Part 28

Var. _sylvestris_ Pk. has the center of the cap brownish or rusty-brown, and grows in thin woods. _Peck_, 49th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

=Spores= inclining to fuscous, spheroid-ellipsoid, 8–13×5–7µ _K._; 8×6µ _W.G.S._; 8–13×6–7µ _Massee_.

West Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, May to August. On rich ground, lawns, gardens, etc. _McIlvaine._

Coming as it does in early spring, it is a prized species wherever found.

The caps only are good.

_B._ TRUNCIGENI. On wood.

** Squamosi. _Scaly._

(Plate LXXIII.)

=P. squarro´sa= Mull.—_squarrosus_, scurfy. (Plate LXXI, fig. 3, page 268.) =Pileus= 3–5 in. broad, saffron-rust-color, scaly with _innate, crowded, revolute, darker_ (becoming dingy brown), persistent _scales_, fleshy, convex bell-shaped then flattened, commonly obtusely umbonate or gibbous, dry. =Flesh= light-yellow, compact when young, sometimes thin. =Stems= curt when young, as much as 8 in. long when full-grown, as much as 1 in. thick at the apex, remarkably attenuated downwards, stuffed, scaly as far as the ring with crowded, revolute, darker scales. =Ring= only slightly distant from the apex, rarely membranaceous, entire or often slashed, generally floccoso-radiate, of the same color as the scales. =Gills= adnate with a decurrent tooth, crowded, narrow, _pallid-olivaceous_ then rust-color.

=Spores= ferruginous. Very cespitose, forming large heaps. Stems commonly cohering at the base, varying very much in stature in the same cluster; varying also much thinner, scarcely ever curved-ascending. Odor heavy, stinking; sometimes, however, obsolete. _Stevenson._

=Spores= ellipsoid, 7–8x4–5µ _K._; 4x5µ _W.G.S._; 8x4µ _Massee_.

On trunks of trees, on and near stumps, etc. Common. August to December.

West Virginia, 1881–1885, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. On rotten wood and stumps. August to long after frost. _McIlvaine._

Edible. _Curtis._

The American species, as I have repeatedly found it, is not so large as given in the European description, and the habitat is more closely confined to the trunks of standing trees and stumps not much decayed. It is a showy species, to be seen from afar off, especially after the leaves fall. Taste when young, raw, is sweet, mealy; when mature, like stale lard.

Cooked, the caps are of good substance and flavor. One of the very best.

=P. squarrosoi´des= Pk.—_squarrosus_, scurfy; _eidos_, form. =Pileus= firm, convex, viscid when moist, at first densely covered by erect papillose or subspinose tawny scales, which soon separate from each other, revealing the whitish color and viscid character of the pileus. =Lamellæ= close, emarginate, at first whitish, then pallid or dull cinnamon color. =Stem= equal, firm, stuffed, rough with thick squarrose scales, white above the thick floccose ring, pallid or tawny below. =Spores= minute, elliptical, 5×4µ.

Densely cespitose, 3–6 in. high. =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 3–5 lines thick.

Dead trunks and old stumps of maple. Adirondack and Catskill mountains. Autumn.

This is evidently closely related to A. squarrosus, with which it has, perhaps, been confused, but its different colors and viscid pileus appear to warrant its separation. _Peck_, 31st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Occurred in large clusters on sugar maples at Eagle’s Mere in October, and on stumps at Mt. Gretna. It very closely resembles P. squarrosa. Its caps are of the very best.

=P. subsquarro´sa= Fr.—_sub_, under; _squarrosus_, scurfy. (Plate LXXI, fig. 4, p. 268.) =Pileus= 2 in. and more broad, _brown rust-color_, with darker, _adpressed_, floccose _scales_, fleshy, convex, obtuse or gibbous, viscid. =Stem= 3 in. long, 4–5 lines thick, stuffed (often hollow when old), equal, yellow-rust-color, clothed with darker scales which are adpressed, or spreading only at the apex, not rough, furnished with an annular zone at the apex, becoming yellow-rust-color within. =Gills= deeply sinuate, emarginate, _almost free_, arcuate, crowded, at first pale then dingy yellow.

