Chapter XX (1)

=Amanita frostiana= Pk. =Poisonous.=--According to Dr. Peck, who published the first description of this plant, it grows in company with _Amanita muscaria_, but seems to prefer more dense woods, especially mixed or hemlock woods, and occurs from June to October. The plant is 5--8 cm. high, the caps 2--5 cm. broad, and the stems 3--6 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is "convex to expanded, bright orange or yellow, warty, sometimes nearly or quite smooth, striate on the margin; =lamellæ= white or tinged with yellow; =stem= white or yellowish, stuffed, bearing a slight, sometimes evanescent annulus, bulbous at the base, the bulb _slightly margined_ by the volva; spores globose," 7.5--10 µ in diameter. He notes that it appears like a small form of _A. muscaria_, to which it was first referred as _var. minor_,--"The only characters for distinguishing it are its small size and its globose spores." It is near _A. muscaria var. puella_ Pers.

I have several times found this plant in the Adirondack mountains, N. Y., and Ithaca, and also at Blowing Rock, N. C. The volva is often yellowish, so that the warts on the pileus are also yellow, and sometimes the only remnants of the volva on the base of the stem are yellow or orange particles. The annulus is also frequently yellow. In our plants, which seem to be typical, the spores are nearly globose, varying to oval, and with the minute point where the spore was attached to the sterigma at the smaller end, the spores usually being finely granular, 6--9 µ in diameter, and rarely varying towards short elliptical, showing a tendency to approach the shape of the spores of _A. muscaria_. The species as I have seen it is a very variable one, large forms being difficult to separate from _A. muscaria_, on the one hand, and others difficult to separate from the depauperate forms of _A. cæsarea_. In the latter, however, the striæ are coarser, though the yellow color may be present only on portions of the pileus. The spores of _A. cæsarea_ are from globose to oval, ovate or short elliptical, the globose ones often agreeing in size with the spores of _A. frostiana_, but they usually contain a prominent oil drop or "nucleus," often nearly filling the spore. In some specimens of _A. frostiana_ the spores are quite variable, being nearly globose, ovate to elliptical, approaching the spores of _A. muscaria_. These intermediate forms should not in themselves lead one to regard all these three species as representing variations in a single variable species. With observations in the field I should think it possible to separate them.

=Amanita phalloides= Fr. =Deadly Poisonous.=--The _Amanita phalloides_ and its various forms, or closely related species, are the most dangerous of the poisonous mushrooms. For this reason the _A. phalloides_ is known as the _deadly agaric_, or _deadly amanita_. The plant is very variable in color, the forms being pure white, or yellowish, green, or olive to umber. Variations also occur in the way in which the volva ruptures, as well as in the surface characters of the stem, and thus it is often a difficult matter to determine whether all these forms represent a single variable species or whether there are several species, and if so, what are the limits of these species. Whether these are recognized as different forms of one species or as different species, they are all very poisonous. The plant usually occurs in woods or along the borders of woods. It does, however, sometimes occur in lawns. It varies from 6--20 cm. high, the cap from 3--10 cm. broad, and the stem 6--10 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is fleshy, viscid or slimy when moist, smooth, that is, not striate, orbicular to bell-shaped, convex and finally expanded, and in old specimens more or less depressed by the elevation of the margin. The cap is often free from any remnants of the volva, while in other cases portions of the volva or outer veil appear on the surface of the cap in rather broad patches, or it may be broken up into a number of smaller ones quite evenly distributed over the surface of the cap. The presence or absence of these scales on the cap depends entirely on the way in which the volva ruptures. When there is a clean rupture at the apex the pileus is free from scales, but if portions of the apex of the volva are torn away they are apt to remain on the cap.

