PURPLE-BROWN-SPORED AGARiCS. 



19 



quite prominent and dark brown in color. Sometimes the color is 

 brownish before the scales appear. The flesh is white. The gills 

 in the young button stage are white. They soon become pink in 

 color and after the cap is expanded they quickly become purple 

 brown, dark brown, and nearly black from the large number of spores 

 on their surfaces. The gills are free from the stem and rounded 

 behind (near the stem). The stem is white, nearly cylindrical, or it 

 tapers a little toward the lower end. The flesh is solid, though the 

 central core is less firm. The veil is thin, white, silky, and very frail. 



Figure 17. Agaricus rodmani. Entirely white, showing double veil or ring. 

 (Natural size.) Copyright. 



It is stretched as the cap expands and finally torn so that it clings 

 either as an annulus around the stem, or fragments cling around the 

 margin of the cap. Since the annulus is so frail it shrivels as the 

 plant ages and becomes quite inconspicuous or disappears entirely 

 (see Figs. 1-7). 



Variations in the surface characters of the cap and stem have led 

 some to recognize several varieties. This is known as the common 

 mushroom and is more widely known and collected for food than any 



