66 TWENTY-THRD REPORT ON THE STATE CABINET. 
* OrprerR—AGARICINI. 
Hymenium inferior, spread over the surface of distinct gill- 
like processes, which are easily divisible into two plates. 
Berk. Outl. p. 89.* 
The Agaricini are cellular, flowerless plants, consisting essen- 
tially of an expanded suborbicular part (pileus or hymeno- 
phorum) bearing on its lower surface thin vertical plates (lamelle 
or gills) radiating from a central or marginal point, and either at- 
tached to its place of growth by a part of its margin, or sup- 
ported upon a central or lateral stem (stipe). The lamelle or 
gills consist of two separable membranes (hymenium) applied, 
one on either side, to an intermediate stratum (tama) and pro- 
ducing minute reproductive bodies (spores) on their exterior sur- 
faces.t They may be attached by their inner extremity to the 
stem and extend a little distance down it (decurrent), nearly or 
quite reach the stem without being attached to it (free), or ter- 
minate at a considerable distance from it (remote). They may 
have the edge broadly curved, so that they appear bent like a 
bow (arcuate), or shortly curved near the inner extremity, and 
at the same time be slightly decurrent, so as to appear hook-like 
(wneinate), or they may have the edge rough with little pro- 
jections or teeth (serrate), or simply notched near the inner ex- 
tremity (emarginate). 
The stem may be of the same diameter in every part (equal), 
or be thicker in the middle, tapering toward either extremity 
(ventricose). It may be hollow, or have its center of different 
texture from its exterior (stuffed), the center in such case being 
either cottony or spongy, or it may be of uniform texture 
throughout its diameter (solid). Its base may be coated or 
fringed with minute entangled filaments (mycelium), the immedi- 
ate product of the spores, while toward its top there is often 
seen a flabby, lacerated, membranaceous ring (annulus) girding 
it. Sometimes the young plant is completely enveloped by a 
submembranaceous wrapper (volva) which it bursts as it in- 
creases in size, and in other cases the envelope may be only par- 
tial, and even composed of little flocks or fibres which are 
scarcely conspicuous. Both the stem and the pileus may be 
wholly or partially sprinkled with fine, meal-like powder 
(farinaceous), or coated with little fibres (fibrillose), or rough, 
with distinct scales or scale-like tufts of fibres (sgwamose), which 
are sometimes quite minute (sguamulose). The surface of the 
pileus in some species is sticky to the touch (vzscid), in others it 
may be in moist weather covered with a gelatinous substance 
(glutinous). The flesh of some, when moist, presents a more 
watery appearance and a greater depth of coloring than 
* This and the generic and subgeneric characters hereinafter given are taken 
from Berkeley's Outlines of British Fungology. 
+ The lamelle are rarely branched, and in a few instances reduced to obtuse. 
vein-like elevations. : y 
. Ws Pe anid ty bey Pak Lag 
