Report of the Botanist. 103 



dry ; Lamellffi broad, attached, dusky-brown, stipe whitish, 

 hollow, fragile, mealy above. 



Height 2', breadth of pileus 6^-10" 



Grassy ground. West Albany. June. 



108. Agaricus disseminatus Pers. 



Pileus membranaceous, ovate or subcampanulate, obtuse, 

 sulcate-striate, grayish ; lamellae few, distant, not broad, 

 whitish, then pinkish -purple, finally black ; stipe slender, 

 hollow, fragile, white ; plant csespitose. 



Height about 1', breadth of pileus 3"- 4". 



On decaying sticks. Albany Rural Cemetery. September. 



It resembles the small sulcate-striate Coprini^ but the lamellse 

 do not dissolve. 



Genus — COPRINUS Fr. 



Gills membranaceous, deliquescent, spores black. — Berlc. 

 Outl. 



The species of this genus are readily known by the lamellse 

 soon dissolving into an inky fluid. They are quite ephemeral, 

 many of them not continuing beyond a single day. Specimens 

 are preserved with difficulty, these plants being fragile as well as 

 perishable. The inlvv fluid from the lamelhe, after being boiled, 

 is sometimes used as ink. The larger species may also be made 

 into a catsup. 



Synopsis of the Species. 



Stem annulate 1. 



Stem not annulate a. 



a. Pileus not at aU or only closely striate b. 



b. Pileus with an evanescent floccose covering '^. 



b. Pileus with a persistent floccose covering 3. 



b. Pileus naked, or nearly so 4. 



a. Pileus distantly sulcate-striate c. 



c. LamellEB attached to a collar 5. 



c. Lamellae attached to the stem 6. 



*1. COPEINUS COMATUS Ft. 



Pileus thin, cylindrical, then campanulate, rough with broad 

 rather distant flbrous scales, whitish, the margin soon discol- 

 ored revolute and lacerated ; lamellse linear, crowded, free, 

 white, then pink, finally black ; stipe nearly equal, fibrillose, 

 hollow, annulate, the annulus movable, the cavity of the stem 

 containing a gossamer-like web. 



Height 6'- 8', breadth of pileus 2-3', stipe 3"- 4" thick. 



Manured grounds. Common. September and Octctber, 

 Edible. Our largest species. 



