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.)
[Illustration:
PHOLIOTA ADIPOSA.
About natural size.
]
=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.
[Illustration]
=INO´CYBE= Fr.
_Gr_—fiber; _Gr_—head.
(Plate LXXV.)
[Illustration:
INOCYBE LANUGINOSA.
One-fourth natural size.
]
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.
[Illustration]
=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.)
[Illustration:
PLUTEOLUS RETICULATUS.
About natural size.
]
=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_.)
[Illustration:
HEBELOMA FASTIBILE.
One-fourth natural size.
]
=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.
=H. crustulinifor´me= Bull.—_crustulum_, a small pie; _forma_, form.
=Pileus= pale-whitish tan, most frequently pale-yellowish or brick-color
at the disk, fleshy, convexo-plane, obtuse or slightly gibbous with an
obtuse umbo, somewhat spreading with an uneven margin, even, smooth, at
first slightly viscid, not zoned. =Flesh= transparent when moist. =Stem=
_stuffed then hollow_, stout, somewhat bulbous, white, naked,
white-scaly at the top. =Gills= _rounded-adnexed_, crowded, _narrowed_,
1 line broad and linear, thin, whitish then clay-color, at length
date-brown, _the unequal edge distilling watery drops in wet weather,
spotted when dry_.
=Veil= quite _wanting_. Odor strong, fetid, of radish. Very variable in
stature; the stem, however, is never elongated as in A. elatus, etc.; in
smaller specimens equal, pileus regular, gills almost adnate.
In mixed woods. Common. August to November. _Stevenson._
=Spores= ellipsoid, 10–12×5–7µ _K._; 9×5µ _W.G.S._
Var. _mi´nor_ Cke. Smaller than the type.
Minnesota, common in woods, _Johnson_; California, _H. and M._;
Wisconsin, _Bundy_; New Jersey, _Ellis_; Vermont, _Burt_ (Lloyd); New
York, _Peck_, 41st Rep.; Mt. Gretna, Pa., November, 1898. In woods.
_McIlvaine._
But one specimen found and that was sent to Professor Peck. Taste
bitter.
Regarded as poisonous by European writers. It is not reported as tested
in America.
[Illustration]
=FLAM´MULA= Fr.
_Flamma_, a flame.
(In reference to the bright colors of many of the species.)
=Pileus= fleshy, margin _at first turned inward_. =Veil= fibrillose or
none. =Stem= fleshy-fibrous, not mealy at the top. =Gills= decurrent or
attached without a tooth. =Spores= mostly pure rust color; some
brownish-rust, others tawny-ochraceous.