40 MYCOPHAGY. 



In a very important group of fungi the spores are the 

 essential character, as the gills are in those just de- 

 scribed. In their multitudinous species the polypori ex- 

 hibit every gradation, from great succulence to the hard- 

 ness of wood. The scaly polyporus, so common on ash 

 the coriaceous Polyporus versicolor, with its velvety 

 pileus and many-coloured zones, so common on stumps 

 and felled wood and the hard hoof-shaped polyporus 

 abounding in plum orchards are familiar examples. 



The existence of prickles, or spine-like processes, on 

 the under side of the pileus, is the characteristic mark 

 of a third subdivision, called Hydnei, after the typical 

 genus hydnum (from the Greek word for truffle). The 

 pretty Hydnum auriscalpium, common upon fir cones, 

 attracts attention from the elegance of its form and col- 

 ouring ; and the esculent H. repandum is a common 

 inhabitant of our woods. 



The characteristic of a fourth group is the absence of 

 projections or depressions on the hymenium or fructify- 

 ing surface. The species is very common and widely 

 diffused, and is termed Auricularini, from some of the 

 most characteristic being ear- shaped. Familiar speci- 

 mens are to be seen upon the oak-trunk, felled and 

 peeled, in the form of bright yellowish fungi ; while a 

 felled poplar, with the bark on, is adorned with a beauti- 

 ful and somewhat similar lilac fungus. 



Hitherto all the species described have something in 

 the shape of a pileus ; but in the next group that of 

 Clavati so named from their club-like form the pileus 

 disappears, and is replaced by a club-shaped receptacle 

 covered with the fructifying surface. If the stem is 

 branched, we may have every variety of tree-like form. 

 The yellow Clavaria fastigiata of our meadows, and the 

 white candle-like bundles, Clavaria vermiculata, so com- 

 mon on our lawns in autumn, are well-known examples. 

 Here again we have the most beautiful colouring, 

 though several of the finest European species have not 

 yet been noticed in our woods. 



