14 



MINNESOTA MUSHROOMS 



Xot uncommon in meadows and pastures, but rare m the woods ; often formmg 

 large fairy rings. Some collectors lind this species delicious, hut since it is known to 

 poison some people seriously, it should be eaten by no one until he has tried the effect 

 of a small jjiece upon himself. 



Lepiota naucina Smooth Lepiota 



Cap medium. 5-10 cm. wide, wholly w-hite or somewhat buff, smooth or rarely 

 with tiny scales, spherical to bell-shaped, then conye.x or expanded ; s t e m rather 

 -tout. 5-12 cm. by 7-15 mm., wdiite. more or less coyered with fibers, enlarged below, 

 stuft'ed. then some\\-hat hollow; gills free, white, then pink wdien old, crowded; 

 spores o\"al. S-10 \ 5-8fi. The name refers to the shape of the cap. 



Common in meadows, lawns and along grassy roadsides during September and 



October. This is among 

 the best of the edible 

 mushrooms ; it resembles 

 the coiumon mushroom, 

 A g a r i c u s c a m p e s- 

 t e r, but is readily dis- 

 tinguished by the fact 

 that the white gills be- 

 come pink only when the 

 plant is mature or old. 



Lepiota cepaestipes 

 Onion Stem 



Cap small. 2-5 cm. 

 wide, white to \-ellow. the 

 disk becoming darker, the 

 surface roughened with 

 many tiny brownish scales, 

 oyate or bell-shaped, then 

 expanded, margin striate 

 or folded; stem 5-10 



cm. tall, white with little libers, tapering upward, swollen toward the base, hollow, 



ring thin, sometimes falling away ; gills free, white, crowded : spores elliptic, 



8-10 X 5-8|a. The name refers to the swollen tapering stem. 



Occasional in rich open ground, densely clustered; reputed to be delicinus 



\yhen cooked in any way, 



Lepiota farinosa Mealy Lepiota 



Cap medimn. 4-7 cm. wide, wdiite or whitish, becoming brownish on the disk 

 the surface coyered with a dense wdiite meal, which cracks forming irregular loose 

 scales, oyate or bell-shaped, becoming coiryex or expanded in age ; stem 5-8 cm. 

 by 4-8 mm., white to yellowish, mealy or smooth, ecjual or somewhat broader below 



Figure 7. Lepiot.\ x.\ucix-\ 