The white form is common in this country, and so is the olive or umber form. The yellow form is rarer. Sometimes there is only a tinge of yellow at the center of the white pileus, while in other cases a large part of the pileus may be yellow, a deeper shade usually on the center. The green form is probably more common in Europe than in this country. The olive form varies considerably also in the depth of the color, usually darker on the center and fading out to light olive or gray, or whitish, on the margin. In other cases the entire pileus may be dark olive or umber color. The =gills= in all the forms are white, and free from the stem or only joined by a narrow line. The stem is stuffed when young, but in age is nearly or quite hollow. It is cylindrical, 6--20 cm. long × 6--12 mm. in thickness. In the larger specimens the bulb is quite prominent and abrupt, while in the smaller specimens it is not always proportionally so large. The =stem= is usually smooth and the color is white, except in the dark forms, when it is dingy or partakes more or less of the color of the pileus, though much lighter in shade. There is a tendency in these forms to a discoloration of the stem where handled or bruised, and this should caution one in comparing such forms with the edible _A. rubescens_.

Perhaps no part of the plant is more variable than the outer veil or volva. Where the volva is quite thick and stout it usually splits at the apex, and there is a prominent free limb, as shown in Fig. 55. Sometimes thin portions of the volva are caught, and remain on the surface of the pileus. But when the volva is thinner and of a looser texture, it splits transversely about the middle, circumscissile, and all or a large part of the upper half of the volva then clings to the cap, and is separated into patches. Between this and the former condition there seem to be all gradations. Some of these are shown in Fig. 56, which is from a photograph of dark olive and umber forms, from plants collected in the Blue Ridge mountains, at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899. In the very young plant the volva split transversely (in a circumscissile fashion) quite clearly, and the free limb is quite short and distant from the stem on the margin of the saucer-like bulb. In the large and fully expanded plant at the center, the volva ruptured irregularly at the apex, and portions of the thin upper half remain as patches on the cap while the larger part remains as the free limb, attached at the margin of the broad saucer-shaped bulb, and collapsed up against the base of the stem.

Figure 58 and the small plant in Fig. 56, both from photographs of the sooty form of _Amanita phalloides_, show in a striking manner the typical condition of the circumscissile volva margining the broad saucer-like bulb as described for _Amanita mappa_. The color of _A. mappa_ is usually said to be straw color, but Fries even says that the color is as in _A. phalloides_, "now white, now green, now yellow, now dark brown" (Epicrisis, page 6). According to this, Fig. 58 would represent _A. mappa_.

The variable condition in this one species _A. phalloides_, now splitting at the apex, now tearing up irregularly, now splitting in a definitely circumscissile manner, seems to bid defiance to any attempt to separate the species of _Amanita_ into groups based on the manner in which the volva ruptures. While it seems to be quite fixed and characteristic in certain species, it is so extremely variable in others as to lead to the suspicion that it is responsible in some cases for the multiplication and confusion of species. At the same time, the occurrence of some of these forms at certain seasons of the year suggests the desirability of prolonged and careful study of fresh material, and the search for additional evidence of the unity of these forms, or of their definite segregation.

Since the _Amanita phalloides_ occurs usually in woods, or along borders of woods, there is little danger of confounding it with edible mushrooms collected in lawns distant from the woods, and in open fields. However, it does occur in lawns bordering on woods, and in the summer of 1899 I found several of the white forms of this species in a lawn distant from the woods. This should cause beginners and those not thoroughly familiar with the appearance of the plant to be extremely cautious against eating mushrooms simply because they were not collected in or near the woods. Furthermore, sometimes the white form of the deadly amanita possesses a faint tinge of pink in the gills, which might lead the novice to mistake it for the common mushroom. The bulb of the deadly amanita is usually inserted quite deep in the soil or leaf mold, and specimens are often picked leaving the very important character of the volva in the ground, and then the plant might easily be taken for the common mushroom, or more likely for the smooth lepiota, _Lepiota naucina_, which is entirely white, the gills only in age showing a faint pink tinge. It is very important, therefore, that, until one has such familiarity with these plants that they are easily recognized in the absence of some of these characters, the stem should be carefully dug from the soil. In the case of the specimens of the deadly amanita growing in the lawn on the campus of Cornell University, the stems were sunk to three to four inches in the quite hard ground.

