34 MUSHROOMS. 



cles. The margin may be acute or obtuse, 

 rolled backward or upward (re volute), or rolled 

 inward (involute) ; it may be thick or thin. 



THE STEM. 



The stem is the stalk that supports the cap. 

 It is sometimes attached to one side, and then 

 it is said to be lateral or between the centre and 

 side, and it is called eccentric ; when it is in 

 the middle, or nearly so, it is central. 



It is either solid, fleshy, stuffed with pith, 

 or hollow, fibrous, firm and tough (cartilagin- 

 ous). It is often brittle and breaks easily, or 

 it will not divide evenly in breaking. Its color 

 and size both vary, like the cap. It may 

 taper toward the base, or toward the apex, 

 be even or cylindrical. Its surface may be 

 smooth (glabrous), covered with scales 

 (squamulose), rough (scabrous), dotted, lacer- 

 ated, or be marked with a network of veins 

 (reticulated). The base may be bulbous, or 

 only swollen (incrassated), and it may root in 

 the ground. 



THE GILLS. 



The gills or lamellae are the radiating parts, 

 like knife blades, that extend from the centre 



