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.”
C. butyra´cea Bull.—butyrum, butter; buttery to the touch. Pileus 2–3 in. broad, normally reddish-brown, but becoming pale, fleshy, convex then expanded, more or less umbonate, dry, even, smooth. Flesh buttery, soft, somewhat hygrophanous, flesh-color then white. Stem 2–3 in. long, attenuated upward from the thickened white downy base, hence much thinner at the apex, 2–3 lines only, but at the base ½-1 in. thick, externally covered over with a rigid cartilaginous cuticle, internally stuffed with soft spongy pith, or hollow only when old, striate, reddish, commonly smooth, but varying with white deciduous scales, and occasionally wholly downy with soft hairs. Gills slightly adnexed, somewhat free, thin, crowded, notched at the edge, white, never spotted-reddish. Stevenson.
Spores 6–10×3–5µ B.; elliptical, 7–9×4–5µ.
Cap greasy looking. Umbo dark.
The color of the cap is variable. The species differs from C. dryophila in having an umbonate pileus, slightly uneven gill-edges and stem which tapers upward.
Solitary and in troops under coniferous trees. Spring, autumn.
West Virginia, Chester county and Eagle’s Mere, Pa., McIlvaine.
The caps cook quickly, are tender and have a good flavor.
C. velu´tipes Curt.—velutum, velvet; pes, a foot. Pileus 1–4 in. broad in the same cluster, tawny, sometimes paler at the margin, moderately fleshy at the disk, but thin at the circumference, convex then soon becoming plane, often eccentric, irregular and bent backward, smooth, viscous; margin spreading and at length slightly striate. Flesh watery, soft, slightly tawny-hyaline. Stem 1–3 in. long, 1–4 lines thick, tough, externally cartilaginous, umber then becoming black, densely, minutely velvety, commonly ascending or twisted, commonly equal, even, internally fibrous-stuffed and hollow. Gills broader and rounded behind, slightly adnexed, so as at first sight to appear free, somewhat distant, very unequal, becoming pallid-yellow or tawny. Fr.
Spores ellipsoid, 7µ W.G.S.; 6×4µ B.; elliptical, 7×3–3.5µ Massee.
Our American plant, common to the states, is rarely found attaining such dimensions. Its usual size is from 1–2 in. across, more frequently at 1–1¼. It is generally found in clusters more or less dense. The color varies from yellowish to a dark yellowish-brown. The center is darker than the margin. The cap viscid when moist, often irregular from crowding. Gills may be rounded or notched at their attachment to the stem, whitish or yellowish. Stem usually hollow, 1–4 in. long, 1–3 lines thick, whitish when young becoming colored with the dense brownish velvety hairs.
It grows on stumps, roots in the ground, trunks and earth heavily charged with wood matter. I have found it in every month of the year. The heavier crop appears in September, October and November, and lasts until long after heavy frosts. Then sporadic clusters spring up wherever the winter sun gives them encouragement.
It sometimes does considerable damage to the tree so unfortunate as to be its host. It begins its growth upon some injured or decayed spot and by continually insinuating itself under the surrounding bark it, by its mycelium and growth, pries the bark away from the wood until the tree is entirely denuded.
It is a valuable species, not only on account of its continuous growth, but because of its plentifulness and excellent substance.
C. con´fluens Pers.—Pileus ¾-1½ in. broad, thin, tough, flaccid, convex or nearly plane, obtuse, rarely somewhat umbonate, glabrous, hygrophanous, reddish grayish-red or reddish-brown and often striatulate on the margin when moist, pallid, whitish or grayish when dry. Lamellæ narrow, crowded, free, whitish or yellowish-gray. Stem 2–5 in. long, 1–2 lines thick, equal, cartilaginous, hollow, clothed with a short dense somewhat pulverulent whitish pubescence or down. Spores minute ovate or subelliptical, slightly pointed at one end, 5–6×3–4µ.
Among fallen leaves in woods. Common. July to October.
The plants commonly grow in tufts, but sometimes in lines or arcs of circles or scattered. They revive under the influence of moisture and thereby indicate an intimate relationship to the genus Marasmius. The pileus varies much in color, but commonly has a dull reddish or russety tinge when moist, sometimes approaching bay-red. It fades in drying and becomes almost white or grayish-white, but sometimes the center remains more deeply colored than the margin. The stem is commonly rather long in proportion to the width of the pileus. Occasionally it is somewhat flattened either at the top or throughout its entire length. Sometimes the stems become united at the base which union is suggestive of the specific name. Peck, 49th Rep.
