The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Part 18

When found in June the plants are a shade whiter than in the fall. The fall plants are very much the oyster color. The early plant is a more tender one and better for table use, however, I do not regard it as excellent. They are found in woods, in old pastures by logs and stumps, and in lawns. June to October.

_c.l.i.tocybe clavipes. Pers._

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._

Figure 69.--c.l.i.tocybe clavipes.]

Clavipes is from _clava_, a club, and _pes_, a foot.

The pileus is one to two and a half inches broad, fleshy, rather spongy, convex to expanded, obtuse, even, smooth, gray or brownish, sometimes whitish toward the margin.

The gills are decurrent, descending, rather distant, nearly entire, rather broad, white.

The stem is two inches long, swollen at the base, attenuated upward, stuffed, spongy, fibrillose, livid sooty. Spores are elliptical, 6-74.

I found specimens on Cemetery Hill underneath pine trees. I sent some to Dr. Herbst and Prof. Atkinson; both p.r.o.nounced them C. clavipes. They resemble quite closely C. nebularis. I have also found this plant in mixed woods. Edible and fairly good.

_c.l.i.tocybe tornata. Fr._

Tornata means turned in a lathe; so called because of its neat and regular form.

The pileus is...o...b..cular, plane, somewhat depressed, thin, smooth, shining, white, darker on the disk, very regular.

The gills are decurrent adnate, rather crowded, white.

The stem is stuffed, firm, slender, smooth, p.u.b.escent at the base.

The spores are elliptical, 4-63-4.

These are small, very regular, and inodorous plants. They are found in open fields in the gra.s.s about elm stumps. July to September. They are edible and cook readily.

_c.l.i.tocybe metachroa. Fr._

THE OBCONIC c.l.i.tOCYBE. EDIBLE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 70.--c.l.i.tocybe metachroa. Caps dark gray. Gills pale gray.]

Metachroa means changing color.

The pileus is one to two and a half inches broad, somewhat fleshy, convex, then plane, depressed, smooth, hygrophanous, brownish-gray, then livid, growing pale.

The gills are attached to the stem, crowded, pale gray, slightly decurrent.

The stem is one to two inches long, stuffed, then hollow, apex mealy, equal, gray.

It differs from C. ditopa in being inodorous and having a thicker and depressed pileus.

The caps are quite smooth and are frequently concentrically cracked or wrinkled, much as in c.l.i.topilus noveboracensis.

It is found growing on leaves in mixed woods, after a rain, in August and September. When young the margin is incurved but wavy in age. It is quite a hardy plant.

_c.l.i.tocybe adirondackensis. Pk._

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 71.--c.l.i.tocybe adirondackensis. Three-fourths natural size. Caps white.]

Adirondackensis, so called because the plant was first found in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.

The pileus is thin, submembranaceous, funnel-form, with the margin decurved, nearly smooth, hygrophanous, white, the disk often darker.

The gills are white, very narrow, scarcely broader than the thickness of the flesh of the pileus, crowded, long, decurrent, subarcuate, some of them forked.

The stem is slender, subequal, not hollow, whitish, mycelio-thickened at the base. _Peck._

The pileus is one to two inches broad and the stem is one to two and a half long. This is quite a pretty mushroom and has the c.l.i.tocybe appearance in a marked degree. The long, narrow, decurrent gills, sometimes tinged with yellow, some of them forked, margin of the pileus sometimes wavy, will a.s.sist in distinguishing it. I have no doubt of its edibility. Found among leaves in woods after heavy rains. With us it is confined to the wooded hillsides. The specimens in Figure 71 were found in Michigan and photographed by Dr. Fischer. Found in July and August.

_c.l.i.tocybe ochropurpurea. Berk._

THE CLAY-PURPLE c.l.i.tOCYBE. EDIBLE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._

Plate XI. Figure 72.--c.l.i.tocybe ochropurpurea.]

Ochropurpurea is from _ochra_, ocher or clay color; _purpureus_, purple; it is so called because the caps are clay-color and the gills are purple. The caps are convex, fleshy, quite compact, clay-colored, sometimes tinged with purple around the margin, cuticle easily separating, margin involute, often at first tomentose, old forms often repand or wavy.

The gills are purple, sometimes whitish in old specimens from the white spores, broad behind, decurrent, distant.

The stem is paler than the cap, often tinted with purple, solid, frequently long and swollen in the middle, fibrous. The spores white or pale yellow.

The first time I found this species I never dreamed that it was a c.l.i.tocybe. It was especially abundant on our wooded clay banks or hillsides, near Chillicothe, during the wet weather in July and August of 1905. It is a hardy plant and will keep for days. Insects do not seem to work in it readily. When cooked carefully it is rather tender and fairly good.

_c.l.i.tocybe subditopoda. Pk._

Subditopoda is so called because it is nearly (sub) like Fries' C.

ditopus, which means living in two places, perhaps referring to the stem being sometimes central and sometimes eccentric.

The pileus is thin, convex or nearly plane, umbilicate, hygrophanous, grayish-brown, striate on the margin when moist, paler when dry, flesh concolorous, odor and taste farinaceous.

The gills are broad, close, adnate, whitish or pale cinereous.

The stem is equal, smooth, hollow, colored like the pileus. The spores are elliptical, .0002 to .00025 inch long, .00012 to .00016 broad.

_Peck._