Agaricaceae 



Amanita. Burnt ground in woods. August. Closter, N. J., C. F. Austin; 

 Alabama, U. and E.; West Virginia, Nuttall; New Jersey, Ellis; 

 Mt. Gretna, Pa., July, in a cluster of a dozen individuals, and after- 

 ward until frost, strong smelling, warts brownish-white. Mcllvaine. 

 It is edible and equal to A. strobiliformis. 



A. Calyptra'ta Pk. PileuS fleshy, thick, convex or nearly plane, 

 centrally covered by a large irregular persistent grayish-white fragment 

 of the volva, glabrous elsewhere, striate on the margin, greenish-yellow 

 or yellowish-brown tinged with green, the margin often a little paler or 

 more yellow than the rest. Lamellae close, nearly free, but reaching 

 the stem and forming slight decurrent lines or striations on it, yellowish- 

 white tinged with green. Stem stout, rather long, equal or slightly 

 tapering upward, surrounded at the base by the remains of the ruptured 

 volva, white or yellowish white with a faint greenish tint. Spores 

 broadly elliptic, IO/A long, 6/* broad, usually containing a single large 

 nucleus. 



PileilS 10-20 cm. broad. Stem 10-15 cm', long, 12-20 mm. thick. 



Rich ground in fir woods or their borders. Autumn. Oregon. Dr. 

 H . Lane. 



This is a large and interesting species, well marked and easily recog- 

 nized by its large size, by the greenish tint that pervades the pileus, 

 lamellae, annulus and stem, and especially by the large persistent patch 

 of grayish-white felty material that covers the center of the pileus and 

 sometimes extends nearly to the margin. This is in fact the upper part 

 of the ruptured volva that is carried up by the growing plant, and is 

 very suggestive of the specific name. In the young state the plant is 

 entirely enveloped in the volva, which then is similar to a goose egg in 

 size and shape, and its walls are one-fourth to one-half inch thick. So 

 thick and firm are they that the young plant appears sometimes to be 

 unable to break through and it decays in its infancy. 



Dr. Lane says that, having found that the Italians made use of this 

 mushroom for food, he began eating it and introducing it to his friends, 

 and he learned by personal trial that it is a thoroughly good and whole- 

 some mushroom, which, when broiled with bacon, fried, baked or 

 stewed, may be eaten with perfect safety and that it is a nutritious food. 

 Peck, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 27, January, 1900. 



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