Figure 172.Plate XXV. Figure 172.—Hygrophorus miniatus sphagnophilus.Natural size.
Plate XXV. Figure 172.—Hygrophorus miniatus sphagnophilus.Natural size.
Sphagnophilus means sphagnum-loving, so called because it is found growing on sphagnum.
The pileus is broadly convex, subumbilicate, red.
The gills are adnate, whitish, becoming yellowish or sometimes tinged with red, occasionally red on the edge.
The stem is colored like the pileus, whitish at the base, both it and the pileus are very fragile.
This is more fragile than the typical form and retains its color better in drying.Peck, 43d Rep.
This is a beautiful plant growing, as Figure 172 shows, on the lower dead portion of the stems of bog moss or sphagnum. It grows very abundantly in Buckeye Lake. The photograph was made by Dr. Kellerman. It is found from July to October. These plants cook readily, have an excellent flavor and because of their color make an inviting dish. I have eaten heartily of them several times.
Margined Hygrophorus. Edible.
Figure 173.Figure 173.—Hygrophorus marginatus.
Figure 173.—Hygrophorus marginatus.
Marginatus, so called from the frequent vermilion edged gills.
The pileus is thin, fragile, convex, subcampanulate or nearly plane, often irregular, sometimes broadly umbonate, glabrous, shining, striatulate on the margin, bright golden-yellow.
The gills are rather broad, subdistant, ventricose, emarginate, adnexed, yellow, sometimes becoming orange or vermilion on the edge, interspaces venose.
The stem is fragile, glabrous, often flexous, compressed or irregular, hollow, pale-yellow; spores broadly elliptic, .00024–.0003 of an inch long, .00024–.0002 broad.Peck, N. Y., 1906.
This plant has the most beautiful yellow I have ever seen in a mushroom. This bright golden yellow and the orange or vermilion color on the margin or edge of the gills will always characterize the plant.
The specimen in Figure 173 were sent to me by Mrs. Blackford, of Boston, Mass., the last of August. They were not in the best condition when photographed.
The Wax-like Hygrophorus. Edible.
Figure 174.Figure 174.—Hygrophorus ceraceus. Caps waxy yellow.
Figure 174.—Hygrophorus ceraceus. Caps waxy yellow.
Ceraceus is fromcera, wax. The pileus is one inch and less broad, waxy-yellow, shining, fragile, thin, occasionally subumbonate, slightly fleshy, slightly striate.
The gills are firmly attached to the stem, subdecurrent, distant, broad, ventricose often connected with veins, almost triangular, yellow.
The stem is one to two inches long, hollow, often unequal, flexuous, sometimes compressed, yellow, occasionally orange at the base, waxy. The spores 8×6µ.
This is a very beautiful, fragile plant, usually found growing in the grass. It is easily distinguished by its waxy yellow color. The plants photographed were found on the Cemetery Hill. They are found from August to October.
The Ivory-Capped Hygrophorus. Edible.
Figure 175.Figure 175.—Hygrophorus virgineus. Two-thirds natural size. Entire plant white.
Figure 175.—Hygrophorus virgineus. Two-thirds natural size. Entire plant white.
Virgineus, virgin; so called from its whiteness. The pileus is fleshy, convex, then plane, obtuse, at length depressed; moist, sometimes cracked into patches, floccose when dry.
The gills are decurrent, distant, rather thick, often forked.
The stem is curt, stuffed, firm, attenuated at the base, externally becoming even and naked. Spores 12×5–6µ.Fries.
The plant is wholly white and never large. It is easily confounded with H. niveus and sometimes difficult to distinguish from the white forms of H. pratensis. This plant is quite common in pastures, both in the spring and in the fall. I found the specimens in Figure 175 on Cemetery Hill under the pine trees on November 11. They were photographed by Dr. Kellerman.
The Snow-White Hygrophorus. Edible.
Niveus, snow-white. The plant is wholly white. The pileus is scarcely one inch broad, somewhat membranaceous, bell-shaped, convex, then umbilicate, smooth, striate, viscid when moist, not cracked when dry, flesh thin, everywhere equal.
