168 



seem very favorable for a larger local flora and for several beach- 

 plants found elsewhere only along the sea-coast and the great 

 lakes. 



Columbia University, 

 September 15, 1903. 



A KEY TO THE NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES 

 OF INOCYBE— I 



By F. S. Earle 



The genus Inocybe contains a large number of species and 

 these are usually quite well marked. It is a rather well-defined 

 natural group but at times some of the species have been con- 

 fused with Hebeloma and others with Naucoria. The plants are 

 mostly small and are inconspicuously colored. They usually 

 occur on the ground in the woods but some are found in pastures 

 or other open places and in cultivated fields. A few grow on 

 rotten wood. For the most part the species are rather local and 

 it is evident that their number will be largely increased when the 

 North American fungus flora comes to be better known. In 

 the material collected within a radius of one hundred miles from 

 New York City during the past two years fifteen or twenty forms 

 occur that cannot be referred to any of the following species. 

 It is probable that many of these are undescribed but publica- 

 tion of them is withheld for the present. 



Key to the Sections. 



1. Pileus viscid when young or moist. VlSClDAE 

 Pileus dry from the first. 2. 



2. Pileus glabrous or fibrillose from the remains of the veil, not rimose nor lacer- 



ate-squamose ; stipe usually glabrous with the apex pruinose. Velutinae 



Pileus rimose, lacerate-squamose or squarrose. 3. 



3. Pileus glabrous or nearly so, conspicuously radiately rimose ; stipe usually pale 



and fibrillose. RlM< is \ E 



Pileus not conspicuously rimose, but lacerate-scaly or squarrose. 4. 



4. Pileus with appressed lacerate scales, or (ibrillose-floccose ; stipe appressed-fibril- 



lose, subconcolorous. LACERAE 



Pileus squarrose with erect or spreading scales ; stipe concolorous, squarrose- 



squaniulose. Squarrosae 



