Part 14

=C. bruma´lis= Fr.—_bruma_, winter. From its late appearance. =Pileus= about 1 in. across. =Flesh= thin, expanded, umbilicate then infundibuliform and usually variously waved and lobed, glabrous, flaccid, hygrophanous, livid, whitish or yellowish when dry, disk often darker. =Gills= decurrent, about 1 line broad, crowded, pallid. =Stem= up to 2 in. long and about 2 lines thick, nearly equal, slightly curved, glabrous, whitish, often compressed, imperfectly hollow. =Spores= 4–5×3–4µ.

In woods, etc.

Truly autumnal, being most abundant in November. There are two forms: (_a_) on pine leaves in pine woods; (_b_) among heather. (_a_) Stem rather firm, hollow, about 2 in. long, 2 lines thick, equal or slightly thickened at the apex, at length compressed, somewhat incurved, glabrous, naked, becoming livid, white when dry, base white and downy. Flesh of pileus membranaceous, at first convex, umbilicate, margin reflexed, about 1 in. across, then funnel-shaped, often irregular and undulate, up to 2 in. broad, glabrous, even, livid when moist, whitish then becoming yellowish when dry, disk at first usually darker. Gills decurrent, at first arcuate, then descending, 1 line broad, crowded, distinct, livid then yellowish-white, smell weak, not unpleasant. (_b_) Entirely watery white; stem hollow, somewhat striate, base glabrous; pileus infundibuliform, margin deflexed, milky-white when dry. Gills less crowded, but rather broader, whitish. _Fries._

=Spores= 3µ _W.G.S._; 4–5×3–4µ _Massee_.

Edible. _Cooke._

=C. morbi´fera= Pk.—_morbus_, disease; _fero_, to bear. =Pileus= thin, fragile, glabrous, convex, becoming plane or centrally depressed, slightly hygrophanous, grayish-brown when moist, whitish or cinereous when dry, sometimes slightly umbonate. =Gills= narrow, close, adnate or slightly decurrent, whitish or pallid. =Stem= short, equal, hollow, colored like the pileus or a little paler. =Spores= minute, broadly elliptical, 4µ long, almost as broad.

=Pileus= .5–1.5 in. broad. =Stem= about 1 in. long, ⅙–¼ in. thick. Grassy ground and lawns. November. Washington, D.C. _F.J. Braendle._

The species seems related to C. expallens, but the margin of the pileus is not striate as in that fungus. The taste is very disagreeable and remains in the mouth a long time. Two persons were made ill by eating it, but their sickness lasted only about three hours. _Peck._

I have not seen this species. Its reputation is bad. Caution should be observed.

V.—VERSIFOR´MES.

_Pileus bright, of one color._

=C. trullisa´ta= Ellis. =Pileus= fleshy, plano-convex, at length depressed in the center, innate fibrous-scaly, becoming smoother on the disk, margin thin. =Gills= unequal, not crowded, coarse and thick, adnate with a decurrent tooth, at length white pulverulent, purple-violet at first, becoming dark brick-red. =Stem= stuffed, fibrillose, with a long club-shaped base penetrating deeply into the sand. =Spores= large, cylindric-oblong, 15–20µ.

In old sandy fields. September to October.

The interior of the stem in the young plant is like the gills, violet-purple, and the club-shaped base is covered with a tomentose coat, to which the sand adheres tenaciously.

Related to A. laccatus and A. ochropurpureus B.

Resembles the larger forms of A. laccatus, but it has a stouter habit, the pileus is more squamulose, the stem is bulbous or thickened at the base, the mycelium is violet-colored and the spores are oblong. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, November, 1874.

New Jersey, _Ellis_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 33.

Haddonfield, Watertown, N.J. Sandy soil in pine woods. _McIlvaine._

Densely cespitose. Caps and stems brown, glutinous and so incrusted with sand that it is almost impossible to clean them. Edible, but not desirable.

