SOME COMMON MUSHROOMS AND HOW TO KNOW THEM 35 



XAUCORIA SEMIORBICULARIS. (EDIBLE) 



In this species the cap is hemispherical, convex to expanded, smooth, even, 

 slightly viscid when moist, corrugated or cracked when dry and old, tawny, 

 rust colored ; the gills are adnate, sometimes notched, crowded, pale, then rust 

 colored ; the stem is tough, slender, straight, equal, smooth, hollow, with a 

 free fibrous tube, pale reddish brown, darker at the base. 



The cap is 1 to 2 inches broad ; the stem is 3 to 4 inches long. 



This is one of the most common and widely distributed species. It is among 

 the first to appear in the spring and continues until autumn, being particularly 

 abundant in wet weather. 



It is edible, easily cooked, and of fair flavor. 







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Figure 32. — Cortinarius lilacinus. (Edible) 

 GALERA 



The plants of the genus Galera are slender and fragile. The cap 

 is regular, thin, more or less membranaceous, conic or bell-shaped, 

 often striate, especially when moist, margin straight, never incurved, 

 as in Naucoria. The gills are adnate or adnexed. The stem is some- 

 what cartilaginous, hollow, and polished. 



GALERA TENERA. (EDIBLE) 



In this species the cap is conic or bell-shaped, rust colored when damp, 

 ochraceous when dry, hygrophanous, membranaceous, smooth, but striate when 

 damp; the gills are cinnamon, broad, ascending adnate; the stem is slender, 

 fragile, smooth, sometimes striate, mealy above, paler than cap. 



The cap is 5 lines to three-fourths inch broad ; the stem is 2 to 4 inches long. 



This little fungus is very common in lawns or in richly manured places, where 

 it appears early in the spring and persists until frost. It exhibits considerable 

 variation in size and color, the latter ranging from light tan to brown and 

 depending upon conditions of humidity. 



AGARICUS 



The genus Agaricus is characterized by brown or blackish spores 

 with a purplish tinge and by the presence of a ring. The cap is 

 mostly fleshy and the gills are free from the stem. The genus is 

 closely related to Stropharia, but is separated from it by the fact 

 that it has free gills and by the noncontinuity of the stem and the 

 cap. The species of Agaricus occur in pastures, meadows, woods, 

 and manured ground. All are edible, but certain forms are of 

 especially good flavor. Bright colors are mostly absent and white 

 or dingy brown shades predominate. 



