PURPLE-BROWN-SPORED AGARICS. 23 



early autumn. Figure lo is from plants (No. 1986 C. U. herbarium) 

 collected in open woods at Ithaca. 



Agaricus (Psalliota) subrufescens Pk. Edible. The Agaricus subru- 

 fescens was described by Dr. Peck from specimens collected on a 

 compost heap composed chiefly of leaves, at Glen Cove, Long 

 Island. It occurs sometimes in greenhouses. In one case reported 

 by Peck it appeared in soil prepared for forcing cucumbers in a 

 greenhouse in Washington, D. C. 



According to the description the pUeus becomes convex or broadly 

 expanded, is covered with silky hairs and numerous minute scales. 

 The color is whitish, grayish or dull reddish brown, the center being 

 usually smooth and darker, while the flesh is white. The gills 

 change from white to pinkish and blackish brown in age. The stem 

 is long, nearly cylindrical or somewhat enlarged or bulbous at the 

 base, first stuffed, then hollow, white. The annulus is thick, and the 

 under side marked by loose threads or scales. 



This plant is said to differ from the common mushroom {A. cam- 

 pestris) in the more deeply hemispherical cap of the young plant, the 

 hollow and somewhat bulbous stem, and in the scales on the under 

 side of the annulus. In fresh plants the flesh has also a flavor of 

 almonds. It is closely related to A. silvaticus Schaeff., p. 62, T. 242, 

 Icones Fung. Bav. etc., 1770, if not identical with it. A. silvaticus 

 has light ochraceous or subrufescent scales on the cap, a strong odor, 

 and occurs in gardens as well as in the woods. 



Agaricus (Psalliota) fabaceus Berk., was described in Hooker's 

 London Journal of Botany, 6: 314, 1847, from specimens collected in 

 Ohio. The plant is white and is said to have a strong but not 

 unpleasant odor. Agaricus amygdalinus Curt., from North Carolina, 

 and of which no description was published, was so named on account 

 of the almond-like flavor of the plant. Dr. Farlow suggests (Proc. 

 Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 26: 356-358, 1894) that A. fabaceus, amygda- 

 linus, and subrufescens are identical. 



Agaricus (Psalliota) placomyces Pk. Edible. The flat-cap mushroom, 

 Agaricus placomyces Pk., occurs in borders of woods or under trees 

 from June to September. According to Peck it occurs in borders of 

 hemlock woods, or under hemlock trees. At Ithaca it is not always 

 associated with hemlock trees. The largest specimens found here 

 were in the border of mixed woods where hemlock was a constituent. 

 It has been found near and under white pine trees in lawns, around 

 the Norway spruce and under the Norway spruce. The plants are 

 from 5-15 cm. high, the cap from 5-12 cm. in diameter, and the 

 stem 6-8 mm. in thickness. 



