WHITE-SPORED AGARICS. 79 



1899). It fits the description of that plant exactly. The pink color 

 of the gills, as well as the fact that the gills turn brownish when dry, 

 has led to a confusion in some cases of the Lepiota naucina with the 

 chalky agaric, Agaricus cretaceus. The external resemblance of the 

 plants, as shown in various illustrations, is very striking, and in the 

 chalky agaric the gills remain pink very late, only becoming brown 

 when very old. 



Lepiota procera Scop. Edible The parasol mushroom, Lepiota 

 procera, grows in pastures, lawns, gardens, along roadsides, or in thin 

 woods, or in gardens. It is a large and handsome plant and when 

 expanded seems not inappropriately named. It is from 12-20 cm. or 

 more high, the cap expands from 5-12 cm., while the stem is 4-7 mm. 

 in thickness. It occurs during summer and in early autumn. 



The pileus is oval, then bell-shaped, convex and nearly expanded, 

 with usually a more or less prominent elevation (umbo) at the 

 center. Sometimes it is depressed at the center. It is grayish 

 brown or reddish brown in color on the surface and the flesh is 

 whitish. As the cap expands the surface layer ceases to grow and 

 is therefore cracked, first narrow chinks appearing, showing white or 

 grayish threads underneath. As the cap becomes more expanded 

 the brown surface is torn into scales, which give the cap a more or 

 less shaggy appearance except on the umbo, where the color is more 

 uniform. The torn surface of the pileus shows numerous radiating 

 fibres, and it is soft and yielding to the touch. The gills are remote 

 from the stem, broad and crowded. The spores are long, elliptical, 

 12-17 /^ long. The stem is cylindrical, hollow, or stuffed, even, 

 enlarged below into a prominent bulb, of the same color as the pileus, 

 though paler, especially above the annulus. The surface is usually 

 cracked into numerous small scales, the chinks between showing the 

 white inner portion of the stem. The ring is stout, narrow, usually 

 quite free from the stem, so that it can be moved up and down on 

 the stem, and is called a movable ring. 



Figure 81 is from plants (No. 3842, C. U. herbarium) collected 

 in a garden at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. 



A closely related plant, Lepiota rachodes Vitt., has smaller spores, 

 9-12 X 7-9 //. It is also edible, and by some considered only a variety 

 of L. procera. It is rare in this country, but appears about Boston 

 in considerable quantities ** in or near greenhouses or in enriched 

 soil out of doors," where it has the appearance of an introduced 

 plant (Webster, Rhodora, 1: 226, 1899). It is a much stouter plant 

 than L. procera, the pileus usually depressed, much more coarsely 

 scaly, and usually grows in dense clusters, while L. procera usually 



