Agaricaceae 



Cuiiybia. The caps fried or broiled are delicious, resembling in every way those 

 of C. radicata. 



C. fu'sipes Bull. fusus, a spindle; pes, a foot. (Plate XXIXa, 

 fig. 4, p. 112.) PileilS 13 in. broad, reddish-brown, becoming pale 

 and also dingy-tan, fleshy, convex then flattened, umbonate (the umbo 

 at length vanishing), even, smooth, dry, here and there broken up in 

 cracks when dry. Stem 3 in. and more long, commonly %. in., but 

 here and there as much as I in. broad, fibrous-stuffed then hollow, re- 

 markably cartilaginous externally, swollen, ventricose in the middle, at- 

 tenuated at both ends, often twisted, longitudinally furrowed, red or 

 reddish-brown, rooted in a spindle-shaped manner at the base. Gills an- 

 nulato-adnexed (joined into a ring), soon separating, free, broad, dis- 

 tant, firm, connected by veins, crisped, white then becoming somewhat 

 of the same color as the pileus, often spotted. Stevenson. 



Spores 6x3^ W.G.S.; 4-5x2-4^ B. 



Solitary, gregarious, usually densely clustered on decaying wood, 

 roots, etc. August until after heavy frosts. 



West Virginia, 1882, Mcllvaine. 



In the West Virginia mountains C. fusipes is frequent. Caps in the 

 clusters rarely exceed I %. in. across. They show an auburn or bur- 

 gundy shade of brown in their color. When young they are smooth 

 and appear to remain so unless rained upon or moistened, when they 

 crack more or less finely in drying. At first the connection of the gills 

 with the stem is peculiar they join in a collar-like ring at the top of the 

 stem. As the cap expands the gills part more or less and separate 

 from the stem. The stem is markedly spindle-shaped, though variously 

 flattened by compression in dense clusters; the outside often splitting, 

 breaking and turning out from the stem. 



The caps, alone, are good, the stem being hard and refractory. The 

 caps are very fine, cooked in any way. 



The caps dry well, and are a pleasant addition to gravies, soups and 

 other dishes. They make a choice pickle. 



** Gills narrow, crowded. 



C. macula'ta A. and S. macula, a spot. Pileus fleshy, firm, con- 

 vex or nearly plane, even, glabrous, white or whitish, sometimes varied 



116 



