State Musrtum oF NATURAL HIstToryY. 42 
and abrupt or depressed, though it sometimes is smal] and approaches 
an ovate form, The large bulbs are sometimes split externally in two 
or three places and are, therefore, two or three-lobed. In such cases 
the volva is less persistent than usual and its free portion then furnishes 
merely an acute edge or narrow margin to the bulb. Specimens some- 
times occur in which the margin of the pileus is narrowly adorned 
with a slight tomentose villosity, but usually it is perfectly smooth 
and even. By this character taken in connection with the membran- 
ous volya and bulbous base of the stem, the species is readily dis- 
tinguished, Sometimes a strong odor is emitted by it, but usually the 
odor is slight. Authors generally pronounce this a poisonous and 
very dangerous species. Its appearance is attractive, but its use as 
food is to be avoided. ; 
Agaricus russuloides, P&. Russula-like Agaric. Pileus at first ovate, 
then convex or expanded, at first rough with a few superficial warts, 
soon smooth, viscid when moist, widely striate-tuberculate on the margin, 
pale-yellow or straw color; lamellx close, free, narrowed toward the 
stem, white ; stem firm, smooth, stuffed, equal or slightly tapering up- 
ward, bulbous, furnished with a thin subevanescent annulus; volva 
Fragile, subappressed ; spores broadly elliptical, .0004 in. long, .0003 in. 
in. broad. 
Plant 2 in. to 3 in. high, pileus 1.5 in. to2 in. broad, stem 3 
lines to 5 lines thick. June. 
This rare species was found in grassy places in open woods, 
several years ago, and has not been met with by me since. It is 
remarkable for and easily known by the widely striate margin of 
the pileus. The tuberculate appearance is due to short trans- 
verse veins or wrinkles which intervene beween and connect the 
lamellae and give to the surface of the pileus an appearance simi- 
lar to that seen in many species of Russula. The dried speci- 
mens look very much like small dried forms of A. cesareus, but 
they have not the perfect volva of that species. The bulb is ovate and 
the volva fragile and easily broken into fragments. Its nearest rela- 
tionship is with A. muscarius, from which its smoother pileus and 
peculiar margin at once distinguish it. 
Agaricus muscarius, Z. Fly Agaric. Pileus at first ovate or hemi- 
spherical, then broadly convex or nearly plane, slightly viscid when 
young and moist, rowgh with numerous whitish or yellowish warts, 
rarely smooth, narrowly and slightly striate on the margin, white, yel- 
low or orange-red ; lamellz white ; stem equal or slightly tapering 
upward, stuffed with webby fibrils or hollow, bearing a white annulus 
above, ovate-bulbous at the base, white or yellowish ; the volva usually 
breaking up into scales and adhering to the upper part of the bulb and 
the base of the stem; spores elliptical, .0003 in. to .0004 in. long, .00025 
in. to .0003 in. broad. 
Plant 5 in. to 8 in. high, pileus 3 in. to 6 in, broad. June to October. 
The Fly Agaric, or “False Orange” as it is called in France, 
is acommon and variable species. It occurs in thin open woods 
and in bushy pastures. The fine ornamentation of its warts and 
its beautiful colors make it a very showy and attractive species. I 
have not seen it with the bright blood-red or searlet colors attributed 
to the European plant, but it is usually more or less orange-colored 
when young, fading to yellow with advancing age, either wholly 
