Agaricaceae 



(Plate LXXXIV.) 



CORTINARIUS ALBO-VIOLACEUS. 



One-half natural size. 



Cortinarius. C. violaceus is everywhere eaten, and is in my opinion the best of its 

 genus. The American plant is not inodorous, but has a decided mush- 

 room smell and taste. 



C. albo-viola'ceus Pers. Pileus fleshy, rather thin, convex, then 



expanded, sometimes broadly sub- 

 umbonate, smooth, silky, whitish, 

 tinged with lilac or pale violet. 

 Lamellae generally serrulate, whitish- 

 violet, then cinnamon-color. Stem 

 equal or a little tapering upward, 

 solid, silky, white, stained with violet, 

 especially at the top, slightly bulb- 

 ous, the bulb gradually tapering into 

 the stipe. 



Height, 3-4 in. ; breadth of pileus, 

 2-3 in. ; stipe, 3-6 lines thick. 



Ground in thin woods, more fre- 

 quently under poplars. Center. Oc- 

 tober. 



The stem is sometimes subannulate, and being violet above and white 

 below the obscure ring, it appears as if sheathed with a silky-white cov- 

 ering. Inodorous. Sometimes the stem gradually tapers from the base 

 to the top, so that it can scarcely be called bulbous. Peck, 23d Rep. 

 N. Y. State Bot. 



Spores 12x5-6/4 Cooke; 6-9x4-5/4 K.; pruniform, io/* Q. 

 An allied species C. (Inoloma) lilacinus, Peck, with the stem and 

 bulbous part much broader than the cap, is not as common, but of far 

 better flavor. 



Common in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, in mixed 

 woods. September to frost. Mcllvaine. 



A mushroom flavor develops in cooking. The consistency of the 

 flesh is good. It is of medium grade. 



C. lilaci'nus Pk. Pileus firm, hemispherical, then convex, minutely 

 silky, lilac-color. Lamellae close, lilac, then cinnamon. Stem stout, 

 bulbous, silky-fibrillose, solid, whitish, tinged with lilac. Spores nucle- 

 ate, iox6/*. 



316 



