FIELD BOOK OF COMMON GILLED MUSHROOMS 



irregular; dry; silky when young, smooth when old; gray or 

 grayish-brown; flesh white; taste and odor slightly branny 

 (subfarinaceous) ; 2 to 4 inches broad. 



Gills thin, close together; attached to the stem (adnate) or 

 extending some distance down the stem (strongly decurrent) ; 

 whitish or pale gray when young, changing to salmon color 

 with advancing age. 



Stem solid, slightly downy or fibrous; color of the cap or 

 paler; iJE^ to 3 inches long, ^ to >^ inch thick. 



Spores salmon pink; angular; with one nucleus; 8.5 to 10 x 

 6-7.5 microns in diameter. 



The abortive clitopilus takes this name because it is usu- 

 ally found growing with an imperfectly developed subglobose 

 (slightly globular) form in which there is no distinction of cap, 

 stem or gills. It is simply an irregularly rounded mass of 

 cellular tissue of a whitish color, originally described as a sub- 

 globose umbilicate (with a pit or depression at its center) 

 downy mass. It is not always umbilicate nor is the surface 

 always downy. It grows singly or in clusters of two or more. 



The well developed form is generally a clean neat appearing 

 mushroom but one of a very modest unattractive grayish 

 colored cap and stem and with gills similarly colored when 

 young, but becoming salmon hued when mature. The farin- 

 aceous taste and odor are not always distinct unless the flesh 

 is broken. 



When taken in good condition and properly cooked it is an 

 excellent mushroom. If stewed gently for a short time it is 

 less agreeable than if thoroughly cooked or fried in butter. 

 The abortive form is also edible and is thought by some to be 

 even better than the ordinary form. Peck. 



Common on rich earth or much-decayed wood in woods 



during late summer and autumn, from Canada to Alabama 



and west to Wisconsin and Mexico. It is an excellent edible 



species both in its fully developed and aborted forms, the 



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