NEW YORK SPECIES OF PAXILLUS. 



PAXILLUS Fr. 



" Hymenophorum continuous with the stem, decurrent. Lamellae 

 membranous, scissile, somewhat branched and often anastomosing 

 behind, distinct from the hymenophorum and easily separable from it. 

 Spores sordid-whitish or ferruginous. 



u Fie shy putrescent fungi continuously and gradually unfolding and 

 expanding from an involute margin." Hymen. Furop., p. 400. 



The species of this genus are related to the Agarici on one hand, 

 and to the Boleti on the other. The important distinguishing char- 

 acter is afforded by the lamellae, which are easily and smoothly sep- 

 arable from the pileus, just as the tubes of a Boletus are from the 

 pileus that supports them. This relationship between thePaxilli and 

 Boleti is still further indicated by the anastomosing of the lamellae, 

 which in one species, Paxillus porosus, is carried to such an extent 

 that the hymenium is as distinctly porous as it is in some Boleti. On 

 the other hand, the close relationship that exists between this genus 

 and the genus Agaricus may be inferred from the fact that Agaricus 

 versonatus and A. cinerascens are still retained by Fries among the 

 Agarici, although he makes the remark that they belong rather to 

 the Paxilli. In the second edition of Epicrisis he has modified the 

 diagnosis of the genus, and at the same time admitted that it is " not 

 yet correctly defined." Neither is the limitation of the two tribes 

 into which he divides the species very satisfactory, for a central stem 

 and sordid spores, characters assigned to Lepista, are not always 

 associated together, nor are ferruginous spores found only in species 

 with the stem commonly lateral or eccentric. It has, therefore, 

 seemed best to me, for the present, to refer to this genus such species 

 only as have the spores colored and the separable lamella? more or 

 less branched, crisped or anastomosing. This reduces our species to 

 five, three of which are found also in Europe. They grow chiefly 

 in woods and occur in the latter part of summer and in autumn. 

 The separable character of the hymenium can only be ascertained by 

 the mutilation of a specimen. 



