CHAPTER V: FUNGI WITH GILLS 
GENUS AMANITA 
Tue fungi with gills all have this characteristic in common— 
that they bear their spores on radiating plates or lamella. Their 
family name, Agaricacee, is derived from a typical member of the 
family, Agaricus campestris. The family is the largest and most 
widely distributed of all the families, and contains some five 
thousand described species, which are placed in groups or genera, 
more or less large, based on such characters as the colour of the 
spores; the position and shape of the lamelle; the colour and 
texture, as well as the shape, odour, taste, and appendages of the 
cap and stem. 
The colour of the spores is one of the most important char- 
acteristics, as the decision as to whether the plant is wholesome 
or not often rests upon it. The colour may be determined by 
placing the cap, with spore surface down, on a sheet of white or 
black paper, and leaving it for a time under an inverted glass, so 
as to cut off all drafts which may blow the spores away. A print 
of the radiating gills will then be made in the colour of the spores— 
white, pink, rusty brown, or black. 
For external characters of the stem, one must be careful to 
get the entire stem from the ground; for a most important char- 
acteristic, the volva, if present, will be found at the base. The 
volva may be membranous and attached to the base, excepting 
at the rim, or membranous and loose, or present only in the form 
of rings of scales at the base, with perhaps traces on the surface 
of the cap. 
The surface of the stem may be smooth or rusty or mealy 
white. It may or may not have near the cap a ring of the 
membrane which covered the gills of the young plant. 
The character of the lamellze and the internal characters of 
the stem may best be determined by cutting the cap and stem 
from top to base with a sharp knife, for then it may be seen 
whether the gills are free from the stem or attached to it, or 
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