CORTINARIUS. 23 



In woods. Epping Forest. Oct. inoloma. 



In ' Hym. Eur.' Fries describes the smell as somewhat strong, but not 

 foetid. Spores pruniform, dotted, 10-11 mk. Q. Name argentum, silver. 

 Silvered. Fr. Monogr. ii. p. 46. Hym. Eur. p. 360. Grevillea, vol. xiv. p. 

 38. Ag. Krombh. t. 2. /. 27. 



** Gills, as well as the veil and stem, violaceous. 



44. C. violaceus Fr. Pileus 7.5-15 cent. (3-6 in.) broad, dark 

 violaceous, sometimes purplish-violet, truly fleshy, convex, then 

 flattened, regular, obtuse, villous, the innate persistent villous 

 down for the most part rimoso- squamulose, margin at first 

 involute ; flesh soft, deeper in colour. Stem 7.5-10 cent. (3-4 in.) 

 long, 2.5 cent, (i in.) thick, solid, stout, remarkably bulbous, 

 spongy, soft, at first tomentose, then fibrillose, dark violaceous, 

 internally violaceous-cinereous. Cortina woolly, azure-blue, then 

 ferruginous with the shed spores. Gills somewhat adnate, firm, 

 distant, connected by veins, broader than the flesh of the pileus, 

 dark almost black violaceous, then coloured with the cinnamon 

 spores, but again violaceous when these are rubbed off. 



Inodorous. Very handsome. It is easily distinguished from its allies by 

 the colour being always dark azure-blue externally and internally, by the 

 villous-scaly pileus, and by the distant gills. 



In woods and open ground. Frequent. Sept.-Nov. 



Spores sphaeroid-ellipsoid, 12-13x7-8 mk. K. Edible, excellent, resem- 

 bling Agaricus campestris in flavour. Name violaceous, of a violet colour. 

 Fr. Monogr. ii. p. 46. Hym. Eur. p. 360. Sv. at 1. Sv. t. 58. Berk. Out. p. 

 187. C. Hbk. n. 505. S. Mycol. Scot. n. 462. Hussey i. t. 12. Ag. Sv. Bor. 

 t. 288. Hedw.fil. Obs. t. 4. Bull. t. 250? 



45. C. cyanites Fr. Pileus 7.5-12.5 cent. (3-5 in.) broad, at 

 first dark blue, soon becoming pallid azure-blue or livid-fuscous, 

 fleshy, soft, convex then flattened, obtuse, silky, becoming even and 

 smooth, never floccoso-squamulose ; flesh azure-blue then whitish, 

 here and there reddish when broken. Stem 7.5-12.5 cent. (3-5 

 in.) long, more than 2.5 cent, (i in.) thick at the base, 12-18 mm. 

 (Yz-^/i in.) at the apex, solid, very bulbous, fibrillose, azure-dark 

 blue, lilac when touched, also azure-blue within, but reddish 

 blood -colour on contact with the atmosphere, and when com- 

 pressed pouring out a watery vinous-reddish juice. Cortina 

 fibrillose, azure-blue. Gills rounded, crowded, thin, 6 mm. (3 

 lin.) and more broad, commonly beautifully dark blue. 



A magnificent species. Var. major: pileus and stem compact, turning 

 red more slowly, gills somewhat distant, cinereous-dark blue. 



In wood. Reading. 



