74 RESEARCHES ON FUNGI 



A Giant Fruit-body of Coprinus comatus. — In a fruit-body of 

 Coprinus comatus, the unexpanded pileus does not usually exceed 

 a height of about 8 cm. nor the fully extended stipe a height of 

 about 25 cm. The largest fruit-body of this species of which there 

 is any record appears to be one collected by Dr. C. W. Dodge of 

 Harvard University. During an expedition made on November 22, 

 1929, between San Isidro Coronado and San Miguel in San Jose 

 province, Costa Rica (Central America), he ^ found a fruit-body of 

 C. comatus which had an unexpanded pileus of 20 cm. (8 inches) in 

 height and 6 cm. (2-4 inches) in diameter, while the stipe, which 

 was 2 cm. (0 • 78 inch) in diameter, had already attained a height of 

 37 cm. (1 foot, 2-6 inches). Since the stipe of C. comatus always 

 continues to elongate during the expansion and autodigestion of 

 the pileus, there can be but httle doubt that, had the large fruit- 

 body found by Dr. Dodge been left undisturbed, its stipe would 

 have become at least 10 cm. longer and possibly its total length 

 would have exceeded 50 cm. ( 1 foot, 7 • 7 inches). The specimen has 

 been deposited by Dr. Dodge in the herbarium of Cryptogamic 

 Botany of Harvard University under the number of 4953. 



Excretion of Drops of Water from a Pileus of Coprinus niveus. 

 —The excretion of drops of water from the pilei of various Hymeno- 

 mycetes developing under moist conditions has long been observed. 

 It occurs, for example, in Merulius lacrymans, Polyporus squamosus 

 (at the pores), Fistulina hepatica (drops red), and Coprinus sterqui- 

 linus (Vol. Ill, Fig. 74, p. 185). An illustration showing drops 

 which have been excreted by the revolute rim of the pileus of a 

 fruit-body of Coprinus niveus undergoing autodigestion is shown 

 in the photograph reproduced in Fig. 47. The Hquid liberated along 

 the free edge of each gill as a result of autodigestion is being sucked 

 up into the trama by capillarity, and the drops shown in the photo- 

 graph are due solely to local excretion. 



Coprinus lagopus growing on Beet Seeds. — In 1914, Mr. Raymond 

 Finlayson of the Seed Testing Laboratory, Wood Green, London, 

 observed a Coprinus coming up on germinating seeds ^ of Mangel, 

 Beet {Beta vulgaris), and Sainfoin {Onobrychis sativa), and he sent 



1 C. W. Dodge, in Hit., Nov. 24, 1930. ^ ]\iangel and Beet seeds, when 



sown, are enclosed by a rough pericarp. The Coprinus grows on the pericarp. 



