70 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



(F.) 

 EDIBLE FUNGI. 



Lepiota Americana Peck. 

 American Lepiota. 



(Plate 44, Figs. 6-10. ) 



Pileus at first ovate, then convex or expanded, umbonate, squamose, 

 white; the umbo and scales reddish or reddish-brown ; lamellae close, fiee, 

 white; stem somewhat thickened at or a little above the base, hollow, 

 annulate, white; spores subelliptical, uninucleate, .0003 to .0004 inch long, 

 •0002 to .0003 broad. 



The American lepiota belongs to the same genus as the parasol mush- 

 room and the smooth lepiota. It has one character in which it differs 

 from all other species of lepiota. The whole plant when fresh is white, 

 except the umbo and the scales of the cap, but in drying it assumes a 

 dull reddish or smoky-red color. By this character it is easily recog- 

 nized. 



lai the very young plant the cap is somewhat egg-shape and nearly 

 covered by the thin reddish-brown cuticle, but as the plant enlarges the 

 cuticle separates and forms the scales that adorn the cap. On the cen- 

 tral prominence or umbo, however, it usually remains entire. The nar- 

 gin of the cap is thin and is generally marked with short radiating lines 

 or striations. The gills do not quite reach the stem and are, therefore, 

 free from it. Sometimes they are connected with each other at or near 

 their inner extremity by transverse branches. They are a little broader 

 near the margin of the cap than at their inner extremity. The stem 

 affords a peculiar feature. It is often enlarged towards the base and 

 then abruptly harrowed below the enlargement, as in the Onion-stemmed 

 lepiota. In some instances, however, the enlargement is not contracted 

 below and then the stem gradually tapers from the base upward. The 

 stem is hollow and usually furnished with a collar, but sometimes this is 

 thin and may disappear with advancing age. Wounds or bruises are apt 

 to assume brownish-red hues. 



The caps vary in width from i to 4 inches; the stems are from 3 to 5 

 inches long, and 2 to 5 lines thick. Sometimes plants attain even 'arger 

 dimensions than these. The plants grow singly or in tufts in grassy 

 ground or on old stumps. They may be found from July to October. 



