Agaricaceas '_ 



Lepiota. tinguished by its pileus, which is not folded on the margin, and by its 

 larger spores. It is edible. It is very distinct from Amanita farinosa. 

 Peck, 43d Rep. N. Y. State Bot. 



Ohio, Lloyd, Prof. William Miller (Lloyd Myc. Notes). 



L. Americana Pk. (Plate XII, fig. i, p. 32. Plate XVa.) Pileus 



at first ovate, then convex or expanded, urnbonate, scaly, white, the 

 umbo and scales reddish or reddish-brown. Gills close, free, white. 

 Stem somewhat thickened at or a little above the base, hollow, bearing 

 a ring, white. Spores subelliptical, uninucleate, 8-ioxS-8/u,. 



The American lepiota belongs to the same genus as the parasol 

 mushroom and the Smooth lepiota. It has one character in which it 

 differs from all other species of Lepiota. The whole plant when fresh 

 is white, except the umbo and the scales of the cap, but in drying it 

 assumes a dull reddish or smoky-red color. By this character it is 

 easily recognized. 



In the very young plant the cap is somewhat egg-shaped and nearly 

 covered by the thin reddish-brown cuticle, but as the plant enlarges the 

 cuticle separates and forms the scales that adorn the cap. On the 

 central prominence or umbo, however, it usually remains entire. The 

 margin of the cap is thin and is generally marked with short radiating 

 lines or striations. The gills do not quite reach the stem and are, there- 

 fore, free from it. Sometimes they are connected with each other at or 

 near their inner extremity by transverse branches. They are a little 

 broader near the margin of the cap than at their inner extremity. The 

 stem affords a peculiar feature. It is often enlarged towards the base 

 and then abruptly narrowed below the enlargement, as in the Onion- 

 stemmed lepiota. In some instances, however, the enlargement is not 

 contracted below and then the stem gradually tapers from the base up- 

 ward. The stem is hollow and usually furnished with a collar, but some- 

 times this is thin and may disappear with advancing age. Wounds or 

 bruises are apt to assume brownish-red hues. 



The caps vary in width from 1-4 in. ; the stems are from 3-5 in. 

 long, and 2-5 lines thick. Sometimes plants attain even larger 

 dimensions than these. The plants grow singly or in tufts in grassy 

 ground or on old stumps. They may be found from July to October. 



In flavor this species is not much inferior to the parasol mushroom, 

 but when cooked in milk or cream it imparts its own reddish color to 



48 



