PLEUEOTUS. 371 



A Tery variable spacies ; according to Kalchbrenner, the 

 spores have a faint tinge of lilac, and the pileus is white, 

 tawny, brownish, or nmber on the same trunk, The white 

 form only has been met with in this country. 



Pleurotus mutilus. Fr. 



Pileus up to 1 in. across, flesh rather thick, soft, irregu- 

 larly circular in outline and slightly depressed, but veiy 

 variable in form, glabrous, silky when dry, white; gills de- 

 current, somewhat crowded, narrow, rather thick, simple ; 

 stem about 1 in. long, slender, expanding upwards into the 

 flesh of the pileus, excentric or almost lateral, glabrous, base 

 downy, w^hite. 



Arjariciis (Pleuvotiis) mutilus, Fries, Sjst. Myc, i. p. 191 ; 

 Cke., Hdbk., p. 104; Cke., Illustr., pi. 27,5b. 



On the ground among grass. Cooke says, also on dead 

 wood. 



Yery similar to Omplialia scyplioides, Fr. ; of which it may 

 possibly be a vaiiety; but although the two have grown 

 mixed together, I have never observed a direct transition. 

 P. mutilus differs in being almost glabrous, never regular in 

 form, and not infundibiiliform. (Fries.) 



**** Gills decurrent ; stem lateral, sliort or ahsent. 



Pleurotus ostreatus. Jacq. 



Pileus 3—6 in. across, fleshy, soft, at first convex and hori- 

 zontal, then expanded and ascending, glabrous, moist, even, 

 but the cuticle sometimes torn into squamules, dark and 

 almost blackish when young, then brownish-grey, clear 

 bluish-grey with violet tinge, or lavender colour, often 

 becoming yellowish when old; stem short or obliterated. 

 firm, obliquely ascending, incrassated upwards, white, base 

 downy or strigose; gills decurrent, anastomosing behind, 

 rather distant, broad, white, sometimes tinged yellow, never 

 pinkish; spores elliptical, white, 10-12 X 4r-5 /x. 



Agarieus ostreatus, Jacques., Austr., t. 268; Cke., Hdbk., 

 p. 106; Cke., Illustr., pi. 195 and 953. 



Pleurotus columhinus, Quelet, in Bresad., Fungi Trident., 

 p. 10, t. vi. 



On trunks. 



2 c 2 



