CLASSIFICATION OF AGARICS 153 



separable, margin at length distinctly tubercular-striate. FLESH 

 thin, white, red under the pellicle. GILLS shining white, rather 

 close, narrowly adnate, not very broad, broadest in front, few 

 forked, equal, interspaces venose. STEM white, subequal, un- 

 changed, glabrous, spongy-stuffed, 6-7 cm. long, 1-2 cm. thick. 

 SPOKES icJiite in mass, globose, echinulate, 8-9 micr. TASTE 

 tardily but very acrid. 



In troops. Hemlock and mixed woods on the ground. August 

 and September. Northern Michigan. 



Differs from R. cnieticd in tliat its aci-id taste develops slowly, 

 in the uneven and rather dull pileus and in the habit of appearing 

 in troops on the ground. It was formerly referred to R. emetica, 

 and is close to it. 



131. Russula fragilis Fr. 



Syst. Myc, 1821. 



Illustrations: Cooke, 111., PL 1001. 



Gillet, Champignons de France, No. 614. 

 Patouillard, Tab. Analyt., No. 622. 

 Michael, Ffihrer f. Pilzfreunde. No. 43 (var.). 

 Kicken, Blatterpilze, PI. 19, Fig. 3. 

 Hard, Mushrooms, Fig. 1T2, p. 192, 1908. 



PILEUS 2.5-5 cm. broad, very thin and fragile, convex then piano- 

 depressed with a thin viscid pellicle, tubercular-striate on the thin 

 margin, glabrous, rather uniform rosy or pale red, sometimes 

 faded or bleached to white. FLESH tvhite under the pellicle, thin. 

 GILLS white, thin, close, crowded, adnexed, ventricose, moderately 

 broad. STEM 2.3-5 cm. long, ,5-1 cm. thick, white, spongy then 

 hollow, equal, fragile. SPOKES irhitr in mass, subglobose, 8-9 

 micr. TASTE promptly and very acrid. ODOR none. 



Scattered. On the ground in woods. Throughout the state. 

 July-August. Infrequent. 



This species, as limited here, is only distinguishable from R. 

 €m,etica relatively; it is smaller, color paler, flesh thinner and more 

 fragile and white under the cuticle. Maire says the taste is more 

 quickly acrid on the tongue than R. emetica, but not as violent. 

 It grows in somewhat dryer situations. Var. nivca is a white plant, 

 otherwise the same. R. fallax Cke. used to be considered a variety 

 of it. 



