North American species of Mycena.

200 NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES OF MYCENA

pale yellow or an orange-I believe that the important point to consider is that Fries was trying to distinguish between two closely related
species with differently colored gill edges. If we are to use the Friesian
names at all, they must be accepted on the basis of his descriptions,
since there are no specimens to shed more light on the question.
Kiihner places the fungus I have referred to M. elegans in M. chlorantha Fries sensu Oort. I do not know M. chlorantha. Fries, who
described it, placed it in the section Adonidae, among the brightly
colored species-those without fuscous or cinereous shades and in
which the margins of the gills are not differently colored. The concept
of Oort is entirely out of line with the Friesian description and, in my
estimation, should not be maintained. In view of this situation I am
adhering to my original disposition of the two species, with the exception that the forms from oak woods previously placed in M. elegans
are now referred to M. flavescens.
Kuihner, in support of his opinion, points out that Fries admitted
var. hyperborea to M. elegans and that the latter had gill edges "subcinnabarini." In considering these additional facts two things should
be kept in mind:
(1) Kalchbrenner was apparently responsible for the variety, and
very likely Fries included it under elegans because that was where
Kalchbrenner described it. To me the significant thing is that the
color of the gill edge was one of the distinguishing characters of the
variety, a fact which supports my contention that Fries regarded
a Mycena with a pale-yellow gill edge as typical of the species.
(2) It must be remembered that our concepts of species do not
go back to Persoon, and, consequently, in establishing a Friesian
concept we are not concerned with whether those of Fries and Persoon
agree. One of the reasons for selecting Fries's Systema Mycologicum
as the starting point in agaric classification and nomenclature was to
avoid the confusion caused by conflicting species concepts among the
earlier investigators.
92. MYCENA ELEGANS (Fr.) Qudlet
Champ. Jura et Vosges, p. 241. 1872
Agaricus elegans Fries, Syst. Myc., 1: 149. 1821.
Illustrations:
Plate 28; Text fig. 21, nos. 1-2.
Smith, Mycologia, 28: 416, fig. 2, no. 4.