=Amanita verna= Bull. =Deadly Poisonous.=--The _Amanita verna_ is by some considered as only a white form of the _Amanita phalloides_. It is of a pure white color, and this in addition to its very poisonous property has led to its designation as the "destroying angel."

The =pileus= is smooth and viscid when moist; the gills free; the =stem= stuffed or hollow in age; the =annulus= forms a broad collar, and the =volva= is split at the apex, and being quite stout, the free limb is prominent, and it hugs more or less closely to the base of the stem. Figure 59 represents the form of the plant which Gillet recognizes as _A. verna_; the pileus convex, the annulus broad and entire, and the stem scaly. These floccose scales are formed as a result of the separation of the annulus from the outer layer of the stem.

The characters presented in the formation of the veil and annulus in this species are very interesting, and sometimes present two of the types in the formation of the veil and annulus found in the genus _Amanita_. In the very young plant, in the button stage, as the young gills lie with their edges close against the side of the stem, loose threads extend from the edges of the gills to the outer layer of the stem. This outer layer of the stem forms the veil, and is more or less loosely connected with the firmer portion of the stem by loose threads. As the pileus expands, the threads connecting the edges of the gills with the veil are stronger than those which unite the veil with the surface of the stem. The veil is separated from the stem then, simultaneously, or nearly so, throughout its entire extent, and is not ripped up from below as in _Amanita velatipes_.

As the pileus expands, then, the veil lies closely over the edges of the gills until finally it is freed from them and from the margin of the pileus. As the veil is split off from the surface of the stem, the latter is torn into numerous floccose scales, as shown in Fig. 59.

In other cases, in addition to the primary veil which is separated from the stem in the manner described above, there is a secondary veil formed in exactly the same way as that described for _Amanita velatipes_.

In such cases there are two veils, or a double veil, each attached to the margin of the pileus, the upper one ascending over the edges of the gills and attached above on the stem, while the lower one descends and is attached below as it is being ripped up from a second layer of the stem. Figures 59--61 are from plants collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., in September, 1899.

=Amanita virosa= Fr. =Deadly Poisonous.=--This plant also by some is regarded as only a form of _Amanita phalloides_. It is a pure white plant and the pileus is viscid as in the _A. verna_ and _A. phalloides_. The volva splits at the apex as in _A. verna_, but the veil is very fragile and torn into shreds as the pileus expands, portions of it clinging to the margin of the cap as well as to the stem, as shown in Fig. 62. The stem is also adorned with soft floccose scales. Gillet further states that the pileus is conic to campanulate, not becoming convex as in _A. verna_ and _A. phalloides_.

The variability presented in the character of the veil and in the shape of the pileus suggests, as some believe, that all these are but forms of a single variable species. On the other hand, we need a more careful and extended field study of these variations. Doubtless different interpretations of the specific limits by different students will lead some to recognize several species where others would recognize but one. Since species are not distinct creations there may be tolerably good grounds for both of these views.

=Amanita floccocephala= Atkinson. =Probably Poisonous.=--This species occurs in woods and groves at Ithaca during the autumn. The plants are medium sized, 6--8 cm. high, the cap 3--6 cm. broad, and the stems 4--6 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is hemispherical to convex, and expanded, smooth, whitish, with a tinge of straw color, and covered with torn, thin floccose patches of the upper half of the circumscissile volva. The =gills= are white and adnexed. The =spores= are globose, 7--10 µ. The =stem= is cylindrical or slightly tapering above, hollow or stuffed, floccose scaly and abruptly bulbous below. The =annulus= is superior, that is, near the upper end of the stem, membranaceous, thin, sometimes tearing, as in _A. virosa_. The =volva= is circumscissile, the margin of the bulb not being clear cut and prominent, because there is much refuse matter and soil interwoven with the lower portion of the volva. The bulb closely resembles those in Cooke's figure (Illustrations, 4) of _A. mappa_. Figure 63 shows these characters well.

