CHAPTER IV. 



THE RUSTY-SPORED AGARICS. 



The spores are of various shades of ochre yellow, rusty, rusty-brown, brown, 

 yellowish-brown. The hymenophore is never free from the stem in the rusty- 

 spored series, nor is there a volva. 



P ho Hot a. Fr. 



Pholiota, a scale. The members of this genus have rusty spores. These may 

 be sepia-brown, bright yellowish-brown or light red. There is no volva, but there 

 is a ring which is sometimes persistent, friable, and fugacious. In this respect it 

 corresponds with the Armillaria among the white spored agarics. The pileus is 

 fleshy. The gills are attached to the stem and sometimes notched with a decurrent 

 tooth, tawny or rusty in color on account of the falling of the spores. Many 

 species grow on wood, logs, stumps, and branches of trees, although others grow 

 on the ground. 



Pholiota precox. Pers. 



The Early Phieiota. Edible. 



Precox, early. Pileus is fleshy, soft, convex, then expanded, at length 

 smooth, even, margin at first incurved ; moist but not sticky, whitish, often with 

 slight tinge of yellow or tan-color; when the plant is fully matured it is often 

 upturned and fluted. 



The gills are attached to the stem and slightly decurrent by a tooth, moderately 

 broad, crowded, unequal, creamy white, then rusty-brown. Spores brownish, 

 8-13x6-7/*. 



The stem is stuffed, then hollow, often striate above the ring, rather slender, 

 sometimes mealy, skin peeling readily, whitish. The spores are rusty-brown and 

 elliptical. The caps are from one to two inches broad, and the stem is from two 

 to three inches long. The veil is stretched like a drumhead from the stem to the 

 margin of the cap. It varies in manner of breaking ; sometimes it separates from 



C257) 



