40 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



striatiilate, the obscure striations being the shadowy Hnes of the 

 gills showing through the membranous and almost translucent sub- 

 stance of the margin. In drying, the excessive moisture escapes 

 from the center of the cap first. The margin is naked even in young 

 plants and i-n this character the species differs from its near relative, 

 the masked tricholoma. It is also smaller than that species and more 

 highly colored when young. The naked margin is probably the 

 character which suggested the name of the species. The typical 

 form of the species is described as having a stuffed stem. In our 

 plants the stem is sometimes clearly hollow. An acid odor has been 

 ascribed to the species but no distinct odor was perceptible in our 

 specimens. European mycologists do not appear to have given very 

 definitely the color of the spores of this species. Professor Fries 

 describes the spores of the species referred by him to Paxillus, tribe^ 

 Lepista, as sordid, and W. G. Smith, who raised this tribe to generic 

 rank and referred both Tricholoma nudum and T . p e r - 

 s o n a t u m to it, says the spores are dirty white. In our plant 

 the spores are pale flesh color and indicate a close relationship 

 between this species and those of the pink spored series, specially 

 those in the genus Clitopilus. But the close connection between 

 this species and Tricholoma personatum persuades us 

 at present to let the species remain where it has so long stood not- 

 withstanding the peculiar spore color. The cap in our specimens 

 is 1-3 inches broad, the stem 1-2 inches long and 2-4 lines thick. 

 Stevenson says of the European plant, " Not recommended as 

 edible." Gillet says " very good " and " very delicate " but rarely 

 used. In our trial of it we found it agreeable in flavor, digestible 

 and harmless and have no hesitation in placing it among the edible 

 species. Its worst defect is its scarcity. 



Clitocybe amethystina (Bolt.) 



AMETHYST CLITOCYBE 



PLATE 106, FIG. 1-6 



Pileus at first hemispheric, becoming broadly convex or nearly 

 plane, hygrophanous, often obscurely striate on the margin when 

 young and moist, depressed in the center or frequently umbilicate, 

 often irregular, violaceous when moist, grayish or grayish white 

 when dry ; lamellae rather thick, subdistant, violaceous, adnate or 

 slightly decurrent; stem slender, rigid, straight or flexuose, stuffed, 



