De Leveille has thus defined mycelium: "Filaments at first simple, then more or less complicated, resulting from the vegetation of the spores and serving as roots to the mushroom."

The mycelium of mushrooms or the mushroom spawn is usually white, but is also found yellow, and even red. It is distinguished by some writers as nematoid, fibrous, hymenoid, scleroid or tuberculous, and malacoid. The nematoid mycelium is the most common. Creeping along on the surface of the earth, penetrating it to a greater or less depth, developing in manure among the dÉbris of leaves or decayed branches, always protected from the light, it presently consists of very delicate filamentous cells more or less loosely interwoven, divided, anastomosing in every direction and often of considerable extent.

Its presence is sometimes difficult to detect without the use of the microscope, either on account of its delicacy or because of its being intermingled with the organic tissues in which it has developed.

Sometimes mycelium unites in bundles more or less thick and branched. This has been called the fibrous mycelium. Where the filaments intercross closely, are felted, and inclined to form a membrane, it is hymenoid mycelium. Where the filaments are so small and close that they form very compact bodies, constituting those solid irregular products called sclerotium, it is scleroid or tuberculous mycelium. With malacoid mycelium we have nothing to do in this paper. It is a soft, pulpy, fleshy mycelium.

Systematists have divided the Agaricini into groups according to the color of their spores. These groups are defined as follows by various authors:

According to—

Elias Fries, 5 groups: Leucosporus, white; Hyporhodius, pink; Cortinaria, ochraceous; Derminus, rust; Pratella, purplish black.

Rev. J. M. Berkeley, 5 groups: Very frequently pure white, but presenting also pink, various tints of brown, from yellowish and rufous to dark bister, purple-black, and finally black; Leucospori, white; Hyporhodii, salmon; Dermini, ferruginous; PratellÆ, brown; Coprinarius, black.

Dr. Badham, 6 groups: Pure white or a yellow tinge on drying; brown; yellow; pink; purple; purple-black; some pass successively from pink to purple and from purple to purple-black.

Mrs. Hussey, 11 shades: White; rose; pale ocher; olivaceous-ocher; reddish-ocher; ochraceous; yellowish olive-green; dull brown; scarcely ferruginous; snuff-color; very dark brown.

Hogg & Johnson, 5 groups: Leucosporei, white; Hyporhodii, salmon; Dermini, rusty; PratellÆ, purplish-brown; Coprinarii, black.

C. Gillet, 7 shades: White; pink; ochraceous; yellow; ferruginous; black or purplish black; round, ovate, elongated, or fusiform, smooth, tuberculate or irregular, simple or composite, transparent or nebulous, etc.

Jules Bel, 5 groups: White; pink; red; brown; black.

Dr. Gautier, 5 shades: White; pink; brown; purplish-brown; black.

Constantin & Dufour, 5 groups: White; pink; ochraceous; brownish-purple; black.

J. P. Barla, 7 groups: Leucosporii, white; Hyporhodii, pink; CortinariÆ, ochraceous; Dermini, rust; PratellÆ, purplish-black; Coprinarii, blackish; Coprini and Gomphi, dense black.

L. Boyer, 5 groups, 11 shades: White to cream yellow; pale pink to ochraceous yellow; bay or red brown to brown or blackish bister; rust color, cinnamon or light yellow.

W. D. Hay, 5 groups: White; pink; brown; purple; black.

C. H. Peck, 5 groups: Leucosporii, white; Hyporhodii, salmon; Dermini, rust; PratellÆ, brown; Coprinarii, black.

Saccardo divides the Agaricini into four sections, according to the color of their spores, as follows: Spores brown, purplish brown or black, MelanosporÆ; spores ochraceous or rusty ochraceous, OchrosporÆ; spores rosy or pinkish, RhodosporÆ; spores white, whitish or pale yellow, LeucosporÆ.

Dr. M. C. Cooke, 5 groups: Leucospori, white or yellowish; Hyporhodii, rosy or salmon color; Dermini, brown, sometimes reddish or yellowish brown; PratellÆ, purple, sometimes brownish purple, dark purple, or dark brown; Coprinarii, black or nearly so.

