Illustrations and Descriptions of Lesser Known Fungi

In this mycological work, it is my hope that investigators of plants may judge fairly and kindly. I have decided to provide illustrations, as accurate as possible, as well as descriptions of such fungi that appear to me to be either new, rarer, or previously observed with less accuracy.

If this is considered necessary for any family of vegetables, it is certainly essential for fungi. For, as is well known, many species have a shorter duration due to their fleshy or membranous substance, while others, due to their small size—both of the whole fungus and of the parts of fructification—can only be preserved in the archive of the sciences through the art of illustration or the aid of descriptions. Indeed, all things are more easily recognized by a picture than by descriptions, even if illustrated by extensive ones. Many fungi also delight investigators with their varied and beautiful colors and peculiar structure, and they compensate with a certain pleasure for the labor spent in gathering them in the dark and sunny woods where they commonly grow.

To the philosopher investigating natural things, it will be of no small importance to observe how multiform the nurturing Nature is in the scarcity of parts and at the very boundaries of the vegetable kingdom.