24 



MUSHROOMS, EDIBLE AND OTHERWISE 



slightly striate; the 

 surface of the cap 

 is covered with 

 white f 1 o c c o s e 

 'scales, fragments 

 of the volva, these 

 scales being easily 

 removed so that old 

 plants are frequent- 

 ly comparatively 

 smooth. The color 

 of the young plant 

 is normally red, 

 then orange to pale 

 yellow ; late in the 

 season, or in old 

 plants, it fades to 

 almost white. The 

 flesh is white, some- 

 times stained yel- 

 low close to the 

 cuticle. 



The gills are pure 

 white, very sym- 

 metrical, various in 

 length, the shorter 

 ones terminating 

 under the cap very 

 abruptly, crowded. 

 free, but reaching 

 the stem, decurrent 

 in the form of lines 

 somewhat broader 

 in front, sometimes 

 a slight tinge of 

 yellow will be ob- 

 served in the gills. 

 The stem is 



white, often yellowish with age, pithy and often hollow, becoming rough and 



shaggy, finally scaly, the scales below appearing to merge into the form of an 



obscure cup, the stem four to six inches long. 



The veil covers the gills of the young plant and later is seen as a collar-like 



ring on the stem, soft, lax, deflexed, in old specimens it is often destroyed. The 



spores are white and broadly elliptical. 



Figure 13. Amanita muscaria. Linn. Cap reddish or orange, 

 scales on the cap and at base of stem. 



showing 



