CLASSIFICATION 73 



In Collybia the cap is usually thin, not fluted, and rarely in- 

 distinctly striate, never distinctly scaly, generally becoming more 

 or less plane at maturity, often more or less umbonate. The gills 

 are adnexed and rounded behind, or in some species they are 

 practically free, usualh' thin and pliant, and vary in colour from 

 white to grey in different species. In some members, as C. platy- 

 phylla, the gills are exceptionally broad. The stem is usually com- 

 paratively long, and may be, as is generally the case, smooth and 

 polished ; whereas in a few species it is velvety. In some species, 

 as C. radicata, it ends in a long, rooting base, which is longer than 

 the portion above ground. A strong alkaline or rancid smell is 

 peculiar to some species. Most grow on the ground, but some are 

 met with gro\\ing on wood, fallen fir cones, etc. 



Marasmhis 

 Another genus of fungi containing many British species. The 

 principal features of the genus as contrasted with Collybia are 

 given in the notes for the last-named genus. The most pronounced 

 features to remember are the general toughness and elasticity of 

 the entire fungus, and its power of assuming its natural form when 

 moistened after being dried ; whereas in practically all other 

 agarics no amount of soaking will cause a specimen to present any 

 semblance of its original form after being once dried. In Marasmius 

 the cap may be perfectly even, striate, or deeply fluted, generally 

 smooth, but certainl}'- never anything approaching to scaly ; the 

 flesh is always very thin and pliant. The gills are variously at- 

 tached to the stem in different species, adnexed, free, or in some 

 few species the gills are attached to a ring or collar which loosely 

 surrounds the apex of the stem. The gills are connected by veins 

 or raised ridges, which cross over from one gill to another in many 

 species. The stem is usually long and slender, in some species 

 polished, in others velvety, in some kinds ver}' minutely, so that 

 when dry the stem presents a whitish, hoary appearance. Several 

 species possess a strong smell resembling garlic, and in one or two 

 species the smell is very strong and foetid. The majority of species 

 grow on wood or fallen branches, but some of the minute species, 

 with black, thread-like, long stems, grow on dead, fallen leaves. 

 One minute species which is only met with on dead, fallen holly 

 leaves, called M. hudsoni, has numerous long, slender, blackish 

 purple spines or hairs spreading from the cap and stem. This 

 feature is unique so far as British agarics are concerned. 



Laciarius 



The presence of a white or coloured liquid or " milk," wliich 



flows in drops from the cap or gills when wounded, is tlu^ most 



pronounced character of the genus Laciarius, and the onlv one 



that separates it from its closest ally, Russitla ; in other respects 



