hollow. The collar is flabby, and often lacerated and imperfect. 
The wrapper is very friable, and its remains at the base of the 
stem are so evanescent that frequently no traces of it are seen. 
Were there no warts on the cap, such specimens would scarcely 
be thought to belong to the genus Amanita. 
The cap is commonly three to five inches broad, and the stem 
three to six inches long. This mushroom grows either in woods 
or in open, grassy places, and occurs here from July to Septem- 
ber. It has been regarded by some of the old writers as poison- 
ous, suspected, or of doubtful quality, but more recent authors 
agree in classing it among the edible species. Cordier says it is 
one of the most delicate mushrooms; Cooke says it is a very com- 
mon, safe and useful species, and Stevenson pronounces it de- 
licious and perfectly wholesome and valuable on account of its 
abundance. 
In this country it is much more common than the Orange 
mushroom. 
If attention is given to its sordid colors, its reddish stains, and 
the almost total absence of remains of the wrapper at the base of 
the stem, there need be no fear of confusing it with any poison- 
ous species. 
The Fir cone amanita, Amanita strobiliformis, sometimes 
called the “Warted mushroom,” is a very large, heavy species, 
whose cap is adorned with firm, persistent warts. It is some- 
times found in the more southern States, and is considered an 
escellent esculent species; but not having any acquaintance with 
its edible qualities, it is dismissed from further consideration 
here. 
The genus Amanitopsis differs from Amanita, to which it was 
formerly joined, chiefly in the absence of the collar from the 
stem. We have a single edible species which is so variable in 
color that its different forms have received several different 
names. It is the Sheathed amanitopsis or Sheathed mushroom, 
Amanitopsis vaginatus. 
The cap is rather thin and fragile,.convex or nearly flat when 
mature, perfectly smooth, or rarely with one or two patches of 
the ruptured wrapper still adhering to it, and distinctly marked 
on the margin with deep striations, as in the Orange mushroom. 
Its gills are narrowed toward the stem, but not attached to it. 
They are white or whitish, generally a little more dingy in the 
dark-colored variety. The stem also is white or dingy white, 
and commonly sprinkled with minute mealy or branny particles 
or flocculent scales, especially in the young, vigorous plant. It 
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