The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Part 19

It is found on mossy ground in woods. I have found them under pine trees on Cemetery Hill. Dr. Peck says he separated this species from C.

ditopoda because of the "striate margin of the pileus, paler gills, longer stem, and elliptical spores." The plant is edible. September and October.

_c.l.i.tocybe ditopoda. Fr._

Ditopoda is from two Greek words, _di-totos_, living in two places, and _pus_ or _poda_, foot, having reference to the stem being central at times and again eccentric.

The pileus is rather fleshy, convex, then plane, depressed, even, smooth, hygrophanous.

The gills are adnate, crowded, thin, dark, cinereous.

The stem is hollow, equal, almost naked.

This species resembles in appearance C. metachroa but can be separated by the mild taste and farinaceous odor. Its favorite habit is on pine needles. August and September. I found this species in various places about Chillicothe and on Thanksgiving day I found it in a mixed wood in Gallia County, Ohio, along with Hygrophorus laurae and Tricholoma maculatescens. I sent some specimens to Dr. Herbst, who p.r.o.nounced it C.

ditopoda.

_c.l.i.tocybe pithyophila. Fr._

THE PINE-LOVING c.l.i.tOCYBE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 73.--c.l.i.tocybe pithyophila. Two-thirds natural size. Cap white and showing the pine needles upon which they grow.]

Pithyophila means pine-loving. This plant is very abundant under pine trees on Cemetery Hill. They grow on the bed of pine needles. The pileus is very variable in size, white, one to two inches broad; fleshy, thin, becoming plane, umbonate, smooth, growing pale, at length irregularly shaped, repand, wavy, sometimes slightly striate.

The stem is hollow, terete, then compressed, smooth, equal, even, downy at the base.

The gills are adnate, somewhat decurrent, crowded, plane, always white.

The spores are 6-74. The plants in Figure 73 are small, having been found during the cold weather in November. They are said to be good, but I have not eaten them.

_c.l.i.tocybe candicans. Fr._

Candicans, whitish or s.h.i.+ning white. Pileus is one inch broad, entirely white, somewhat fleshy, convex, then plane, or depressed, even, s.h.i.+ning, with regularly deflexed margin.

The gills are adnate, crowded, thin, at length decurrent, narrow.

The stem is nearly hollow, even, waxy, s.h.i.+ning, nearly equal, cartilaginous, smooth, incurved at the base. The spores are broadly elliptical, or subglobose, 5-64. Found in damp woods on leaves.

_c.l.i.tocybe obbata. Fr._

THE BEAKER-SHAPED c.l.i.tOCYBE. EDIBLE.

Obbata means shaped like an obba or beaker.

The pileus is somewhat membranaceous, umbilicate, then rather deeply depressed, smooth, inclined to be hygrophanous, sooty-brown, margin at length striate.

The gills are decurrent, distant, grayish-white, pruinose.

The stem is hollow, grayish-brown, smooth, equal, rather tough.

I found plants growing on Cemetery Hill under pine trees. I had some trouble to identify the species until Prof. Atkinson helped me out.

August to September.

_c.l.i.tocybe gilva. Pers._

THE YELLOW c.l.i.tOCYBE. EDIBLE.

Gilva means pale yellow or reddish yellow.

The pileus is two to four inches broad, fleshy, compact, soon depressed and wavy, smooth, moist, dingy ocher, flesh same color, sometimes spotted, margin involute.

The gills are decurrent, closely crowded, thin, sometimes branched, narrow but broader in the middle, ochraceous yellow.

The stem is two to three inches long, solid, smooth, nearly equal, somewhat paler than the cap, and inclined to be villous at the base.

The spores are nearly globose, 4-5.

This plant is sometimes found in mixed woods, but it seems to prefer pine trees. It has a wide distribution, found in the east and south as well as the west. I have found it in several localities in Ohio. Found from July to September.

_c.l.i.tocybe flaccida. Sow._

THE LIMP c.l.i.tOCYBE. EDIBLE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 74.--c.l.i.tocybe flaccida. One-half natural size.]

Flaccida means flabby, limp.

The pileus is two to three inches broad, rather fleshy, thin, limp, umbilicate, then funnel-shaped, even, smooth, sometimes cracking into minute scales, tawny or rust-colored, margin broadly reflexed.

The gills are strongly decurrent, yellowish, to whitish, close, arcuate.

The stem is tufted, unequal, rusty, somewhat wavy, tough, naked, villous at the base. The spores are globose or nearly so, 4-53-4.

This resembles the C. infundibuliformis very closely, both in its appearance and its habit. It grows among leaves in mixed woods during wet weather. It is gregarious, often many stems growing from one ma.s.s of mycelium. The plants in Figure 74 were collected in Ackerman's woods near Columbus, Ohio, and were photographed by Dr. Kellerman. They are found on all the hillsides about Chillicothe. Found from July to late in October.

_c.l.i.tocybe monadelpha. Morg._

THE ONE-BROTHERHOOD c.l.i.tOCYBE. EDIBLE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._

Plate XII. Figure 75.--c.l.i.tocybe monadelpha.]

Monadelpha is from _monos_, one and _adelphos_, brother.