188 SECTION HYGROCYBE 



104 



Hygrophorus mycenoides Sm. & Hes. 



Lloydia 5: 42. 1942 



Illustrations : 



Figs. 2f, 7d. 



Pileus 6-12 mm broad, convex or conic at first, the margin in- 

 curved, becoming convex to plane and with a slight umbo, disc at 

 times depressed slightly and the margin spreading, "deep chrome" to 

 "light orange-yellow" over the center, the margin "mustard yellow" to 

 "Naples yellow" (orange-yellow around the disc, pale yellow toward 

 the margin ) , finally fading to almost pure white, the yellow color occa- 

 sionally persistent in various places, moist and lubricous (not truly 

 viscid), striate to the disc at first. Context thin, waxy, fragile, bright 

 yellow fading to white; odor and taste not distinctive. 



Lamellae broadly adnate to subdecurrent, bright yellow at first, 

 the faces fading to white or pale yellow before the edges, and hence 

 the lamellae frequently appear marginate, whitish over-all in age, sub- 

 distant, sometimes appearing close when the short gills are well de- 

 veloped, narrow or at late maturity rather broad. 



Stipe 2.5-4 cm long, 1-1.5 mm thick, pale wax yellow or concolor- 

 ous with the pileus, equal, slender, tubular. 



Spores (5)6-7 X 2.5-3.5 fx, narrowly ellipsoid, smooth, hyaline, yel- 

 lowish in Melzer's reagent. Basidia 18-30 X 4.5-6 /x, 4-spored. Pleuro- 

 cystidia none; cheilocystidia (16)28-33 X (4)7-9 fx, abundant, sub- 

 cylindric, the apices obtuse, thin-walled, with yellow contents at first, 

 hyaline in age. Gill trama of subparallel to slightly interwoven hyphae, 

 the cells 8-20 /x wide and 15-60 \x long, at first with pale yellow con- 

 tents. Cuticle of repent hyphae (a cutis). No hypodermium differenti- 

 ated. Pileus trama of radial hyphae. Clamp connections rare on the 

 cuticular hyphae, none found on the hyphae of the stipe. 



Habit, Habitat, and Distribution — Scattered on humus, in 

 mixed woods, Tennessee, August. 



Material Studied — Tennessee: Smith 9988 (type, from Cades 

 Cove, Great Smoky Mts. National Park, Aug. 10, 1938), 10137 (para- 

 type, same locality, Aug. 13, 1938). 



Observations — In all respects, except its basidia, this species ap- 

 peared to be a true Hygrophorus, and in fact is similar to H. cera- 

 ceus or H. parvulus in many respects. It is more Mycena-\ike than ei- 

 ther, however, hence the specific name. It is also close to the very 

 poorly known H. aurantiacoluteus B. & C. but is distinct from that 

 species as described by its broadly adnate rather than long-decurrent 



