406 FUNGUS-FLOKA. 



Agaricus (StropJiaria) caput-Medusae, Fries., Epicr., p. 216; 

 Cke., Hdbk., p. 200; Cke., Illustr., pi. 540, 



On pine woods near the roots of trunks. Subcaespitose. 



Tufted, rather firm, but at the same time fragile. Stem, 

 hollow, base sub-bulbous, solid, 2-3 in. long, ^ in. and more 

 thick, equally attenuated upwards, whitish, covered with 

 crowded, imbricated, squarrose, brownish-white squamule^ 

 below the spreading ring, powdered with white meal above. 

 Universal veil floccoso-squamose, brown, at first enclosing 

 the entire fungus, remaining as persistent scales on the 

 stem, soon disappearing from the pileus ; it is distinct from 

 the partial or superior membranaceous ring, which is pen- 

 dulous, white, with a floccose, swollen brown margin. Pileus 

 fleshy, at first ovate, then convex-expanded, obtuse, or 

 obtusely umbonate from the apex of the stem, about 3 in. 

 broad, dry; when young, densely squarrosely squamose 

 from the veil, soon naked, disc even, umber, lacunose and 

 paler towards the margin, almost clay-colour ; at length the 

 disc is cracked into warts, the margin split into cracks, and 

 the intermediate portion split into squamules. Gills adnate, 

 ventricose, at first appearing to be free, lanceolate, or at 

 length nearly ovate, 2-3 lines broad, fragile, not much 

 crowded, whitish clay-colour then pale umber looking as if 

 spotted with brown. Spores purple-brown. (Fries.) 



Between the peculiar umber disc and the rest of the 

 pileus, which is paler, tan -coloured, there is sometimes a 

 marked circular depression. The disc is very soon naked,. 

 and becomes broken into granulose warts, leaving the rest of 

 the pileus clothed with the peculiar blackish scales which 

 look like sharp-pointed tufts. These soon vanish, while the 

 stem remains clothed. (Stev.). 



Stropharia scobinacea. Fr. 



Pileus 1-2 in. across, flesh thin, hemispherical then ex- 

 panded, gibbous, finely sulcate, covered with blackish, 

 adpressed, crowded squamules which eventually disappear, 

 brownish, then greyish-violet near the margin, centre livid 

 then yellowish; gills adnate, crowded, crenulate, reddish- 

 white then purplish ; stem 3-4 in. long, 2-3 lines thick, 

 attenuated from the thickened base, fibrillose, white, apex 

 mealy, hollow ; ring superior, fugacious. 



