1 2 o BASIDIOMYCE TES 



sleekness of A. phalloides ; it is known as the fly agaric because 

 of its effect in poisoning flies for which it is sometimes used in the 

 country. The pileus is usually a yellow ranging from orange red 

 to pale yellow, the younger specimens being usually brighter ; the 

 lamellae and stem are white and the latter is bulbous at the base. 

 The volva is rather thin and usually leaves onlv scalv margins at 

 its base, while the greater part is carried up and remains in the 

 form of scattered floccose scales on the pileus. The decoction of 

 this plant is used by the Russians in Siberia for producing hilar- 

 ious intoxication. We have an allied tho smaller species in D. 

 Frostia7ia which has doubtless often been confused with A. rnus- 

 caria ; the latter frequently has a pileus seven or eight inches in 

 diameter while the former rarelv reaches more than two. 



From these noxious forms we turn to a third member of the group 

 which has long been esteemed as an article of food in Southern 

 Europe, where it is very abundant. In the Italian cities one often 

 sees the peasant women bringing it to the street markets in pro- 

 digious quantities. It has been used for food since the time of the 

 old Romans and is known as Amanita caesarea. It is equally 

 common in our Southern States and is occasionally found as far 

 north as New York and Massachusetts. It can be easily recog- 

 nized by its bright orange-red pileus, by the gills, veil (which hangs 

 about the stem like a skirt) and stem, all of which are yellow, and 

 by the persistent cup left by the burst volva.- Another species, 

 A. ri{bescens, is regarded as edible, but our advice would be to 

 avoid all volvate species unless, like A. caesarea, the marks are 

 absolutely certain. 



A second white-spored genus with a volva is Amaiiitopsis, 

 which differs from Amanita in lacking a veil. A. I'aginata, with 

 a thin, usually grayish pilens, which is distinctly striate on the 

 margin, is regarded as edible.* 



Other genera of volvate agarics are : Volvaria, with salm.on 

 colored spores, of which we have seven species, and Chitojiia, 

 with dark -brown spores, of which we have a single species re- 

 ported from Nebraska, j 



* Morgan (Jour. Mycol. 3 : 25^33) gives descriptions of nineteen 

 species of A?nanita and nine oi Amanitopsis. Peck (Reg. Rep. 33 : 

 38-49) gives descriptions of fourteen New York species. The species are 

 specially abundant in the South. 



f Under the name Clarkeinde plana. 



