230 



NEW YOBK STATE MUSEUM 



In the Cornucopia mushroom the cap has neither gills, pores 

 nor teeth on its lower surface, which is even or slightly and 

 obscurely wrinkled. It, therefore, belongs to a fourth family 

 which takes the name Thelephorese. 



There is still another family with a few edible species in it. It 

 is named Clavarieae, from its principal genus Clavaria. In this 

 genus the edible species occur. It is composed of two kinds of 

 plants. In one kind there is a simple upright club-shaped stem- 

 like growth with no well-marked cap or expanded part. In the 

 other there is a branching bush-like growth. In both these the 

 spores are produced on the exterior surface of the plants or of 

 their branches. A synoptical view of the five families is given 



in the annexed table. 



Cap present 1 



Cap wanting Clavarieae. 



1 Cap with radiating gills beneath Agaricinese. 



1 Cap with pores beneath .' Polyporeae. 



1 Cap with spine-like or awl-shaped teeth beneath Hydneae. 



1 Cap with neither gills, pores nor teeth beneath Thelephoreae. 



Agaricineae. 



Agaeics. 



The family Agaricineaa probably includes more edible species 

 than any other. Its members are sometimes called " agarics." 

 More than 500 species of this family have been credited to our 

 State flora. For the sake of convenience in the identification 

 of such a great abundance of material, botanists have divided 

 the family into smaller groups or sections depending on the 

 color of the spores. We can do no better than to follow this 

 arrangement in the study of the species. It is not a difficult 

 matter to ascertain the color of the spores of an agaric. Gen- 

 erally they have nearly or quite the same color as the mature 

 gills, but to this there are so many exceptions that to be exact 

 we must see the spores themselves. Singly they are invisible to 

 the naked eye, but when collected in a mass their color is plainly 

 to be seen. If the cap of a mushroom is cut from its stem and 

 placed in its natural position, gills downward, on any flat surface, 

 say a piece of white paper as broad as itself, it will in a few 



