SUBSECTION HYGROCYBE 189 

 gills. Both apparentl) have brilliant or. ni'^c colors and slendei stature. 



Our specimens showed do resemblance to Omphalic fibula in general 



appearance and lacked cvstidia; and it is largely on this basis thai we 

 have considered them to represent a different speeies. //. SubceracetU 



Mnrr. also appears to he closely related, but is described as having i 

 viscid pileus. //. wynniae B. & Br. is close hut is said to have much 



broader spores and narrow deenrrent lamellae. 



105 



Hygrophorus mephiticus Pk. 



Torrey Bot. Club Bull. 33: 213. 1906 



Pileus 2-4 cm broad, convex becoming plane or nearly so. hy- 

 grophanous, yellowish brown when moist, ochraceous when dry, some- 

 times tinged green, margin striatulate when moist. Context whitish. 

 sometimes tinged yellow; odor mephitic. 



Lamellae sinuate, adnexed, grayish-violaceous or gravish purple, 

 broad, thick, distant, at times connected by veins, often wavy, lamellu- 

 lae present. 



Stipe 3-5 cm long, 2-5 mm thick, concolorous with the pileus or 

 paler, base often whitish-mycelioid, equal or tapering below, curved or 

 flexuous, brittle, hollow. 



Spores 8.5-12 X 5-7 /x, ellipsoid, smooth, pale yellowish in Melzer's 

 reagent. Basidia 46-63 X 6-8 /*, 2- and 4-spored. Pleurocystidia and 

 cheilocystidia none. Gill trama of undulating-subparallel, or very 

 slightly interwoven hyphae, 4-9 /x broad. Cuticle of repent hyphae, a 

 few with free ends. Clamp connections few in the gill trama. 



Habit, Habitat, and Distribution — Among Sphagnum in 

 swamps, Massachusetts, August. 



Material Studied — Massachusetts: Davis (type, collected by 

 Simon Davis, Stow, Aug. 25, 1905). 



Observations — The microscopic characters given above arc based 

 on our study of the type. 



Peck ( 1906 ) states that this is a peculiar and well-marked species, 

 easily recognized by its unusual colors, odor of skunk, and habitat. The 

 odor persists several days after the plants have been collected. 



The dried specimens (type), especially their broad, more or less 

 distant gills, remind one of Laccaria laccata (Fr. ) Berk. & Br. 



There is no reason to place H. mephiticus in svnonomv with //. 

 auratoccphalus as was done by Murrill (1916). Although both species 

 have a mephitic odor, the larger spores and violaceous gills will dis- 

 tinguish H. mephiticus at once. Bigelow's H. purpurcofolius differs in 

 pileus colors, gill attachment, and odor of the context. 



