No. 104.] 69 



Claudopus byssisedus, Fr. 

 Fibril-attaclied Agaric. Little Claudopus. 

 Agaricus byssisedus, Pers. 

 Pileus very thin, four to ten lines broad, at first resupinate, then 

 reflexed, nearly plane, glabrous or merely pruiuose with a slight gray- 

 ish villosity, gray, grayish-brown or brown ; lamella^ rather broad, 

 siihdecurrent, gi-^yxsh, then tinged with pink; stem short, lateral or 

 eccentric, generally curved, with white radiating byssoid fibrils at the 

 base; spores angulated, .OOO-t to .00045 in. long, .0003 broad. 



Decaying wood. Sterling and Adirondack mountains. August 

 and September. 



CREPIDOTUS, Fr. 



Veil wanting or not manifest. Pileus eccentric, lateral or resupi- 

 nate. Spores ferruginous. 



The Crepidoti correspond in shape and habit to the smaller Pleuroti 

 and the Claudopodes, but they are distinguished from both by the 

 ferruginous color of tlieir spores. These are globose in several species, 

 in others they are elliptical. In some there is a depression on one 

 side which gives them a naviculoid character and causes the spore to 

 appear slighly curved when viewed in a certain position. In conse- 

 quence of the similarity of several of our species, the character of the 

 spores is of much importance in their identification, and it is unfortu- 

 nate that European mycologists have so generally neglected to give 

 the spore characters in their descriptions of these fungi. In most of 

 the species the pileus is at first resupinate, but it generally becomes 

 reflexed as it enlarges. It is generally sessile or attached by a mass of 

 white fibrils or tomentum. For this reason it is usually somewhat 

 tomentose or villose about the point of attachment, even in species 

 that are otherwise glabrous. In several species the pileus is moist or 

 hygrophanous and then the thin margin is commonly striatulato. 

 This character is attributed to but one of the dozen or more European 

 species. The large number of Xew York species is noticeable, and fu- 

 ture investigation may show that mere varieties have in some instances 

 been taken for species. Their mode of growth is usually gregarious 

 or somewhat loosely imbricated, in consequence of which the ])ilens, 

 which in most species is white or yellowish, is often stained by tho 

 spores, and then it has a rusty, stained or squalid ai)pearance. The 

 species occur especially on old stumps, prostrate trunks and soft 

 much-decayed wood in damp, shaded places. The name Crepidotus is 

 derived from two Greek words npETtiZ, a shoe or slipper, and ovi, an 

 ear. 



Synopsis of the Species. 



Pileus viscid when moist C. hcprens. 



Pileus not vis<;id . . 1 



1. Pileus with a distinct stem ~ 



1. Pileus sessile or with an indistinct stem ^.. . . 3 



2. Stem thickened at the base C. hmislilhiriD. 



•2. Stem n«it thickened at the base C. ti/i<>phUiis. 



3. Pileus glabrous or only slightly villose at the base -t 



3. Pileus not glabrous ^ 



4. Lamelhe narrow and decurrent C. applanaiut^ 



4. Lamellije broad, not decurrent ...... 5 



