SUBSECTlOh HYGROCYBE 135 



"primuline yellow" over the mid-portion, apex "deep chrome, base 



whitish, equal or slight!) enlarged below. Fragile, moist, not viscid, 

 smooth but in age becoming Longitudinally striate and sometimes 

 slightly lacerated, stuffed then hollow. 



Spores 8-12(14) X 4-6.5(9) /*, ellipsoid, smooth, white in mass. 

 yellow in Melzer's reagent. Basidia 28-56 x 7-11 /;, 2- and 4-spored. 

 Pleuroevstidia at times present and variable: basidia-like but with the 

 enlarged apex 10-15 //. broad, to fusoid or elavate then 10-86 7-17 m: 

 eheiloevstidia somewhat fusoid, 52-68 X 4-5 /x. Gill trama of parallel 

 hyphae, 9-20 ,* broad. Laetifers yellowish. (9) L6-32 ,> broad. Pileus 

 trama homogeneous beneath a gelatinous pellicle which is 80-130 /' 

 thick, of colorless hyphae, mostly repent, but some more or less erect, 

 10-20 /i broad. No hypodermium. Pileus trama composed of radially- 

 disposed hyphae. Clamp connections present on the eutieular and 

 gill trama hyphae. 



Habit, Habitat, and Distbibutiox — Gregarious on humus and 

 scil, in deciduous, coniferous, and mixed woods, Canada, New Hamp- 

 shire, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Wyoming, 

 California, and Washington, May-August. 



Matebial Studied — califobnia: Smith 56221. Florida: Singer 

 F194A, F194B, F1127. Massachusetts: Bigelow 6983, 6984. Michigan: 

 Chmielewski 7; Harding 94, 287; M. Lange 1449; Potter 3827; Smith 

 9635. 15315, 15349, 15372, 15373, 15385, 15446, 18677, 37590, 39407. 

 42927; Thiers 3660. new hampshibe: Singer W30. Tennessee: Hesler 

 9028, 10244, 12878, 13798, 13840, 19378, 20554, 23028, 23035; Norris & 

 Hesler 22019; Shanks & Hesler 17470; Smith 10232. texas: Thiers 

 4483. Washington: Smith 17420. Wyoming: Solheim 3359. Canada: 

 Macoun (type, from Ottawa, Sept.); Kelly 631, 703, 1131, 1727, 1793. 



Obsebvations — Nctes on the tvoe: Spores 9-12.5 X 5-7 /x, ellips- 

 oid, smooth, bright yellow in Melzer's reagent. Basidia 27-38 X 6-9 p, 

 2- and 4-spored. Pleuroevstidia and eheiloevstidia none. Gill trama 

 parallel, hyphae 6-15 /* broad. Cuticle a zone of parallel, appressed, 

 gelatinous hyphae. Clamp connections none. 



Specimens of this species do not blacken when bruised or dried, a 

 character which at once distinguished it from H. conicus. The size of 

 the basidia varies in different collections, but all are the broad elavate 

 type. Beth 2- and 4-spored basidia can be found on a single pileus, 

 and thus we allow considerable variation in spore size. The bright red 

 color at once distinguished //. cuspidatus from //. acutoconicus. 



H. croceus sensu Bresadola appears to be very similar to 

 H. cuspidatus, but is characterized by the less persistent reddish 

 crange color of the pileus in contrast to the scarlet or blood red color of 



