THE PURPLE-BROWN-SPORED AGARICS 323 



This species is quite variable in form and color. The most typical forms are 

 found in the fall, in very wet weather and in shady woods. This is one of the 

 species from which the ban has not been removed but its appearance will lead 

 no one to care to cultivate its acquaintance further than name it. It is claimed 

 by most writers that it is poisonous. Found in meadows and woods, from July 

 to November. 



Hypholoma. Fr. 



Hypholoma is from two Greek words, meaning- a web and a fringe, referring 

 to the web-like veil which frequently adheres to the margin of the cap, not forming 

 a ring on the stem and not always apparent on old specimens. 



The pileus is fleshy, margin at first incurved. The gills are attached to the 

 stem, sometimes notched at the stem. The stem is fleshy, similar in substance to 

 the cap. 



They grow mostly in thick clusters on wood either above or under the ground. 

 The spores are brown-purple, almost black. 



This genus differs from the genu3 Agaricus from the fact that its gills are 

 attached to the stem and its stem is destitute of a ring. 



Hypholoma incertum. Pk. 

 The; Uncertain Hypholoma. Edible. 



Incertum, uncertain. Prof. Peck, who named this species, was uncertain 

 whether it was not a form of H. candolleanum, to which it seemed to be very 

 closely related ; but as the gills of that plant are at first violaceous and of this one 

 white at first, he concluded to risk the uncertainty on a new species. 



The pileus is thin, ovate, broadly spreading, fragile, whitish, margin often 

 wavy and often adorned with fragments of the woolly white veil, opaque when 

 dry, transparent when moist. 



The gills are thin, narrow, close, fastened to the stem at their inner extremity, 

 white at first, then purplish-brown, edges often uneven. 



The stem is equal, straight, hollow, white, slender, at least one to three inches 

 long. The spores are purplish-brown and elliptical. . It is found in lawns, 

 gardens, pastures, and thin woods. It is small but grows in such profusion that 

 one can obtain quantities of it. The caps are very tender and delicious. It appears 

 as early as May. 



