22 2 PLANT LIFE. 



night the spores will fall upon the paper, and their 

 salmon-pink, black, white, or yellow colour is a very 

 useful help in determining the species. Sometimes the 

 spores closely resemble pollen grains. In many species 

 of Russula they are covered with minute spines, which 

 would stick to the hairs on an insect's body. Similar 

 spiny spores are found in many fungi not belonging to 

 this group, as in Scleroderma, in most Rust-fungi, in 

 Trichia, and others of the Myxomycetes. 



There are, therefore, many grounds for supposing 

 that the primary use of the colour and scent is to 

 attract insects, and thus to aid in the distribution of the 

 spores. This has been proved by observation in the 

 case of Phallus impudiais^ where flies, and especially 

 " bluebottles," seem to revel in the disgusting slime 

 which distinguishes that plant. Phallus belongs to the 

 Gastromycetes. There is, however, much more to be 

 learnt on the colour of Fungi. In "The Sensitive Plant," 

 pt. 3, Shelley gives a peculiarly vivid and correct de- 

 scription of the impression left by the poisonous fungi : 



" Betwixt the time of the wind and the snow, 

 All loathliest weeds began to grow, 

 Whose coarse leaves were splashed with many a speck, 



Like 'the watersnake's belly and the toad's back 



Prickly and pulpous and blistering and blue. 

 Livid and starred with a lurid dew." 



This applies not merely to poisonous fungi, but to 

 poisonous plants in general, and is an excellent though 

 impressionist description of their characteristics. 

 Poisonous forms such as Boletus Satanas, Agaricus 

 inuscarius, etc., are often, in fact, distinctly different 

 from the majority. Now Fungi of this kind have 

 no lack of enemies. Man, birds, roe-deer, squirrels, 

 rabbits, not to speak of slugs, are fond of fungi, and 