These shades are somewhat different from the colors of the mushrooms' gills, so that, when it is of importance to determine exactly the color of the spore in the identification of a species, we may without recourse to the microscope cut off the stem of an adult plant on a level with the gills and place the under surface of the cap upon a leaf of white paper if a dark-spored species, and upon a sheet of black paper if the spores are light. At the expiration of a few hours we will find, on lifting the cap, a bed of the shed spores which will represent their exact shade. These may be removed to a glass slide and their size and form determined by means of the microscope.

In the present work Dr. M. C. Cooke's grouping of the spore series is adopted.

---

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD "MUSHROOM."

Various opinions have been offered as to the derivation of the word "mushroom." According to Hay, it probably had its origin in a combination of the two Welsh words maes, a field, and rhum, a knob, which by gradual corruption have become mushroom. Some writers on the other hand regard it as a corruption of mousseron, a name specifically applied by the French to those mushrooms which are found growing in mossy places. But it seems to be of older usage than such a derivation would imply, and therefore the first explanation seems the more likely to be correct.

In England the term "mushroom" has been most commonly applied to the "meadow mushroom," that being the one best known; but English-speaking mycologists now apply it generically very much as the French do the term "champignon," while the name "champignon" is restricted in England to the Marasmius oreades, or "Fairy Ring" mushroom.

Berkeley says the French word "champignon" was originally scarcely of wider signification than our word "mushroom," though now classical in the sense of fleshy fungi generally. The German word Pilz (a corruption of Boletus) is used to denote the softer kinds by some German authors. Constant and Dufour, in their recently published Atlas des Champignons, include types of a great variety of mushrooms.

Hay contends that the pernicious nick-name "toad-stool" has not the derivation supposed, but that the first part of the word is the Saxon or old English "tod," meaning a bunch, cluster, or bush, the form of many terrestrial fungi suggesting it. The second syllable, "stool," is easily supplied. "The erroneous idea of connecting toads with these plants," says Hay, "seems to be due to Spenser, or to some poet, possibly, before his time." Spenser speaks of the loathed paddocks, "paddock" then being the name given in England to the frog, afterwards corrupted to "paddic," and once received, readily converted by the Scotch into "puddick-stool." It would seem, therefore, from the foregoing, that the term "toad-stool" can have no proper relation to mushrooms, whether edible or poisonous.

The three mushrooms illustrated and described in this pamphlet, Plates I, II, and III, are of the order Agaricini or gilled mushrooms. They are well-defined types and of wide geographical distribution.

---

Rollrausch and Siegel, who claim to have made exhaustive investigations into the food values of mushrooms, state that "many species deserve to be placed beside meat as sources of nitrogenous nutriment," and their analysis, if correct, fully bears out the statement. They find in 100 parts of dried Morchella esculenta 35.18 per cent. of protein; in Helvella esculenta, 26.31 per cent. of protein, from 46 to 49 per cent. of potassium salts and phosphoric acid, 2.3 per cent. of fatty matter, and a considerable quantity of sugar. The Boletus edulis they represent as containing in 100 parts of the dried substance 22.82 per cent. of protein. The nitrogenous values of different foods as compared with the mushroom are stated as follows: "Protein substances calculated for 100 parts of bread, 8.03; of oatmeal, 9.74; of barley bread, 6.39; of leguminous fruits, 27.05; of potatoes, 4.85; of mushrooms, 33.0."

According to Schlossberger and Depping, in 100 grams of dried mushrooms they found the following proportions of nitrogenous substances:

But all chemists are not agreed as to these proportions. For instance, Lefort has found 3.51 grains of nitrogenous matter in the cap of Agaricus campestris, 2.1 grains in the gills and only 0.34 of a grain in the stem. Payen has found 4.68 grains in Agaricus campestris, 4.4 grains in the common Morel (Morchella esculenta), 9.96 grains in the white truffle, and 8.76 grains in the black.

A much larger proportion of the various kinds of mushrooms are edible than is generally supposed, but a prejudice has grown up concerning them in this country which it will take some time to eradicate. Notwithstanding the occurrence of occasional fatal accidents through the inadvertent eating of poisonous species, fungi are largely consumed both by savage and civilized man in all parts of the world, and while they contribute so considerable a portion of the food product of the world we may be sure their value will not be permanently overlooked in the United States, especially when we consider our large accessions of population from countries in which the mushroom is a familiar and much prized edible. In Italy the value of the mushroom as an article of diet has long been understood and appreciated. Pliny, Galen, and Dioscorides mention various esculent species, notably varieties of the truffle, the boletus and the puff-ball, and Vittadini writes enthusiastically of the gastronomic qualities of a large number of species. Of late years large quantities have been sold in the Italian markets. Quantities of mushrooms are also consumed in Germany, Hungary, Russia, France, and Austria.