=Spores= rust-color. The pileus is viscid, but not glutinous like that of A. adiposus. It holds a doubtful place between A. aurivellus and A. squarrosus, departing from both, however, in the gills being at the first yellow; and from A. squarrosus, to which it is more like, in the gills being emarginato-free, not decurrent. Somewhat cespitose. Almost inodorous. _Fries._

=Spores= ferruginous, size not stated.

West Philadelphia, Mt. Gretna, Pa., Haddonfield, N.J. September until after frosts. _McIlvaine._

Not previously reported.

The maple trees in West Philadelphia frequently show large clusters of it up to twenty feet from ground; to be seen from afar after the leaves have fallen. Our American species differs somewhat from the European. American species:

=Pileus= 1–3 in. across, fleshy, convex, _very viscid_, rich brownish-yellow, covered with darker adpressed floccose scales. =Flesh= slightly yellow. =Gills= white when very young slightly emarginate, adnexed, crowded, ¼ in. broad, brown. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, ½ in. thick, equal or tapering toward base, stuffed, then hollow, covered with squamose scales as far up as the slight ring, smooth above ring. =Ring= membranaceous, slight.

=Spores= rust-color.

The species is variable and differs greatly in youth and maturity.

The caps, fried in hot buttered pan, are unexcelled.

Equally fine in croquettes and patties.

** _Gills yellow, then rust-color._

(Plate LXXIV.)

=P. adipo´sa= Fr.—_adeps_, fat. =Pileus= fleshy, firm, at first hemispherical or subconical, then convex, very viscid or glutinous when moist, scaly, yellow. =Flesh= whitish. =Gills= close, adnate, yellowish becoming rust-color with age. =Stem= equal or slightly thickened at the base, scaly below the slight radiating floccose ring, solid or stuffed, yellow, generally rust-color at the base. =Spores= elliptical, 7.6×5µ.

The Fat pholiota is a showy species. Its tufted mode of growth, rather large size, yellow color and rusty-brown scales make it a noticeable object. The stem is somewhat and the cap very viscid when moist, and this viscidity when dry gives it a shining appearance. The scales of the cap become erect or reflexed and sometimes appear blackish at the tips. They sometimes disappear with age. The flesh is firm and white or whitish. The gills when young are yellow or pale-yellow, but when mature they assume a ferruginous or rusty color like that of the spores. The stem is similar in color to the cap, but paler or nearly white at the top and usually reddish-brown or rusty-brown at the base. The collar is slight and often scarcely noticeable in mature specimens.

The =Cap= is 2–4 in. broad, the =Stem= 2–4 in. long and 4–6 lines thick. The plants commonly grow in tufts on stumps or dead trunks of deciduous trees in or near woods. They may be found from September to November. It is well to peel the caps before cooking. This species is not classed as edible by European authors, but I find its flavor agreeable and its substance digestible and harmless. _Peck_, 49th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

=Spores= 8×5µ _W.G.S._; elliptical, ferruginous, 7×3µ _Massee_.

Mt. Gretna, Pa. October until after frost. About trees and stumps and on logs. _McIlvaine._

P. adiposa yields a substantial substance of good flavor.

=P. flam´mans= Fr.—_flamma_, flame. =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad, yellow-tawny, fleshy, convex then plane, somewhat umbonate, _absolutely dry_, sprinkled with _superficial, pilose_, somewhat concentric, _paler_ or _sulphur-yellow, rough_ or curly _scales_; margin at first inflexed, then spread when larger. =Flesh= thin, _light yellow_. =Stem= 3 in. long, 2–3 lines thick, stuffed then _hollow, equal_, most frequently flexuous, _very light yellow as are also the crowded rough scales_. =Ring= membranaceous, entire, not far removed from the pileus, of the same color. =Gills= _adnate_ and without a tooth, somewhat thin, crowded, at the first _bright sulphur-yellow_, at length rust-color, edge quite entire.

