M E R U L 1 V S. 
inhabits moift woods, particularly among maples and firs; 
and flourifhes through the whole of the autumn. It is 
reprefented on the preceding plate, at fig. 5. and a feftion 
of it at fig. 6. 
а. Merulius nigripes: cap funnel-fhaped, yellowith : 
(talk, elongated, black, and footy. Perfoon feems to have 
adopted this from Bulliard. The taller, more flender, 
black ftalk, and more excavated top of the cap, teem the 
principal marks of diftindtion between this and the firft 
fpecies, of which Mr. Sowerby efteems it a variety only. 
3. Merulius aurantiacus: dry; orange-colour, veins 
red ; Item round, linear, full. The touch of this fpecies 
brings to the mind the idea of the tendered: wool; and 
its colour is charming. The inlide folds are ftraight, 
doubly-cut, and a little fwelled at the beginning, but 
growing thinner by degrees. The Item is central, or nearly 
lb, and varies confiderably in length, either from age, or 
according to the more or lefs pleafing accommodation 
it finds in the ground it fprings from : for we mull ob- 
ferve, that,, deprived of loco-motion, (the only circum- 
ftance which, perhaps, divides the vegetable from the 
animal kingdom,) plants are obliged to feed as they can, 
not as they choofe : and hence, a wonderful care mull 
have been the objedt of Providence to caufe each clafs, 
each order, each genus, to pitch where it is moll advan¬ 
tageous to every individual; otherwife whole g’enera 
and fpecies would have difappeared from the furface of 
the globe which they l'o elegantly clothe with the green 
mantle of their leaves diapered by the multifarious co¬ 
lours, tints, and hues,of their flowers and Items. This is 
executed in a Ample way, though the mind of man can 
hardly difcern the means, and is obliged to feed on 
furmifes and fnppofitions through want of certainty. 
For it appears that, of the innumerable quantity of feeds 
that ttplant produces, enough will always alight in pro¬ 
per ground that the fpecies may “ increafe and multiply,” 
world without end, till time itfelf becomes barren, and 
recedes to give room for eternity. Thefe ideas, ariling 
from one of the lowell works of the creation, ought to 
imprefs our hearts with the higheft veneration, and truell 
love for the Almighty, whole providence has lo wifely 
devifed all things, that the meanelt being in appearance 
ftill bears the ftrong and indifputable impreflion of the 
divine leal. The cap of the orange-coloured merulius 
is at firft convex, then deprefled, and afterwards funnel- 
Ihaped. In moill and rainy autumns', it is frequently 
found in forefts, and here and there even when the feafon 
is dry. It was obfervedin Lufatia, a northern part of Ger¬ 
many. Its habitation is generally the flat ground, though 
it fometimes afcends the trunk of trees. It flourifhes in 
Augull and September, but more commonly in Odtober 
and November. 
4. Merulius lutefcens : cap umbilicated, fmooth ; yel- 
lowith-brown above; reddilh alh-coloured beneath ; ftalk 
yellow, hollow. Not uncommon in woods in autumn, 
according to Perfoon ; but it feems to nave been firft cb- 
ferved in England by Mr. Sowerby, Nov. 1794, in Peck- 
ham wood. 
5. Merulius tubiformis-. Hem tubular. It greatly refem- 
bles the preceding; and inhabits fimilar places. 
б. Merulius fuligineus. This foot-colour fungus has 
a cap a little darker than the reft ; yet it is often taken 
for the lutefcens; and it may be doubted whether it is 
not rather a variety than diftindt fpecies. It grows 
(but not plentifully) under the thick and chilly cover of 
forefts : it is found chiefly in Augull and September, two 
months which yield the greatell harv.efts of this genus of 
cryptogamous plants. Daughter of moifture and heat, the 
end of the warm leafon, watered by the fhowers of the 
eq.uinox, never fails to produce them in great quantity. 
Bubbles of the earth,” like the fleeting vifions defcribed 
by the poet in Macbeth, their appearance is confined to 
the evening of the year ; and at the approach of cold they 
withdraw their fantallic figures from the fight of a lei's 
Congenial Iky. 