The gills are decurrent, thin, distant, acute, quite entire.
The stem is hollow, thin, equal, smooth. Spores 7×4µ. Found in pastures.
The Dingy Hygrophorus. Edible.
Figure 176.Figure 176.—Hygrophorus sordidus.
Figure 176.—Hygrophorus sordidus.
Sordidus means a dirty white, or dingy, referring to the color of the caps, so made by adhering earth.
The pileus is broadly convex or nearly plane, glabrous, slightly viscid, white, but usually defiled by adhering dirt; the margin at first strongly involute, then spreading or reflexed; flesh firm when young, tough when old.
The gills are subdistant, adnate, or decurrent, white or creamy-white.
The stem is five to ten Cm. long, firm, solid, white.
The spores are elliptical, 6.5–7.5×4–5µ.Peck.
The specimens I found were clear white, growing among leaves and were especially free from soil. The stems were short and were inclined to be slightly ventricose. Dr. Peck says that this "species is distinguished from H. penarius by its clear white color, though this is commonly obscured by the adhering dirt that is carried up in the growth of the fungus." The young, growing plants were strongly involute but the older plants were reflexed, giving the plants a funnel-shaped appearance and giving the gills a much stronger decurrent appearance. Found October 26th.
Late Hygrophorus.
Figure 177.Figure 177.—Hygrophorus serotinus.
Figure 177.—Hygrophorus serotinus.
Serotinus means late. So called because it is late in the season.
Pileus is fleshy but thin, convex or nearly plane, often with the thin margin curved upward, glabrous or with a few obscure innate fibrils, reddish in the center, whitish on the margin, flesh white, taste mild.
The gills are thin, subdistant, adnate or decurrent, white, the interspaces slightly venose.
The stem is equal, stuffed or hollow, glabrous, whitish. The spores are white, elliptic, .0003 of an inch long, .0002 broad.
Pileus is 8–15 lines broad; stem about 1 inch long, 1.5–2.5 lines thick.Peck.
Some specimens of this species were sent to me from Boston by Mrs. Blackford, but after a careful study of them I was unable to place them. She then sent them to Dr. Peck, who gave them their very appropriate name. Those in Figure 177 were sent me in December, 1907.
They grow a number in the same locality and frequently in close groups or tufts. They seem to delight in oak and pine woods. Dr. Peck observes that this species is similar to Hygrophorus queletii, Bres., both in size and color, but the general characteristics of the plants do not agree. He also says it is similar in size and color to H. subrufescens, Pk., but differs materially in the specific description.
Panus means swelling. The species under this genus are leathery plants, having the stems lateral and sometimes wanting. They dry up but revive with moisture. The gills are simple and thinner than the Lentinus, but with an entire, acute edge. There are a few species which give a phosphorescent light when growing on decayed logs. The genus closely resembles Lentinus but can be readily recognized on account of the smooth edged gills. A number of good authorities do not separate them but give both under the name Lentinus. This genus abounds wherever there are stumps and fallen timber.
The Styptic Panus. Poisonous.
Figure 178.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Figure 178.—Panus stypticus. Two-thirds natural size. Cinnamon color.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Figure 178.—Panus stypticus. Two-thirds natural size. Cinnamon color.
Stypticus means astringent, styptic. The pileus is coriaceous, kidney-shaped, cinnamon-color, growing pale, cuticle breaking up into scales, margin entire or lobed, surface nearly even, sometimes zoned.
The gills are thin, crowded, connected by veins, of same color as cap, determinate, quite narrow.
The stem is lateral, quite short, swollen above, solid, compressed, pruinose, paler than the gills.
It is found very plentifully on decayed logs and stumps, and at times it is quite phosphorescent in its manifestations. It has an extremely unpleasant astringent taste. One might as well eat an Indian turnip as this species. Just a taste will betray it. Found from fall to winter.
The Hairy Panus. Edible.
Strigosus, covered with stiff hairs. The pileus is sometimes quite large, eccentric, covered with stiff hairs, margin thin, white.
The gills are broad, distant, decurrent, straw-color.
The stem is stout, two to four inches long, hairy like the pileus.