=Amanita velatipes= Atkinson. =Properties Unknown.=--This plant is very interesting since it shows in a striking manner the peculiar way in which the veil is formed in some of the species of _Amanita_. Though not possessing brilliant colors, it is handsome in its form and in the peculiar setting of the volva fragments on the rich brown or faint yellow of the pileus. It has been found on several occasions during the month of July in a beech woods on one of the old flood plains of Six-mile creek, one of the gorges in the vicinity of Ithaca, N. Y. The mature plant is from 15--20 cm. high, the cap from 8--10 cm. broad, and the stem 1--1.5 cm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is viscid when moist, rounded, then broadly oval and convex to expanded, striate on the margin, sometimes in old plants the margin is elevated. It is smooth throughout, and of a soft, rich hair brown, or umber brown color, darker in the center. Sometimes there is a decided but dull maize yellow tinge over the larger part of the pileus, but even then the center is often brown in color, shading into the yellow color toward the margin; the light yellow forms in age, often thinning out to a cream color. The flesh of the pileus is rather thin, even in the center, and becomes very thin toward the margin, as shown in Fig. 67. The scales on the pileus are more or less flattened, rather thin, clearly separated from the pileus, and easily removed. They are more or less angular, and while elongated transversely at first, become nearly isodiametric as the pileus becomes fully expanded, passing from an elongated form to rectangular, or sinuous in outline, the margin more or less upturned, especially in age, when they begin to loosen and "peel" from the surface of the cap. They are lighter in color than the pileus and I have never observed the yellow tint in them. The =gills= are white, broad at the middle, about 1 cm., and taper gradually toward each end. The =spores= are usually inequilaterally oval, 8--10 × 6--7 µ, granular when young, when mature with a large oil drop.

The =stem= is cylindrical, somewhat bulbous, the bulb often tapering abruptly, as shown in Figs. 64, 66. The stem is white, smooth, or floccose scaly where the veil has been ripped off from it. It is hollow and stuffed with loose cottony threads, as shown in Fig. 67. The =veil= is formed by the ripping up of the outer layer of the stem as the latter elongates and as the pileus expands. When it is freed from the margin of the cap it collapses and hangs downward as a broad collar (Fig. 64). The =annulus= is inferior, its position on the stem being due to the peculiar way in which it is formed.

Some of the stages of development are illustrated in Figs. 64--67. The buttons are queer looking objects, the bulb being the most prominent part. It tapers abruptly below, and on the upper side is the small rounded young cap seated in the center. The volva is present as a rough floccose layer, covering the upper part of the bulb and the young cap. As the stem elongates and the pileus enlarges and expands, the volva is torn into areolate patches. The lower patches, those adjoining the margin of the cap and the upper part of the bulb, are separated in a more or less concentric manner. One or more of them lie on the upper part of the bulb, forming the "limb" of the "ocreate" volva. Others lie around the margin of the pileus. Sometimes an annular one bordering the pileus and bulb is left clinging part way up on the stem, as shown in Fig. 66. The concentric arrangement on the pileus is sometimes shown for a considerable time, as in Fig. 67, the elongated areas being present in greater number at this age of the pileus. However, as the pileus expands more, these are separated into smaller areas and their connection with the surface of the pileus becomes less firm.

The formation of the veil and annulus can be easily followed in these figures. The margin of the cap in the button stage is firmly connected with the outer layer of the stem at its lower end. This probably occurs by the intermingling growth of the threads from the lower end of the stem and the margin of the cap, while the edges of the gills are quite free from the stem. Now as the stem elongates and the cap expands the veil is "ripped" up from the outer part of the stem. This is very clearly shown in Fig. 66, especially where two strips on the stem have become disconnected from the margin of the cap and are therefore left in position on the outside of the stem.

This species is related to _A. excelsa_ Fr., which is said to have a superior ring.

=Amanita cothurnata= Atkinson. =Probably Poisonous.=--The booted amanita, _Amanita cothurnata_, I have found in two different years in the Blue Ridge mountains at Blowing Rock, N. C., once in 1888, during the first week of September, and again during the three first weeks in September, 1899. It occurs sparingly during the first week or so of September, and during the middle of the month is very abundant. The species seems to be clearly distinct from other species of _Amanita_, and there are certain characters so persistent as to make it easily recognizable. It ranges in height from 7--12 cm. and the caps are 3--7 cm. or more broad, while the stems are 4--10 mm. in thickness. The entire plant is usually white, but in some specimens the cap has a tinge of citron yellow, or in others tawny olive, in the center.

