AGARICUS. 411 



silky, floccose or squamulose, whitish, flesh thick, white be- 

 coming reddish-brown when cut ; gills free but rather close to 

 the stem, ^-| in, broad, close, pink then flesh -colour, finally 

 blackish -brown, subdeliquescent ; stem 3-4 in. long, §-1 in. 

 thick, subequal, white, stuffed, ring median, persistent, more 

 or less torn ; spores purple-brown, elliptical, 7-9 X 6 /a. 



Agaricus (Psalliota) campestris, Linn., Suec, n. 1205 (in- 

 cluding allied species) ; Fries, Hym, Eur., p. 279 ; Cke., 

 Hdbk., p. 194; Cke., Illustr., pi. 526. 



In rich pastures. Esculent. Smell slight. 



Pileus 2-5 in. broad, at first convex then plano-convex, 

 white, silky or clothed with reddish-brown adpressed 

 fibrillae collected into little fascicles ; epidermis easily- 

 separating from the flesh, projecting beyond the gills and 

 often curled back, fleshy ; flesh firm, thick, white, more or 

 less stained with reddish-brown, especially when bruised- 

 Gills very unequal, at first of a beautiful pink, free, obtuse, 

 and sometimes forked behind, broad in the middle ; at length 

 dark, mottled with the brownish-purple minute subelliptic 

 sporules ; the edge white and minutely denticulate. Stem 

 2-3 in. or more high, i— | in. thick, nearly equal or sub- 

 bulbous, white, beautifully but minutely silky, furnished 

 with a thick spongy ring, generally above the middle, firm, 

 consisting of fibres, those in the centre longer. Eoot consist- 

 ing of a few white branched fibres, which are often beset 

 with little knobs, which are the infant state of the plant. 

 When quite young there is a fine silky universal veil. (Berk.) 



Plant mostly gregarious, without odour, but with a grateful 

 flavour. Pileus hemispherical, at length convex, and event- 

 ually plane, fleshy, 2-5 in. broad or more, white, or of a 

 reddish tinge, or even uniform light brown ; the surface is 

 either smooth, slightly scaly, or (in the brown variety), more 

 or less covered with prominent scales, formed partly of the 

 substance of the plant, partly of hair-like fibres from the 

 epidermis. Flesh soft, white, sometimes changing to a light 

 reddish hue on being divided. Lamellae numerous, free, 

 broad, ventricose, of a brittle substance, fine pink, red or 

 flesh-colour, becoming dark vinous, fuscous, or even nearly 

 black. Stipes firm, solid, 2-5 in. high, but mostly short, 

 thick, white, sometimes rather bulbous at the base. Veil 

 annular, white, variable, but mostly subpersistent. (Grev.) 



