196 SECTION HYGROCYBE 



Habit, Habitat, and Distribution — Gregarious on soil, in decidu- 

 ous, mixed, and coniferous woods, Tennessee, North Carolina, and 

 California, July-September; also Europe and Japan. 



Material Studied — California: Smith 9392, and Trinidad 

 (Calif.), Jan. 1938. north Carolina: Smith & Hesler 7457; Hesler 

 19123; Totten 4332 (as H. metapodius). Tennessee: Hesler 20889, 

 22003; R. F. Rodier 20122. Austria: Moser, Aug. 27, 1948 (Hesler 

 24120). 



Observations — The dull colors, the odor ( not nitrous, but at times 

 fruity), equal stipe, the color change exhibited by the various parts, 

 and the deeply emarginate gills distinguish our collections. Orton 

 (1960) says the odor is none or nitrous. The vinaceous reaction to 

 Melzer's reagent of the gill trama and flesh of the pileus, described 

 above, is best observed on specimens which have not blackened on 

 drying. The reaction is sporadic and weak, most of the tissue remaining 

 sordid yellowish brown. 



Singer (1951) lists H. metapodius as a synonym of H. ovinus. 

 But, J. Lange (1935-40), Bresadola (1928), and Orton (1960) recog- 

 nize both species. Orton (1960: 256) reports the amyloid character of 

 the spores of H. metapodius, a feature which adequately separates it 

 from H. ovinus. In our study of Moser's collection from Austria, we 

 found pseudocystidia — structures we had not observed in H. ovinus. 



Hongo (1958a) reports H. ovinus from Japan. 



SUBSECTION PUNICEI Fayod 



Ann. Sci. Nat. Ser. 7(9): 309. 1889. 



Pileus viscid, stipe dry; pileus not sharply conic. 



Type species: H. puniceus Fr. 



SERIES PUNICEI 



Key to Species 



1. Spores 11-16 X 8-12 fx; pileus white, stained pinkish at times 



111. H. albicarneus 



1 . Not as above 2 



2. Spores globose to subglobose, 5-7 X 4.5-7 ^; pileus whitish 



112. H. sphaerosporus 



2. Spores 9-12 X 5-6.5 ^; pileus white, lamellae close and narrow 

 96. H. brevipes 



2. Not in either of above choices 3 



3. Pileus white to whitish 4 



3. Pileus at least distinctly colored over disc 5 