The =pileus= is fleshy, and passes, in its development, from nearly globose to hemispherical, convex, expanded, and when specimens are very old sometimes the margin is elevated. It is usually white, though specimens are found with a tinge of citron yellow in the center, or of tawny olive in the center of other specimens. The pileus is viscid, strongly so when moist. It is finely striate on the margin, and covered with numerous, white, floccose scales from the upper half of the volva, forming more or less dense patches, which may wash off in heavy rains. The =gills= are rounded next the stem, and quite remote from it. The edge of the gills is often eroded or frazzly from the torn out threads with which they were loosely connected to the upper side of the veil in the young or button stage. The =spores= are globose or nearly so, with a large "nucleus" nearly filling the spore.

The =stem= is cylindrical, even, and expanded below into quite a large oval bulb, the stem just above the bulb being margined by a close fitting roll of the volva, and the upper edge of this presenting the appearance of having been sewed at the top like the rolled edge of a garment or buskin. The surface of the stem is minutely floccose scaly or strongly so, and decidedly hollow even from a very young stage, or sometimes when young with loose threads in the cavity.

Figures 68--70, from plants (No. 3715, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899, illustrate certain of the features in the form and development of this plant.

In _Amanita frostiana_ the remains of the volva sometimes form a similar collar, but not so stout, on the base of the stem. The variations in _A. frostiana_ where the stem, annulus and gills are white might suggest that there is a close relationship between _A. frostiana_ and _A. cothurnata_, and that the latter is only a form of the former. From a careful study of the two plants growing side by side the evidence is convincing that the two are distinct. _Amanita frostiana_ occurs also at Blowing Rock, appearing earlier in the season than _A. cothurnata_, and also being contemporary with it. _A. frostiana_ is more variable, not nearly so viscid, nor nearly so abundant, the stem is solid or stuffed, the annulus is more frail and evolved from the stem in a different manner. The volva does not leave such a constant and well defined roll where it separated on the stem transversely, and the pileus is yellow or orange. When _A. cothurnata_ is yellowish at all it is a different tint of yellow and then only a tinge of yellow at the center. Albino or faded forms of _A. frostiana_ might occur, but we would not expect them to appear at a definite season of the year in great abundance while the normal form, showing no intergrading specimens in the same locality, continued to appear in the same abundance and with the same characters as before. The dried plants of _A. cothurnata_ are apt to become tinged with yellow on the gills, the upper part of the stem and upper part of the annulus during the processes of drying, but the pileus does not change in like manner, nor do these plants show traces of yellow on these parts when fresh. The spores are also decidedly different, though the shape and size do not differ to any great extent. In _A. frostiana_ and the pale forms of the species the spores are nearly globose or oval, rarely with a tendency to become elliptical, but _the content is quite constantly finely granular_, while the spores of _A. cothurnata_ are perhaps more constantly globose or nearly so, but the spore is _nearly filled with a highly refractive oil globule or "nucleus."_ The pileus of _A. frostiana_ is also thinner than that of _A. cothurnata_. It is nearer, in some respects, to specimens of _Amanita pantherina_ received from Bresadola, of Austria-Hungary.

=Amanita spreta= Pk. =Said to be Poisonous.=--According to Peck this species grows in open or bushy places. The specimens illustrated in Fig. 71 grew in sandy ground by the roadside near trees in the edge of an open field at Blowing Rock, N. C., and others were found in a grove. The plants are 10--15 cm. high, the caps 6--12 cm. broad, and the stems 8--12 mm. in thickness. The =pileus= is convex to expanded, gray or light drab, and darker on the center, or according to Dr. Peck it may be white. It is smooth, or with only a few remnants of the volva, striate on the margin, and 1--.5 cm. thick at the center. The =gills= are white, adnexed, that is they reach the stem by their upper angle. The =stem= is of the same color as the pileus, but somewhat lighter, white to light gray or light drab, cylindrical, not bulbous, hollow or stuffed. The =annulus= is thin and attached above the middle of the stem. The =volva= is sordid white, and sheathes the stem with a long free limb of 3--5 lobes. It splits at the apex, but portions sometimes cling to the surface of the pileus.

