748 ADDITIONAL EXERCISES 



characters of assistance in identification are the mycelium, which forms slender 

 branching root-like strings, and the ahnond-like flavor of the flesh. 



Cap 3 to 4 inches broad; stem 2>2 to 4 inches long. 



The plants often grow in large clusters of twenty to thirty or even forty indi- 

 viduals. They occur in the wild state and have also been reported as a volunteer 

 crop in especially prepared soil. Specimens collected in the vicinity of Washington, 



Fig. 267. — Fruit bodies of Coprinus atramenlarius (edible). {After Patterson, Flora 

 W., and Charles, Vera K., Bull. 175, U. S. Depl. Agric, pi. xxviii, Apr. 25, 1915.) 



D. C, were found growing near the river on a rocky slope rich in leaf mould. Agari- 

 cus subrufescens is considered a very excellent edible species. 



COPRINTJS 



The genus Coprinus is easily recognized by the black spores and the close gills, 

 which at maturity dissolve into an inky fluid. The stem is hollow, smooth, or 

 fibrillose. The volva and ring are not generic characters, but are sometimes pres- 

 ent. The plants are more or less fragile and occur on richly manured ground, dung, 

 or rotten tree trunks. The genus contains species of excellent flavor and delicate 

 consistency. Autodigestion (page 65) is shown by them. 



