46 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



the trama. Many species with decurrent gills are similar in appear- 

 ance to species of Clitocybe, but such species may generally be dis- 

 tinguished by their distant lamellae and their viscid pileus and stem. 

 The genus was divided by Fries into three tribes or subgenera which 

 have not yet been accepted as genera but they probably will be in 

 due time. The following synoptic key indicates the prominent 

 characters that may be employed in their separation. 



KEY TO THE SUBGENERA 



Stem solid or stuffed i 



Stem hollow ,. Hygrocybe 



I Pileus moist, not viscid Camarophyllus 



I Pileus and stem viscid Limacium 



Limacium Fr. 



Universal veil viscid with a partial floccose veil sometimes forming 

 a ring or attached to the margin of the pileus ; lamellae adnate or 

 decurrent; stem clothed with squamules or more often scabrous 

 punctate at the top (or sometimes glabrous). 



In this subgenus the pileus and stem are normally viscid but in 

 Hygrophorus purpurascens Fr. and H. capreola- 

 r i u s Kalchb. they soon become dry. The stem is usually solid 

 or stuffed, but in H . e b u r n e u s Fr. and H. hypothejus 

 Fr. it often becomes hollow. H. pudorinus Fr. is described 

 as having no veil, but the pileus and stem are viscid. Perhaps the 

 " velum nullum " has reference to the partial floccose veil only. 

 There are several species in which the stem is neither squamulose 

 nor scabrous punctate at the top. In other respects they agree 

 with the description of this subgenus. They are H. f u li g i n - 

 eus Frost, H. f 1 a v o d i s cu s Frost, H. speciosus Pk., 

 H. subviolaceus Pk., H. hypothejus Fr. and H . 

 1 i V i d o a 1 b u s Fr. This might justify the formation of a new 

 subgenus for their reception, but since Fries himself has placed 

 several similar European species in his subgenus Limacium, thus 

 practically recognizing this additional character, it has seemed better 

 to extend the characters of the subgenus, as Fries has done in fact 

 though not in words, than to found another subgenus on such a 

 slight difference. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES 



Pileus white, or white with the center yellowish or brownish i 



Pileus pinkish, violaceous or red or purple with paler margin 7 



Pileus livid white, cinereous or brown 1 1 



r Margin of pileus with yellow floccose points chrysodon 



I Margin of the pileus naked 2 