Figure 71 is from plants (No. 3707, C. U.) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., September, 1899.

=Amanita cæsarea= Scop. =Edible=, _but use great caution_.--This plant is known as the orange amanita, royal agaric, Cæsar's agaric, etc. It is one of the most beautiful of all the agarics, and is well distributed over the earth. With us it is more common in the Southern States. It occurs in the summer and early autumn in the woods. It is easily recognized by its usually large size, yellow or orange color of the cap, gills, stem and ring, and the prominent, white, sac-like volva at the base of the stem. It is usually 12--20 cm. high, the cap 5--10 cm. broad, and the stems 6--10 mm. in thickness, though it may exceed this size, and depauperate forms are met with which are much smaller.

The =pileus= is ovate to bell-shaped, convex, and finally more or less expanded, when the surface may be nearly flat or the center may be somewhat elevated or umbonate and the margin curved downward. The surface is smooth except at the margin, where it is prominently striate. The color varies from orange to reddish or yellow, usually the well developed and larger specimens have the deeper and richer colors, while the smaller specimens have the lighter colors, and the color is usually deeper on the center of the pileus. The =gills= are yellow, and free from the stem. The =stem= is hollow, even in young plants, when it may be stuffed with loose threads. It is often very floccose scaly below the annulus. It is cylindrical, only slightly enlarged below, where it is covered by the large, fleshy, sac-like white volva. The =annulus= is membranaceous, large, and hangs like a broad collar from the upper part of the stem. The stem and ring are orange or yellow, the depth of the color varying more with the size of the plant than is the case with the color of the cap. In small specimens the stem is often white, especially in depauperate specimens are the stem and annulus white, and even the gills are white when the volva may be so reduced as to make it difficult to distinguish the specimens from similar specimens of the poisonous fly agaric.

In the button stage the plant is ovate and the white color of the volva, which at this time entirely surrounds the plants, presents an appearance not unlike that of an egg. The volva splits open at the apex as the stem elongates. The veil is often connected by loose threads with the outer portion of the stem and as the pileus expands this is torn away, leaving coarse floccose scales on the stem. Some of the different stages in the opening of the plant are shown in Fig. 72. This illustration is taken from a photograph of plants (No. 3726, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., September, 1899. The plant is said to be one of the best esculents, and has been prized as an article of food from ancient times. Great caution should be used in distinguishing it from the fly agaric and from other amanitas.

FIG. 1.--Amanita rubescens
FIG. 2.--A. cæsarea.
Copyright 1900.]

=Amanita rubescens= Fr. =Edible=, _but use great caution_.--The reddish amanita, _Amanita rubescens_, is so called because of the sordid reddish color diffused over the entire plant, and especially because bruised portions quickly change to a reddish color. The plant is often quite large, from 12--20 cm. high, the cap 8--12 cm. broad and the stem 8--12 mm. in thickness, but it is sometimes much smaller. It occurs during the latter part of the summer and in early autumn, in woods and open places.

The =pileus= is oval to convex, and becoming expanded when old. It is smooth or faintly striate on the margin, and covered with numerous scattered, thin, floccose, grayish scales, forming remnants of the larger part of the volva or outer veil. The color of the cap varies correspondingly, but is always tinged more or less distinctly with pink, red, or brownish red hues. The =gills= are white or whitish and free from the stem. The =stem= is nearly cylindrical, tapering some above, and with a prominent bulb which often tapers abruptly below. In addition to the suffused dull reddish color the stem is often stained with red, especially where handled or touched by some object. There are very few evidences of the volva on the stem since the volva is so floccose and torn into loose fragments, most of which remain on the surface of the cap. Sometimes a few of these loose fragments are seen on the upper portion of the bulb, but they are easily removed by handling or by rains. The =annulus= is membranous, broad, and fragile.

