a hand lens,
but is very evident when a section of the cap and gills is made and then
examined with a microscope. The spores are white.

[Illustration: FIGURE 133.--Schizophyllum alneum (==S. commune). View of
under side (natural size). Copyright.]

=Schizophyllum alneum= (L.) Schroet.--This species usually goes by the
name of _Schizophyllum commune_, but the earlier name is _S. alneum_. It
is a very common plant and is world wide in its distribution, growing on
wood, as on branches, trunks, etc. It is white, and the =pileus= is very
hairy or tomentose, with coarse white hairs. It is 1--3 cm. in diameter,
and the cap is sessile, either attached at one side when the cap is more
produced on one side than on the other, or it may be attached at or
near the center of the top, when the cap is more evenly developed on all
sides. It is often crenate or lobed on the margin, the larger plants
showing this character more prominently. The margin is incurved. The
=gills= are white, wooly, branched and extend out toward the margin of
the cap like the radiations of a fan. The gills are deeply split along
the edge, and strongly revolute. It is a very pretty plant, but one
becomes rather tired of collecting it because it is so common. It may be
found at all seasons of the year on dead sticks and branches, either in
the woods or elsewhere, if the branches are present. It is very
coriaceous, and tough. During dry weather it is much shrunken and curled
up, but during rains it expands quickly and then it is seen in its
beauty.

[Illustration: PLATE 43, FIGURE 134.--Trogia crispa. Large cluster of
caps, view of underside (natural size). Copyright.]

Figure 133 shows the plant in the expanded condition, from the under
side. The plants were growing on a hickory branch, and were dry and
shrunken when brought in the laboratory. The branch and the fungus were
placed in water for a few hours, when the fungus expanded, and was then
photographed in this condition.

TROGIA Fr.

This genus is characterized, according to Fries, by the gills being
channeled along the edge, but singularly the only species attributed to
the genus in Europe and in our country has not channeled gills, but only
somewhat crisped along the edges. It is usually, therefore, a difficult
matter for a beginner to determine the plant simply from this
description. The gills are furthermore narrow, irregular, and the plants
are somewhat soft and flabby when wet, but brittle