I36 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



it was found to be agreeable to the taste and perfectly harmless, but not 

 very highly flavored. It is much like the sheathed amanitopsis in this 

 respect. European authors do not appear to have included it among edible 

 species. 



Lepiota americana Pk. 



American Lepiota 



PLATE 44, fig. U-16 



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

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

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

 late, white ; spores subelliptic, uninucleate, .0003 to .0004 of an inch long, 

 .0002 to .0003 broad. 



The American lepiota belongs to the same genus as the parasol 

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

 differs from all our other species of this genus. 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 

 recognized. 



In the very young plant the cap is somewhat egg-shaped 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 central 

 prominence or umbo, however, it usually remains entire. The margin of 

 the cap is thin and is generally marked with short radiating lines, or stria- 

 tions. 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 mar- 

 gin of the cap than at their inner extremity. The stem affords a peculiar 

 feature. It is often enlarged toward the base and then abruptly nar- 

 rowed 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 dis- 

 appear with advancing age. Wounds or bruises are apt to assume brownish 

 red hues. 



