REPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST I9OO I73 



EDIBLE FUNGI 

 Lepiota clypeolaria {Bull) Fr. 



SHIELD LEPIOTA 



PLATE 7G, FIG, 1-7 



Pileus thin, soft, convex or subcampanulate, becoming nearly plane, 

 obtuse or umbonate, squamose, whitish or yellowish, the' center or umbo 

 smooth, yellowish or brownish, the margin often appendiculate with 

 fragments of the veil, flesh white; lamellae thin, close, free, white; stem 

 slender, equal or slightly tapering upward, hollow, fragile, palHd, adorned 

 with soft, loose, white or yellowish floccose scales or filaments; spores 

 oblong or subfusiform, .0005-.0008 of an iach long, ,ooo24-.ooo3 broad. 



The cap of the shield lepiota is at first somewhat ovate or bell-shaped, 

 but with advancing age it becomes convex above or nearly flat. It is 

 white or whitish but spotted with numerous small scales of a yellowish 

 or brownish yellow color. These scales are the result of the breaking 

 up of the thin cuticle that covers the very young plant, and they have 

 the same color as it. A small space in the center is brown or yellowish 

 brown or darker than the rest of the cap, because the cuticle covering it 

 remains unbroken and retains its color. The center in some specimens 

 is more prominent than in others, giving what is called an umbonate cap. 

 The margin of the cap is sometimes shaggy, specially in young plants, 

 by the adhering fragments of the whitish veil. 



The gills are thin, closely placed side by side and rounded at the end 

 next the stem, but they are not attached to the stem. They are white. 

 The stem is rather long and slender, fragile and adorned with loose, soft 

 fibrils or flocculent, cottony tufts which give it a somewhat shaggy ap- 

 pearance, but it becomes smoother as the plant grows older. 



The cap is usually from 1-2.5 ii^ches broad, and the stem from 1.5-3 

 inches long and 1.5-3 lines thick. The plants grow in woods, specially 

 in hilly and mountainous regions, and are generally solitary or few in a 

 place, but in favorable seasons they are of frequent occurrence and may 

 be found from July to October. Though small and thin, the caps are 

 well flavored and make a desirable dish. L. m etulaespora B. & Br. 

 scarcely diflers from this species except in the striate margin of its cap. 



