354 Notes on Fungi. 



third section contains species with rigid juiceless stems, with 

 gills which are at first white, and then change colour. They 

 are inodorous, and often very difficult of determination. 

 A. galericulatus is extremely common on trunks of trees, and 

 assumes a variety of forms. A nearly allied species, A . poly- 

 grammus, which is far from uncommon, is known by the deep 

 strise of the shining stem, which run down for a great length. 

 4. The species of the fourth section differ from the last in being 

 mostly strong scented^ and having a brittle or soft, and not 

 rigid, stem. A. alccdvhus may be found everywhere, and the 

 scent is very disagreeable. 5. In this section the stem is 

 thread-shaped, and rather tough. The gills change colour, 

 and are paler at the edge ; like the species of No. 3, they are 

 inodorous. One of the prettiest, which is not uncommon, 

 A. acicula, is scarcely larger than a common pin, and has a 

 scarlet pileus and bright yellow stem. 6. This section is dis- 

 tinguished by the gills and stem distilling a milky or coloured 

 juice. A. sanguinolentus (Fig. 8), in which the juice is of a 

 madder red, is a common example. In A. galopus the juice is 

 white and milky, and there are some other native examples. 

 7. The species of this section have a viscid stem. A. epvpiery- 

 gius is common on dead fern and elsewhere, and is very pretty. 

 A. roridus, which occasionally occurs on twigs of bramble, in 

 wet weather, absolutely drips with mucus. A. vulgaris occurs 

 sometimes in myriads in fir woods, but it is not common every- 

 where. 8. This is a pretty section, remarkable for the species 

 having the base more or less dilated. Few things are prettier 

 than the minute A. pterigenus, with its rosy pileus and broad 

 distant gills. It adheres to dead fronds of fern, by long radia- 

 ting strigose threads. 9. Finally, we have minute species 

 which grow on leaves and twigs, in which the stem springs at 

 once from the matrix without any dilated base, as if it were 

 grafted. A. corticola is abundant everywhere on the bark of 

 trees, drying up in hot weather, and reviving with the first 

 shower. It assumes various tints. 



There remains only in this division of the genus Agaricus 

 the subgenus Pleuropus, which, like Armillaria, contains species 

 which are not closely allied to each other. Some differ only 

 from Tricliolomata in growing on wood and having an excen- 

 tric stem. Some have a distinct veil, as A. dryinus (Fig. 9), 

 which is sometimes a very pretty species. These have more or 

 less decurrent gills. . Others have no veil, but a distinct excen- 

 tric or somewhat lateral stem. Many of these are large and 

 important species. A. ulmarius attains a great size on the 

 trunks of elms, and with some others has the gills sinuated 

 behind, exactly as in Tricholoma. A. subpalmatus is remarkable 

 for its dry but gelatinous coat. A. Kgnatilis occurs abundantly 