West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, McIlvaine. July to frost.
The caps of C. confluens are of excellent substance and flavor. Their quantity makes up for their small size. I have gathered them 2 in. across, but their average size is about 1 in. They dry well.
C. esculen´ta Wulf.—esculent. Pileus ½ in. and more broad, ochraceous-clay, often becoming dusky, slightly fleshy, convex then plane, orbicular, obtuse, smooth, even or when old slightly striate. Flesh tough, white, savory. Stem 1 in. and more long, scarcely 1 line thick, or thread-like and wholly equal, obsoletely tubed, tough, stiff and straight, even, smooth, slightly shining, clay-yellow, with a long perpendicular, commonly smooth, tail-like root. Gills adnexed, even decurrent with a very thin small tooth, then separating, very broad, limber, somewhat distant, whitish, sometimes clay-color.
Gregarious but never cespitose. The tube of the stem is very narrow. Stevenson.
The smallest edible Collybia. Cooke. Edible. In dense woods. Curtis. It is dried and preserved. Cordier.
In pastures and grassy places. Spring and early summer.
Edible, but rather bitter flavor. In Austria, where it is in great plenty in April, large baskets are brought to market under the name of Nagelschwämme—nail mushrooms.
Professor Peck describes C. esculentoides Pk., 49th Rep. N.Y. State Bot., which he states: “Differs from the type in its paler and more ochraceous color and in its farinaceous flavor, and is related to the European C. esculenta from which it differs essentially in the umbilicate pileus and in the absence of any radicating base to the stem.”
C. dryophil´a Bull. Gr.—oak-loving. (Plate XXVIII, fig. 3, p. 112.) Pileus 1–3 in. across, bay-brown-rufous, etc., becoming pale, but not hygrophanous, slightly fleshy, tough, convexo-plane, obtuse, commonly depressed in the center, even, smooth; margin at first inflexed then flattened. Flesh thin, white. Stem 1–3 in. long, 1–3 lines thick, cartilaginous, remarkably tubed, thin, even, smooth, somewhat rooting, commonly becoming yellow or reddish. Gills somewhat free, with a small decurrent tooth, but appearing adnexed when the pileus is depressed, crowded, narrow, distinct, plane, white or becoming pale.
There are numerous monstrous forms which are very deceiving: a. Stem elongated, waved, decumbent, inflated at the base; pileus broader, lobed; gills white. b. Funicularis, larger, cespitose, the lax and decumbent stem equal and hairy at the base, gills sulphur-yellow. These forms, analagous with A. repens Bull., occur on heaps of leaves. c. Countless specimens growing together in a large cluster; stems thick, inflated, irregularly shaped, sulcate, brown, the mycelium collecting the soil in the form of a ball; pileus very irregularly shaped, full of angles, undulated, blackish then bay-brown. In gardens. Stevenson.
Spores elliptic-fusiform, 7–8×4µ; 6µ W.G.S.
Professor Peck, 49th Rep. N.Y. State Bot., gives the following: Pileus thin, convex or nearly plane, sometimes with the margin elevated, irregular, obtuse, glabrous, varying in color, commonly some shade of bay-red or tan-color. Flesh white. Lamellæ narrow, crowded, adnexed or almost free, white or whitish, rarely yellowish. Stem equal or sometimes thickened at the base, cartilaginous, glabrous, hollow, yellowish or rufescent, commonly similar in color to the pileus. Spores, 6–8×3–4µ.
Pileus 1–2 in. broad. Stem 1–2 in. long, 1–2 lines thick.
Woods, groves and open places. Common. June to October.
West Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. McIlvaine.
C. dryophila is so common and variable that descriptions would fail to cover it in its eccentricities. The writer has eaten it in all the forms obtained since 1881. A very pretty form grew in large quantities among pine needles at Eagle’s Mere, Pa., in August, 1897. It was cooked and served at the hotel table. Many ate it and were delighted.
Dr. Badham refers to a case in which illness was caused by eating it. In my eighteen years' experience with it, knowing it to have been enjoyably eaten by scores of persons, I have not heard of the slightest discomfort from it.
C. spinulif´era Pk.—spinula, a little thorn. Pileus fleshy, thin, convex or nearly plane, glabrous, hygrophanous reddish tan-color tinged with pink and slightly striatulate on the margin when moist, paler when dry, adorned with minute colored spinules or setæ. Gills narrow, close, rounded behind and free, pale cinnamon-color, becoming somewhat darker with age, spinuliferous. Stem slender, tough, glabrous, shining, hollow, reddish-brown, often paler or whitish at the top, especially in young plants, with a whitish myceloid tomentum at the base. Spores elliptical or nearly so, 4µ.
