438 



lines below, "II. Flesh not vesiciilose". We cannot determine whether 

 the flesh is vesiculose or not without a microscope. But this fact need 

 not worry us, for this is the only place in the key that seems to require 

 the use of a microscope and we can easily dispense with it here. There 

 are only two genera, Lactarius and Russiila, that have vesiculose flesh. 

 The first of these can easily be distinguished from all other genera 

 by the presence of an abundance of juice, usually milky but sometimes 

 colored, which exudes whenever the plant is wounded. The members 

 of the other genus, Russula, are so characteristic in appearance (see 

 page 445) that after we have collected a few of them we are not likely 

 to mistake them for anv other genus. We will remember also tliat 

 the species of Lacfariiis anil Russula are all midsummer plants, very 

 few of them being found before July or after August. 



We easily decide, therefore, that our plant does not l^elong to 

 either of the above genera and we turn to the next line after "II. Flesh 

 not vesiculose", which is "i. Stem central". Clear at the end of the 

 key we find the c<irrcs[jiinding "2. Stem eccentric or aljsent" ; but 

 we see at once that our plant has a stem which is very nearly if not 

 exactly at the center, and we look at the next line ''A. Gills free". 

 A few lines below is the corresponding "/^. Gills attached". The 

 meaning is, free from or attached to the stem. On examining our 

 plant we find that the gills are not free from the stem and we turn 

 to the line following "/i. Gills attached" which is "a. Stem fleshv". 

 Further down we find the corresponding "/>. Stem cartilaginous". 

 This difference is sometimes rather difficult to determine, but if we 

 break one of the fresh stems we find that it does not snap off like a 

 piece of cartilage but seems to be tough, fleshv, and fibrous, and we 

 look at the next two lines following "a. Stem fleshy". These are 

 "A. Ring present" and "P). Ring absent". Since our plant has no ring 

 on the stem we turn to the next two lines, "a. Gills adnate or sinuate" 

 and "1). Gills mostly decurrent". Adnate means attached squarely 

 against the stem, sinuate means attached to the stem and having a 

 distinct notch at the stem-end, and decurrent means attached t(^ the 

 stem and extending down some distance on it. Since the gills of our 

 plant are distinctly decurrent we turn to the next two lines, "i. Gills 

 much forked" and "2. Gills not much forked". An examination of 

 the gills of our plant shows that thev are very seldom forked or 

 branched, therefore the plant must belong either to the genus CUtocyhc 

 or the genus Flaninntla, de])ending on the color of the spores. Turning 

 now to our spore print we find that the spores are white and we know 

 that we have a Clifocybc. We now read over the descriptions and 

 examine the photographs of the different species of Clifocybc and 