The favorite host of this species is an apple tree. I found a beautiful cluster on an apple tree in Chillicothe. Its creamy whiteness and hairy cap and short hairy stem will distinguish it from all other tree fungi. It is edible when young, but soon becomes woody.
The Shell Panus.
Conchatus means shell-shaped. The pileus is thin, unequal, tough, fleshy, eccentric, dimidiate; cinnamon, then pale; becoming scaly; flaccid; margin often lobed.
The gills are narrow, forming decurrent lines on the stem, often branched, pinkish, then ochre.
The stem is short, unequal, solid, rather pale, base downy.
This species will frequently be found imbricated and very generally confluent. Its shell-like form, its tough substance, and its thin pileus are its distinguishing marks. The taste is pleasant but its substance very tough. Found from September to frost.
Figure 179.Figure 179.—Panus rudis.
Figure 179.—Panus rudis.
This is a very plentiful plant about Chillicothe and is found throughout the United States, although it is a rare plant in Europe. It is generally given in American Mycology under the name Lentinus Lecomtei. It grows on logs and stumps. The form of the plant is quite different when growing on the top of a log or a stump, from those springing from the side. Those in the extreme left of Figure 179 grew on the side of the log, while those in the center grew on the top, in which case the plant has usually a funnel-shaped appearance.
The pileus is tough, reddish or reddish-brown, depressed, sinuate, bristling with tufts of hair, the margin quite strongly incurved, cæspitose.
The gills are narrow and crowded, decurrent, considerably paler than the cap.
The stem is short, hairy, tawny; sometimes the stem is almost obsolete.
There is a slight tinge of bitterness in the plant when raw, but in cooking this disappears. When prepared for food it should be chopped fine and well cooked. It can be dried for winter use. It is found from spring to late fall.
The Twisted Panus. Edible.
Figure 180.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Figure 180.—Panus torulosus.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Figure 180.—Panus torulosus.
Torulosus means a tuft of hair. The pileus is two to three inches broad, fleshy, then tough, coriaceous; plane, then funnel-shaped, or dimidiate; even; smooth; almost flesh color, varying to reddish-livid, sometimes violet tinted.
The gills are decurrent, rather distant, distinct behind, separate, simple, ruddy, then tan-colored.
The stem is short, stout, oblique, gray, covered with a violaceous down. The spores are 6×3µ.
The plant is variable both in form and color. Sometimes shaded very slightly with pink. It is not very common here. I found some very fine specimens growing on a log near Spider Bridge, Chillicothe.
It is edible but quite tough.
The Light Panus. Edible.
Levis, light. Pileus two to three inches broad, orbicular, somewhat depressed, white, covered with a dense mat of hair; margin inflexed and marked by triangular ridges.
The gills are broad, entire, decurrent.
The stem is two to three inches long, attenuated upward, eccentric, lateral, solid, hairy below like the pileus. The spores are white.
This certainly is a very beautiful plant and will hold the attention of the collector. It is not common with us. I have found it only on hickory logs. It is said to be of good flavor and to cook readily.
Lentinus means tough. The pileus is fleshy, corky, tough, hard and dry, reviving when moist.
The stem is central or lateral and often wanting, but when present is continuous with the cap.
The gills are tough, unequal, thin, normally toothed, decurrent more or less, margin acute. The spores are smooth, white, orbicular.
All the species, so far as I know, grow on wood. They assume a great variety of forms. This genus is very closely related to Panus in the dry, coriaceous nature of the pileus and the gills, but it can be readily recognized by the toothed margin of the gills.
Strong-Scented Vulpinus.
Figure 181.Plate XXVI. Figure 181.—Lentinus vulpinus.One-third natural size.
Plate XXVI. Figure 181.—Lentinus vulpinus.One-third natural size.
Vulpinus is fromvulpes, a fox.
This is quite a large, massive plant, growing in a sessile and imbricated manner. It has appeared in large quantities for the past four years on an elm, very slightly decayed, but in quite a damp and dark place. The reader will get some idea of the size of the whole plant in Figure 181 if he will consider each pileus to be five to six inches broad. They are built up one on top of another, overlapping each other like shingles on a roof.
