46 MINNESOTA MUSHROOMS 



Marasmius oreades Fairy-ring Mushroom 



C a p small. 2-5 cm. wide, reddish to tan or paler, smooth, more or less striate 

 on the margin when wet, convex to plane or upturned; stem 2-8 cm. by 4-6 mm., 

 Avhitish, smooth at the base, downy above, solid; gills free, whitish or cream- 

 colored, broad and distant ; spores ellipsoid, 7-9 X 4-6/x. The name refers fanci- 

 fully to the habit of growing in fairy rings. 



On the ground in grass, forming rings which widen from year to year, though 

 the circles are often incomplete from various causes, appearing from spring to frost ; 

 delicious, especially adapted to preservation by drying. 



Marasmius rotula Wheel Cap 



Cap very small, 2-6 mm. wide, white all over, or somewhat darker on the disk; 

 smooth, papery, deeply furrowed, sunken in the center, more or less convex ; stem 



Figure 26. Marasmius rotula 



thread-like, 2-3 cm. by ^-1 mm., dark-brown or blackish, smooth, shining, hollow; 

 gills few, joined behind to a collar which is free from the stem, whitish, broad and 

 distant ; spores elliptic, 6-8 X 3-4/x. The name refers to the wheel-like cap. 



Common on leaves and twigs in forests, rarely in the soil, from spring to autumn ;. 

 too small for its edibility to be of importance. 



Marasmius nigripes Blackstem 



Cap very small, 2-10 cm. wide, pure white, transparent or jelly-like, deeply 

 furrowed, umbonate, convex to flat ; stem thread-like, broader upward, 2-3 cm. 



