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ReEeporRT OF THE StTaTeE BOTANIST. 47 
AGARICUS SILVICOLA, Vitt. 
Silvan Mushroom. 
Pileus convex or subcampanulate, sometimes expanded or nearly 
~~ plane, smooth, shining, white or yellowish ; lamelle close, thin, free, 
oh rounded behind, generally narrowed toward each end, at first whitish, 
i then pinkish, finally blackish-brown ; stem long, cylindrical, stuffed or 
is hollow, white, dudbous ; annulus either thick or thin, entire or lac- 
on erated ; spores elliptical, .00025 to .00032 in. long, .00016 to .0002 in, 
\ broad. 
Plant 4 to 6 in. high; pilens 3 to 6 in. broad; stem 4 to 8 lines 
thick. 
Woods, copses and groves or along their borders. Summer and 
autumn. 
: Many authors place this as a variety of A. campestris, but as it 
occurs with us its characters are very constant and well marked and 
enable it to be distinguished from that species with great facility. It 
generally attains a larger size, has a smoother, more shining pileus, 
which is usually tinged with yellow, it has the primary color of the 
lamelle whitish, and its stem is longer and proportionately more 
slender and distinctly bulbous. It has, as Fries suggests, more points 
of resemblance to 4. arvensis than to A. campestris, but its bulbous 
stem at once separates it from that species. ‘The bulb is peculiar, it 
| being small but very abrupt and depressed or flattened like a common 
- turnip. The pileusis thin in proportion to its breadth and is quite fragile, 
so that the plants must be handled with care to prevent its being 
broken. In mature plants the margin of the pileus sometimes has a 
lurid or dull purplish tint, which is probably derived from the color 
of the spores. 
The annulus is often tinged with yellow exteriorly and is sometimes 
a radiately rimose on the lower surface like that of A. arvensis. In 
3 some instances fragments of 1t remain attached to the margin of the 
pileus. The plants sometimes grow in close groups or tuft-like clus- 
ters. A. edulis, Berk., is given as a synonym. 
It is reported to be esculent, but I have not tested it. Persons un- 
acquainted with it should guard against confounding immature speci- 
mens of it with the white forms of the phalloid agaric, A. phalloides, 
@ poisonous species which grows in similar places and bears some. 
resemblance toit. The poisonous dA. phalloides has a much larger 
bulb to the stem and the lamellx remain permanently white or whitish, 
showing at no ageeither the pinkish or blackish-brown hues which 
are so conspicuous in A. silvicola. 
