970 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Clitopilus micropus Pk. 



SHORT STEMMED OLITOPILUS 

 PLATE 78, FIG. 1-12 



Pileus thin, fragile, convex or centrally depressed, umbilicate, 

 silky, gray, often with one or two narrow zones on the margin, 

 taste and odor farinaceous; lamellae narrow, close, adnate or 

 slightly decurrent, gray becoming salmon color with age; stem 

 short, solid or with a slight cavity, often slightly thickened at 

 the top, pruinose, gray, with a white mycelioid tomentum at the 

 base; spores angular, uninucleate, salmon color, .0003-0004: of 

 an inch long, .00025-.0003 broad. 



The short stemmed clitopilus is a small mushroom and not 

 very plentiful and for these reasons it is not very important as 

 an edible species, but it sometimes occurs in such abundance as 

 to make it possible to obtain a sufficient number for the table. 

 Its color is similar to that of the preceding species but in size 

 it is much less. Its cap is thin and tender, broadly convex or 

 centrally depressed. It is umbilicate and has a silky surface 

 which is sometimes marked with one or two narrow zones near 

 the margin. The gills are rather narrow and closely placed, 

 broadly attached to the stem or slightly decurrent, and gray 

 when young becoming salmon color when mature. The stem is 

 short even when growing among fallen leaves or in grassy 

 places, it is usually solid but in large or old specimens it is 

 sometimes hollow. Its color is similar to that of the cap but it 

 is slightly pruinose above and with a white tomentum at the 

 base. In large and irregular specimens it is sometimes 

 eccentric. 



The cap is 6-16 lines broad; the stem is generally less than 

 an inch long and is 1-2 lines thick. The mushrooms are found 

 among fallen leaves in thin woods or in open grassy places and 

 occur from July to September. They have a farinaceous or 

 mealy flavor which is destroyed by cooking. 



