REPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST 



269 



almost white or pale grayish. The flesh when dry is nearly 

 white and has a pleasant taste. 



The gills are closely placed and rounded at the end next the 

 stem, to which they are but slightly attached, or from which 

 they may be entirely free in some cases. They are generally 

 more brightly colored in the young plant than in the mature one. 



The stem is generally rather short and stout, its length being 

 less than the diameter of the cap. It is solid, and externally 

 adorned with fibrils and downy particles when young and fresh, 

 but it soon becomes smooth. In color it is like the cap or paler 

 than it. It is sometimes a little thicker at the base than at the 

 top, and in one variety, which I have called var. bulbosum, and 

 which is represented by figures 7 and 8, it is very distinctly 

 bulbous. 



Cap two to five inches broad, stem one to three inches long, 

 one-half to one inch thick. 



It grows in thin woods and in grassy open places. It does not 

 often appear before September, but it may be found till freezing 

 weather stops its growth. It generally grows singly or in 

 groups, but occasionally it is found in clusters of several indi- 

 viduals. 



Nearly all writers speak well of its edible qualities. Dr. 

 Badham says that its taste is pleasant, and when not water- 

 soaked it is a fine, firm fungus with a flavor like veal. Letellier 

 states that it can be eaten with pleasure and without the least 

 risk. Others pronounce it edible, very good, highly esteemed, 

 very savory. My own experience leads me to place it among the 

 first-class mushrooms. 



In England this species is sometimes called Blewits and in 

 France, Blue stem, although the color in our plant is more violet 

 or lilac than blue. In Europe it is said to have been sometimes 

 confused with Tricholoma nudum, a very closely related species, 

 and also with Cortinarius violaceus, the Yiolet cortinarius, but 

 such mistakes could result in no harm to the eater, for both these 

 are edible and perfectly safe. So far as known, we have no hurt- 

 ful species with which the Masked tricholoma would be likely to 

 be confused. Its gills are somewhat separable from the 

 hymenophore or flesh of the cap in the same manner as the gills 

 of a Paxillus are, and for this reason the species has sometimes 



