by models. The pileus is usually fleshy, plane, de- 

 pressed, or infundibuliform with an involute margin; the gills are 

 generally and typically decurrent, sometimes adnate, never sinuate 



