58 



MUSHROOMS. EDIBLE AND OTHERWISE 



ending in a decurrent tooth, pallid 'or dirty white, very often showing brown or 

 rust colored spots when old. Spores white and abundant. Frequently the ground 

 under a clump of this species will be white from the fallen spores. Stem elastic 

 and scaly, four inches or more in length. Ring downy. Diameter of cap from 

 two to five inches. Manner of growth is frequently in tufts, and, as with most 

 of the Armillarias, generally parasitic on old stumps. 



The veil varies greatly. It may be membranaceous and thin, or quite thick, 

 or may be wanting entirely, as will be seen in Figure 39 ; in Figure 40 only a slight 

 trace of the ring can be seen. The two plants grew under very different environ- 

 ment ; the last grew in the woods and Figure 39 on a lawn in the city. The 

 species is very common and grows either in thin woods or in cleared lands, on the 

 ground or on decaying wood. Its favorite habit is about stumps. It is either 

 solitary, gregarious, or in dense clusters. It is very abundant about Chillicothe, 

 where I have seen stumps literally surrounded with it. It has a slight acridity 

 while raw, which it seems to lose in cooking. Those who like it may eat it without 

 fear, all varieties being edible. 



Prof. Peck gives the following varieties : 



A. mellea var. obscura has the cap covered with numerous small black scales. 



A. mellea var. flava has a cap yellow or reddish-yellow, otherwise normal. 



A. mellea var. glabra has a smooth cap, otherwise normal. 



A. mellea var. radicata has a tapering root penetrating the soil. 



A. mellea var. bulbosa has a bulbous base. 



A. mellea var. exannulata has the cap smooth and even on the margin, and 

 the stem tapering at the base. 



Fic.fKK 41. Armillaria bulbigcra. Reddish-gray caps and short bulbous stems. 



