20 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. 



other. It is also cultivated in mushroom houses, cellars, caves, 

 abandoned mines, etc. 



Agaricus (Psalliota) rodmani Pk. Edible. Rodman's mushroom, 

 Agaricus rodmani, grows in grassy places along streets of cities, either 

 between the curbing and the walk, or between the curbing and the 

 pavement. It is entirely white or whitish and sometimes tinged 

 with yellowish at the center of the pileus. The plants are 4-8 cm. 

 high, the cap 5-8 cm. broad and the stem 1-2 cm. in thickness. 



The pileus is rounded, and then convex, very firm, compact and 

 thick, with white flesh. The gills are crowded, first white, then 

 pink, and in age blackish brown. The stem is very short, solid, 



FIGURE 18. Agaricus arvensis, fairy ring. 



nearly cylindrical, not bulbous. The annulus is quite characteristic, 

 being very thick, with a short limb, and double, so that it often 

 appears as two distinct rings on the middle or lower part of the stem 

 as shown in Fig. 17. This form of the annulus is probably due to 

 the fact that the thick part of the margin of the pileus during the 

 young stage rests between the lower and upper part of the annulus, 

 i. e., the thick veil is attached both to the inner and outer surface of 

 the margin of the cap, and when it is freed by the expansion of the 

 pileus it remains as a double ring. It is eagerly sought and much 

 relished by several persons at Ithaca familiar with its edible qualities. 

 The plant closely resembles A. campestris var., edulis, Vittad. 

 (See Plate 54, Bresadola, I Funghi Mangerecci e Velenosi, 1899) and 

 is probably the same. 