Plant cespitose. Pileus 8–16 lines broad. Stem 2–3 in. long, about 1 line thick.
Prostrate trunks and ground among leaves in woods. Lewis county. September.
In this species the lamellæ, under a lens, appear to be minutely pubescent or velvety. This is due to the colored spinules or setæ which clothe them. Peck, 49th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Angora, Pa. September, 1897. Among moss in mixed woods. September to frost. McIlvaine.
Specimens identified by Professor Peck. Stems of some tapered at base.
Excepting the extreme base of stems the whole plant is tender and of good flavor.
C. acerva´ta Fr.—acervus, a heap. Pileus fleshy but thin, convex or nearly plane, obtuse, glabrous, hygrophanous, pale tan-color or dingy pinkish-red and commonly striatulate on the margin when moist, paler or whitish when dry. Gills narrow, close, adnexed or free, whitish or tinged with flesh-color. Stem slender, rigid, hollow, glabrous, reddish, reddish-brown or brown, often whitish at the top, especially when young, commonly with a white matted down at the base. Spores elliptical, 6×3–4µ.
Plant cespitose. Pileus 1–2 in. broad. Stem 2–3 in. long, about 1 line thick.
Decaying wood and ground among fallen leaves in woods. Adirondack mountains. August and September. Peck, 49th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
This very pretty plant resembles forms of C. dryophila. The coloring of the stems is often extremely delicate, like paintings upon rice paper.
West Virginia mountains; Eagle’s Mere, Pa. August to frost. McIlvaine.
The entire plant is tender, delicate and of fine flavor. In these qualities it is not distinguishable when cooked from the smaller forms of C. dryophila.
Pileus regular, rarely depressed in the center, thin, usually streaked with longitudinal lines, at first conico-cylindrical, margin at the first straight, closely embracing the stem which is attenuated upward. Stem hollow, slender, cartilaginous. Gills adnate or adnexed, sometimes with a small tooth, never decurrent. Spores white.
Generally small and slender, growing on branches, twigs, heaps of leaves, sometimes on the ground, some minute species on single dead leaves. Long, rooting stems are not uncommon. Clitocybe and Omphalia are separated by their decurrent gills and in Collybia the margin is at first incurved.
In this genus the species of the various sections are not always distinguished by single sharply defined characteristics, so that it will sometimes be necessary to pay attention to all the features. Species with a thread-like stem are found in other sections than Filipedes and some of the Lactipedes are slippery when moist, but not truly viscous.
Stem juiceless, not dilated into a disk at the base. Edges of gills darker, minutely toothed.
Stem juiceless, not dilated at the base. Gills of one color, not changing color. Color pure-colored, bright, not becoming brownish or gray. On the ground.
Stem firm, rigid, rather tough, juiceless, more or less rooting. Gills changing color, white, then gray or reddish, generally at length connected by veins.
Tough, persistent, inodorous, usually on wood, very cespitose, but individuals of the same species sometimes grow singly on the ground.
Stem fragile, juiceless, fibrillose at the base, scarcely rooting. Pileus hygrophanous. Gills becoming discolored, at length somewhat connected by veins.
Thin, fragile, often soft, normally growing singly on the ground. A few strong smelling, cespitose on wood.
Stem thread-like, flaccid, somewhat tough, rooting, juiceless, generally extremely long in proportion to the pileus. Gills becoming discolored, paler at the edge.
Straight, growing singly on the ground; inodorous. Pileus dingy-brown, becoming paler.
Gills and rooting stem milky when broken.
Stem juiceless but externally sticky with gluten. Gills at length decurrent with a tooth.
Stem dry, rootless, the base naked and dilated into a disk or small hairy bulb. Growing singly, slender, soon becoming flaccid.
Stem very thin, dry, growing as if inserted in the supporting surface, not downy, not disk-like at the base.
Gills adnate with a small decurrent tooth. Small, very tender, becoming flaccid with the first touch of the sun.
Mycena is a large genus composed of small species. About sixty members have been found in America. They are from ½ to 1 in. across the cap, with thin stems and altogether delicate appearance. Yet the flesh of most of them has a gummy consistency in the mouth, and they shrink but little in stewing. Heretofore not any appear to have been reported as edible, probably because the size of the species has not attracted experimenters. While some have a strong odor and taste of radishes, and one species is bitter, it is probable that all are edible. The writer has eaten, raw and cooked, small quantities (all he has found) of many species not here reported as edible, which will, when further tested, be reported upon.
