-. , THE AGARICACEAE OF MICHIGAN 



late mi margin, obtuse or slightly depressed, rarely mammillate. 

 FLESH thickish on disk only, white. GILLS free, close to sub- 

 distant, moderately broad, white then bright flesh color. STEM 1-2 

 cm . Long, I 3 nun. thick, white, equal, glabrous, solid, even. VOLVA 

 splil into 3 or 4 nearly equal lobes, firm, loose, white becoming 

 sordid. SPORES elliptic-ovate, 6-8.5 x 4-5.5 micr., smooth, nucleate, 

 incarnate in mass. CYSTIDIA scattered on sides and edge of gills, 

 ventricose, very obtuse. 3540 x 9-18 micr. ODOR none. 



Solitary or scattered, under herbs in moist ground. Detroit, Ann 

 Alitor. July-August. Rarely found. 



This species is distinguished by its small size, white color, the 

 regular, three to four-lobed volva and by its cystidia and spores. 

 Dr. Fischer collected the Detroit specimens, from which Hard's 

 figure was obtained; Dr. E. B. Mains found the Ann Arbor speci- 

 mens of our photograph. It seems to be the same plant described 

 by C. (J. Lloyd in Mycological Notes, Vol. I, p. 9. Whether it is 

 the true V. pusilla of Persoon remains an open question. Fries, 

 in the Systema, does not mention the striatums of the pileus, and 

 in his later works includes the form under V. parvula, which he al- 

 ways describes with a dry cap. Ricken (Blatterpilze), however, says 

 i lie cap is at first viscid, soon dry. Berkeley (Outlines) also speaks 

 of the cap of V. pusilla as viscid and not striate. The stem is said 

 to be somewhat stuffed to hollow, and hence our plant departs from 

 Berkeley's also in this respect. 



From the remarks of various authors it would seem that the spe- 

 cies referred to V. pusilla by some and to V. parvula by others is an 

 unusually variable plant, inasmuch as the pileus may be somewhat 

 viscid or dry, even on the margin or striatulate, umbonate or plane, 

 ami the stem is either solid or with a narrow tubule. Careful stndy 

 of i he caps of our plants failed to reveal more than mere rudiments 

 of a cuticle which could scarcely become viscid in wet weather. The 

 stem was solid and practically homogeneous. There were no signs 

 of st rial ions on The pileus, although the expanded margin became 

 slightly rivulosein age. The trania of the gills was convergent, com- 

 posed of large, inflated cells. It remains for those who are lucky 

 enough to find ir often, to note to what extent it may vary as to 

 the contested points. 