Pileus by no means hygrophanous. It is distinguished from all others by the _sulphur-yellow scales on the tawny pileus_. Forming small clusters. Inodorous. The ring is sometimes only indicated by an annular zone. _Fries._

=Spores= ellipsoid, 4×2µ _K._; ellipsoid, 3–4×2–2.5µ _C.B.P._; 4×2µ _W.P._; 8×4µ _Massee_.

Quite plentiful in the New Jersey pines, from October until after heavy frosts. Caps seldom over 3 in. across. Solitary, and in clusters of not over half a dozen.

The caps fried are delicious.

=P. luteofo´lia= Pk.—_luteus_, yellow; _folium_, a leaf. =Pileus= firm, convex, dry, scaly, fibrillose on the margin, pale-red or yellowish. =Lamellæ= broad, subdistant, emarginate, serrate on the edge, yellow, becoming bright rust-color. =Stem= firm, fibrillose, solid, colored like the pileus, often curved from the place of growth. =Ring= obsolete. =Spores= bright rust-color, 7×4µ.

=Plant= subcespitose, 2–3 in. high. =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= 3–5 lines thick.

Trunks of birch trees. Forestburgh. September.

The general appearance of this plant is like A. variegatus or reddish forms of A. multipunctus. The reddish color appears sometimes to fade with age. _Peck_, 27th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Eagle’s Mere, Pa. In clusters, on birch trees. August, 1898. _McIlvaine._

Grows in quantity in the birch forests. The caps are delicious.

=P. ornel´la= Pk. (Agaricus ornellus Pk., 34 Rep., p. 42.) =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, slightly squamose, reddish-brown tinged with purple, the margin paler, floccose-appendiculate. =Gills= moderately close, yellowish or pallid, becoming brown. =Stem= equal or slightly thickened upward, solid, squamulose, pale-yellow, sometimes expanded at the base into a brownish disk margined with yellowish filaments. =Spores= brown, elliptical, 6–7.5×4–5µ.

=Plant= 1–2 in. high. =Pileus= about 1 in. broad. =Stem= 1 line to 1.5 lines thick.

Decaying wood. South Ballston, Saratoga county. October.

The scales of the pileus are sometimes arranged in concentric circles. The purplish tint is not always uniform, but in some instances forms spots or patches. _Peck_, 34th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Specimens, clustered, found by me on railroad ties at Haddonfield, N.J., September, 1897, had caps 1–1½ in. broad, of a dull green without tinge of purple; skin minutely cracked, showing the white flesh in the interstices; stem 1–2 in. long, 3–4 lines thick, slightly thickened upward, pale orange, solid, squamulose; ring floccose; taste when raw, slightly bitter. These were sent to Professor Peck who wrote: “Appears to be a form of P. ornella Pk., but it differs some in color, being more of a green hue than of purple or olivaceous. It is pretty and I would like to know more about it before deciding on it fully.”

I have not since found it. Very palatable when cooked.

*** Hygrophani. _Gills cinnamon, etc._

=P. muta´bilis= Schaeff.—changeable. =Pileus= about 2 in. broad, cinnamon when moist, becoming pale when dry, hygrophanous, slightly fleshy, convex then flattened, commonly obtusely umbonate, sometimes depressed, even and _smooth_, but when young occasionally scaly throughout. =Stem= about 2–3 in. long, 2 lines and more thick, _rigid_, stuffed then hollow, equal or attenuated downward, _scaly-rough as far as the ring, rust-color, blackish_ or umber _downward_, often ascending or twisted. =Ring= membranaceous, externally scaly. =Gills= _adnato-decurrent_, crowded, rather broad, pallid then cinnamon. _Stevenson._

Densely cespitose, variable in stature.

