SOME COMMON MUSHROOMS AND HOW TO KNOW THEM 



19 



CLITOCYBE MULTICEPS. MANY-HEADED CLITOCYBE. (EDIBLE) 



(Fig. 17) 



In this species the cap is convex, fleshy, firm, thin except on the disk, slightly 

 moist in wet weather, whitish, grayish, or yellowish gray, in young plants 

 sometimes quite brown ; the flesh is white, taste mild ; the gills are white, close, 

 adnate or somewhat decurrent ; the stem is equal or little thickened, solid or 

 stuffed, elastic, firm, somewhat pruinose at the apex. 



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



This species is subject to great variation in size, color, shape of gills, texture, 

 and taste. Sometimes the gills are very slightly sinuate, remind :ng one of the 

 genus Tricholoma. 



Clitocybe multiceps appears abundantly in the spring and autumn, growing 

 in dense clusters often hidden by the grass or stubble. It is edible and by many 

 considered very good. 



Figure 18. — Clitocybe ochropurpurea 



CLITOCYBE OCHROPURPUREA. PURPLE-GILLED CLITOCYBE 



(Fig. 18) 



In this species the cap is subhemispherical to flat, in age upturned and 

 irregular, pale yellow or yellowish tan, slightly changing to purple, smooth or 

 somewhat hairy ; the gills are adnate or decurrent, thick, broader behind, 

 purple; the stem is solid, equal or swollen in center, conspicuously fibrous, 

 paler in color than the pileus. 



The cap is 2 to 4 inches broad ; the stem is 2% to 5 inches long. 



CUtocybe ochropurpurea is to be found solitary or in small associations in 

 grassy places and open woods, mixed or coniferous. It is coarse in appearance 

 and sometimes attains a height of 6 inches. The decided purple of the gills 

 makes it at first difficult for the amateur to recognize this species as belonging 

 to the white-spored group, but a spore print will show the spores to be white 

 or slightly cream. 



