PSILO'CYBE Fr. 



Gr. naked; head. 



Porphyrosporae 



PileilS more or less fleshy, smooth, margin at first incurved. Gills Psilocybe., 

 becoming brownish or purple. Stem somewhat cartilaginous, rigid or 

 tough, tubular, hollow or stuffed, often rooting. Veil absent or rudi- 

 mentary, never forming a membrane. Spores purple, purple-brown or 

 slate-color. 



Generally growing on the ground, gregarious, sometimes cespitose. 



Psilocybe is analogous in form to Collybia, Leptonia and Naucoria, 

 which are distinguished by their spore colors. Separated from Psathyra 

 by the incurved margin of the pileus. 



But one species of Psilocybe is herein given as edible. Of it, alone, 

 the writer has had opportunity to eat meals. Several others of the 

 species have been found by him and tested in small quantity. They are 

 all of good texture, substance and flavor, though most are small. He 

 is of the opinion that increased testing will prove the entire genus edi- 

 ble. Nothing can or should be prognosticated about a toadstool, but 

 the indications are all in favor of Psilocybe. 



P. spadi'cea Schaeff. spadiceus, date-brown. PileilS thin, submem- 



(Plate XCIX.) 



branaceous, hemispherical, then con- 

 vex or expanded, smooth, hygro- 

 phanous, pale grayish -brown and 

 striatujate when moist, white or yel- 

 lowish when dry. Gills narrow, close, 

 attached, easily separating from the 

 stem, at first whitish, then brown, 

 tinged with flesh-color. Stem straight, 

 equal, hollow, smooth, white. 



Height 1-2 in., breadth of pileus 

 1-1.5 m - Stem 1-2 lines thick. 



Grassy ground in yards and fields. 

 Albany. June. Gregarious or cespi- 

 tose. The pileus is fragile, the spores 

 are brown. Peck, 23d Rep. N. Y. 

 State Bot. 



Spores brown, 9x4/x Massee; purplish brown, 7.6x5.1^ Morgan. 



Haddonfield, N. J., October, November, December, 1896. In large 

 patches and where stumps had been taken from the ground. Mcllvaine. 



365 



PSILOCYBE SPADICEA. 

 Two-thirds natural size. 



