10 BULLETIN 1*75, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Cap 1 to 11 inches broad; stem 1 to 2 inches long, 2 to 3 lines thick. 



This is an interesting little species of rather infrequent occurrence. The farinose, 

 or mealy, character of the cap is the most striking specific feature. It appears bordering 

 roadsides or in open woods during the summer and early fall months. 



Amanitopsis vaginata. (Edible.) 



Cap thin and fragile, ovate to bell shaped, or expanded, sometimes umbonate,' gray, 

 mouse colored, or brown, smooth, shining, margin deeply striate; gills white, free; 

 stem smooth or mealy, hollow or stuffed, not bulbous, tapering above; volva con- 

 spicuous, soft, sheathing but free, often remaining in the ground, being easily separable 

 from the stem. 



Cap If to 4 inches broad; stem 3^ to 7 inches long. (PI. Ill, fig. 1; from G. F. 

 Atkinson.) 



This is a very common and widely distributed species, occurring from the Pacific 

 to the Atlantic. It is remarkable for great variation in size and color, ranging from 

 2 to 10 inches broad and varying from gray or umber to tawny. Because of these 

 variations some authorities recognize several varieties. 



Amanitopsis vaginata grows in woods, shaded situations, or lawns. It is considered 

 an excellent edible species, but is too easily confused with an Amanita to be recom- 

 mended for an article of diet. 



LEPIOTA. 



The genus Lepiota may be distinguished from Amanita and Amani- 

 topsis by the presence of a ring and the absence of a volva. The cap 

 is generally scaly or granular, and the stem is fleshy and easily separa- 

 ble from the cap, in which it leaves a cuplike depression. The gills 

 are usually free and are white when young, but certain species are 

 pink or green when mature. The ring may be fixed or free, and when 

 the plant is young it is readily seen, but before maturity it may have 

 disappeared. The genus contains some of the finest edible species as 

 well as some extremely dangerous ones. 



Lepiota atnericana. (Edible.) 



Cap ovate, then convex, expanded, umbonate, the umbo and scales reddish brown; 



flesh, white, becoming reddish if cut or bruised; gills white, ventricose, close, free; 



stem white, hollow, smooth, swollen near the base; ring rather large and delicate, 



and consequently it may disappear in old age. 



Cap 2 to 4 inches broad; stem 2 to 4 inches long, 3 to 5 lines thick. (PI. IV, fig. 1.) 

 This mushroom is of wide geographic distribution and grows singly or in clusters, 



often at the base of stumps, sometimes on sawdust piles, and again on grassy lawns. 



The plants are white when young, with the exception of the umbo and the scales, but 



in drying become smoky red. Sometimes they are erect, but frequently more or less 



ascending. Lepiota americana may be easily recognized by the peculiarity of turning 



red when bruised or old. 



Lepiota morgani. Green gill. (Poisonous.) 



Cap fleshy, globose when young, expanded to plane or slightly depressed, not umbo- 

 nate, white with a yellowish or brownish cuticle, which breaks up into scales except 

 in the center; flesh, white, changing to reddish or yellowish on being cut or bruised; 

 gills close, lanceolate, remote, white becoming green; stem firm, smooth, hollow, 

 subbulbous, tapering upward, white with brownish tinge; ring large, movable. 



Cap 5 to 9 or even 12 inches broad; stem 6 to 9 inches long, 4 to 8 lines thick. 

 (PI. V, fig. 1.) 



