es, at length ascending when the pileus is elevated at the margin.
The color of the =gills= is orange to cadmium orange, or sometimes
paler, cadmium yellow or deep chrome. The =stem= is clay color to ochre
yellow, enlarged below, spongy, stuffed, fistulose, soft, fibrous, more
or less ascending at the base.

The taste is somewhat nutty, sometimes bitterish. The plants in Fig. 127
(No. 3272, C. U. herbarium) were collected near Ithaca, October 7, 1899.

MARASMIUS Fr.

In this genus the plants are tough and fleshy or membranaceous, leathery
and dry. They do not easily decay, but shrivel up in dry weather, and
revive in wet weather, or when placed in water. This is an important
character in distinguishing the genus. It is closely related to
_Collybia_, from which it is difficult to separate certain species. On
the other hand, it is closely related to _Lentinus_ and _Panus_, both of
which are tough and pliant. In _Marasmius_, however, the substance of
the pileus is separate from that of the stem, while in _Lentinus_ and
_Panus_ it is continuous, a character rather difficult for the beginner
to understand. The species of _Marasmius_, however, are generally much
smaller than those of _Lentinus_ and _Panus_, especially those which
grow on wood. The stem in _Marasmius_ is in nearly all species central,
while in _Lentinus_ and _Panus_ it is generally more or less eccentric.
Many of the species of the genus _Marasmius_ have an odor of garlic when
fresh. Besides the fairy ring (_M. oreades_) which grows on the ground,
_M. rotula_ is a very common species on wood and leaves. It has a
slender, black, shining stem, and a brownish pileus usually with a black
spot in the depression in the center. The species are very numerous.
Peck, 23rd Report, N. Y. State Mus., p. 124--126, describes 8 species.
Morgan Jour. Cinn. Soc. Nat. Hist. =6=: 189--194, describes 17 species.

=Marasmius oreades= Fr. =Edible.=--This is the well known "fairy ring"
mushroom. It grows during the summer and autumn in grassy places, as in
lawns, by roadsides, in pastures, etc. It appears most abundantly during
wet weather or following heavy rains. It is found usually in circles, or
in the arc of a circle, though few scattered plants not arranged in this
way often occur. The plants are 7--10 cm. high, the cap 2--4 cm. broad,
and the stem 3--4 mm. in thickness.

[Illustration: FIGURE 129.--Marasmius oreades. Caps buff, tawny, or
reddish.]

The =pileus= is conv