=C. lacca´ta= Scop.—made of lac. (Plate XXIV, fig. 10, p. 82.) =Pileus= thin, fleshy, convex, sometimes expanded, even or slightly umbilicate, smooth or minutely tomentose-scaly, hygrophanous when moist, dull reddish-yellow or reddish flesh-colored, sometimes striatulate when dry, pallid or pale dull ochraceous. =Gills= broad, rather thick and distant, attached, not decurrent, flesh-colored. =Stem= slender, firm, fibrous, stuffed, equal, concolorous.

=Height= 1–6 in., breadth of pileus 6 lines to 2 in. Common. June to October.

An extremely variable and abundant species occurring almost everywhere throughout the season. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

=Spores= 8–9µ _Massee_; 8–10µ _B._

Var. _pallidifo´lia_ Pk.—_pallidus_, pale; _folium_af. Gills whitish or pallid, decurrent.

Var. _stria´tula_ Pk.—_stria_, a furrow. Pileus moist, smooth, thin, showing shading radiating lines, extending from near the center to the margin. In wet or damp places.

A form occurs with a decidedly bulbous base. Gills appearing emarginate with a decurrent tooth.

Clitocybe laccata is made the type of a new genus by Berkeley and Broome. Massee accepts the genus but it is not generally accepted by the standard authors. It is a well defined genus, and a fitting place for C. laccata, C. amethystina, C. ochropurpurea, C. tortilis, which it puzzles anyone to identify as Clitocybe.

=C. amethys´tina= Bolt.—_amethystinus_, color of an amethyst. (Plate XXIV, fig. 8, p. 82.) =Pileus= 1–2½ in. across, dark-purple, umbilicate, smooth, minutely tomentose, involute. =Gills= dark-purple, decurrent, broad. =Stem= 2–3 in. high, fibrillose, purple, streaked with white fibrils, equal, densely covered with white tomentum at base.

Also written _Clitocybe laccata amethystina_ Sacc.

“In my opinion it is a good species and should be kept distinct as Bolton gave it, and not be tacked on to C. laccata as a variety. I should write it Clitocybe amethystina Bolt.” _Peck_, letter September 17, 1897.

New York, _Peck_, Rep. 41; New Jersey, _Sterling_; Mt. Gretna, Pa., on wood soil, June to frost, 1897–1898, _McIlvaine_.

Generally included in C. laccata as a variety, and has therefore been reported under that name.

Great quantities of C. amethystina grew in troops on beds made up of wood earth about the cottages at Mt. Gretna, Pa. The woods over them is dense.

The caps are tough, but they cook readily and make a pleasing dish.

=C. tor´tilis= Bolt.—_tortilis_, twisted. =Pileus= membranaceous, convexo-plane then depressed, obscurely marked with radiating striæ. =Stem= hollow, twisted, fragile. =Gills= adnate, thick, distant, fleshy-rose, cespitose, small, irregular, pileus and stem rusty in color.

Hard ground in an old road. Sandlake. August. A species closely allied to C. laccata and appearing like an irregular dwarf form of that species. Sometimes cespitose. _Peck_, 41st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Excepting that this fungus is frequently found with C. laccata, and might be taken for a new species if not here described, it would not be separated from C. laccata.

Its edible qualities are similar.

=C. ochropurpu´rea= Berk.—_ochra_, ocher; _purpureus_, purple. (Plate XXIV, figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, p. =82=.) =Pileus= subhemispherical, at length depressed, fleshy, compact, tough, pale yellow, slightly changing to purplish, cuticle easily separable; margin inflexed, at first tomentose. =Stem= paler, here and there becoming purplish, solid, swollen in the middle, occasionally equal. =Gills= thick, purple, broader behind, decurrent. =Spores= white or pale yellow.

=Pileus= 2 in. broad. =Stem= 2½ in. high, ¾ in. thick in the center.

August. On clayey soil in woodlands.

