—_ en = oT eS 
STaTE Museum or Natura History. 41 
Pe uemeus RarrOW lp stiiata.’..'..\.j-rai dou ed ae Teeth eR ye 6 
6. More than two inches broad, spores elliptical... A. muscarius. 
6. Less than two inches broad, spores globose..... A. Frostianus. 
emeereven- on Wie Maroy... betnuemackie ce nrc'seac csp since tice een 7 
7. Flesh with reddish stains when wounded.......... 2 1. rubescens. 
7. Flesh without reddish stains when wounded..................-.. ‘ 
8. Bulb of the stem acutely margined, often split. . A strobiliformis. 
8, Bulb not acutely margined....,............... A. solitarius. 
SPMeMeeIEUS OF BN ANNUIUS.... 0... ses eee ccicc devas i cee sacestceeecccns 
I Se 10 
10. Pileus hairy-squamulose, volva large, firm. ........... A, volvatus. 
10. Pileus soon glabrous, volva sheathing, flabby. ........ A. vaginatus. 
MRM MA MER GUGMUTATIOUS 6.06. 5. occ 8 once oe ee vee nde da otloanchsvre tulvaeeal aulne 11 
Pree BOON, G1AbTOUS. 5 6... =: «oso0<0' cdie atv ddcicy om os A. nivalis. 
co 2 AG dE RSS A a A. strangulatus. 
11. Pileus pulverulent....... Bin Studer =! hele C oie, eee snide A. farinosus. 
STEM FURNISHED WITH AN ANNULUS. 
Agaricus cxsareus, Scop. Orange Agaric. Pileus hemispherical, 
then expanded, smooth, bright red or orange, fading to yellow, widely 
and distinctly striate on the margin; lamell free, yellow; stem equal 
or slightly tapering upward, flocculose, stuffed with cottony fibrils or 
hollow, yellowish, bearing a yellowish annulus near the top and in- 
serted at the base in alarge loose membranous white volva; spores ellip- 
tical, .00035 in. to .0004 in. long. 
Plant 5 in. to 8 in, high, pilens 4 in. to 8 in. broad, stem 4 lines 
to 6 lines thick. August. 
This is alarge, beautiful and very showy Agaric and has been called 
“ Fungorum princeps,” chief of fungi. It occurs in wet seasons in thin 
open woods, but isnot very common. It sometimes grows in large circles 
or ‘‘fairy rings.” The American plant differs in some slight respects 
from the European as represented in figures and descriptions, and I 
have modified the description to meet the peculiarities of our plant. 
In Europe the pileus is said to vary in color, being sometimes white, 
pale-yellow, red and copper-colored, though usually orange-yellow. In 
our plant I have found the pileus very uniform in coloration, it being 
at first bright-orange or even a brilliant red, fading with age to yellow, 
either wholly or on the margin only. In dried specimens the red 
color entirely disappears. ‘T‘he striations of the margin are quite deep 
and long, and almost as distinct as in A. vaginatus, where they are 
said to be ‘‘pectinate-sulcate.” The flesh is represented as yellowish. 
In our plant it may be white, yellow or red under the cuticule, but 
next the lamell it is pretty constantly yellow. The stem is described 
as subyentricose. In our plant I have always found it equal or slightly 
tapering upwards and generally rather long in proportion to the size 
of the pileus, so that the American plant must have a more graceful 
aspect than the European. The stem is yellowish, but adorned with 
delicate foccose fibrils of a yellowish-rhubarb color. The annulus is 
also sometimes tinged with this hue. The volva is soft and almost 
tomentose in texture, yet distinctly membranous, persistent and white. 
The lamellz are yellow, a character by which it is at once distin- 
guished from all our other species. All authors agree in attributing 
esculent qualities to this fungus. It has been termed “Cibus Deo- 
rum,” the food of the gods. Cordier says it is delicious and every- 
where sought after, but utters a caution against confounding it with 
[Assem. Doc. No. 127.] . 6 
