Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Knowledge, Vol. 38: With Which Is Incorporated Hardwick's Science Gossip, and the Illustrated Scientific News; A Monthly Record of Science; June, 1915
It is very difficult to understand Of what value these brightly coloured substances can be to the fungi which possess them. Although a few fungi are regularly eaten in nature by animals and insects, most Of them, including some of the most brightly coloured species, are practically never touched by any creatures that could possibly assist them in the distribution Of their spores. Moreover, the umbrella-like form - which has proved so successful in the struggle for existence that it is found in many thousands Of different species Of toadstools is so excellently adapted for the distribution of the light spores by the wind that it is difficult to imagine that it has been evolved for any other purpose. The brilliant tints of many Of these toadstools would seem to be due to no mere accident, and to be something more than a method Of disposal Of material of no further value to the plant, as they are in most cases limited to that part of the toadstool visible from above, and are even confined in very many cases to a thin layer Of tissue on the upper surface Of the toadstool cap. Possibly the bright colours have been evolved for the purpose of making the toadstools conspicuous, so that they may be avoided, and neither trodden on nor eaten by accident or mistake by grazing animals.
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