MACROSCOPIC CHARAi 1 / RS // 



collected and wrapped in wa\cd paper packages .it the time ol collec 

 tion, the time to check lor the presence <>l a characteristic odor is w lnu 

 the package is unwrapped. It is useless to (luck the odoi after the 

 specimens have been in a refrigerator lor any length <>l time, as too 

 many variables are thus introduced. The greatest source ol error in tin- 

 matter of checking the taste is that one is 1 i k < • 1 \ not to chew the mate 



rial Long enough. Some flavors develop rather tardily. Taste is very 



likely to be altered by the process ol drying the specimens; an\ 

 original characteristic odor may be lost, though in some agarics special 

 odors develop as a result ol drying the specimens. As yet we have not 

 found this tine for Hygrophorus. 



Lamellae 



In Hygrophorus gill attachment exhibits a wide range ol condi- 

 tions from species to species. The lamellae may be adnate in one spe- 

 cies, decurrent in another, and in still others adnate at first and be- 

 come decurrent in age. Sometimes they secede in a characteristic 

 manner, as in H. squamulosus. In species with sharply conic caps they 

 are likely to be ascending-adnate and to secede readily if the cap ex- 

 pands further to plano-umbonate. Species with depressed pilei are 

 likely to have the gills become decurrent if they are not attached in 

 this manner from the beginning. 



The terms applied to the spacing of the gills are relative, but with 

 a little experience the collector will have no difficulty in recognizing 

 the spacing referred to as crowded, close, subdistant, and distant. 

 Crowded applies to a condition in which the lamellae are so close to- 

 gether that they seem to be almost in contact with each other. The 

 term close indicates a spacing where, as the term implies, the gills are 

 not far apart, but still it is evident that there is space between them. 

 Distant may be defined simply as a spacing in which the lamellae are 

 far apart, and subdistant a spacing halfway between close and distant. 

 Variation within a species will usually cover two of these categories, 

 i.e., crowded to close, close to subdistant, or subdistant to distant, and 

 one must be sure to make comparisons between mature fruiting bodies, 

 as the spacing may change somewhat from youth to age. Crowded 

 gills are shown for //. russula (Fig. 108); close for //. erubescens var. 

 erubescens (Fig. 110); and distant for //. pacificus (Fig. 113). 



Color and color change, if any, of the lamellae may be of consider 

 able taxonomic importance. In perhaps a majority ol the species they 

 are white to pallid at first, becoming cream-tinted at maturity. There 

 are, however, many species in which lamellae colors arc' distinctive, 

 and the list of colors is long: deep yellow, bright orange-, red, pink. 



