in. across, flesh thin, plano-depressed when young, then
infundibuliform, even, glabrous, hygrophanous, rather slimy and usually
dark brown when moist, becoming pale and opaque when dry, undulate in
large specimens, the margin remains involute for a long time. =Flesh=
watery, similar in color to the pileus, splitting. =Gills= adnate,
becoming decurrent with the depression of the pileus, joined behind,
distant, grayish-brown, sometimes branched. =Stem= spongy and stuffed
inside, elastic, at length often hollow, 2–4 in. long, 3–4 lines thick,
attenuated upward, brownish-fibrillose, fibrils forming an imperfect
reticulation, colored like the pileus or a little paler, apex naked (not
mealy), base villous. _Massee._
On the ground in pastures and woods, rarely on rotten wood.
Usually blackish-umber, but varies to paler grayish-brown, pinky-tan,
pale cinnamon or brownish; then dingy-ochraceous or tan-color. Margin
expanded when old, and also indistinctly striate. _Fries._
Var. _cineras´cens_ Fr. =Pileus= up to 1 in. across, thin,
infundibuliform, pale smoky-brown. =Gills= decurrent, yellowish-white.
=Stem= 1–2 in. long, 1½ line thick, grayish, reticulately fibrillose,
hollow.
=Spores= 8×5µ _W.G.S._; 10–12×5–6µ, _B._; 9×6µ _Morgan_.
Mt. Gretna, Pa. Among leaves in woods. September to October. Gregarious.
_McIlvaine._
Fair in quality.
=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.
[Illustration]
=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.
[Illustration:
Photographed by Dr. J.R. Weist. PLATE XXIX.
COLLYBIA RADICATA.
]
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.
[Illustration: Grouped by F.D. Briscoe—Studies by C.
McIlvaine. PLATE XXVIII.]
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._