MUSHROOMS AND OTHER COMMON FUNGI. 19 



Collybia radicata. Rooting Collybia. (Edible.) 



Cap convex to nearly plane, distinctly umbonate, often wrinkled, especially near 

 the umbo, grayish brown or almost white, glutinous when moist, margin incurved 

 when young, sometimes upturned when mature; flesh thin, white; gills white, broad, 

 .ventricoso, distant, adnexed, sometimes notched behind; stem smooth, striate, 

 grooved or mealy, straight, slightly twisted, same color as the cap, but generally paler, 

 slightly tapering upward, and with a long, rooting base. 

 Cap 1£ to 3 inches broad; stem 4 to 8 inches long, 3 to 5 lines thick. (PL II, fig. 3.) 

 The "rooted Collybia" may be found in woods or on shaded grassy places, either 

 singly or in groups. It is readily recognized by the distinctive character of the gills 

 and by the tapering, pointed root, which often greatly exceeds the stem in length. It 

 has always been reported as edible and possessing a sweet, delicate flavor until recently, 

 when collections of distinctly bitter plants were made in New York. 



Collybia velutipes. (Edible.) 



Cap convex, soon plane, sometimes irregular and excentric, smooth, viscid, tawny 

 yellow, with margin probably lighter than the disk; flesh thick in the center, thin at 

 the margin, soft, watery, whiteor yellowish; gills broad, rather distant, unequal, tawny 

 or light yellow, rounded behind and slightly adnexed; stem tough, cartilaginous, 

 densely velvety villose, deep umber becoming black, equal or slightly enlarged at 

 base, hollow or stuffed. 



Cap 1 to 3 inches broad; stem 1 to 3 inches long, 2 to 4 lines thick. (PI. XV, fig. 3; 

 from C. G. Lloyd.) 



The velvety-stemmed Collybia is readily recognized by its dark villose stem and 

 viscid cap, which in wet weather may even appear to have a thick, glutinous coat. 

 It grows on ground which contains decaying wood, on stumps, or even on living trees 

 where the mycelium may have gained entrance through a wound. In such instances 

 it assumes a semiparasitic habit and considerable injury to the tree may result. While 

 Collybia velutipes is reported as occurring in every month of the year, it is especially 

 a cold-weather species. 



MYCENA. 



In the genus Mycena the cap is thin, conic or bell shaped, and 

 usually streaked with longitudinal lines. In some species it is blunt 

 or umbonate when expanded. The margin is at first straight and 

 closely applied to the stem. The gills are adnate or adnexed, and in 

 some species there is a slight decurrent tooth. 



The plants are small, brittle, and often possess a strong alkaline 

 odor or an odor of radishes, which frequently disappears in drying. 

 As the odor is not permanent, the collector should promptly note the 

 character when the specimens are fresh. One species not here de- 

 scribed is bitter. 



Mycena epipterygia. 



Cap conic or bell shaped, rather obtuse, gray, viscid, skin peeling off readily when 

 moist, margin striate, sometimes notched; gills whitish or gray, tinged with red or 

 blue, decurrent by a tooth; stem tough, hollow, flexuous or straight, yellowish or 

 same color as cap, viscid when moist, villose at base. 



Cap one-half to 1 inch broad; stem 2 to 4 inches long, perhaps less than 1 line thick. 



These little plants are widely distributed and grow either solitary or in clusters on 

 the ground or on branches among moss and dead leaves. They are devoid of the alka- 

 line odor possessed by a number of the other species of this genus. The subject of 

 their edibility appears not to have received attention. 