The substance and flavor of those here given is remarkably pleasant. Their late coming, hardiness and abundance are commendable qualities.
M. prolif´era Sow.—proles, offspring; fero, to bear. (Plate X, figs. 6, 7, p. 28.) Pileus ⅔-1¼ in. across, slightly fleshy, expanded bell-shape, dry, the broad umbo darker (dingy-brown), slightly striate, and at length furrowed or rimosely split at the margin (pale yellowish or becoming brownish-tan). Stem 2½-3 in. long, firm, rigid, smooth, shining, slightly striate, rooted. Gills adnexed, somewhat distinct, becoming pale white.
Inodorous, only at length nauseous. Very closely allied to M. galericulata, in habit approaching nearest to M. cohærens. The stems are pallid at the apex, but slightly tawny-bay-brown below, and glued together by hairy down at the base. There is a white form with transparent stem—on trunks. Fries.
Mt. Gretna, Pa. On ground in grass. Mycelium spreading on leaves. McIlvaine.
Found in great plenty. Base of stems is sometimes white when in dense tufts.
The whole plant is tender, cooking in fifteen minutes, and is of fine flavor. No one will want a better fungus.
M. rugo´sa Fr.—ruga, a wrinkle. Pileus ash-color but becoming pale, very tough, slightly fleshy at the disk, otherwise membranaceous, bell-shaped then expanded, at length rather plane, somewhat obtuse, more or less corrugated (unequal with elevated wrinkles), always dry, not moist even in rainy weather, striate at the circumference. Stem commonly short, remarkably cartilaginous, tubed, rigid, tough, straight, at length compressed, even, smooth, pallid, with a short oblique hairy root. Gills arcuato-adnate, with a decurrent tooth, united behind in a collar, somewhat distant, connected by veins, broad, ventricose, white then gray, edge sometimes quite entire, sometimes with saw-like teeth.
Always inodorous. Formerly connected with M. galericulata. M. rugosa is arid, very tough, more rarely cespitose, the pileus firm, somewhat obtuse, wrinkled but without striæ, the gills arcuato-adnate with a hooked tooth, white then ash-color. The genuine M. galericulata is fasciculato-cespitose, somewhat fragile, the pileus thinner, at first conical and umbonate, striate without wrinkles, the gills adnate, with a decurrent tooth, white then flesh-color. Between these there is a long series of intermediate forms. Fries.
California, H. and M.; Kansas, Cragin; Wisconsin, Bundy; New York, September, Peck, 46th Rep.; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. On decaying wood and ground near stumps. August to November. McIlvaine.
The tenacity frequently occurring in Mycena is well shown in this species. The caps and stem cook tender, but it is better to discard the stems, as the two do not become tender at the same time.
M. galericula´ta Scop.—galericulum, a small peaked cap. (Plate Plate X, fig. 5, p. 28.) Pileus somewhat membranaceous, conical bell-shaped then expanded, striate to the umbo, dry, smooth, becoming brownish-livid or changeable in color. Stem rigid, polished, even, smooth, with a spindle-shaped root at the base. Gills adnate, decurrent with a tooth, connected by veins, whitish and flesh-colored.
Very protean. Normally growing in bunches, the numerous stems (never sticky) glued together with soft hairy down at the base. But it occurs also solitary, larger, pileus as much as 2 in. broad, wrinkled-striate. The essential marks by which it is distinguished from A. rugosa are these: Stem in general thinner, less tense and straight, often curved, more fragile. Pileus membranaceous, conico bell-shaped, umbonate, striate but not corrugated, moist in rainy weather. Gills adnate, with a decurrent tooth, more crowded, whitish then flesh-colored. The color both of the pileus (normally dingy-brownish then livid) and of the stem (normally becoming livid-brownish) is much more changeable than that of A. rugosa, becoming yellow, rust colored, etc. It is not so tough and pliant as A. rugosa. Forms departing from the type are very numerous; the most beautiful is var. calopus (Gr., beautiful; Gr., a foot) with chestnut-colored stems, united in a spindle-shaped tail. Fries.
Spores spheroid or subspheroid, 9–10×6–8µ K.; 8–11×4–6µ B.; 6–7×4µ Massee.
Common. Autumnal. Very variable. On trunks, fallen leaves.
