Agaricaceae 



Phoiiota. cracked cap, in mature specimens, distinguishes it from other species 

 found on its habitat. It varies in size from iK in. up to 4 in. across. 

 The caps are excellent. 



P. prse'cox Pers. pracox, early. Pileus 1-2 in. broad, convex or 

 (Plate LXXII.) nearly plane, soft, nearly or quite gla- 



brous, whitish, more or less tinged with 

 yellow or tan-color. Gills close, ad- 

 nexed, at first whitish, then brownish or 

 rusty-brownish. Stem 1.5-3 m - l n g> 

 2-2.5 lines thick, rather slender, mealy 

 or glabrous, stuffed or hollow, whitish. 

 Spores elliptical, rusty-brown, io-i3x 

 6-8/*. 



The Early Phoiiota is a small but 

 variable species. From other similarly 

 colored species that appear in grassy 

 ground early in the season, the collar on 

 the stem will generally distinguish it. 

 Its cap is usually convex when young 

 but nearly flat in the mature plant. It 



is rather pale in color but not a clear white, being tinted with yellow or 

 pale tan-colored hues. The gills are whitish when the cap first opens, 

 but they soon change to a rusty-brown hue in consequence of the ripen- 

 ing of the spores. They are excavated at the inner extremity and 

 slightly attached to the stem. They are ventricose when the cap is 

 fully expanded. The stem is rather slender, nearly or quite straight 

 and soon smooth and hollow. It is pale or whitish, and usually furnished 

 with a small collar. Sometimes the collar is slight and disappears with 

 age and sometimes the fragments of the veil remain attached to the 

 margin of the cap leaving nothing for a collar. 



The plants usually grow in grassy ground, lawns and gardens, and 

 appear from May to July. 



Var. minor Batt. is a small form having the cap only about I in. 

 broad and the remnants of the veil adherent to the margin of the cap. 

 It is represented by figures 6 to 12. 



Var. sylvestris Pk. has the center of the cap brownish or rusty-brown, 

 and grows in thin woods. Peck, 49th Rep. N. Y. State Bot. 



272 



PHOLIOTA PR.ECOX. 

 After Peck. 



