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Volume 31, 1898
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16. Leptonia, Fries.

Pileus regular, thin, umbilicate, margin incurved when young; gills adnate or adnexed, but soon separating from the stem, and then appearing as if free; stem central, externally cartilaginous and polished; spores salmon-colour.

Leptonia, Fries, Syst. Myc., i., p. 201 (as a subgenus of Agaricus).

Allied to Nolanea, but distinguished by the umbilicate pileus having the margin incurved when young. Corresponding in structure to Collybia in the Leucosporœ. Rarely on wood; mostly in open pastures. Tints of blue or green are not uncommon in the genus.

49. Leptonia asprella, Fries, Epicr., p. 154; Massee, Brit. Fung.-Flora, ii., p. 256; Sacc., Syll. v., no. 2054.

Pileus somewhat membranaceous, convex, then expanded, umbilicate, and there more especially downy, then squamulose, sometimes glabrous (except the disc), sometimes fibrillose, hygrophanous, at first smoke-colour, or mouse-colour, then livid grey, 2 5–4cm. across; gills adnate, then separating from the stem and becoming free, rather distant, plane, equally narrowed from the stem to the margin, greyish-white, edge quite entire and of the same colour as the remainder; spores elliptical, 10–12 × 6–8 μ; stem 2.5–5cm. long, not more than 2mm. thick, equal, straight, even, glabrous, cartilaginous, hollow, livid, fuscous, green and blue mingled, & c., base with white down.

Among grass. New Zealand. Europe.

Some specimens have the pileus squamulose everywhere, some forms resemble a Nolanea; pileus hemispherical, then campanulate, disc sometimes with a minute depression, sometimes with a papilla. (Fries).

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50. Leptonia placida, Fries, Syst. Myc., i., p. 202 (1821); Sacc., Syll. v., no. 2920.

Pileus 2–6cm. across, flesh thin, campanulate, then convex, not striate, the blackish disc densely downy, the remainder covered with blackish fibrils or squamules on a greyish-white ground, squamules arranged concentrically when old; gills adnexed, very broad behind, not ventricose, crowded, whitish, as is also the margin; stem 5–8cm. long, 3mm. thick, equal, very rigid, having white meal at the slightly thickened apex, and with black points or squamules when seen under a lens, remainder glabrous, even, dark-blue or blackish-blue.

On trunks or on the ground. New Zealand. Europe.

Distinguished from Leptonia lampropoda by the squamulose pileus and the minute black points on the upper part of the stem.

51. Leptonia œthiops, Fries, Epicr., p. 152 (1836); Sacc., Syll. v., no. 2924.

Pileus 1.5–2.5cm. across, flesh thin, plane, then depressed, not striate, fibrillosely virgate, shining, sooty-black, not hygrophanous, but young specimens are black and shining when dry; gills adnexed or adnate, straight or ventricose, whitish, edge same colour and quite entire; stem 3–5cm. long, hardly a line thick, glabrous, blackish-brown, having black points near the top; spores irregularly nodulose, salmon-colour, 10 × 7 μ.

Among grass, on the ground. New Zealand. Europe.

Distinguished from its ally, Leptonia lampropoda, by the pileus being depressed from the firsthand the slender stem with black points at its apex.

52. Leptonia lampropoda (Agaricus (Leptonia) lampropus), Fries, Epicr., p. 152; Austr. Fung., p. 40; Sacc., Syll. v., no. 2923.

Pileus convex, then expanded, not becoming campanulate, obtuse, at length depressed, almost even when young, never striate, at length more or less squamulose, mouse-colour, or sooty-grey with a blue tinge, becoming paler but not hygrophanous, about 2–5cm. across; flesh thin; gills adnate, easily separating from the stem and appearing as if free, ventricose, white, then pale flesh-colour; spores irregularly nodulose or angular, 10–11 × 6–7 μ; stem 2–5–3–5cm. long, up to 4mm. thick, entirely cartilaginous, glabrous, even, not punctate upwards, usually bluish-violet, hollow.

Among grass, & c. Dannevirke, New Zealand. Europe, Australia.

Distinguished from several nearly allied species by the

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pileus not being umbilicate and not in the least striate, and the stout stem.

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