MUSHROOMS AND OTHER COMMON FUNGI. 25 



MARASMIUS. 



The plants of the genus Marasmius are thin, tough, and membra- 

 naceous, never decaying, but drying up and shriveling. When mois- 

 tened they again expand and assume their original form, a character 

 peculiar to this genus. The gills are variously attached and often 

 narrow, distant, and connected by prominent anastomosing veins. 

 The stem is cartilaginous or horny and continuous with the cap, but 

 of a different texture. 



Most of the species grow upon wood or leaves and some have an 

 odor of garlic or onions. Marasmius is closely related to Collybia, 

 Lentinus, and Panus. Certain species have been described as belong- 

 ing to Collybia and are especially difficult of identification. The 

 majority of the species of Marasmius have a central stem, while the 

 stem in Lentinus and Panus is variable, being central, excentric, 

 lateral, or absent. Marasmius species are also much smaller than 

 those of the genera mentioned. 



Marasmius cohaerens. 



Cap fleshy, convex to plane, sometimes umbonate, tan to chestnut, perhaps darker 

 in the center; margin wavy, striate when damp; gills narrow, crowded, adnate, but 

 notched, tan colored; stem hollow, shining, color same as cap, darker and slightly 

 enlarged toward the base, rooting. 



Cap one-half to 1 inch broad; stem 2 to 4 inches long, 1J lines thick. 



The species grows on the ground or on rotten logs in dense clusters, as many as 

 20 being closely bound together by a growth of hairs at the base of the stems. It is 

 not common but is widely distributed. It has been identified by some collectors as a 

 member of the genus Mycena, by others as a Collybia. 



Marasmius oreades. Fairy-ring fungus. (Edible.) 



Cap convex, then plane and slightly umbonate, tough, smooth, brownish buff, later 



cream colored, margin when moist may be striate; gills broad, free, distant, unequal, 



creamy white; stem tough, solid, equal, villose in the upper part, smooth at the base. 



Cap 1 to 2 inches broad; stem 2 to 3 inches long, 1| lines thick. (PI. XIX, fig. 3.) 



This is a popular edible species and once learned should always be recognized. It 



may be preserved for winter use by drying and is also well adapted for pickling. 



Marasmius rotula. The collared mushroom. 



Cap white or pale yellowish and darker at the disk, papery, deeply furrowed, smooth 

 umbilicate; margin crenate; gills the color of the cap, broad, distant, attached to a 

 collar which surrounds the stem; stem threadlike, smooth, shining, hollow, blackish. 



Cap one-fourth to one-half inch broad; stem 1 to 1£ inches long. 



Commonly found on leaves and twigs in forests. The species can be at once recog- 

 nized by the gills being attached to a collar free from the stem. 



LENTINUS. 



In the genus Lentinus the plants are tough, leathery, corky, becom- 

 ing hard and almost woody when old. The cap is generally irregular 

 in form, usually depressed, often scaly or velvety. The gills are 

 slightly or deeply decurrent, unequal, thin with margin notched or 



