24 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. 



The pileus when young is broadly ovate, then becomes convex or 

 fully expanded and flat in age, and is quite thin. The ground color 

 is whitish, often with a yellowish tinge, while the surface is orna- 

 mented with numerous minute brownish scales which are scattered 

 over a large part of the cap, but crowded or conjoined at the center 

 into a large circular patch. This gives to the plant with its shapely 

 form a beautiful appearance. In the young stage the entire surface 

 of the pileus is quite evenly brown. As it expands the outer brown 

 portion is torn asunder into numerous scales because the surface 

 threads composing this brown layer cease to grow. These scales are 

 farther apart toward the margin of the cap, because this portion of 

 the cap always expands more than the center, in all mushrooms. 

 The gills are at first white, or very soon pink in color, and in age are 

 blackish brown. Spores 5-8 x 3-4 //. 



The stem is nearly cylindrical, hollow or stuffed, white or whitish, 

 smooth, bulbous, and the bulb is sometimes tinged with yellow. 

 The veil is very handsome, and the way in which the annulus is 

 formed from it is very interesting. The veil is quite broad, and it 

 is double, that is, it consists of two layers which are loosely joined 

 by threads. In the young stage the veil lies between the gills and 

 the lower two-thirds of the stem. As the pileus expands the lower 

 (outer part) layer of the veil is torn, often in quite regular radiating 

 portions, as shown in Fig. 22. An interesting condition of the veil is 

 shown in the middle plant in Fig. 23. Here the outer or lower layer 

 of the veil did not split radially, but remained as a tube surrounding 

 the stem, while the two layers were separated, the inner one being 

 still stretched over the gills. It is customary to speak of the lower 

 part of the veil as the outer part when the cap is expanded and the 

 veil is still stretched across over the gills, while the upper portion is 

 spoken of as the inner layer or part. It is closely related to A. 

 arvensis, and may represent a wood inhabiting variety of that species. 



Agaricus (Psalliota) comtulus Fr. This pretty little agaric seems to 

 be rather rare. It was found sparingly on several occasions in open 

 woods under pines at Ithaca, N. Y., during October, 1898. Lloyd 

 reports it from Ohio (Mycolog. Notes, No. 56, Nov. 1899), and 

 Smith from Vermont (Rhodora I, 1899). Fries' description (Epicrisis, 

 No. 877) runs as follows: "Pileus slightly fleshy, convex, plane, 

 obtuse, nearly smooth, with appressed silky hairs, stem hollow, sub- 

 attenuate, smooth, white to yellowish, annulus fugacious ; gills free, 

 crowded, broad in front, from flesh to rose color. In damp grassy 

 places. Stem 2 inches by 2 lines, at first floccose stuffed. Pileus 

 i-i l /2 inch diameter. Color from white to yellowish." 



