1921] The Collybias of North Carolina 93 



thick near stem, pale brown, toughish, fibrous, taste and odor of raw 

 meal. 



Gills crowded, 4-5 mm. wide, broadly adnate and a little decurrent, 

 not notched; brownish drab, the margins soon darker, black when 

 bruised. 



Stem 1.5-3 cm. long, 5-6 mm. thick, subequal, color and surface 

 of the cap but rather darker; flesh concolorous, tough, firm, fibrous, 

 stuffed and paler in center. 



Spores (of No. 3869) white, smooth, oval, slightly pointed at each 

 end, 3.7-4.2 x 7.4-8.5 ^. 



Recognized by the rather small size; dark, smooth, inherently 

 fibrous cap; dark, crowded, slightly decurrent gills, which change color 

 when bruised, and by the farinaceous taste and odor. 



Added below is Beardslee's description of this plant from Asheville: 



Cap 1.5-6 cm. broad, hygrophanous, gray to deep smoky gray 

 when moist, dingy gray to isabelline when dry, surface with darker 

 fibrils giving it a streaked appearance, convex wdth the thinner margin 

 incurved, then expanded and plane, flesh white, thin at the margin. 



Gills white, quickly becoming yellow and then black when bruised, 

 moderately close. 



Stem 2-4 cm. long, 5-15 mm. thick, tough, white, changing color 

 like the gills, stuffed but often hollow with age. 



Odor rancid and unpleasant. 



Spores usually elhpsoid, 7-9 X 5-6 [jl. 



Growing along paths, in bare ground in woods. This is a curious 

 but altogether unattractive plant. I have found it only in wet 

 weather after rains. Usually the plants are short stemmed and close 

 to the ground, and dirty and sordid in appearance. They agree well 

 with Bresadola's figure and description of C. semitalis to which I refer 

 them. All my specimens agree in the quick change to yellow and then 

 black, and all of them have the same disagreeable odor. Both of these 

 characters are brought out in Bresadola's diagnosis. 



It will be remembered that Bresadola has separated his plants into 

 three closely related species, all of which were included by Fries under 

 the one name. The spores of the Asheville plants are typically hke 

 those of his C. semitalis and the change of color and odor are as he 

 describes. It is interesting, however, that some specimens had a few 

 spores which were triangular as in his variety trigonospora, and in one 

 plant they showed a tendency to become spindle shaped. In none was 



