Porphyrosporae 



The Perplexing hypholoma has received the name because it is one Hyphoioma. 

 of a group of five or six very closely allied species, whose separation 

 from each other is somewhat difficult and perplexing. Of these six 

 species three have a decidedly bitter, unpleasant flavor, and three are 

 mild, or not decidedly bitter, if we may rely on the published descrip- 

 tions of them. The three bitter ones, also, have no purplish tints to 

 the mature gills; but two of the mild ones have. By using these and 

 other distinguishing characters the six species may be tabulated and 

 their several peculiarities more clearly shown. 



Taste bitter I 



Taste mild, or not clearly bitter 3 



I. Stem solid or stuffed, flesh whitish, gills whitish, then 



sooty-olive sublateritium 



i . Stem hollow, flesh yellow 2 



2. Cap yellow or tinged with tawny, stem yellow, gills 



yellow, becoming greenish fasciculare 



2. Cap brick-red, stem ferruginous, gills green, becom- 

 ing olive elaeodes 



3. Cap red or brick-red, with a yellow margin; gills yel- 

 low, then greenish, finally purplish-brown perplexum 



3. Cap yellow, or slightly tawny on the disk only 4 



4. Gills gray, becoming purplish-brown capnoides 



4. Gills yellow, becoming gray, neither green nor pur- 

 plish epixanthum 



Probably in general appearance the Perplexing hypholoma most 

 nearly resembles the brick-red Hypholoma, H. sublateritium; but it has 

 often been mistaken for the tufted Hypholoma, H. fasciculare. From 

 this it may be separated by the more red cap, the whitish flesh, the 

 purplish-brown color of the mature gills, and the mild flavor. From H. 

 sublateritium it is distinguished by its usually smaller size, more slender 

 hollow stem, the yellow greenish and purplish tints of the gills, and the 

 absence of a bitter flavor. Some may prefer to consider it a variety of 

 this fungus, rather than a distinct species. 



Its cap is 1-3 in. broad, its stem 2-3 in. long and 2-4 lines thick. 

 It commonly grows in clusters, though sometimes singly, on or about 

 old stumps or prostrate trunks of trees, in woods or open places. The 

 caps of the lower ones in a cluster are often defiled and apparently dis- 

 colored by the spores that have lodged on them from the upper ones. 



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