NEW YORK SPECIES OF CANTHARELLUS. 



CAXTHARELLUS Adam. 



" Hymenophorum continuous with the stem, descending unchanged 

 into the trama. Lamellae thick, fleshy or waxy, fold-like, sub- 

 branched, obtuse on the edge. Spores white. Fleshy or membranous 

 putrescent fungi destitute of a veil." Hymen. Furop., p. 455. 



The prominent distinguishing characters of this genus are the 

 fleshy substance of the plants and the obtuse edge of the lamellae. 

 In nearly all the species these are either dichotomously branched or 

 reticulately or anastomosingly connected with each other. They are 

 so narrow and thick in some species that they appear more like folds 

 or veins than like lamella?. When a transverse section of the lamellae 

 is made their fold-like character becomes apparent. The hy menial 

 substance covers the entire lower surface of the pileus and hence the 

 interspaces are fertile as well as the lamellae. Although some species 

 formerly included in this genus are now excluded, it still contains 

 some incongruous members. Thus C. floccosus bears very little 

 general resemblance to C. infundibuliformis, and C. aurantiacus looks 

 strangely by the side of C pruinosus. It has, therefore, seemed best 

 to group the species into subgenera or sections according to their 

 natural affinities. 



In the section Agaricoides the pileus is flesh}' and is rapidly nar- 

 rowed below into the stem. The lamellae are very thin and close, 

 resembling much those of the Agarici, but they are obtuse on the 

 edge and regularly and sometimes repeatedly dichotomous. The 

 species of this group are closely related to the Agarici. 



In Eucantharellus the pileus is narrowly obeonic and tapers 

 downward gradually till it is lost in the short stem. Sometimes the 

 spreading margin makes it trumpet-shaped. The lamellae are very 

 narrow, thick and abundantly and reticulately branched. 



In Cantharellus (proper) the pileus is fleshy, glabrous and more 

 horizontally expanded, and the lamellae are broader, more distant, 

 and more sparingly branched than in the preceding group. The 

 stem is also longer in proportion to the size of the pileus. 



