78 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Clitocybe multiceps Pk. 



MANY CAP CLITOCYBE 

 N. Y. State Mus. Bui. 139, p.37, pl.117, fig.7-9 



Pileus fleshy, firm, convex, moist in wet weather, whitish, grayish, 

 yellowish gray or grayish brown, sometimes slightly silky and 

 brownish in the center, often irregular from mutual pressure, flesh 

 white, taste oily, slightly disagreeable ; lamellae close, adnate or 

 slightly decurrent, white or whitish ; stem equal or slightly thick- 

 ened at the base, firm, glabrous, solid or stuffed, slightly pruinose at 

 the top, white or whitish ; spores globose, 5-8 /x in diameter. 



Pileus 2.5-7 cm broad ; stem 5-10 cm long, 6-12 mm thick. 



Cespitose, rarely solitary. Open ground or in grassy places. June 

 to October. Common. Edible. 



The tufts may be composed of many or few individuals. The 

 lamellae are sometimes sinuate on one side of the stem, thereby 

 indicating a close relationship with the genus Tricholoma. In var. 

 tricholoma Pk. nearly or quite all the lamellae are sinuate. 

 Such specimens might easily be referred to that genus, but the habit 

 and all other characters indicate its place here. The flavor of the 

 uncooked mushroom varies. In some it is very disagreeable, in 

 others but slightly so. Some pronounce it among the best of mush- 

 rooms when cooked, others say it is unfit to eat. 



Infundibuliformes 



Pileus becoming infundibuliform or evenly depressed or umbili- 

 cate in the center ; lamellae deeply and evenly decurrent from the 

 first; stem spongy, externally fibrous. 



The funnel form pileus is characteristic of many of the species 

 of this section and is suggestive of its name. The lamellae are 

 equally decurrent, unlike, in this respect, those of the preceding 

 section. The pileus is not truly hygrophanous, but in some species 

 it is moist or subhygrophanous and becomes paler with the escape 

 of the moisture, in others it is dry. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES 



Pileus dry i 



Pileus moist when young or in wet weather 7 



I Mature pileus normally infundibuliform 2 



I Mature pileus not normally infundibuliform 4 



2 Pileus white catina 



2 Pileus not white 3 



3 Pileus 8 cm or more broad maxima 



3 Pileus less than 8 cm broad infundibuliformis 



( 