Darwin speaks of Terra del Fuego as the only country where cryptogamic plants form a staple article of food. A bright-yellow fungus allied to Bulgarin forms, with shellfish, the staple food of the Fuegians. In England the common meadow mushroom Agaricus campestris is quite well known and used to a considerable extent among the people, but there is not that general knowledge of and use of other species which obtains in Continental Europe.

In the English-speaking countries much has been done by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, Dr. M. C. Cooke, Worthington G. Smith, Rev. John Stevenson, Prof. Hay, Prof. Chas. H. Peck, Prof. W. J. Farlow, and others, including the various mushroom clubs, to disseminate a more general knowledge on this subject.

Late investigations show that nearly all the species common to the countries of Continental Europe, and of Great Britain, are found in different localities in the United States, and a number of species have been found which have not been described in European works.

The geographical distribution of many species of the mushroom family is very wide. We have had specimens of the Morel, for instance, sent to us from California and Washington, on the Pacific coast, and as far north as Maine, on the Atlantic, as well as from the southern and the midwestern States, and the same is true of other species. The season of their appearance varies somewhat according to the latitude and altitude of place of growth. Mushrooms are rarely seen after the first heavy frosts, although an exception is noted in this latitude in the species Hypholoma sublatertium, which has been found growing under the snow, at the roots of trees in sheltered woods. Frozen mushrooms of this and closely allied species have revived when thawed, and proved quite palatable when cooked.

At the present time only two species, Agaricus campester and Agaricus arvensis, are cultivated in America. Some attempts have been made by an amateur mushroom club in Ohio to cultivate the Morel, but the results have not, so far, been reported. In the meantime, however, it is well to utilize the wild mushrooms as fast as the collector can satisfactorily identify them. The woods of all moist regions of this country abound with edible varieties. Prof. Curtis, of North Carolina, gives a list of over one hundred edible species found in that State alone, and nearly all of these occur in our Northern States as well. It is not contended that this list includes all the species which may be eaten, nor have all of these equal value from a gastronomic point of view. Some are insipid as to flavor, and others are too tough or too slimy to please the popular taste.

---

CAUTIONARY SUGGESTIONS.

Before collecting for the table mushrooms found growing in the woods or fields, it would be well for inexperienced persons to consult carefully some work on the subject in which the characteristics of edible and poisonous varieties are described and illustrated.

Considering that an opinion seems to prevail that the discoloration of the silver spoon or small white onions when brought into contact with mushrooms during the culinary process is an infallible test of the poisonous species, I quote from a French author on mushrooms the following in relation to this supposed test:

* * * We may not dispute the fact that a silver spoon or article of brass, or onions, may not become discolored on contact with the poisonous principle, but this discoloration is not reliable as a test for deciding the good or bad quality of mushrooms. In fact, we know that in the decomposition of albuminoids sulphureted hydrogen is liberated which of itself discolors silver, brass, and onions.

I have deemed it advisable to publish this as one of the best means of answering those correspondents who have made inquiries as to the reliability of this test.

It is by some supposed that high colors and viscidity are indications of non-edible species, but there are numerous exceptions here. Russula alutacea—the pileus of which is often a purplish red—Amanita CÆsarea, and other species of brilliant coloring are known to be edible. As to viscidity, two very viscid species, when young, are among the highly prized esculents by those who know them, viz., Fistulina hepatica, or the ox tongue, and Hygrophorus eburneus, the ivory mushroom.

The method of deciding the character of mushrooms by their odor and flavor is not to be relied upon. Edible mushrooms are usually characterized by a pleasant flavor and odor; non-edible varieties have sometimes an unpleasant odor, and produce a biting, burning sensation on the tongue and throat, even in very small quantities, but several of the Amanitas have only a slight odor and taste, and certain species of mushrooms, acrid otherwise, become edible when cooked.

In fact there is no general rule by which the edible species can be distinguished from the unwholesome or poisonous ones. The safest as well as the most sensible plan, therefore, is to apply the same rule as that which we adopt in the case of the esculents among the flowering plants, viz., to learn to know the characteristics of each individual species so as to distinguish it from all others.

