72 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Clitocybe clavipes Pers. 



Club-stemmed Clitocybe, 



(Plate 45. Figs. 1-7.) 



Pileus broadly convex or nearly plane, very thick and fleshy, almost 

 obconical, soft, glabrous, brown or sooty-brown ; lamp-llse subdistant, de- 

 current, white or barely tinged with yellow, stem tapering upwards, solid, 

 colored like the pileus; spores .00025 to .0003 inch long, .00016 to .0C02 

 broad. 



. The Club-stemmed clitocybe may easily be recognized by its pecuHar 

 shape and colors. The cap may be compared to a very broad and short 

 inverted cone and the stem to a very narrow elongated cone, the apices 

 of the two being united. Between the brown upper surface of the cap 

 and the similarly colored stem the white gills intervene as if to separate 

 them. 



The upper surface of the cap is generally nearly flat and even, but 

 sometimes it may be a little depressed in the center, and sometimes it is 

 furnished with a small umbo. Its margin is at" first involute, but spread- 

 ing when mature. It varies in color from grayish-brown to a dark sooty- 

 brown, with the center occasionally darker than the margin. The flesh 

 is white and in mature plants is rather soft. The flesh of the stem is also 

 white and somewhat soft and spongy, but elastic. The color may some- 

 times be a little paler than though similar to that of the cap. In shape 

 it is commonly tapering from the base upward, but in some cases the 

 base is more abruptly enlarged making it almost bulbous. Its surface 

 may be adorned with a few fibrils. 



The pileus is i to 3 inches broad, the stem i to 2.5 inches long and 3 

 to 4 lines thick at the top, but much thicker at the base. The plants 

 grow in a scattered manner or rarely tufted, and are especially fond of 

 pine woods. They occur from August to October. 



Fries says that this species is not edible on account of its spongy tex- 

 ture, but I find it pleasant-flavored and digestible and see no reason why 

 it may not be utilized if taken when dry. After heavy rains it is apt to 

 be water-soaked. It differs from the Intermediate clitocybe, Clitocybe 

 media, in its thicker obconic cap, its more decuri ent gills and in its longer 

 upwardly tapering stem. 



