VOLVARIA LOVEIANA 443 



who gave it the specific name Loveiana as a tribute to the Rev, 

 R. T. Lowe ; and Berkeley's illustration showing its association 

 with ClUocybe nebularis is reproduced in Fig. 186. Photographs 

 of the parasite upon its host have been published by Maire ^ 

 and Harper ,2 and coloured illustrations by Berkeley, ^ Cooke,^ and 

 Gillet.5 



It seems very likely that Volvaria Loveiana can live either as a 

 saprophyte or as a parasite. Quelet ^ considered that V. Loveiana 

 is a luxuriant parasitic form of V. plumosa Lasch, a fungus which 

 grows on the ground among humus in fir woods. Maire ' studied 

 both species and has come to the conclusion that they are identical. 

 Harper,^ who is inclined to agree with Maire, says : " The plants 

 are certainly closely related, though cultures would be necessary to 

 prove their identity." 



Berkeley's illustration of Volvaria Loveiana shows a host Clito- 

 cybe which has a normal appearance, but Maire remarks that 

 the host plants are often more or less deformed, while Harper 

 found host plants [Clitocybe nebularis) which had become reduced 

 to irregular masses, reminding on3 of Coprinus comatus when 

 attacked by Stropharia epimyces. A host fruit-body which is not 

 at all, or only slightly, deformed probably succeeds in liberating a 

 certain number of spores, but one which is badly deformed may 

 well be completely sterile. 



The following is a description of Volvaria Loveiana as given by 

 Rea,^ who saw the fungus in England : " Pileus 5-7 cm., white, 

 with a very slight shade of pink, or cinereous, subtruncato-globose, 

 then convex, or slightly expanded, beautifully silky ; margin 

 involute. Stipe 5 x 0*5-1 cm., pure white, bulbose, attenuated 

 upwards, closely fibrillose, with a little matted down, very juicy. 



^ Rene Maire, " Notes critiques surquelques champignons," 5t«M. Soc. Myc.Fr., 

 T. XXVII, 1911, Plate XIII, Fig. 1. 



2 E. T. Harper, loc. cit., Plate 177. A. ^ M. J. Berkeley, loc. cit. 



^ M. C. Cooke, Illustrations of British Fungi, Plate 295. 



5 G.-G. Gillet, Les Hymenomycetss, Alen9on, 1874, p. 387, Plate 797. 



^ L. Qu61et, vide Rene Maire, he. cit., p. 420. 



' Rene Maire, loc. cit., pp. 420-423. Maire shows photographs of the two 

 species in the same Plate. 



8 E. T. Harper, loc. cit., pp. 66-67. 



^ Carle ton Rea, British Basidiomycetae, Cambridge, 1922, pp. 94-95. 