=Spores= ellipsoid-obovate, 6×11µ _W.G.S._; 7×4µ _W.P_; 9–11×5–6µ _Massee_; 11×7µ _Morgan_.

Edible. _Curtis._ Considered excellent in Europe.

=P. margina´ta= Batsch.—_marginatus_, margined. =Pileus= 1 in. and more broad, honey-colored when moist, tan when dry, hygrophanous, slightly fleshy, convex then expanded, obtuse, even, _smooth_, margin striate. =Stem= about 2 in. long, 1–2 lines thick, _tubed_, equal, _fibrillose_ or slightly striate, _not scaly, of the same color as the pileus_, but becoming dingy-brown, and _commonly white velvety at the base_. =Ring= 1–2 lines distant from the apex, often in the form of a cortina and fugacious. =Gills= _adnate_, crowded, thin, _narrow_, at first pallid, then darker cinnamon.

It varies much, and is deceptive on account of the vanishing veil. In hedges there is a very small cespitose form with the pileus only ½ in. broad, and the stem tough and smooth, with exception of the remains of the fugacious cortina. There also occur on the ground among mosses smaller and paler forms, which must be carefully distinguished from A. unicolor, etc. _Stevenson._

=Spores= 7–8×4µ _Massee_.

Haddonfield, N.J., November, December, 1896. In pine woods. _McIlvaine._

The caps of this small Pholiota, seldom over 1 ½ in. across, can be gathered in goodly numbers where it frequents. They are of excellent quality.

=P. dis´color= Pk.—changing color. =Pileus= thin, convex, then expanded or slightly depressed, smooth, viscid, hygrophanous, watery-cinnamon and striatulate on the margin when moist; bright ochraceous-yellow when dry. =Lamellæ= close, narrow, pallid then pale rust-color. =Stem= equal, hollow, fibrillose-striate, pallid. =Ring= distinct, persistent. =Spores= elliptical, 7×5µ.

=Plant= subcespitose, 2–3 in. high. =Pileus= 8–16 lines broad. =Stem= 1 line thick.

Old logs in woods. Greig. September.

The change of color from the moist to the dry state is very marked. This species resembles Agaricus autumnalis, in which the annulus is fugacious and the spores are longer. The edge of the gills in both is white-flocculose. _Peck_, 25th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Two forms of this species are found. One has a scattered form of growth, the other found on decaying wood of birch is cespitose. The species is allied to P. marginata, from which it is readily distinguished by its viscid pileus. _Peck_, Rep. 44.

Var. _discolor minor_ Pk. Small. Pileus 6–10 lines broad, chestnut color when young or moist. Stem about 1 line thick, at first clothed with whitish fibrils.

Among mosses about or on the base of stumps. September. _Peck_, Rep. 46.

West Virginia. Eagle’s Mere, Mt. Gretna, Pa. August to frost. On decaying wood. _McIlvaine._

This little Pholiota is abundant where it does grow. In the West Virginia forests I have seen logs with many tufts of it upon each. The caps are fairly good.

=INO´CYBE= Fr.

_Gr_—fiber; _Gr_—head.

(Plate LXXV.)

Universal veil somewhat fibrillose, concrete with the cuticle of the pileus, often free at the margin, in the form of a cortina. =Gills= somewhat sinuate (but they occur also adnate and in two species decurrent), changing color, but not powdered with cinnamon. =Spores= often rough, but in others even, more or less brownish-rust color.

Inocybe (with Hebeloma) corresponds with Tricholoma. Inocybe and Hebeloma have some common features, but they are really very distinct. Inocybe is readily distinguished by the fibrillose covering of the pileus, which never has a distinct pellicle, by the veil which is continuous and homogeneous with the fibrils of the pileus, and by the rusty-brown spores. All grow on the ground. They are (mostly) strong-smelling (commonly nauseous). None are edible. _Stevenson._

None reported as either edible or poisonous. Those I have tested are not pleasant.

=PLUTE´OLUS= Fr.

Dim. of _pluteus_, a shed.

