THE RU ST Y-S PORED AGARICS 



287 



Pa.rilhts. Br. 



Paxillus means a small stake or peg. The spores as well as the entire plant are 

 ferruginous. The pileus, with an involute margin, gradually unfolds. It may 

 be symmetrical or eccentric. The stem is continuous with the hymenophore. The 

 gills are tough, soft, persistent, decurrent, branching, membranaceous, usually 

 easily separating from the hymenophore. 



The distinctive features of this genus are the involute margin and the soft, 

 tough, and decurrent gills which are easily separable from the hymenophore. Some 

 grow on the ground, others grow on stumps and sawdust. 



Figure 232. Paxillus involutus. 



Paxillus involutus. Fr. 



Photo by C. G. Lloyd. 



v Involutus means rolled inward. The pileus is two to four inches broad, fleshy, 

 compact, convex, plane, then depressed ; viscid when moist, the cap being covered 

 with a fine downy substance, so that when the margin of the cap unrolls the marks 

 of the gills are quite prominent ; yellowish or tawny-ochraceous, spotting when 

 bruised. 



The gills are decurrent, branched ; anastomosing behind, near the stem ; easily 

 separating from the hymenophore. 