Its spores darken when shed in quantity, have a granulated and light-lilac appearance. It is a solitary grower, sometimes reaching the height of six inches. The upturned, wavy pileus, showing the purple gills in contrast with the pale Naples-yellow of the cap is markedly attractive. The stem is often rough with fibers, hard and tough. The caps are tough. It grows in grassy woods and open places. The novice, even the expert, will be puzzled to place it in its genus.

Specimens were sent to me by Miss Lydia M. Patchen, Westfield, N.Y., and E.B. Sterling, Trenton, N.J. I afterward found many at Mt. Gretna, Pa. I reported their edible qualities to Prof. Peck who wrote, September 3, 1897: “I have often wished it was edible, but it has such a disagreeable flavor when fresh that I have never ventured to eat it. I have known it to be mistaken for the common mushroom, but not eaten.”

Though tough it cooks tender and is excellent. Stew and put in patties or croquettes.

VI.—ORBIFOR´MES.

* _Gills becoming ash-colored_.

=C. di´topa= Fr. _Gr._—twofold; _Gr._—a foot. Probably from stems growing two together. =Pileus= thin, submembranaceous, convex, rarely with a small umbo, smooth, hygrophanous, brown when young and moist, grayish-white when dry. =Gills= grayish, close, thin, attached, not decurrent. =Stem= slender, equal, smooth, hollow.

=Height= 1–2 in., breadth of pileus 6–18 lines. =Stem= 1–2 lines thick.

Pine woods. West Albany. October.

The plant has the odor and taste of new meal. I have seen no specimens with the pileus depressed. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

=C. meta´chroa= Fr. _Gr._—changing color. Separated from C. ditopa by its thicker, depressed pileus, its thicker, less close gills, and the absence of odor.

Pine woods. West Albany. October. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Moderately plentiful in New Jersey pines. September to October.

Edible, tough; when well stewed of good flavor.

** _Gills whitish._

=C. compres´sipes= Pk.—_compressus_, pressed together; _pes_, a foot. =Pileus= thin, convex or expanded, umbilicate, glabrous, hygrophanous, brownish when moist, whitish or pale yellow when dry, margin thin. =Gills= close, subarcuate or horizontal, adnate or subdecurrent, whitish. =Stem= firm, hollow, generally compressed, slightly pruinose. =Spores= elliptical, 5–6.5×4–4.5µ. =Flesh= white when dry, odor slight, farinaceous.

=Plant= gregarious, 1–1.5 in. high. =Pileus= 6–16 lines broad. =Stem= 1–2 lines thick.

Grassy places. Albany. July.

The moist pileus is sometimes obscurely zonate. The odor is not always perceptible unless the pileus is moist or broken. The stem is sometimes compressed at the top only, sometimes at the base only, and rarely it is wholly top-shaped. _Peck_, 33d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Found on open lots in West Philadelphia. Though small it usually grows in troops which yield fair quantity. The caps are tender and of good flavor.

=C. fra´grans= Sow.—_fragrans_, fragrant. Smell strong, spicy. =Pileus= about 1 in. across. =Flesh= rather thick; convex, soon expanded and slightly depressed or umbilicate, even, glabrous, hygrophanous, uniform watery-white, disk not darker, whitish when dry. =Gills= slightly decurrent, rather crowded, 1 line broad, distinct, whitish. =Stem= about 2 in. long, equal, slightly curved, elastic, glabrous, whitish, stuffed then hollow.

In woods among moss, etc.

Distinguished from other species resembling it in color and size, by the fragrant smell resembling aniseed. _Massee._

=Spores= 6×4µ. _W.G.S._

Found in West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. July to severe frosts. _McIlvaine._

Edible. The strong taste of anise is not lost in cooking.

=C. pino´phila=—pine loving. =Pileus= thin, convex, umbilicate or centrally depressed, glabrous, moist, pale tan-color, paler or alutaceous when dry. =Gills= moderately close, subarcuate, adnate or slightly decurrent, whitish. =Stem= equal, stuffed or hollow, glabrous or subpruinose, colored like the pileus. =Spores= nearly elliptical, 4–6µ long; odor and taste resembling that of fresh meal.