=Pileus= conical or bell-shaped, then expanded, rather fleshy, viscid, margin at first straight and pressed to the stem. =Gills= _free, rounded behind_. =Stem= somewhat cartilaginous, its substance different from that of the pileus.

Growing on wood.

=Spores= rust or saffron color. Pluteus, the only genus having the same structure, is separated by its salmon-colored spores.

(Plate LXXVI.)

=P. reticula´tus= Pers.—_rete_, a net. From the net-work of veins on the pileus. =Pileus= slightly fleshy, bell-shaped, then expanded, sticky, reticulate with anastomosing veins, pale violaceous, striate on the margin. =Lamellæ= free, ventricose, crowded, rusty-saffron. =Stem= hollow, fragile, fibrillose, mealy at the top, white. =Spores= elliptical, ferruginous, 10–13×5–6.5µ.

=Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= 1–2 in. long, 1–2 lines thick.

Decaying wood. Cattaraugus county. September.

The specimens which I have referred to this species appear to be a small form with the pileus scarcely more than an inch broad and merely wrinkled on the disk, not distinctly reticulate as in the type. In the dried specimens the pileus has assumed a dark violaceous color. The dimensions of the spores have been taken from the American plant. I do not find them given by any European author. _Peck_, 46th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

In October, 1897, P. reticulatus grew in large quantities on a fallow lot close by the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. The lot was thickly covered with tall heavy-stemmed weeds, a mat of which, from the year before was present. The reticulations upon the cap are intricate and distinct. I have not seen it since.

The whole plant is tender and of fine flavor.

=HEBELO´MA= Fr.

_Hebe_, youth; _loma_, fringe.

Partial veil fibrillose or absent. =Pileus= smooth, continuous, somewhat viscid, margin at first incurved. Flesh of stem continuous with that of the pileus; fleshy, fibrous, clothed, top rather mealy. =Gills= attached, notched at the stem, edge inclined to be pale. =Spores= clay-colored.

On the ground.

Closely allied to Inocybe, formerly included in Hebeloma, but differing in the character of the cuticle of the pileus which in Inocybe is scaly or fibrillose. Many of the species are strong in smell and taste. None have hitherto been considered edible and some have been regarded as poisonous.

ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.

INDUSIATI (_indusium_, a garment). Page 283.

Furnished with a ring from the manifest veil, which often makes the margin of the pileus superficially silky.

DENUDATI (_denudo_, to lay bare). Page 286.

Pileus smooth. Veil absent. None known to be edible.

PUSILLUS (_pusus_, a little boy).

Pileus scarcely an inch broad. None known to be edible.

The writer has not as yet investigated the edible qualities of this genus to his satisfaction. Much work remains to be done. But two species of Hebeloma are given as edible. They are good, but do not rank above second-class. Several others have been tested, but not in sufficient quantity to report upon their quality with perfect safety. So far as tested the species have been harmless.

INDUSIA´TI. With a ring, etc.

=H. mus´sivum= Fr.—_mussivus_, undecided. (Uncertain in generic place.) =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad, either of one color, yellow or darker at the disk which is like a smooth sugar-cake, fleshy, _compact_, firm, convex then plane, unequal, very obtuse, viscid, at first _smooth_ and even, margin bent inward, even, then commonly turning upward and broken up into scales. =Flesh= thick, becoming yellow. =Stem= 4 in. long, commonly 1 in. thick, _very fleshy_, sometimes stuffed, sometimes hollow at the top, equal or broad in the middle, _wholly fibrillose and powdered at the top, light yellow_. =Veil= fibrillose, very evanescent. =Gills= emarginate, somewhat crowded, 3 lines broad, dry (not distilling drops), _at first light yellow_, then together with the spores somewhat rust-colored.

Odor weak, not unpleasant. Very distinct. It departs widely from all the following species in its habit and bright colors. The habit is that of a Flammula or Cortinarius, but the gills are emarginate and not powdered; from the turned up pileus and from the stem being powdered at the top, and from other marks it is to be referred to Hebeloma. _Fries._

=Spores= elliptical, 12×6µ _Massee_.