With regard to the mushrooms which have been designated as poisonous, it should be remembered that the term "poisonous" is used relatively. While some are only slightly poisonous, producing severe gastric irritation and nervous derangement, but without fatal results, others, if eaten in even very small quantity, may cause death. Happily, however, the most dangerous species are not numerous as compared with the number that are edible, and with careful attention on the part of the collector they may be avoided.

Since the Amanita group is made responsible by competent authority for most of the recorded cases of fatal poisoning, we would recommend the amateur mycophagist to give special study to this group in order to learn to separate the species authentically recorded as edible from the poisonous ones.

Some writers, as a measure of precaution, counsel the rejection of all species of Amanita. But this is, of course, a matter for individual preference. There would seem to be no good reason why the observant student should not learn to discriminate between the edible and the poisonous species of the Amanita as of any other group, and they should not be eaten until this discriminating knowledge is acquired.

Saccardo describes fifteen edible species of this group of mushrooms. We have tested three of this number, which, on account of their abundance in our locality and their good flavor, we would be loth to discard, viz., A. rubescens, A. CÆsarea, and A. strobiliformis.

A type of the Amanita group, which is named first in the genera of the order Agaricini, is shown in Fig. 1, Plate B.

By reference to this figure some of the special characteristics of the group can be observed. There are mushrooms in other genera which show a volva or sheath at the base of the stem, and which contain edible species, but in these the stem is ringless. The VolvariÆ, for instance, show a conspicuous volva, a stem that is ringless, and pinkish spores. The Amanitopsis vaginata carries a volva, but no ring. The spores are white, as in the Amanita.

In gathering mushrooms either for the table or for the herbarium, care should be taken not to leave any portion of the plant in the ground, so that no feature shall be lost that will aid in characterizing the species. In the careless pulling up of the plant the volva in the volvate species is often left behind.

---

AGARICINI. Fries.

Leucospori (spores white, or yellowish).

Genus Russula Fr. The RussulÆ bear some resemblance to the Lactars, their nearest allies, but are at once distinguished from them by their want of milk.

They are very abundant in the forests and open woods. The genus is cited by some authors as the most natural of the agarics, but, as many of the species very closely resemble each other, it requires careful analysis to determine them. The plants of this genus are not volvate, and have neither veil nor ring. The hymenophore is not separate from the trama of the gills. Although some are pure white, the caps are usually brilliant in coloring, but the color is very susceptible to atmospheric changes, and after heavy rains the bright hues fade, sometimes only leaving a slight trace of the original coloring in the central depression of the cap.

The cap in youth is somewhat hemispherical, afterwards expanding, becoming slightly depressed in the centre, somewhat brittle in texture; gills rigid, fragile, with acute edge; stem thick, blunt, and polished, usually short. The spores are globose, or nearly so, slightly rough, white or yellowish, according to the species. In R. virescens the spores are white, while in R. alutacea the spores are an ochraceous yellow in tint.

A number of the species are of pleasant flavor, others peppery or acrid. Out of seventy-two described by Cooke, twenty-four are recorded as acrid. With some of these the acridity is said to disappear in cooking, and a few mycophagists claim to have eaten all varieties with impunity. We have recorded, however, some well authenticated cases of serious gastric disturbance, accompanied by acute inflammation of the mucous membrane, caused by the more acrid of these, notably R. emetica and R. foetens, and in view of this fact it would seem a wise precaution for the amateur collector to discard or at least to use very sparingly all those which have an acrid or peppery taste, until well assured as to their wholesomeness.

The genus Russula has been divided into the following tribes or groups:—CompactÆ, FurcatÆ, RigidÆ, Heterophylla, and Fragiles. The species Russula (RigidÆ) virescens, illustrated in Plate I, belongs to the tribe RigidÆ. In the plants of this group, the cap is absolutely dry and rigid, destitute of a viscid pellicle; the cuticle commonly breaking up into flocci or granules; the flesh thick, compact, and firm, vanishing near the margin, which is never involute, and shows no striations. The gills are irregular in length, some few reaching half way to the stem, the others divided, dilated, and extending into a broad rounded end, stem solid.

Plate I.

Russula virescens Fries. "The Verdette" or "Greenish Russula."

Edible.

The cap of this species is fleshy and dry, the skin breaking into thin patches. The margin is usually even, but specimens occur which show striations. The color varies from a light green to a grayish or moldy green, sometimes tinged with yellow; gills white, free from the stem or nearly so, unequal, rather crowded; stem white, stout, solid, smooth, at first hard, then spongy; spores white, nearly globose.

