No. 15.] HYMENIALES OF CONNECTICUT. 



55 



plants are smaller. The stems are hollow, and the ring is quite 

 firm and occurs near the base of the stem. Atkinson, in his 

 " Studies of American Fungi," gives an excellent and thorough 

 description of this species, with splendid illustrations of the 

 plants in all stages of their development. 



Coprinus atramentarius (Bull.) Fr. Ink-cap. This plant 

 is similar in its habitat to C. cornatus, and sometimes the plants 

 may be found growing side by side. The writer has found both 

 along a shaded bank where ashes had been dumped. They also 

 occur abundantly on very rotten stumps. The caps of this species 

 are smaller and shorter than those of the shaggy mane, and they 

 are usually entirely smooth, but are covered sometimes with 

 delicate white fibrils or coarser scales. The surface of the cap is 

 distinctly marked with fine lines which radiate from the center 

 to the margin. The ring in this species is quite fragile and dis- 

 appears quickly after the margin of the cap separates from the 

 stem. 



Coprinus micaceus (Bull.) Fr. Glistening Coprinus. (Plate 

 XXVIII.) The cap of this fungus is coated with minute scales 

 which glisten in the sunlight like particles of mica. The plant 

 is found frequently during the spring and early summer around 

 bases of trees or decayed stumps on lawns. It is seldom found 

 as an isolated specimen, but grows in dense groups. In matured 

 plants, the cap seldom has a diameter of over an inch and a half. 

 In substance the cap and gills are much thinner than those of 

 either the shaggy mane or the ink-cap. During a dry season the 

 plants retain rather a firm texture, but in moist weather it show's 

 the same character of quickly dissolving into an inky substance 

 that is shown by other members of the family. The writer has 

 gathered and eaten large quantities of this species, and has 

 found the quality superior to any others of the family. 



