POLYPORUS VERSICOLOR. FRIES. — Pl. IV, fig. 1-3.

Rose-leaf Agaric. — Agaricus versicolor. Paulet.
Caps imbricated or arranged in a rosette, dimidiate, free or adhering to one another, leathery, corky, elastic, flattened, thin, of equal thickness in almost all points. The upper face is velvety, soft to the touch, and marked with very distinct zones of different colors; the margin is most usually white. The underside is equally white and covered with an infinity of very short tubes whose opening is rounded or angular. The substance forming the cap is white and homogeneous.

Habitat. On the branches and trunks of trees.

Properties. Clusius says that in Hungary it is used to medicate livestock. Paulet places no faith in this assertion and thinks it is more fit to adorn a natural history cabinet. In that case, it must be poisoned, for insects are very fond of it.

Fig. 2. Var. b. infundibuliformis. (Funnel-shaped iris Agaric. Agaricus infundibulum. Paulet.)
The thickness, consistency, variation of colors, etc., of the cap are as we have just said, only it is simple and takes the shape of a funnel.

Fig. 3. Var. c. cyathiformis (Cup-shaped iris Agaric. Agaricus cyathiformis. Paulet.)
This variety differs from the previous one by the cap which is in the shape of a cup and supported by a central stalk.

Obs. — These two varieties, in Paulet's figures, instead of being zoned with different colors on their upper face, are of a green tint. This is an accidental color, which is due, as is often seen, to the presence of a microscopic green alga, Protococcus viridis. Ag.

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HYDNUM CYATHIFORME. Bulliard. — Pl. IV, fig. 4, 5.

Crucible Agaric. — Agaricus concrescens. Paulet.
Cap first elongated or turbinate, flat or convex above, then hollowed into a funnel, brown, zoned, of a corky consistency, ending in a large, thick, and often deformed stalk. When several individuals grow next to each other, they unite at the edges. Their lower surface is covered with cylindrical prickles, acute at the extremity and friable: in the young age, they have a reddish color, then they become brown, and very rarely are they violet.

Habitat. Grows on the ground, in high forest woods.
Hydnum concrescens. Pers. Syn. fung. Synopsis of Fungi p. 556.

Properties. This mushroom is of no utility. One could perhaps make amadou tinder fungus out of it, but it would never have any value due to the small extent it could take on by preparation.

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MYCELIUM AGARICI CAMPESTRIS. L. — Pl. IV, fig. 6.

Mushroom spawn. — First fermentation of the seeds. Paulet.
White filaments, cylindrical or flattened, branched, anastomosed, sometimes forming membranes and agglutinating together the straw, manure, or earth in which they develop. They are given the name Mycelium or mushroom spawn; they are the product of the vegetation of the spores which represent the seeds of higher plants. They should not be considered as roots, but rather as trunks, underground branches on which the mushrooms develop, which then represent true fruits.

All mushrooms have a mycelium that behaves in the same way, but it is not always as visible, because it is not always white nor as abundant.