146 THE AGARICACEAE OF MICHIGAN 



disk, rather thin elsewhere, grayish or grayish-purple under the 

 cuticle. (ilLLS white when young, later creamy-uellow to ochra- 

 ceous, subdistant, becoming fi agile, moderately broad, broadest to- 

 ward the front, more or less forked toward base, few^ shorter ones, 

 interspaces venose. STEM ichite, chaiifiinf/ to ochmceous if bruised 

 when fresh and young, when older becoming dirty-brown or ochra- 

 ceous-brown where handled, equal and subcylindrical, rather long, 

 5-9 cm. by 1.5 cm. thick; glabrous, spongy-stuffed, obscurely rivulose. 

 SPOEES ochraceous to buff, globose, 7.5-10 micr. TASTE mild. 

 ODOR unpleasant, very characteristic when plants are old or dry- 

 ing. 



Solitary or gregarious. Hemlock and maple woods in the north, 

 oak and maple woods in southern Michigan. July, August and 

 September. 



This is our early, abundant Russula about Ann Arbor. It occurs 

 in great quantities during July if the weather is favorable and only 

 sparingly later. Once recognized by its odor and changeable flesh, 

 its many color disguises are not as deceptive as they at first seem. 

 The colors run into each other in a rather definite way, so that the 

 general effect to the observer, after he has compared many indi- 

 viduals, is quite characteristic for the species. Hundreds of indi- 

 viduals were examined about Ann Arbor and all had white stems, 

 never red. When old the effect of the whole plant is that of dingi- 

 ness. Although the above description extends beyond the limits 

 allowed by Peck's description, it is doubtless his species. Origin- 

 ally it included only the purple or dark red forms and was called 

 R. atropurpurea Pk. but since this name was pre-empted, he 

 changed it to R. squalida. It seems close to the preceding. 



123. Russula decolorans Fr. (Edible) ^ 



Syst. Myc, 1821. 



Illustrations : Cooke, 111., PI. 1079. 

 Ricken, Blatterpilze, PL 17, Fig. 5. 



PILEUS 5-12 cm. broad, often large, firm, glohose at first then 

 convex and piano-depressed, orange red, usually ochre on disk and 

 dark red on margin, pellicle separable, sub viscid, margin even, 

 slightly striate in age. FLESH white, 'becoming cinereous with age 

 or where broken, becoming fragile. GILLS pale yellowish-ochra- 

 ceous at maturity, white at first, thin, fragile, moderately broad, 

 close, adnexed, forked at bai*e, few short. STEM 5-12 cm. long, 



