THE FUNGI OF LIVERPOOL AND ITS VICINITY. PART I. HYMENOMYCETES: ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE EPICRISIS OF M. FRIES. BY THE REV. HENRY H. HIGGINS, M.A.CANTAB., V.P. READ BEFORE THE SOCIETY ON 10TH APRIL, 1858. In the preparation of the following list of Fungi, nearly all the British, and many of the foreign authorities have been consulted. For the means of doing this I am principally indebted to Joseph Dickinson, Esq. M.D. F.R.S., who has kindly allowed me to retain in my possession for three years, many rare and valuable works from his extensive library. Amongst these I may mention Sowerby's "British Fungi," 3 vols. folio, Bolton's "History of Funguses, growing about Halifax," 4to., Batsch's "Elenchus Fungorum," 4to., Greville's "Scottish Cryptogamic Flora," 6 vols. 8vo., Sturm's "Deutschlands Flora," 34 parts, &c. The library at the Athenaeum has enabled me to refer to Schoeffer's work; and my thanks are due to the Committee of the Liverpool Free Public Library for purchasing at my suggestion the very valuable work by Bulliard," Hist. des Champign. de la France," 5 vols. 4to. The names of several friends who have assisted me with specimens, &c., will appear in the list. PREFACE. The arrangement adopted in the following paper is taken from the "Epicrisis Systematis Mycologici," of Elias Fries, published at Upsal in 1838, and from the "Anleitung zum Studium der Mycologie," of A. C. J. Corda, published in 1842. The descriptions of species have been chiefly taken from notes made at the time when the plant was collected. The terms employed in the English Flora have however been used when considered to apply better than any others to the specimens in hand. The principal parts of an Agaric are, first the pileus, the horizontal portion of the plant, which is generally elevated on a stem. The form of its upper surface varies from sub-cylindrical or conical to umbilicate or infundibuliform. When its convexity becomes more acute towards the centre it is said to be umbonate. The under surface of the pileus is furnished with vertical plates or gills radiating from the stem. When the gills are attached to the stem by their whole breadth they are said to be adnate, if in contact only with the stem, they are adnexed; if not in contact, they are free; if continued down the stem they are decurrent. Sometimes they are sinuated, or emarginate, or rounded off behind, that is next the stem. When the plant is young the margin of the pileus is attached to the stem by a membrane or web, veil, which is ruptured as the pileus expands and may be left on the stem forming a collar or ring. In many species the veil is absent or so delicate as to be imperceptible. The pileus and stem when young are sometimes enveloped in a membrane, volva, which is ruptured by the growth of the plant; the upper portion remaining on the pileus forming patches, warts or scales, the lower portion loosely surrounding the base of the stem. In many species the volva is imperceptible. The gills are variable in size and shape; when all are of equal length they are simple, when shorter ones are interposed they are unequal. Each gill has commonly a central portion, trama. The surface on both sides of the gills is formed by the spore-bearing membrane, hymenium. The ordinary floccose trama is sometimes replaced by a layer of globular cells intermixed with vessels containing a milky fluid. The hymenium is made up of parallel cells, the extremities of which form the surface. They are of three kinds; barren threadlike cells, paraphyses; other cells, basidia, which are somewhat larger and are attenuated towards the outer extremity which is sometimes slightly knobbed and bears from one to six, ordinarily four, minute points, sterigmata. Each sterigma supports a seed or spore. Sometimes may be found a third kind of cells, antheridia, simple, very delicate and filled with fluid containing minute particles which have a rapid swarming motion. These cells disappear before the basidia are developed. The spores are variously shaped, globular, elliptical, straight or curved, obliquely truncate at one extremity, legumeniform, generally smooth but sometimes rough or echinulate. From the spore under circumstances favourable for germination is produced a a simple or branched filament which alone is incapable of fructification, but when the filaments of many spores unite, or when the filament of a single spore has become sufficiently compound, a soft white web, mycelium, is formed, from which springs the reproductive organ ordinarily regarded as the whole of the plant. The measurements of spores in the accompanying list have in each instance been made with the assistance of a stage micrometer. If the spores in any particular species vary in size those of the largest kind have been taken as the standard. The longest diameter only has been given. The term elliptic I have used to denote an oval in which the longitudinal and transverse diameters are in |