118 MUSHROOMS, EDIBLE AND OTHERWISE 



Collybia velutipes. Curtis. 



The Velvet-foot Collybia. Edible. 



Velutipes, from vellum, velvet and pes, foot. 



I 'ileus from one to four inches broad, tawny yellow, fleshy at the center, 

 thick on the margin, quite sticky or viscid when moist, margin slightly striate, 

 sometimes inclined to be excentric. 



Gills rounded behind, broad, slightly adnexed, tan or pale-yellow, somewhat 

 distant. 



The stem is cartilaginous, tough, hollow, umber, then becoming blackish, 

 with a velvety coat. Spores are elliptical, 7x3-3. 5/x. 



It grows on stumps, logs and roots, in the ground. It grows almost the 

 year round. I have gathered it to eat in February. Plate XV gives a very 

 correct notion of the plant. It is most plentiful in September, October and 

 November, yet found throughout the winter months. 



Myeena. J'r. 



Mycena is from a Greek word, meaning a fungus. The plants of this genus 

 are small and rather fragile. 



Pileus more or less membranaceous, generally striate, with the margin almost 

 straight, and at first pressed to the stem, never involute, expanded, campanulate, 

 and generally umbonate. 



The stem is externally cartilaginous, hollow, not stuffed when young, con- 

 fluent with the cap. Gills never decurrent. though some species have a broad 

 sinus near the stem. 



Most species are small and inodorous, but some which have a strong alkaline 

 odor are probably not good. Some are known to be edible. 



A few species exude a colored or watery juice when bruised. The Mycena 

 resembles the Collybia, but never has the incurved margin of the latter. The 

 plants are usually smaller, and the caps are more or less conical. 



This genus might be mistaken for Omphalia, in which the gills are but 

 slightly decurrent, but in Omphalia the cap is umbilicatc while in Mycena it is 

 umbonate. 



Their being so small make< the determination of species somewhat difficult. 

 Some have characteristic odors which greatly assist in establishing their identity. 



