_Bot. Char._ “_Pilei_ very numerous, dimidiate, condensed into a convex tuft from half a foot to a foot broad, imbricated, variously confluent, irregular, at first downy, dusky, then smooth, livid grey; disk depressed, dilated above, from half to one inch broad, convex, the base confluent with the compound stem” (_Fries_). CLAVARIA CORALLOIDES, _Linn._ PLATE V. FIG. 3. Subgenus OCHROSPOREA, _Fries_. “Esculenta deliciosa.”—_Vitt._ All the funguses of this genus being esculent, enter more or less largely into the supplies of the Italian markets. Roques describes seven species; Persoon five; Vittadini gives a detailed account and drawings of three, selecting those principally for the superiority of their flavour over the rest, and because of their greater abundance in the Milanese district. Mr. Berkeley, in a list with which he has favoured me, enumerates four British species as esculent, _C. coralloides_, _C. grisea_, _C. cristata_, and _C. rugosa_; as, however, he has no personal experience of any of these as articles of food, I shall merely give the botanical character of the _C. coralloides_, the most abundant of all the species (for the excellent qualities of which I can myself vouch), furnishing the reader with one or two drawings of other sorts, in further illustration of this elegant genus. _Clavaria coralloides._ _Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ erect, white; _stem_ rather thick, branches unequal, elongated, mostly acute, pure white, sometimes violet at the base. _Mode of Dressing._ Having thoroughly cleansed away the earth, which is apt to adhere to them, they are to be sweated with a little butter, over a slow fire, afterwards to be strained, then (throwing away the liquor) to be replaced to stew for an hour, with salt, pepper, chopped chives and parsley, moistening with plain stock, and dredging with flour occasionally. When sufficiently cooked, to be thickened with yolks of eggs and cream. _Another Mode._ Proceed as before; after sweating the _Clavarias_, wrap them in bacon and stew in a little broth seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley, and ham; cook for an hour, then serve in white sauce, or with a _fricassée_ of chicken. N.B.—The saucepan should be covered with a sheet of paper under the lid, which keeps the _Clavarias_ white and also preserves their flavour. There can be little doubt that our woods, properly explored, would be found to abound in funguses hitherto considered rare, and this would probably be one of them. At present the weald of Kent, within forty miles of London, remains, so far as Mycology is concerned, nearly as unexplored as the interior of Africa. Plate V. fig. 2, represents _Clavaria amethystina_, Bull. Plate V. fig. 5, represents _C. cinerea_, Bull. Plate V., fig. 6, represents _C. rugosa_, Bull. LYCOPERDON PLUMBEUM, _nob._ _Puff-balls._ Subdivision GASTEROMYCETES, _Fries_. Tribe 3. TRICHOSPERMI. Family 1. TRICHOGASTRES. GENUS 1. LYCOPERDON, _Tournef._