GENERA AND SPECIES OF MUSHROOMS 



Cap slightly fleshy; convex, becoming expanded or nearly 

 plane; smooth; water-soaked in appearance when wet; pale 

 tan or flesh-red when moist, whitish after the escape of the 

 moisture; i to 2 inches broad. 



Gills narrow; close together; thin; rounded near the stem; 

 adjacent but not attached to the stem (adnexed) or free from 

 it; whitish. 



Stem cylindric; hollow; smooth; usually covered with a 

 white down at the base; reddish brown or purplish brown; 

 slender and rigid but brittle; 2 to 3 inches long. 

 ^ Spores white; elliptic; .00024-.0003 of an inch long. 



The tufted collybia is an inhabitant of the woods of our 

 hilly and mountainous districts. It grows in dense tufts on 

 decaying prostrate trunks of trees and among decaying leaves 

 or on bits of rotten wood half buried by fallen leaves. 



Though the individual plants are small they grow in such 

 abundance that it is not difficult to obtain a sufficient supply 

 for cooking. They are slightly tough but of good flavor and 

 harmless. Peck. 



Collybia confluens. Plate VII, Species 32. 



In woods, on ground among fallen leaves; usually in tufts 

 but sometimes in arcs of circles or scattered; July to October; 

 edible. 



Cap thin; tough; shriveling when dry, reviving somewhat 

 when moist; flaccid; convex or nearly plane; smooth; water- 

 soaked in appearance when wet (hygrophanous) ; reddish- 

 brown or grayish red when moist, pallid, whitish or grayish 

 v/hen dry; diameter >^ to i>^ inches. 



Gills close together; narrow; free from the stem; whitish or 

 yellowish-gray. 



Stem slender; equal in diameter throughout; hollow; 

 downy; V" to Ve inch thick, 2 to 5 inches long. 



Spores white; ovoid; 5-6 x 4-5 microns in diameter. 

 159 