One writer speaks of the "warts" of the cap, but the term warts, used in this connection, refers merely to the patches resulting from the splitting or breaking up of the epidermis of the cap, and not to such excrescences called warts, as are commonly observed on the cap of Amanita muscaria, for instance, which are remnants of the volva.

The R. virescens is not as common as some others of the RussulÆ, in some localities, and hitherto seems to have attracted but little attention as an edible species in this country, although highly esteemed in Europe. It has been found growing in thin woods in Maryland and in Virginia from June to November, and we have had reports of its growth from New York and Massachusetts. The peasants in Italy are in the habit of toasting these mushrooms over wood embers, eating them afterwards with a little salt. Vittadini, Roques, and Cordier speak highly of its esculent qualities and good flavor. We have eaten quantities of the virescens gathered in Washington, D. C., and its suburbs, and found it juicy and of good flavor when cooked.

Explanation of Plate I.

Plate I exhibits four views of this mushroom (R. virescens) drawn and colored from nature. Fig. 1, the immature plant; Fig. 2, advanced stage of growth, cap expanded or plane; Fig. 3, section showing the unequal length of the gills and manner of their attachment to the stem; Fig. 4, surface view of the cap showing the epidermis split in characteristic irregular patches; Fig. 5, spores, white.

AGARICINI.

Coprinarii (spores black or nearly so).

Genus Coprinus Fries. Hymenophore distinct from the stem. Gills membranaceous, at first coherent from the pressure, then dissolving into a black fluid. Trama obsolete. Spores, oval, even, black. M. C. Cooke.

The plants of this genus have been divided into two tribes, viz., Pelliculosi and Veliformis. In the Pelliculosi the gills of the mushrooms are covered with a fleshy or membranaceous cuticle, hence the cap is not furrowed along the lines of the gills, but is torn and revolute. In this tribe are included the Comati, Atramentarii, Picacei, Tomentosi, Micacio and Glabrati. In the tribe Veliformis the plants are generally very small, and the cap much thinner than in those of the Pelliculosi, soon showing distinct furrows along the back of the gills, which quickly melt into very thin lines. The stem is thin and fistulose.

Cordier states that all the species of Coprinus are edible when young and fresh. This is probably true, but most of them have so little substance and are so ephemeral as to be of small value for food purposes. C. comatus, C. atramentarius, C. micaceus, and C. ovatus have the preference with most mycophagists, but even these soon melt, and should be gathered promptly and cooked immediately to be of use for the table.

Plate II.

Coprinus comatus Fries. Maned or Shaggy Coprinus.

Edible.

Cap at first oblong or cylindrical, then campanulate, the cuticle breaking into shaggy fibrous scales, color whitish, the scales generally yellow or yellowish, margin revolute and lacerated, soon becoming black. Gills linear, free, and close together, at first white, then pink or purplish, turning to black. Stem hollow or slightly stuffed, nearly equal, somewhat fibrillose, with bulb solid; the ring movable or very slightly adherent, generally disappearing as the plant matures. Spores oval, black, .0005 to .0007 in. long.

This species is found in abundance in different parts of the United States, generally in rich soil, in pastures, by roadsides, in dumping lots, etc. Of late years quantities have been gathered in the lawn surrounding the Capitol grounds, and in the parks of the District of Columbia, as well as in the dÉbris of the wooden block pavements used for surface soiling gardens in vicinity of the capital. They have been offered for sale in open market as low as 25 cents per pound.

A correspondent from Rochester, New York, states that in a patch of his grounds which had been quarried out and filled with street sweepings the Coprinus comatus appeared in such quantities as to make it impossible to walk over the space without stepping upon them, and that he was able to gather from this small space from one to two bushels at a time in the spring and the fall. In flavor the C. comatus resembles the cultivated mushroom, though perhaps more delicate.

The Coprinus ovatus, "Oval Coprinus," a closely allied species, is similar to the comatus, but smaller, more ovate in shape and delicate in flavor, less deliquescent; stem usually ³/₄ of an inch long. The Coprinus atramentarius has a mouse-gray or brownish cap with irregular margin, slightly striated. It is not shaggy, but is spotted with minute, innate punctate scales. The stem is hollow, somewhat ringed when young. Spores elliptical, black.