=Plant= 1–2 in. high. =Pileus= about 1 in. broad. =Stem= 1–2 lines thick.

Ground under pine trees. Albany and Ticonderoga. July and August. _Peck_, 31st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Quite plentiful in pine woods of New Jersey. Edible; pleasant.

=COLLY´BIA= Fr.

_Gr._—a small coin.

=Pileus= fleshy, usually thin, _margin incurved_ at first, not corrugated. =Stem= different in substance from the pileus, but confluent with it; hollow, with a cartilaginous bark, internally cartilaginous or soft, often rooting. =Gills= free or obtusely adnexed, membranaceous, soft.

Growing on the ground, wood, leaves and decaying fungi.

In Clitocybe and Tricholoma the substance of the stem and pileus is alike; they differ in the character of the stem. Tricholoma has no distinct bark-like coat, and in Clitocybe the stem is covered with minute fibers. In Mycena as in Collybia the stem is different in substance from the pileus, but is distinguished by the margin of the pileus being straight. It is most closely allied to Marasmius, which is characterized by its tough coriaceous substance, which when dried fully revives and expands on being moistened. The line between them can not always be closely drawn, and there are numerous species which it is difficult to place with certainty in either genus. This does not apply to the fleshy edible species of this genus as they are quite distinct from Marasmius.

Peck’s 49th Report contains a monograph of the New York species of Collybia, supplemented by one of those found in other states.

Several common, prolific, long-season, delicious fungi occur in this genus. They vary in size from “a small coin” to five inches across. They grow in woods, on wood, on ground, on leaves, on lawns and among moss and grass in shaded places. The writer has tested many species raw, and eaten small quantities cooked, which are not herein described for the reason that not enough of a species was found to test to full extent. So far as is reported and as his experience goes, there is not a poisonous species in Collybia. Many of them are strong in odor.

ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.

_Series A._ GILLS WHITE OR BRIGHTLY COLORED, NOT GRAY. FLESH WHITE.

STRIÆPEDES (striate-stemmed). Page 113.

Stem stout, hollow or imperfectly filled with a spongy pith; grooved or striate with fibers.

* Gills broad, rather distant.

** Gills narrow, crowded.

VESTIPEDES (clothed-stemmed). Page 118.

Stem thin, equal, hollow or with a pith, even, velvety, downy or covered with a bloom.

* Gills broad, rather distant.

** Gills very narrow, closely crowded.

LÆVIPEDES (even-stemmed). Page 120.

Stem thin, equal, hollow, naked, smooth—except the base—apparently not striate, but some species are minutely striate under a lens.

* Gills broad, lax, usually more or less distant.

** Gills narrow, crowded.

_Series B._ GILLS BECOMING GRAY. HYGROPHANOUS.

TEPHROPHANÆ. Page —-.

Color brownish becoming gray. Allied to the last section of Tricholoma and Clitocybe, but distinguished from them by the cartilaginous stem.

Some are strong scented. None known to be edible.

STRIÆ´PEDES.

* _Gills broad, rather distant._

=C. radica´ta= Relh.—_radix_, a root. (Plate XXIX, p. 112.) =Pileus= 1½-4 in. across, from convex to nearly plane, broadly umbonate, frequently wrinkled toward and at the umbo, glutinous when moist. Color variable, usually brown in grayish shades, from dark to almost white. =Flesh= thin, white, elastic. =Gills= white, thick, tough, distant, ventricose, adnexed, rounded or notched behind like Tricholoma, sometimes with a decurrent tooth. =Stem= 4–8 in. long, 3–5 lines thick, smooth, firm, same color as pileus, tapering upward, becoming vertically striate or grooved, often twisted, ending in a long, tapering, pointed root deeply planted in the earth.

=Spores= elliptical, 14–15×8–9µ _Massee_; 11×17µ _W.G.S._; 11×9µ _W.P._; 16–17×10–11µ _B._

Often sombre, but erect, neat and handsome. Growing solitary and in troops in woods, usually near stumps, if much decayed, sometimes on them, or on shaded lawns and grassy places. June to October.

