162 



PRACTICAL BOTANY. 



Find forms that have an annulus, or ring, on the stipe, 

 a short distance below the pileus. This is the remnant 

 of the velum, or veil, which in the button stage enveloped 

 the whole fructification. As the button developed into 

 the full-sized Toadstool, the velum parted. Find remains 

 of it around the edge of the pileus. In some cases the 

 annulus is a true ring, and is movable up and down on 

 the stipe ; in other cases it is firmly attached to the stipe 

 and persists ; in others it disappears. 



Find forms having a volva, or envelope, at the base, ex- 

 tending a short distance up the stipe. Toadstools having 



a volva are to be avoided as poi- 

 sonous. Draw specimens, show- 

 ing all the points mentioned. 

 (See Fig. 94.) 



2. Allow a number of differ- 

 ent kinds of Toadstools to 

 decay. Notice that some shrivel 

 up or decay in the ordinary way, 

 and others turn wholly into a 

 dark, inklike fluid. 



3. Look for Toadstools grow- 

 ing in the woods. Dig up some 

 with considerable earth clinging 

 to the bases. Carefully pick 

 this away and notice the thread- 

 like root portions. These threads are the real plant. 

 They constitute the mycelium. Examine some of the 

 threads under the microscope. 



4. Compare the gills of the different species. In some 

 they extend from the edge of the pileus to thejstipe. In 

 others some of the gills extend the entire distance from 

 the edge of the pileus to the stipe, and some extend only 

 part way. In some the gills do not quite reach the stipe. 

 In others they extend part way down on the stipe. In 



Amn.nitn. rubescens. 

 ,.pilens; ^ an _ 

 nulus; V, volva. (After Le 

 Maout and Decaisne.) 