The pileus is fleshy but tough, shell-shaped, connate behind, longitudinally rough, costate, corrugate, tan-colored, and the margin is strongly incurved.
The gills are broad, nearly white, flesh-colored near the base, coarsely toothed.
The stem is usually obsolete, yet in some cases it is apparent.
The spores are almost round and very small, .00006 inch in diameter. In all plants which I have found the odor is somewhat strong and the taste is pungent. It grows in the woods in September and October.
The Scaly Lentinus. Edible.
Figure 182.Figure 182.—Lentinus lepideus.
Figure 182.—Lentinus lepideus.
Lepideus is fromlepis, a scale.
The pileus is fleshy, compact, convex, then depressed, unequal, broken up in dark scales, flesh white, tough.
The gills are sinuate, decurrent, broad, torn, transversely striate, whitish, or with white edges, irregularly toothed.
The stem is stout, central or lateral, tomentose or scaly, often crooked, rooting, whitish, solid, equal or tapering at the base.
This is a peculiar plant, growing sometimes to immense forms. It grows on wood, seemingly to be partial to railroad ties to which itsmycelium is very injurious. I found the plant frequently about Salem, Ohio. The specimens in the halftone were found near Akron, Ohio, and photographed by Prof. Smith. As an esculent it almost rivals the Pleuroti. It is found from spring to autumn. I found a beautiful cluster on an oak stump near Chillicothe, while looking for Morels, about the last of April.
The Spiral-Formed Lentinus. Edible.
Figure 183.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Figure 183.—Lentinus cochleatus.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Figure 183.—Lentinus cochleatus.
Cochleatus is fromcochlea, a snail, from resembling its shell.
The pileus is two to three inches broad, tough, flaccid, irregular, depressed, sometimes funnel-shaped, sometimes lobed or contorted, flesh-color, becoming pale.
The gills are crowded, beautifully serrated, pinkish-white.
The stem is solid, length variable, sometimes central, frequently eccentric, often lateral, smooth. The spores are nearly round, 4µ.
This is abeautiful plant but sparingly found with us. I found a pretty cluster at the foot of a maple stump in Poke Hollow. The serrated form of the gills will attract attention at once. It is found in August and September.
Lenzites, named after Lenz, a German botanist. The pileus is corky, dimidiate, sessile. The gills are corky, firm, unequal, branched, edge obtuse. It is very common in the woods, sometimes almost covering stumps and logs.
Figure 184.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Plate XXVII. Figure 184.—Lenzites betulina.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Plate XXVII. Figure 184.—Lenzites betulina.
Figure 185.Figure 185.—Lenzites betulina.
Figure 185.—Lenzites betulina.
Betulina, frombetula, a birch. This has a somewhat corky, leathery cap, firm and without zones, woolly, sessile, deeply grooved concentrically, margin of the same color.
The gills are radial, somewhat branching, and coming together again, sordid white or tan-color.
This species is wide-spread and is quite variable. It grows in the form of brackets. Figure 185 was photographed by Dr. Kellerman.
The Chocolate Lenzites.
The pileus is corky, leathery shells, with the upper surface marked with rough zones of various shades of brown; margin yellowish.
The gills are rather thick, branched, one running into another; yellowish. Stem obsolete. Growing on limbs and branches, especially of the fir tree.
Flaccid Lenzites.
Figure 186.Figure 186.—Lenzites flaccida. Two-thirds natural size.
Figure 186.—Lenzites flaccida. Two-thirds natural size.
Flaccida means limp, flaccid. Pileus is coriaceous, thin, flaccid, unequal, hairy, zoned, pallid, more or less flabelliform, imbricated.
The gills are broad, crowded, straight, unequal, branched, white, becoming pallid. Spores are 5×7.
This is a very attractive plant and quite common. It runs almost imperceptibly into Lenzites betulina. It is found on stumps and trunks.
Pileus is corky, almost woody, firm, zoned.
Gills are thick, firm, serpentine.
Stem, none.
Schizophyllum is from two Greek words, meaning to split, and a leaf.