167 
7. Merulius cinereus; of a beautiful Hate or alh-co- 
lour, according to circumtlances of age and health. This 
fungus has its folds well cut, manifeltly exprelfed, diredt, 
dillant, and uniform. It is rare in Lufatia, and delights 
in warmer places than the preceding fpecies : the end of 
October marks it appearance. 
8. Meruiius cornucopioides : dull cinnamon-colour, 
lobed, curled; veins running down to the root; Hem 
grooved. This is diftinguilhed by its invertedly-conical 
trumpet-like fiiape, with fcarcely any ftalk, the central 
hollow of the cap running down the middle, almoft to 
the root, fo as to form a funnel, the outfide of which 
is really the under fide of the cap, and bears a bluilh 
powder, prefumed to be the feed. The plaits of this part 
are in general fufficiently obvious to mark the genus, 
though often evanelcent. It grows to a large bulk, in 
fhady groves, during Odtober and the following months. 
9. Merulius umbonatus: at firft the cap is a little con¬ 
vex, then becomes funnel-fhaped, and ftill remains. The 
colour is a mixture of bluifh-afh and black ; veins white 5 
the ftem larger, more folid, and longer; as to its folds, 
their diredtion, fituation, divifions, are nearly the fame 
as in M. aurantiacus. The fubftance offers fome fuccu- 
lency : if wounded, the fear becomes red, and afterwards 
purple 5 a circumflance adding to the fimilarity which, 
in other points, the agarics polfefs with animal flefh. 
This fpecies prefers the margins of fir and pine forefts, 
and nellies there quietly among all forts of mofs upon 
a damp ground. The fleetingnels of this fungus’s exifl- 
ence, the obfeurity in which its means of propagation is 
ftill involved, the variety of the genera and fpecies to 
which the numerous individuals which we find may be 
referred ; the various colour, the multifarious fhape of 
their caps or bucklers, the delightful talle of many, and 
yet the venom that lurks beneath the umbelliform ca¬ 
nopy of feveral; the inflammatory quality of the pollen 
or dull in fome, and the pleafant and flelhy flavour of 
the pulp in others ; have rendered this produdlion of 
nature the favourite fubjedl of the botanift’s fearches and 
lucubrations. Though a plain and unadorned nomen¬ 
clature ot the different ramifications through which the 
whole genus feems pleafed to wander, may at firft appear 
dry and uninterefting, yet, if the obferver will raile his 
head from the ground, lludded with muflirooms, to con¬ 
template the ficies, and the fparkling gems of the firma¬ 
ment, confidering that the fame Providence has ordered 
all for the ufe ot man, what feelings of gratitude, of ad¬ 
miration, of aftonilhment, ought to fwell his bofom to¬ 
wards the Creator! 
10. Merulius carbonarius. This fpecies feems pecu¬ 
liarly to belong to that part of Germany called Lufatia, 
where humid groves and vaft forefts afford the moll pleaf¬ 
ing birth and lhelter to many tribes and families of mulh- 
rooms. It is thus defcribed by Albertini and Schweiniz : 
Cap fomewhat flelhy, ftriated and fcaled ; of a mixed tint 
of light pink and black; half an inch to an inch in 
breadth; Item lighter; folds white. This is the general 
character. It bears fome fimilarity to the M. umbonatus 
and aurantiacus. Flourifhes about the end of Odloher. 
11. Merulius mufeigenus : ftem lateral, thick, ihort. 
This very fmall fpecies is of a pale yellowrlh-brown co¬ 
lour, with the veins little fwelled and ramote. It has its 
ftalk on one fide, fhort and woolly. It.was found on 
the thatched roof of houfes in rainy weather, in the mid¬ 
dle of November. 
12. Merulius bryophile. The partiality which it ma- 
nifells for places covered with motles, has entitled this 
fungus to its name. It appears to have the ftem fome¬ 
times lateral and fometimes central; at other times (fays 
Albertini) it affumes the fliape of a bullock’s horn. Ir 
riles molt humbly in very damp ground, infpiffated with 
decayed mofs ; at the end of Odtober. 
13. Merulius crifpus: funnel-formed, coriaceous; 
ftem folid, half or three quarters of an inch in height 5 
the plica, with the margin of the cap, tending to iea- 
greea, 
