HYMENOMYCETES 133 



number of known species does not exceed 366, or about one- 

 eighth of the number of white-spored species. There are no 

 genera, recognised as such, in the Sylloge, except such as 

 were included by Fries as subgenera in his genus Agaricus, and 

 these correspond to analogous genera in the Leucosporae. For 

 instance, the recent genus Metraria corresponds to Amanita, 

 and Volvaria to Amanitopsis ; Annularia is an analogue of 

 Lepiota, as Pluteus is of Schidzeria, but there is no correspond- 

 ent to Armillaria. Entoloma is analogous to Tricholoma, 

 Clitopilus to Clitocyle, Claudopus to Pleurotus, Lcptonia to 

 Collyhia, Nolanea to Mycena, and Eccilia to Omphalia. In 

 this way the characteristic features of the genera which have 

 been learned in connection with the Leucosp)orae may serve 

 again with the Rhodosporac, conditional upon the difference in 

 the colour of the spores. It is somewhat remarkable that the 

 genus Metraria is only known from Australia, and yet there 

 are known at present only twenty-five other species of the 

 Rhodosporae in that large continent, which are spread over ten 

 genera, and fifteen of the species are European. In the 

 British flora upwards of 100 species are recorded, or about 

 one to seven of the Leucosporae. In Australia the proportion 

 is one to thirteen and a half of the Leucosporae. This indicates 

 that the Rhodosporac prefer a cold to a warm climate, or at 

 least a moist to a dry one. In Ceylon the proportion is much 

 the same as it is in Britain. 



The third primary group is Oclirosporac, which includes 

 the Dermini section of Agaricus, with the addition of the large 

 genus Cortinarius, and the small genus Paxillns — to which, we 

 contend, should also be added Bolhitius, placed by Saccardo in 

 Melanosporae, but evidently the colour of the spores is against 

 this position. The genus Paxillus is distinct from all the rest 

 in the facility with which the gills separate from the hynieno- 

 phore ; and Cortinarius differs from all in the universal veil 

 being of delicate threads like a spider's web. The residue are 

 the same as the Friesian subgenera of the section Dermini. 

 Exception might be taken to the term Ochrosporae, as not being 

 characteristic of the general colour of the spores, which are 

 much too deep for " ochraceous," approximating more to 

 ferruginous, and hence the name is misleading. As we have 