The pileus is fleshy and arid. The gills are corky, fan-like, branched, united above by the tomentose pellicle, bifid, split longitudinally at the edge. The spores somewhat round and white.
The two lips of the split edge of the gills are commonly revolute. This genus is far removed from the type of Agaricini. It grows on wood and is very common.Stevenson.
Figure 187.Figure 187.—Schizophyllum commune.
Figure 187.—Schizophyllum commune.
This is a very common plant, growing in the woods on branches and decayed wood, where it can be found in both winter and summer.
The pileus is thin, adnate behind, somewhat extended, more or less fan-shaped or kidney-shaped, simple, often much lobed, narrowed behind to the point of attachment; whitish, downy, then strigose.
The gills are radiating, gray, then brownish-purple, and sometimes white, branched, split along the edges and rather deeply rolled backwards. The spores are nearly round, 5–6µ.
This is a very common species all over the world. I found it in the winter of 1907 on decayed shade-trees along the streets of Chillicothe. It seems to be partial to maple timber. Some call this S. alneum. It is very easily identified from its purple gills being split.
Trogia is so called in honor of the Swiss botanist, Trog.
The pileus is nearly membranaceous, soft, quite tough, flaccid, dry, flexible, fibrillose, reviving when moist.
The gills are fold-like, venose, narrow, irregular, crisped.
Crispa means crisp or curled. The pileus tough, cup-shaped, reflexed, lobed, villous, whitish or reddish toward the attachment, often tan-colored.
The gills are quite narrow, vein-like, irregular, more or less branched, blunt on the edge, white or bluish-gray, quite crisped, edge not channeled.
The caps are usually very much crowded and imbricated. It revives during wet weather and is found throughout the year, generally on beech limbs in our woods.
The spores of this series are of great variety of color, including rosy, pink, salmon-color, flesh-color, or reddish. In Pluteus, Volvaria, and most of Clitopilus, the spores are regular in shape, as in the white-spored series; in the other genera they are generally irregular and angular. There are not so many genera as in the other series and fewer edible species.
Pluteus means a shed, referring to the sheds used to make a cover for besiegers at their work, that they might be screened from the missiles of the enemy.
They have no volva, no ring on the stem. Gills are free from the stem, white at first then flesh-color.
Fawn-colored Pluteus. Edible.
Figure 188.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Plate XXVIII. Figure 188.—Pluteus cervinus.Natural size.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Plate XXVIII. Figure 188.—Pluteus cervinus.Natural size.
Cervinus is from cervus, a deer.The pileus is fleshy, bell-shaped, expanded, viscid in wet weather, smooth, except a few radiating fibrils when young, margin entire, flesh soft and white; color of the cap light-brown or fawn-color, sometimes sooty, often more than three inches across the cap.
The gills are free from the stem, broad, ventricose, unequal in length, almost white when young, flesh-colored when mature from the falling of the spores. The stem is solid, slightly tapering upward, firm, brittle, white, spread over with a few dark fibrils, generally crooked. The spores are broadly elliptical. The cystidia in the hymenium on the gills will be of interest to those who have a microscope.
This is a very common mushroom about Chillicothe. It is found on logs, stumps, and especially on old sawdust piles. Note how easily the stem is removed from the cap. This will distinguish it from the genus Entoloma. You cannot get anything in the market that will make a better fry than Pluteus cervinus; fried in butter, it is simply delicious. Found from May to October.
Figure 189.Figure 189.—Pluteus cervinus.
Figure 189.—Pluteus cervinus.
Figure 190.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Figure 190.—Pluteus granularis.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Figure 190.—Pluteus granularis.
Pileus is convex, then expanded, slightly umbonate, wrinkled, sprinkled with minute blackish granules, varying in color from yellow to brown.
The gills are rather broad, close, ventricose, free, whitish, then flesh-colored.
The stem is equal, solid, pallid, or brown, usually paler at the top, velvety with a short, close pile.
The spores are subglobose, about .0002 inch in diameter. The plant is two to three inches high, pileus one to two inches broad, stem one to two lines thick.Peck, 38th Rep. N. Y. State Bot.
This is a much smaller species than P. cervinus, but its esculent qualities are quite as good. Found from July to October.
