REPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST I9II 59 



NEW YORK SPECIES OF CLITOCYBE 



Clitocybe Fr. 



Pileus generally fleshy, specially in the center, flexible or rather 

 tough, convex plane or centrally depressed, umbilicate or infundi- 

 bulifonn, involute on the margin, flesh confluent with the stem; 

 lamellae adnate or decurrent, not normally sinuate ; stem normally 

 central, externally more compact, fibrous, somewhat elastic, solid 

 stuffed or hollow ; veil sometimes present as a slight silkiness on 

 the pileus or its margin. 



Terrestrial or occasionally lignicolous, usually gregarious or cespi- 

 tose. They occur chiefly in late summer and autumn. Many species 

 are edible but a few are known to cause sickness and one is very 

 sudorific. None are known to be fatally poisonous. 



The species are numerous, variable in color and not always 

 sharply limited from each other. This has given rise to numerous 

 synonyms and much difficulty in the identification of some of the 

 species. 



They have been divided into two large groups or series. The first 

 includes all species having a dry pileus and those having a moist 

 but not clearly a hygrophanous pileus, that is a moist pileus which 

 does not essentially change its color with the escape of the super- 

 fluous moisture. This series includes all of the large species and 

 many of medium size with a few small ones. 



The second series includes those species in which the pileus is 

 truly hygrophanous. The flesh is thin, soft and watery and changes 

 color with the escape of moisture. The pileus is convex plane 

 umbilicate or centrally depressed and sometimes cup shape but not 

 normally infundibuliform. In one section the flesh is separable 

 into two horizontal layers. The species are mostly terrestrial, gre- 

 garious and of medium or small size. 



KEY TO THE SECTIONS 



Series A 



Not truly hygrophanous 

 Plant solitary or subgregarious, pileus fleshy, regular, 



lamellae regularly adnate or decurrent Discif ormes 



Plant commonly cespitose, pileus often irregular or 



eccentric, lamellae irregularly adnate or decurrent Difformes 



Plant soon infundibuliform or deeply and umbilicately 



depressed, lamellae regularly decurrent from the first. .Infundibuliformes 



