NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY 31 



Lawns near Chicago, Harper. Lawns, Ravenswood; Septem- 

 ber. Characterized by its dense white mealiness, bulbous stem 

 and strong odor. Pepoon. 



ARMILLARIA. 



Hymenophore continuous with the stem; annuius present, but 

 sometimes only indicated by the scales which clothe the stem 

 terminating in the form of a ring; pileus usually smooth (often 

 somewhat scaly in our single species A. mellea). All growing on 

 the ground. Spores white. 

 Armillaria mellea Vahl. 



Pileus fleshy, rather thin except upon the disk, at first hemi- 

 spherical or subconical, then convex or nearly plane, adorned 

 with numerous hairy squamules, mostly striate on the margin, 

 pale yellowish, dingy-yellowish, honey-color or reddish-brown; 

 flesh whitish, taste unpleasant. 



Lamellae subdistant, adnate or decurrent, whitish or pallid, 

 often with rufescent spots when old. 



Stem equal or slightly thickened at the base, stuffed or hollow 

 when old, sometimes floccose-squamose, externally fibrous, pallid 

 or brownish. 



Spores 7.5 to 10 x 5 to 6 p. Pileus 2.5 to 15 cm. broad; stem 

 2.5 to 15 cm. long, 6 to 20 mm. thick. 



Common in autumn, about the base of stumps; sometimes in 

 large masses. The young plants occasionally have the pileus thickly 

 beset with erect scales. These disappear with age. The species 

 is industriously collected for food by Poles and Bohemians about 

 Chicago. The flavor of the cooked plant is strong and unpleasant 

 to American mushroom-eaters. 



Var. radicata Pk. 



Base of stump, Winfield. August, 1898. Specimens with the 

 spindle-shaped radicating portion of the stem 5 to 9 cm. long. 



TRICHOLOMA. 



Hymenophore continuous with the fleshy stem; veil obsolete 

 or only consisting of flocci which adhere to the margin of the pileus; 

 lamellae sinuate behind; pileus often bright colored. All growing 

 on the ground. Spores white. 



Pileus viscid when moist T. Russida. 



Pileus not viscid when moist ' 1 



1. Cuticle of the pileus torn into downy or nbrillose scales . . 2 

 Cuticle of the pileus even, smooth 3 



2. Pileus shining-white, stem smooth T. columbetta. 



Pileus cinereous-fuscous, stem fibrillose . . . . T. terreum. 

 Pileus brown or reddish-brown, stem fibril- 

 lose T. imbricatum 



Pileus ochraceous or tawny, stem tomentose- 



squamulose T. decorosum. 



3/| Pileus white T. album. 



Pileus violaceous or livid T. personatum. 