Eximius, choice, distinguished.The pileus is fleshy, bell-shaped when young, expanded, beautifully fringed on the margin, larger than the cervinus.
The gills are free, broad, ventricose, white at first, then rose-colored, flesh white, and firm.
The stem is thick, solid, and clothed with fibers. Dr. Herbst, Fungal Flora of the Lehigh Valley.
I found some beautiful specimens in George Mosher's icehouse. I am very sorry I did not photograph them.
The spores of this genus are regular, oval, rosy-spored. The veil is universal, forming a perfect volva, distinct from the cuticle of the pileus. The stem is easily separable from the pileus. The gills are free, rounded behind, at first white, then pink, soft. Most of the species grow on wood. Some on damp ground, rich mold, in gardens, and in hot-houses. One is a parasite on Clitocybe nebularis and monadelphus.
The Silky Volvaria. Edible.
Figure 191.Plate XXIX. Figure 191.—Volvaria bombycina.The egg form of the V. bombycina showing the universal veil or volva bursting at the apex. These are unusually large specimens.
Plate XXIX. Figure 191.—Volvaria bombycina.The egg form of the V. bombycina showing the universal veil or volva bursting at the apex. These are unusually large specimens.
Figure 192.Figure 192.—Volvaria bombycina. Two-thirds natural size. Entire plant white and silky.
Figure 192.—Volvaria bombycina. Two-thirds natural size. Entire plant white and silky.
Figure 193.Figure 193.—Volvaria bombycina. Two-thirds natural size, showing the gills, which are pink, then dark-brown.
Figure 193.—Volvaria bombycina. Two-thirds natural size, showing the gills, which are pink, then dark-brown.
Bombycina is frombombyx,silk. This plant is so called because of the beautiful silky lustre of the entire plant. The pileus is three to eight inches broad, globose, then bell-shaped, finally convex and somewhat umbonate, white, the entire surface silky, in older specimens more or less scaly, sometimes smooth atthe apex. The flesh is white and not thick.
The gills are free, very crowded, broad, ventricose, flesh-colored, not reaching the margin, toothed. The stem is three to six inches long, tapering upward, solid, smooth, the tough volva remaining like a cup at the base. The spores are rosy in mass, smooth, and elliptical. The volva is large, membranaceous, somewhat viscid.
The plant in Figure 192 was found August 16th, on a maple tree where a limb had been broken, on North High Street, Chillicothe. Many people had passed along and enjoyed the shade of the trees but its discovery remained for Miss Marian Franklin, whose eyes are trained to see birds, flowers, and everything beautiful in nature.
I have found the plant frequently about Chillicothe, usually solitary; but on one occasion I found three specimens upon one trunk, apparently growing from the same mycelial mass. The caps of two of them were each five inches across. It usually grows on maple and beech. If you will observe a hollow beech, or sugar snag of which one side is broken away, leaving the sheltered yet open nestling place, you are very likely to find snugly enscounced in its decaying heart one or more specimens of these beautiful silky plants. The volva is quite thick and frequently the plant, when in the egg state, has the appearance of a phalloid. Found from June to October.
The Umbonate Volvaria.
Figure 194.Figure 194.—Volvaria umbonata. Two-thirds natural size. Entire plant white and silky.
Figure 194.—Volvaria umbonata. Two-thirds natural size. Entire plant white and silky.
Umbonata, having an umbo or conical projection like the boss of a shield. This plant is quite common on the richly manured lawns of Chillicothe. I have found it from June to October. The pileus is white or whitish, sometimes grayish, often smoky on the umbo; globose when young, bell-shaped, plane when fully expanded, umbonate, smooth; slightly viscid when moist, shining when dry, inch to an inch and a half broad. The flesh is white and very soft.
The gills are free, white at first, then from flesh-color to a reddish hue from the rosy-colored spores; some of the gills are dimidiate, somewhat crowded, broader in the middle.
The stem is two inches to two and a half long, tapering from the base up, smooth, cylindrical, hollow and firm. The volva is always present, free, variously torn, white and sometimes grayish.
