36 Transactions British Mycological Society. 



abundant, the presence of Agarics is less difficult of explana- 

 tion. Where there is a close carpet of grass, with other 

 small flowering plants, mosses, liverworts, etc., there is 

 necessarily a fair amount of humus mixed with the surface 

 layer of sand. Consequently a number of species of fungi 

 are to be found in such habitats. At the time these notes 

 were made, in July, the most abundant species in the 

 " slacks " was Inocyhc dulcamara Fr. It grew for the most 

 part on the ground beneath Salix repens, but specimens also 

 occurred amongst the short grass in the open and in this 

 position showed certain distinct variations, no doubt due to 

 their greater exposure to light. 



Specimens growing under the dwarf willow averaged about 

 I Jin. in diameter, but were occasionally larger. The rather 

 fleshy pileus was tomentose-squamulose (not squarrosely 

 scaly), and of a uniform rich tawny colour. When grow- 

 ing in the open the stem was shorter and the pileus 

 smaller and more tough. The pileus of the sheltered speci- 

 mens was practically always hemispherical and scarcely 

 umbonate, whereas specimens in the open were more 

 distinctlv umbonate, and when old often showed an upturned 

 margin. Furthermore, the tomentum, especially about the 

 umbo, was in the exposed individuals aggregated to form 

 little squarrose scales, of a distinctly darker brown than the 

 margin of the pileus. These scales often eventually became 

 rubbed off, leaving the pileus almost smooth and innately 

 fibrous or strigose. Along with these external differences, 

 a slight spore -variation was noticeable in the exposed 

 specimens. In these the spore was inclined to be more 

 obovate, or even somewhat triangular in shape, whereas in 

 the sheltered specimens it was regularly elliptical. It is 

 interesting to find such variations correlated with a distinct 

 difference of exposure. In other respects, as to general 

 aspect, absence of cystidia, tvpe of gill edge, etc., the two 

 forms agreed exactly, and were obviously variations within 

 one species. 



A single collection of Inocyhe eutheJes was made in the 

 same situation, under Salix repens, but /. rimosa, which 

 Wheldon notes as being abundant on the Lancashire dunes, 

 was not present, at least at the time when I was able to 

 examine the Gower dunes. 



There is no doubt that if sand-dunes were examined 

 thoroughly at all seasons of the year their fungus-flora 

 would be found to be surprisingly rich, and much might be 

 learnt as to the adaptation of species to these unpromising 

 conditions. 



