66 [Assembly 



prolonged at the base into a short grayish'tomentose stem, hlachish- 

 broion or Uach, the tomentum grayish or cinereous, the thin margin 

 slightly striate when moist; lamella? rather broad, close, Uackish-hj'own 

 or black, whitish on the edge ; spores subellipiiccd ; .0003 to .00035 

 in. long, .00016 to .0002 broad. 



Decaying wood and bark, both of frondose and acerose trees. Fort 

 Edward, B. C. Howe. Buffalo. G. W. CI hit on. _ Maryland, Helder- 

 berg and Adirondack mountains. June to October. 



Our plant is closely related to Pleurotus applicaius, and it is with 

 some hesitation that I have described it as distinct. But unless the 

 figures and descriptions of that species are erroneous, our fungus is 

 easily distinguished from it by its larger size, darker color and closer 

 blackish lamellse. P. applicahts is described as dark cinereous, cupu- 

 lar, two to three lines broad, villose at the base, sessile or attached by 

 a prolongation on the back and with the lamellfe distant and paler 

 than the pileus. In the American j)lant these characters do not hold 

 good. The pileus is often clearly attached by a lateral stem or stem- 

 like base and the villosity is found everywhere except on the margin, 

 and the lamellas are always, so far as I have seen, as dark as or even 

 blacker than the pileus. The plant is flexible and revives on the ap- 

 plication of moisture, thus indicating an affinity with the genus 

 Panus. I have seen no description of the spores of P. applicaius. 



Pleurotus niger, Schio 

 Black As^aric. 



Piletis submembranous, two to four lines broad, subresupinate, pul- 

 veraceous, black, pilicate on the margin ; lamellae broad, radiating, black, 

 cinereous on the edge ; spores subglobose, .0002 to .00025 in. broad. 



Decaying wood. Helderberg mountains, June. This apparently 

 rare fungus has been found in our State but once. The pileus is at- 

 tached by a tuft of black hairs, and in the largest specimens these ex- 

 tend to the disk and there have a pulverulent appearance. The black 

 color, black villosity and more coarsely striate or plicate margin dis- 

 tinguish this species from the next, which it otherwise closely resem- 

 bles. 



Pleurotus striatulus, Fr. 



Slightly-striate Agaric. 



Agaricus membrayiaceus, Scop. Agaricus striaio-jjellucidus, Pers. 



Pileus membranous, very delicate, two to four lines broad, resupin- 

 ate or subcupular, then reflexed, sometimes obconic and pendulous, 

 sessile, slightly striate when moist, strongly striate or corrugated when 

 dry, flaccid, glabrous, scattered or gregarious, persistent, cinereous 

 or brown; lamella? few, distant, whitish or cinereous; spores subglo- 

 bose, .0002 to .00025 in. broad. 



Much decayed wood of pine and hemlock. Fort Edward. E. C. 

 Howe. Buffalo. G. IF. Clinton. Greenbush and Adirondack moun- 

 tains. July and October. 



This is the smallest of our Pleuroti. Like the three preceding 

 species, it revives on the application of moisture, and with them it 

 forms a peculiar group worthy of distinction and separation from the 



