38 



Key to the Genera of the Coprineae* 



Spores, and at maturity the lamellae, black or blackish-brown. Coprimes. 



Spores, and at maturity the lamellae, rusty brown or reddish-brown. Bolbitius. 



Key to the North American Species of Bolbitius 



i. Stipe pilose-villous ; pileus sulphur yellow. B. vi'/ipes ¥x. 



Stipe glabrous or floccose, not pilose-villous. 2. 



2. Lamellae free. 3. 

 Lamellae adnate ; pileus light yellow ; disc reddish. B. nobilis Pk. 

 Lamellae long-decurrent ; pileus bluish to rose-color. B. macrorrhizus B. & Mont. 



3. Small; pileus 1-2^ cm. broad. B. pulchrij 'oliiis (Pk.) Mass. 

 Larger ; pileus 4-6 cm. broad. B. radians Morg. 



Key to the North American Species of Coprinus 



1. Universal veil present at least when young ; pileus not splitting down the backs of 



the lamellae. 2. 



Universal veil absent ; pileus membranaceous, splitting down the backs of the 

 lamellae, smooth or scaly from the ruptured and exposed cells of the pileus. 



Sec. VI. 



2. Universal veil remaining on the stipe as an annulus or as a volva. 3. 

 Universal veil not forming an annulus or a volva. 4. 



3. Base of stipe with a free-margined volva, annulus wanting. Sec. 1. 

 Annulus present at least when young, no volva. Sec. II. 



4. Universal veil soon evanescent; pileus glabrate or with innate scales. Sec. III. 

 Universal veil persisting on the pileus as patches, scales, fibrils of mealy granules 



(not glistening). Sec. IV. 



Universal veil (?) forming glistening, micaceous particles. Sec. \ . 



Coprinus — Sec. I. 

 No species recorded from North America. 



Coprinus — Sec. II. 



1. Annulus subpersistent, movable. 2. 

 Annulus soon evanescent. 4- 

 Annulus persistent, fixed, medial. C. armillaris Fr. 



2. Pileus fleshy ; lamellae linear. 3- 

 Pileus membranaceous ; lamellae ventricose. C. sijuarrosus Morg. 



3. Large; pileus 8-10 cm. high. C. coma tut Fr. 

 Smaller ; pileus 5-7 cm. high. C. comatus brevic-ps Pk. 



4. Small ; pileus 2-4 cm. broad. 5- 

 Larger; pileus 5 — 1 1 cm. broad, lamellae broad. 6. 



5. Spores large, 20-25 /' l° n g > lamellae never rose-colored. C. ntacrosporns Pk. 

 Spores smaller, 9// long; lamellae white to rose, then black. C. variegata Pk. 



* In Engler & Prantl, Pflanzenfamilien, the peculiar genus Montagnites is included 

 in the Coprineae. As this genus lacks the distinguishing character of deliquescent 

 lamellae and diverges widely in other important characters it seems best to exclude it. 



