SOME COMMON MUSHROOMS AND HOW TO KNOW THEM 43 



and Coprinus. Panaeolus is distinguished from Psathyrella by the 

 nonstriate margin of the cap and from Coprinus by the nondeliques- 

 cent gills. 



PAXAEOLUS RETIRUGIS. M'RIXKLED PAXAEOLUS 



(Fig. 39) 



The cap is ovate, conic, slightly expanding, almost hemispherical, cream to 

 tan colored, becoming grayish and dark smoky, viscid in wet weather, irregu- 

 larly marked with anastomosing wrinkles ; remnants of veil, which is promi- 

 nent and firm in young plants, adhering as fragments on the margin of the 

 mature caps : the gills are rather broad, ascending, adnexed, grayish to violet 

 black ; the stem is color of cap, darker in lower part, hollow, smooth, granulate, 

 may be slightly bulbous. 



The cap is three-fourths to 1^ inches broad ; the stem is 2 to 4 inches long 

 and 2 to 3 lines thick. 



This species is to be found on dung or on richly manured lawns. While it is 

 not generally considered poisonous it is wise not to use it as food, as it might 

 be confused with other species of the genus that are poisonous. 



POLYPORACEAE (PORE FUNGI) 



In the Polyporaeeae or pore fungi are found the large woody 

 forms that are so often seen on forest and ornamental trees and that 

 cause most of the serious diseases of timber and forest trees. As a 

 class they are difficult to control, because the mycelium lives in the 

 wood, rendering the use of fungicides impracticable. The conspicu- 

 ous shelving, woody growths seen on the branches and trunks of trees 

 are the fruiting bodies of the fungi. These may be removed, but the 

 mycelium will remain to continue the work of destruction. 



In Polyporaeeae the spores are produced in minute pores or tubes 

 (fig. 1, B), instead of on gills as in Agaricaceae, a character sugges- 

 tive of the name polypores, meaning many pores. The pores are 

 developed on the lower surface of the fruiting body and in many 

 species may be seen without the aid of a lens. The tubes or pores 

 vary greatly in size and shape, being long or short, round or angular, 

 or compressed. In some genera the hymenium is wrinkled and the 

 pores are reduced to mere pits. Great variation is also to be observed 

 in the consistency of the fruiting body; it may be woody, fleshy, 

 coriaceous, or subgelatinous. The key that follows will aid in dis- 

 tinguishing the genera of Polyporaeeae discussed in this circular. 



KEY TO POLYPORACEAE 



Hymenophore normally pileate, sometimes with resupinate forms. 

 Tubes poroid : 



Stratum of tubes separable from the hymenophore 



and from each other — Genus 



Cap fleshy, tubes crowded Fistulixa. 



Stratum of tubes separable from the hymenophore, 

 stem central — 



Cap smooth Boletus. 



Cap with large scales Strobilomyces. 



Stratum of tubes distinct from the hymenophore, but 

 not separable from it — 



Tubes in several layers, woody, perennial Fomes. 



Tubes not stratose — 



Cap thick Polyporus. 



Cap thin Polystictus. 



Tubes labyrinthiform. sinuous — 



Hymenophore sessile, corky Daedalea. 



Hymenophore reflexed, resupinate or amorphous, subgelatinous, 



hymenium plicate or rugose porous Merulius. 