Two well-marked varieties of this very variable species were observed the past season. One grows on the ground among fallen leaves. It has a dark brown pileus, close lamellæ and a very long stem, generally of a delicate pink color toward the top. It might be called var. longipes. The other grows under pine trees, has a broadly convex or expanded grayish-brown pileus and a short stem. It might be called var. expansus. Peck, 26th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
“M. alcalina is closely allied to it (M. galericulata), but has a stronger alkaline odor and a rather more fragile stem. In one of your specimens I detect a slight incarnate tint to the gills, and this is pretty conclusive evidence that it belongs to M. galericulata. Species of Mycena are not generally reckoned among edible fungi or even promising fungi; I suppose on account of the thin flesh of the cap, but of course it is possible to make up in numbers what is lacking in size. I am glad to know you have found this to be an esculent one.” Letter Professor Peck to C. McIlvaine, October 5, 1893.
The caps and stems when young make as good a dish as one cares to eat. The substance is pleasant, and the flavor delicate. They are best stewed slowly in their own fluids, after washing, for ten minutes and seasoned with pepper, salt and butter.
M. parabo´lica Fr.—shaped like a parabola. Pileus becoming black at the disk, inclining to violaceous, otherwise becoming pale, whitish, somewhat membranaceous, at first erect and oval, then parabolic, obtuse, never expanded, moist, somewhat shining when dry, smooth, even, striate toward the entire margin. Stem 2–3 in. long, 1 line thick, tubed, tense and straight but not very rigid, thickened and bearded-rooted at the base, pale below, dark violaceous above, when young white-mealy, otherwise even, smooth, dry. Gills simply adnate, ascending, somewhat distant, rarely connected by veins, quite entire, white, somewhat gray at the base.
Stem less rigid than that of A. galericulatus. Truly gregarious or cespitose. Fries.
Spores 12×6µ B.; elliptical, 11–12×6µ Massee.
Trenton, N.J. June. E.B. Sterling; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, on decaying stumps, trunks of oak, chestnut, poplar, pine. June until far into the winter. McIlvaine.
Plant up to 2½ in. high. Caps usually about ½ in., but reaching ¾ in.
A neat, attractive plant, whether single or in dense tufts. Its smell is strong of fresh meal, and taste of that delicate flavor one finds in the succulent base of the round, swamp rush, when pulled from its sheath—one that every country school boy and girl knows. It is pleasant raw, and delicious when cooked.
M. latifo´lia Pk.—latus, broad; folium, a leaf. Pileus convex, rarely somewhat umbonate, striatulate, grayish-brown. Gills white, broad, hooked, decurrent-toothed. Stem slender, smooth, hollow, subconcolorous, white-villous at the base.
Height 1–1.5 in., breadth of pileus 4–6 lines. Stem .5 lines thick.
Under pine trees. Center. October.
A small species with quite broad gills, growing among the fallen leaves of pine trees. Gregarious. Peck, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Mt. Gretna, Pa. Among pine needles, scattered, sometimes four or five in a cluster. September to October. McIlvaine.
Autumnal. Not rare. The caps though small are tenacious in the mouth and lose little in cooking. The substance is agreeable and flavor fine.
M. collaria´ta Fr.—collare, a collar. Pileus ½ in. and more broad, typically dingy-brown, but becoming pale, commonly gray-whitish, becoming brownish only at the disk, membranaceous, bell-shaped then convex, somewhat umbonate, striate, when dry rigid, smooth, not soft nor slightly silky. Stem about 2 in. long, tubed, thread-like but almost 1 line thick, tough, dry, smooth, even or slightly striate under a lens, becoming pale. Gills adnate, joined in a collar behind, thin, crowded, hoary-whitish or obsoletely flesh-colored.
The gills are somewhat distant when the pileus is expanded. There is not a separate collar as in Marasmius rotula; the gills are only joined in the form of a collar, and remain cohering when they separate from the stem. Fries.
Spores 8–10×4–6µ B.
New York. Old stumps and rotten logs. June. Peck, 23d Rep. Mt. Gretna, Pa. Cespitose on decaying wood. July, September and October. McIlvaine.
Very much like M. galericulata, but gills not connected by veins. The caps usually have a pinkish hue, often brownish. The stems are not as tender as the caps. The flavor is excellent.
