MUSHROOMS AND OTHER COMMON FUNGI. 37 



PANAEOLUS. 



In the genus Panaeolus the cap is slightly fleshy and the margin 

 nonstriate, always extending beyond the gills, which are gray and 

 mottled from the falling of the black spores. The stem is without a 

 ring and polished. The two nearest related genera are Psathyrella 

 and Coprinus. From the first Panaeolus is separated by the non- 

 striate margin of the cap and from Coprinus by the nondeliquescent 

 gills. 



Panaeolus retirugis. (Edible.) 



Cap ovate, conic, slightly expanding, almost hemispherical, cream to tan colored, 

 becoming grayish and dark smoky, viscid in wet weather, irregularly marked with 

 anastomosing wrinkles; remnants of veil, which is prominent and firm in young 

 plants, adhering as fragments on margin of mature caps; gills rather broad, ascending, 

 adnexed, grayish to violet black; stem color of cap, darker in lower part, hollow, 

 smooth, granulate, may be slightly bulbous. 



Cap three-fourths inch to 1£ inches broad ; stem 2 to 4 inches long, 2 to 3 lines thick. 

 (PI. XXX, fig. 2.) 



This species is to be found on dung or on richly manured lawns. It seldom occurs in 

 sufficient quantity to be cooked alone, but the flavor is pleasant and readily imparted 

 to other mushrooms. The appendiculate character of the veil is of assistance in dis- 

 tinguishing this species from others of the genus. 



POLYPORACESE (pore fungi). 



Members of the family Polyporacese are characterized by the pro- 

 duction of a poriferous fructification. In Agaricacese the spores 

 are developed on gills, while in Polyporacese they are formed in nu- 

 merous more or less minute tubes on the lower surface of the fruit- 

 ing body (hymenophore) . The tubes may be short or elongated, 

 the mouths (pores) round, angular, or compressed. 1 In some genera 

 the hymenium is wrinkled and the tubes are reduced to mere pits. 

 Great variation is also to be observed in the consistency of the fruit- 

 ing body; it may be woody, fleshy, coriaceous, or subgelatinous. 

 The key that follows will aid in distinguishing the genera of Polypo- 

 racese discussed in this paper. 



Key to Polyporacese. 



Hymenophore normally pileate, sometimes with resupinate forms: 

 Stratum of tubes easily separable from the hymenophore, stem 

 central — 



Cap smooth Boletus. 



Cap with large scales Strobilomyces. 



Stratum of tubes distinct from the hymenophore, but not separa- 

 ble from it — 



Tubes in several layers, woody, perennial Fomes. 



Tubes not stratose — 



Cap thick Polyporus. 



Cap thin Polystictus. 



Cap fleshy, tubes crowded Fisttjlina. 



1 The tubes and contour of the mouths may be readily determined by the aid of a small hand lens. 