The entire plant is silky when dry. I have found it growing in my buggy shed. It is not abundant, though quite common. I have never eaten it, but I do not doubt its edibility.
Figure 195.Figure 195.—Volvaria pusilla.
Figure 195.—Volvaria pusilla.
The pileus is explanate, white, fibrillose, dry, striate, center slightly depressed when mature.
The gills are white, becoming flesh-color, from the color of the spores, free, distant.
The stem is white, smooth, volva split to the base into four nearly equal segments. The spores are broadly elliptical, 5–6 mc.
This is the smallest species of the Volvaria. It grows on the ground among the weeds and is apt to escape the attention of the collector unless he knows its habitat. It is quite likely that V. parvula is the same plant as this. Also V. temperata, although it has a different habitat, seems to be very near this species. The plants in Figure 195 were collected in Michigan and photographed by Dr. Fischer. The volva is brown-tipped as shown in the figure given.
The Stove Volvaria.
It is called "The Stove Volvaria" because it has been found in old unused stoves. Pileus fleshy, soft, bell-shaped, then expanded, obtuse, virgate, with adpressed black fibrils. The gills are free, flesh-colored, and inclined to deliquesce. The stem is solid, subequal, white. The volva loose, whitish. The spores are smooth, elliptical.
This is a much smaller plant than the V. bombycina and grows in the ground. It is often found in hot-houses and cellars.
Entoloma is from two Greek words;entos, within;loma, a fringe, referring to the inner character of the veil, which is seldom even apparent. The members of this genus have rosy spores which are prominently angular. There is neither volva, nor annulus. The gills are attached to the stem or notched near the junction of the gills and the stem. The pileus is fleshy and the margin incurved, especially when young. The stem is fleshy, fibrous, sometimes waxy, continuous with the pileus. It corresponds with Hypholoma, Tricholoma, and Hebeloma. It can always be separated from the rosy-spored genera by the notched gills. The flesh-colored spores and gills distinguish the Entoloma from the Hebeloma, which has ochre-spored ones, and Tricholoma, which has white ones.
All the species, so far as I know, have rather a pleasant odor, and for that reason it is highly necessary that the genus and species should be thoroughly known, as they are all dangerous.
The Rose-Gray Entoloma.
Figure 196.Figure 196.—Entoloma rhodopolium. Three-fourths natural size.
Figure 196.—Entoloma rhodopolium. Three-fourths natural size.
Rhodopolium is composed of two Greek words, rose and gray.
The pileus is two to five inches broad, hygrophanous; when moist dingy-brown or livid, becoming pale when dry, isabelline-livid, silky-shining; slightly fleshy, bell-shaped when young, then expanded and somewhat umbonate, or gibbous, at length rather plane and sometimes depressed; fibrillose when young, smooth when full grown; margin at first bent inwards and when large, undulated. Flesh white.
The gills adnate, then separating, somewhat sinuate, slightly distant, broad, white, then rose color.
The stem is two to four inches long, hollow; equal when smaller, when larger, attenuated upward; white pruinate at the apex, otherwise smooth; slightly striate, white, often reddish from spores. Spores 8–10×6–8µ.Fries.
The plant is found in mixed woods and is rather common. Captain McIlvaine reports it edible, but I have never eaten any of the Entolomas. Some of them have a bad reputation. Found in September and October.
Figure 197.Figure 197.—Entoloma grayanum. One-half natural size.
Figure 197.—Entoloma grayanum. One-half natural size.
The pileus is convex to expanded, sometimes broadly umbonate, drab in color, the surface wrinkled or rugose, and watery in appearance. The flesh is thin and the margin incurved.
The gills are at first drab in color, but lighter than the pileus, becoming pinkish in age. The spores on paper are very light salmon-color. They are globose or rounded in outline, 5–7 angled, with an oil globule, 8–10µ, in diameter.
The stem is of the same color as the pileus, but lighter, striate, hollow, somewhat twisted, and enlarged below. The above accurate description was taken from Atkinson's Studies of American Fungi. The plants were found near a slate cut on the B. & O. railroad near Chillicothe. Not edible. This species and E. grisea are very closely related. The latter is darker in color, with narrower gills, and has a different habitat.