M. hæma´topa Pers. Gr.—blood; Gr.—a foot. Pileus about 1 in. broad, white flesh-color, fleshy-membranaceous, slightly fleshy chiefly at the disk, conical then bell-shaped, obtuse, nay convex and spuriously umbonate, naked, even or slightly striate at the margin, which is at the first elegantly toothed. Stem 2–4 in. long, 1 line and more thick, remarkably tubed, rigid, normally everywhere powdered with whitish, delicate, soft hairy down, sometimes, however, denuded of it. Gills adnate, often with a small decurrent tooth, the alternate ones shorter, in front disappearing short of the slight margin of the pileus, whitish and wholly of the same color at the edge.
Cespitose (very many of the stems conjoined and hairy at the base), firm, stature almost that of M. galericulata, wholly abounding with dark blood-colored juice.
On stumps. Frequent. September. Stevenson.
Spores spheroid-ellipsoid, 10×6–7µ K.
I find a non-cespitose form of this species with red-margined gills. Its red juice, however, will serve to distinguish it and show its true relations. Peck, 31st Rep.
Common in tufts like M. galericulata and of about the same size, but is readily distinguished by its red juice. This pretty plant can often be gathered in considerable quantity, and well repays the collector.
Pileus symmetrical, very thin, without a distinct pellicle, formed by the union of the backs of the gills, splitting when expanded. Gills almost or quite free, white. Stem central. Spores white.
Allied to Lepiota in the thin pileus and free gills, but differing in the entire absence of a ring. Not at all deliquescent as in the genus Coprinus, near to which it was at one time placed by Fries. Massee. Reported from North Carolina.
Pileus generally thin, usually umbilicate at first, then funnel-shaped, often hygrophanous, margin incurved or straight. Gills truly decurrent from the first, sometimes branched. Stem distinctly cartilaginous, polished, tubular, often stuffed when young. Flesh continuous with that of the pileus but differing in character. Spores white, somewhat elliptical, smooth.
Generally on wood, preferring hilly woods and a damp climate.
Resembling Collybia and Mycena in the flesh of stem and pileus being different in texture and in the externally cartilaginous stem. It is perfectly separated by the gills being markedly decurrent from the first.
The American species of Omphalia number between thirty-five and forty. Many of them are common. Few woods are free from them. Several of them are beautiful. They are usually small and lacking in substance. Raw, the writer has not found one that is objectionable in any way; a few have a woody taste. But two species have been found by him in sufficient quantity to make a dish. It is probable that all are edible. At best the species of Omphalia are valuable in emergency only.
* Pileus dilated from the first, margin incurved.
Pileus campanulate at first, margin straight and pressed to the stem.
O. onis´cus Fr. Gr.—a wood-louse. From the ashy color. Pileus scarcely 1 in. broad, dark ashy becoming pale, gray-hoary when dry, somewhat membranaceous, or slightly fleshy, flaccid, fragile when old, convexo-umbilicate or funnel-shaped, often irregular, undulato-flexuous, even-lobed, smooth, even, margin striate. Stem 1 in. long, 1 line and more thick, stuffed then tubed, slightly firm, moderately tough, sometimes round, curved, sometimes unequal, compressed, ascending, undulated, gray. Gills shortly decurrent, somewhat distant, quaternate, ash-color. Not cespitose. Fries.
Spores 12×7–8µ B.
Massachusetts, Sprague; California, H. and M., who record it as edible.
O. umbellif´era—umbella, a little shade; fero, to bear. From its umbrella-like shape. (Plate XXXIV, p. 132.) Pileus about ½ in. broad, commonly whitish, slightly fleshy-membranaceous, convex then plane, broadly obconic with the decurrent gills, not at all or only slightly umbilicate, hygrophanous, when moist watery, rayed with darker striæ, when dry even, changeable in appearance, silky, flocculose, rarely squamulose, the margin, which is at first inflexed, crenate (scalloped). Stem short, not exceeding 1 in. long, almost 1 line thick, stuffed then soon tubed, slightly firm, equal or dilated toward the apex into the pileus, of the same color as the pileus, commonly smooth, but varying pubescent, white villous at the base. Gills very broad behind, triangular, decurrent, very distant, edge of the gills straight.
Cosmopolitan. The common form is to be found everywhere from the sea level to 4,000 feet. Stevenson.
Spores 3×4µ W.G.S.; 10×4µ W.P.; green variety 10×6µ W.P.; broadly elliptical, 8–10×5–6µ Peck.
O. umbellifera is known the world over. It is very variable in size and color. With us it is seldom over ¾ in. broad. Stem ½-1 line thick. It grows on decaying wood and ground full of decaying material. There are several varieties. All are edible, but not worth describing. This description is given that the student may recognize one of our common plants, and eat it, if very hungry.