Coprinus micaceus is a very common species, and is found generally in clusters on old tree stumps or on decaying wood. The cap is thin and of a reddish buff or ochraceous tint, often showing a sprinkling of glistening micaceous scales or granules; gills crowded, whitish. It is at first ovate or bell-shaped, then expanding; striated. The stem is white, slender, and hollow, not ringed. The spores in this species are a very dark brown, which is unusual in the genus Coprinus.

It is generally found in decaying wood or old tree-stumps, growing in dense clusters.

Prof. Peck says: "European writers do not record the 'Glistening coprinus' among the edible species, perhaps because of its small size. But it compensates for its lack of size by its frequency and abundance. In tenderness and delicacy it does not appear to be at all inferior to the 'Shaggy coprinus.'"

Explanation of Plate II.

Coprinus comatus Fr. The Shaggy Maned Mushroom.

• Fig. 1. A young plant.
• Fig. 2. A plant partly expanded, exposing the tender pink of the gills.
• Fig. 3. A mature plant, bell-shaped and shaggy, with movable ring detached from the cap, and with stem unequal and rooting.
• Fig. 4. A sectional view, showing hollow stem, thin cap, and broad, free, linear gill.
• Fig. 5. Spores black.

AGARICINI.

Leucospori (spores white, or yellowish.)

Genus Marasmius Fries.—Tough dry shrivelling fungi—not putrescent, reviving when moistened; veil none. Stem cartilaginous or horny. Gills tough, rather distant, edge acute and entire. M. C. Cooke.

A characteristic of the species of this genus is their tendency to wither with drought and revive with moisture. This biological characteristic is of great importance in determining the true Marasmii. The plants are usually small and of little substance.

Cooke divides the Marasmii into three tribes, and these again into several subdivisions. In the division Scortei of this genus are classed three species which are described in the works of most of the Continental writers; the Marasmius oreades, which has recognized value as an esculent, Marasmius urens and Marasmius peronatus, which have the reputation of being acrid and unwholesome.

Plate III.

Marasmius oreades Fries. "Fairy Ring Mushroom."

Edible.

Cap fleshy, convex at first, then nearly plane, pale yellowish red, or tawny red when young, fading to yellow or buff as the plant matures, slightly umbonate, flesh white; gills broad, wide apart, rounded or deeply notched at the inner extremity, slightly attached to or at length free from the stem, unequal in length, whitish or creamy yellow in color; stem slender, solid and tough, whitish, generally one to two inches in length and one-fourth of an inch in thickness, showing a whitish down, easily removed, not strigose or villose, as in the Marasmius urens. Spores white.

This species is usually found in open grassy places, sometimes in rings, or in parts of rings, often in clusters, and writers generally agree as to its agreeable taste and odor. When properly cooked its toughness disappears.

Prof. Peck describes two mushrooms which are somewhat similar in appearance to the "Fairy Ring," and which might be taken for it by careless observers, viz., the Naucoria semi-orbicularis, sometimes growing in company with it, and the Collybia dryophila, a wood variety which is sometimes found in open places.

The first of these may be distinguished from the oreades, by the rusty brown color of the gills, its smooth stem and rusty colored spores. In the second the gills are much narrower and the stem is very smooth and hollow.

The Marasmius urens as described by European authors has a pale buff cap, not umbonate but flat, and at length depressed in the centre, from one to two inches across. The gills are unequal, free, very crowded; cream color, becoming brownish. The stem is solid and fibrous, densely covered with white down at the base. It is very acrid to the taste. In habit of growth it is subcÆspitose; sometimes found growing in company with the M. oreades.

Prof. Peck says of M. urens that he has not yet seen an American specimen which he could refer to that species with satisfaction. Our experience, so far, is the same as that of Prof. Peck.

Marasmius peronatus has a reddish buff cap, with crowded thin gills, creamy, turning to reddish brown; the stem solid and fibrous, with yellowish filaments at the base. It is acrid in taste and is usually found among fallen leaves in woods.

Explanation of Plate III.

In Plate III, Fig. 1 represents an immature plant; Fig. 2, cap expanding with growth; Fig. 3, cap further expanded and slightly umbonate; Fig. 4, mature specimen, cap plane or fully expanded, margin irregular and smooth, stem equal, smooth and ringless; Fig. 5, section showing gills broad, free, ventricose, unequal, and flesh white; Fig. 6, spores white.

---

APPENDIX A.