Var. _furfu´racea_ Pk. =Stem= furfuraceous, less distinctly striate.

Var. _pusil´la_ Pk. Plant small. =Pileus= about 1 in. broad, passing gradually into the typical form. =Stem= slender.

Professor Peck says: “The variety furfuracea is common and connects this species with C. longipes, which has a villose stem and dry velvety pileus.” 49th Rep.

Common to the United States. Edible. _Curtis_, according to Dr. F. Peyre Porcher of Charleston, S.C., was the first to declare this edible.

A very attractive species. The purity of its gills is especially noticeable. I began eating it in 1881, and it has continued to be a favorite. The caps should be broiled or fried. They are sweet, pleasing in texture, and delicately flavored.

=C. platyphyl´la= Fr. _Gr._—broad; a leaf. (Plate XXVIII, fig. 1, p. 114.) =Pileus= 3–4 in. broad, dusky and gray then whitish, fleshy-membranaceous, _thin, fragile_, soon flattened, obtuse, watery when moist, _streaked with fibrils_. =Stem= 3–4 in. long, ½ in. thick, stuffed, soft, equal, fibrilloso-striate, otherwise smooth, naked or obsoletely powdered at the apex, whitish, shortly and bluntly rooted at the base. =Gills= obliquely cut off behind, _slightly_ adnexed, ½ in. and more _broad, distant_, soft, white.

Odor not remarkable. It inclines toward the Tricholomata in the _somewhat membranaceous cuticle of the soft stem_. _Fries._ =Spores= 13×19µ _W.G.S._

Solitary, gregarious, rarely clustered. On rotten wood, roots, ground near stumps, among leaves, etc. June to October.

FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.

1. COLLYBIA PLATYPHYLLA, 114 3. COLLYBIA DRYOPHILA, 120

2. COLLYBIA PLATYPHYLLA 114 4. COLLYBIA FUSIPES, 116 (AFTER RAIN),

Distinguished by the very broad and deeply emarginate gills, which frequently slope up behind to near the cap then with a short turn downward connect with the stem which is either stuffed or hollow, and by the abundant, cord-like rooting mycelium. The gills are very broad. Professor Peck says: “The species is quite variable. The pileus is sometimes irregular and even eccentric, the thin margin may be slightly striate, is often split and in wet weather may be upturned or revolute. The lamellæ are sometimes ½ in. broad or more and transversely split. They may be obscurely striated transversely and even veiny above with venose interspaces. Occasionally a slight anise-like odor is perceptible, but in decay the plants have a very disagreeable odor and disgusting appearance.” 49th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, 1880–1885; Haddonfield, N.J., 1896. Gregarious, and in large bunches. Mt. Gretna and Eagle’s Mere, Pa., 1897, _McIlvaine_.

When fresh, in good condition, the caps are good, but they are not nearly equal in substance or flavor to C. radicata and C. longipes. They are best broiled or fried.

Var. _re´pens_ Fr. =Pileus= more fleshy, depressed. =Stem= hollow, compressed, pruinate at the apex, with a _creeping, string-like mycelium_.

It is best distinguished by its white, villous, anastomosing, very much branched mycelium which creeps a long distance in a rooting string-like manner. The so-called roots are quite different from the stem, not a prolongation of the stem itself. _Fries._

Clearly a variety of C. platyphylla. C. platyphylla is quite variable, even puzzling. Edible qualities the same.

=C. long´ipes= Bull.—_longus_, long; _pes_, a foot. =Pileus= 1–2 in. across, conical then expanded, umbonate, dry, minutely, beautifully velvety. =Color= from pale to date-brown, sometimes umber. =Flesh= white, thin, elastic. =Gills= white, broad, tough, thick, adnexed, distant, ventricose, rounded behind, emarginate. =Stem= 4–6 in. long, 2–4 lines thick, tapering upward, usually densely and minutely velvety like the cap, nearly same color, with a long, tapering root.

