678 THE AGARICACEAE OF MICHIGAN 



common in open woods, mossy places and thick forests. Some grow 

 in meadows or grassy places, but these are rare in the vicinity of 

 Ann Arbor. T. rutilans grows on wood, and T. ustale is partial to 

 the remains of very rotten logs, etc. Their EDIBILITY varies. 

 Some of them, like T. resplendens and T. personatum are among 

 our very best mushrooms for the table. Others like T. equestre, 

 T. transmutans, T. sejunctum and T. terreum are fairly good when 

 properly cooked. Some, such as T. laterarium, are very bitter, or 

 have various kinds of disagreeable flavors which, however, almost 

 disappear in cooking. In serving those mushrooms of disagreeable 

 flavor it is safer to discard the liquid in which they were prepared, 

 as this contains the objectionable constituents. In several species, 

 of which T. sulfureum is an example, the disagreeable flavor can- 

 not be removed, and such should not be eaten. In all cases, except 

 those species which are well-known, it is necessary to exercise ex- 

 treme caution, since the genus includes several poisonous species. 

 T. vencnatum for example, has a mild taste and odor, and is yet 

 known to cause severe sickness. Many of those with a farinaceous 

 taste and odor, on the other hand, are known to be edible. One 

 must therefore be able to discriminate in order to be on the safe 

 side. 



The grouping of this large genus is fraught with considerable 

 difficulties. The separate species are often closely related, and 

 some of them approach other genera in such a way as to cause dis- 

 agreement among authors as to their generic position. I have at- 

 tempted an arrangement along conservative lines until our data 

 are more complete. The species included in this report do not, I 

 am sure, represent more than half the species occurring within the 

 State. It has been impossible to make a search for Tricholomas 

 in the northern part of the State in the late fall, so that doubtless 

 that region is poorly represented. Hence, also, it was impossible 

 to study the genus in such a way as to form a definite opinion as 

 to the value of various arrangements which have been proposed. 

 Some have segregated it into four or more genera. Others have 

 separated those species with rough spores under the genus Mela- 

 noleuca, while still others have placed those species in which the 

 gills separate easily from the trama of the pileus under Lepista Fr. 

 The most natural arrangement with the data at hand, seems to 

 be a division into subgenera, based on (1) the viscid pileus: 

 Limacina; (2) the dry pileus, with a nbrillose cortina when young: 

 Cortinellus; and (3) the moist or hygrophanous pileus: Melano- 