New Jersey, Haddonfield. Under pine trees. Solitary. Frequent. September, 1896. _McIlvaine._

Not previously reported.

Taste, even raw, is pleasant. It is meaty and the meat is good. It requires slow cooking and is best chopped fine and served in patties or croquettes.

(Plate LXXVI_a_.)

=H. fasti´bile= Fr.—_fastidibilis_, loathsome. From the smell. =Pileus= 2 in. and more broad, pale yellowish, tan or becoming pale, compactly fleshy, convexo-plane, obtuse, somewhat wavy, even, smooth, the turned-in margin downy. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, ½ in. thick, _solid_, wholly fleshy-fibrous, stout, somewhat bulbous, often twisted, everywhere _white-silky and fibrillose_, white, but varying pallid, white-scaly upward. =Cortina= remarkable, white, occasionally in the form of a ring. =Gills= remarkably _emarginate, somewhat distant_, rather broad, at first becoming pale-white, then dingy clay-color, edge whitish, _distilling drops_ in rainy weather.

Somewhat cespitose. Odor and taste of radish, bitterish. Like A. crustiliniformis; the odor is the same except that it is stronger, but it differs conspicuously _in the manifest veil and somewhat distant gills_.

Var. _al´ba_, stem longer, equal, somewhat hollow, fibrous-scaly at the apex, gills distant. A. spiloleucus Krombh., A. sulcatus Lindgr. is an elegant form with the margin of the pileus sulcate or rugoso-plicate.

In mixed woods. Common. July to October. _Stevenson._

=Spores= 11×8µ _W.G.S._; elliptical, pointed, 10×8µ _Morgan_.

Var. _elegans_. Pileus purple-brown.

This sometimes appears on disused mushroom beds in large quantities, but the method by which the spores gain access is involved in darkness.

“A very suspicious species and has the reputation of being noxious.” _Cooke._

“There is considerable external resemblance between this and A. campestris. No fungus is so often mistaken for A. campestris as this dangerous plant.” _W.G. Smith._

This species is considered noxious abroad. No test is reported of its qualities here.

I have not seen it.

=H. glutino´sum= Lind.—_gluten_, glue. (Plate LXXI, fig. 1, p. 268.) =Pileus= about 3 in. broad, yellow-white, the disk darker, fleshy, convex then plane, _regular_, obtuse, with a tenacious _viscous_ gluten, and slimy in wet weather, _sprinkled with white superficial scales_. =Flesh= whitish, becoming light-yellow. =Stem= 3 in. long, _stuffed_, firm, _somewhat bulbous, white-scaly_ and fibrillose, and white-mealy at the top, often rough with bundles of hairs at the base, at length rust-color within. Partial thread-like veil manifest, in the form of a cortina. =Gills= sinuato-adnate, somewhat decurrent, crowded, broad, _pallid then light-yellowish_, at length clay-cinnamon. Odor peculiar, mild.

On branches and among leaves, oak and beech. Frequent. September to December. _Stevenson._

=Spores= 5×4µ _W.P._; plum-shaped, 7µ _Q._; elliptical, 10–12×5µ _Massee_; ellipsoid, 6–7×3–4µ _K._

New York. Among fallen leaves and half-buried decaying wood, in thin woods. Conklingville. September. In wet weather the gluten is sufficiently copious to drop from the pileus. _Peck_, Rep. 40.

Haddonfield, N.J., among leaves in mixed woods. Frequent. 1896. Mt. Gretna, Pa., among leaves under oaks. Frequent. September to November. _McIlvaine._

=Caps= 1½-3 in. across. Remarkably glutinous, shining as if varnished when wet. Partial veil not always noticeable.

The odor and taste are pleasant. The caps when well cooked are meaty, good, but of second quality.

DENUDA´TI. Pileus smooth, etc.