GENERA AND SPECIES OF MUSHROOMS 



Cap bell-shaped when young, later becoming expanded; 

 smooth or slightly fibrous on the surface; dingy brown, 

 adorned with blackish fibrils, but specimens sometimes occur 

 with the cap white, yellow, ashy, grayish-brown or blackish- 

 brown; slightly sticky (viscid) in wet weather; 2 to 2>^ inches 

 in diameter; flesh white; almost tasteless. 



Gills free from the stem; broad; white when young, turning 

 pink or flesh-colored when mature. 



Stem cylindric or enlarged at the base; upper portion 

 white, the lower portion colored like the cap; usually smooth; 

 nearly soHd; brittle; easily separated from the cap; 2 to 6 

 inches long. 



Spores flesh-colored; broadly elliptic; smooth; 6-8 by 5-6 

 microns in diameter. 



This species is very common in New York and very vari- 

 able, yet it is not abundant. Usually but one or two speci- 

 mens are found at a time. It grows especially on or about 

 old stumps and prostrate trunks and may be found in wet 

 weather from May to October. The tendency of the gills 

 to liquefy is often shown by their wetting the paper on which 

 the cap has been placed for the purpose of catching the 

 spores. Peck. 



Peck wrote that, in spite of its name, he had never seen it 

 fawn-colored. 



The genus Psathyrella 



Plants of this genus of black-spored mushrooms have fragile, 

 thin caps with striations or radial lines upon them and when 

 young, the edge lies straight against the stem. The gills are 

 black to sooty and are of a uniform color and not spotted as 

 in mushrooms of the genus Panaeolus. The species are small 

 and can seldom be gathered in quantity. Those tested have 

 the mushroom flavor and are valued for the savor they im- 

 part to less gifted species when cooked with them. 



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