On much decayed stumps and logs. July to October. Closely resembles C. radicata. It is readily distinguished by its velvety cap and stem. It is more glutinous.

=Spores= spheroid, 12µ _Q._

California. Edible. _H. and M._

West Virginia mountains, 1880–1885; Cheltenham, Pa., 1889. _McIlvaine._

Excepting from California, C. longipes has not previously been reported as found in the United States. It is not plentiful in the forests of West Virginia, yet I often found it upon rotting stumps and logs, solitary, but up to a dozen in the same vicinity. It is unmistakable. Its rich yet dull velvety cap and stem and the purity of its gills hold the finder’s admiration.

The caps fried or broiled are delicious, resembling in every way those of C. radicata.

=C. fu´sipes= Bull.—_fusus_, a spindle; _pes_, a foot. (Plate XXVIII, fig. 4, p. 112.) =Pileus= 1–3 in. broad, _reddish-brown_, becoming pale and also dingy-tan, fleshy, convex then flattened, umbonate (the umbo at length vanishing), even, smooth, dry, here and there broken up in cracks when dry. =Stem= 3 in. and more long, commonly ½ in., but here and there as much as 1 in. broad, _fibrous-stuffed then hollow_, remarkably cartilaginous externally, _swollen, ventricose in the middle, attenuated at both ends_, often twisted, longitudinally _furrowed_, red or reddish-brown, _rooted in a spindle-shaped manner at the base_. =Gills= _annulato-adnexed_ (joined into a ring), soon separating, free, broad, distant, firm, connected by veins, crisped, white then becoming somewhat of the same color as the pileus, often spotted. _Stevenson._

=Spores= 6×3µ _W.G.S._; 4–5×2–4µ _B._

Solitary, gregarious, usually densely clustered on decaying wood, roots, etc. August until after heavy frosts.

West Virginia, 1882, _McIlvaine_.

In the West Virginia mountains C. fusipes is frequent. Caps in the clusters rarely exceed 1½ in. across. They show an auburn or burgundy shade of brown in their color. When young they are smooth and appear to remain so unless rained upon or moistened, when they crack more or less finely in drying. At first the connection of the gills with the stem is peculiar—they join in a collar-like ring at the top of the stem. As the cap expands the gills part more or less and separate from the stem. The stem is markedly spindle-shaped, though variously flattened by compression in dense clusters; the outside often splitting, breaking and turning out from the stem.

The caps, alone, are good, the stem being hard and refractory. The caps are very fine, cooked in any way.

The caps dry well, and are a pleasant addition to gravies, soups and other dishes. They make a choice pickle.

** _Gills narrow, crowded._

=C. macula´ta= A. and S.—_macula_, a spot. =Pileus= fleshy, firm, convex or nearly plane, even, glabrous, white or whitish, sometimes varied with reddish spots or stains. =Flesh= white. =Gills= narrow, crowded, adnexed, sometimes nearly or quite free, white or whitish. =Stem= generally stout, firm, equal or slightly swollen in the middle, striate, white, stuffed or sometimes hollow, commonly narrowed at the base, rooting, often curved at the base, rarely slightly thickened and blunt. =Spores= subglobose, 4–6µ broad, sometimes showing a slight point at one end.

=Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, 3–6 lines thick.

Var. _immacula´ta_ Cke. This differs from the type in having no reddish spots or stains.

This species is easily recognized by its large size, firm or compact substance and white color. It grows in soil filled with decaying vegetable matter or on much decayed wood. _Peck_, 49th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Philadelphia, Pa. Weed grown lot near University of Pennsylvania. September to frost. Grew gregariously over a large lot. The plants varied greatly in size and appearance. The gills of most were crenulate (scalloped). Assorted specimens were sent Professor Peck who wrote: “They are all forms of C. maculata.”

The caps were stewed and eaten in abundance by many, and pronounced “Fine.”

(Plate XXX.)