GENERA AND SPECIES OF MUSHROOMS 



Spores rusty; slightly elliptic; .0005 to .0006 inch long 

 .00025 to .0003 inch broad. 



This is a fine, large pholiota easily recognized by its peculiar 

 wrinkled cap and the white frosting or flaky covering of the 

 center of the cap. Sometimes, however, specimens may 

 occur in which neither the wrinkles nor the flakes are present. 

 Occasionally there is the semblance of a sheath or cup (volva) 

 enclosing the base of the stem. The ring (annulus) is usually 

 well-developed, white and persistent. Peck. 



It is much esteemed in Germany and is eagerly sought as 

 food by the common people who call it familiarly "Zigeuner," 

 the gypsy. Bost. Mycological Club Bull. 1896. 



Pholiota discolor; fading pholiota. Plate XIII, Species 

 103. 



On decaying wood and prostrate trunks of trees in woods; 

 singly or in tufts; July to October; edible. 



Cap thin; convex when young, becoming nearly plane when 

 mature; viscid or sticky and water-soaked in appearance when 

 moist (hygrophanous) ; watery-cinnamon colored and with 

 faint radiating lines on the margin (striatulate) when moist; 

 fading to pale yellow when dry; flesh white; taste mild; i to 2 

 inches broad. 



Gills narrow; close together; attached to the stem (adnate) ; 

 pallid when young, becoming pale-rusty when old. 



Stem cylindric or slightly tapering upward; with a distinct, 

 persistent ring; slightly fibrous; palHd or brownish; often 

 with a white down at the base; i to 2>^ inches long. 



Spores rusty or brown; nearly elliptic; 6-8 by 5-6 microns 

 broad. 



The fading pholiota is a small but common species growing 

 in woods on decaying wood or raches. It is easily distin- 

 guished by its viscid (sticky) cap. The change of color in 

 the cap by the escape of its moisture is very noticeable and is 

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