62 THE AGARICACEAE OF MICHIGAN 



GILLS rounded behind or almost free, broad, rather distant, whit- 

 ish or tinged yellowish, interspaces often venose. STEM 3-7 cm. 

 long, 3-5 mm. thick, equal, solid, even, tough, whitish, covered with 

 a fine, interwoven, dense, detersile, villosity. SPORES ovate-fusi- 

 form, 7-9 x 4-5 micr., smooth, white. ODOR somewhat fragrant, 

 agreeable. TASTE pleasant. 



Gregarious, usually growing in rings or arcs, in grassy places, 

 lawns, roadsides, pastures, etc., attached to grass, or roots of other 

 plants. Throughout the state, more abundant in sandy regions. 

 June-October. Common. 



One of our best edible mushrooms, and very plentiful in some 

 localities during a wet season. Its flavor is delicious and it can be 

 used for this reason to add character to other dishes. Its toughness 

 disappears by long cooking, a reversal of what happens in the case 

 of many other species. When dry from sun or wind, its pale-honey- 

 yellowish color and reviving ability are good marks of recognition; 

 its tendency to form circles of close-growing individuals and its 

 preference for grassy ground aid one to recognize it. Its gills are 

 scarcely as arid as in other species of Marasmius, and this charac- 

 ter, along with its fleshy cap indicate a close relationship with Col- 

 lybia. The "fairy rings" caused by this and other mushrooms are 

 due to the regularity of radial growth which the underground my- 

 celium makes from year to year, starting from a central infection. 

 It is believed by some that this mycelium excretes a substance which 

 injures the grass so that the interior of the circle shows a poor 

 growth of grass, but on the other hand some favorable influence 

 from the actively growing portion along the ''ring" causes the grass 

 of this portion to grow better. 



**Stem with a looolly or strigose base. 



27. Marasmius peronatus Fr. (Poisonous) 

 Sysj;. Myc, 1821. 



Illustrations: Ricken, Blatterpilze, PL 25, Fig. 1. 

 Cooke, 111., PI. 1117 (var.). 

 Gillet, Champignons de France, No. 445. 

 Berkeley, Outlines, PI. 14, Fig. 4. 

 Patouillard, Tab. Analyt., No. 411. 

 Gibson, Our Edible Toadstools and Mushrooms, PI. 9, p. Ill, 



1903. 

 Hard, Mushrooms, Fig. 112, p. 149, 1908. 