Since the plant has become well known it is regarded as excellent and wholesome for food and pleasant to the taste. In case of the larger specimens there should be no difficulty in distinguishing it from others by those who care to compare the descriptions closely with the fresh specimens. But as in all cases beginners should use extreme caution in eating plants they have not become thoroughly familiar with. Small specimens of this species sometimes show but little of the reddish color, and are therefore difficult to determine.

Figures 73 and 74 are from plants (No. 3727 C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

=Amanita solitaria= Bull. =Edible=, _but use caution_.--The solitary amanita, like many other plants, is not always true to its name. While it often occurs solitary, it does occur sometimes in groups. It is one of the largest of the amanitas. Its large size, together with its chalky white or grayish white color, and ragged or shaggy appearance, makes it a striking object in the woods, or along roadsides in woods where it grows. Frequently parts of the cap, the entire stem and the gills are covered with a white, crumbly, floccose substance of a mealy consistency which often sticks to the hands or other objects. The plant ranges from 15--20 cm. or more high, the cap from 8--15 cm. broad, and the stems are 1--2 cm. or more in thickness.

In form the =pileus= ranges from nearly globose in the button stage, to hemispherical, convex and expanded, when quite old the margin becoming more or less elevated. It is covered either with flaky or floccose portions of the volva, or with more or less distinct conic white scales, especially toward the center. The conic scales are easily rubbed off in handling or are easily washed off by rains. Many of them are loosened and fall because of the tension produced by the expanding pileus on the surface of which they rest. These scales vary in size from quite small ones, appearing like granules, to those fewer in number and larger, 3 mm. high and nearly as broad at the base. In other cases the scales are harder and stouter and dark colored. These forms will be discussed after the description of the other parts of the plant.

The =gills= are free, or are only attached by the upper inner angle; the edges are often floccose where they are torn from the slight union with the upper surface of the veil. The =stem= is cylindrical, solid or stuffed when old, enlarged usually below into a prominent bulb which then tapers into a more or less elongated root-like process, sometimes extending 5--10 cm. in the ground below the bulb. In rare cases the bulb is not present, but the cylindrical stem extends for a considerable distance into the ground. The =veil= is a very interesting part of the plant and the manner in which it forms and disappears as the cap expands is worth a careful study. This is well shown in Figs. 75, 76, from photographs of plants (No. 3731 C. U. herbarium) made at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

During the latter part of August and the first three weeks of September the plants were quite common in the mountain woods at Blowing Rock. In certain features there was close agreement in the case of all the specimens examined, especially in the long rooting character of the base of the stem. The veil and annulus were also quite constant in their characters, though sometimes a tendency was manifested to split up more irregularly than at other times. In the character of the warts of the pileus there was great variation, showing typical forms of _Amanita solitaria_ and grading into forms which might be taken for typical _Amanita strobiliformis_. Especially is this so in the case of some of my specimens (No. 3733), where the scales are pyramidal, dark brown, surrounded by a sordid buff or grayish area, and these latter areas separated by narrow chinks whitish in color. The scales in this specimen are fixed quite firmly to the surface of the pileus. In other specimens (No. 3732) these hard scales remove quite easily, while in still another the pileus is almost smooth, even the floccose scales having been obliterated, while a very few of the hard angular warts are still present. In another half expanded plant (of No. 3732) the warts are pyramidal, 4--6 mm. long at the center of the pileus and rather closely imbricated, hard, and firmly joined to the surface of the cap. In Nos. 3733 and 3731 the spores measure 7--9 × 4--6 µ. In 3732 they are longer, varying from 7--11 µ.

The specimens with the long hard scales suggest _Amanita strobiliformis_ Vittad., but the long rooting base of the stem does not agree with the description of that plant, but does clearly agree with _Amanita solitaria_ Bull. A study of the variations in these plants suggests that _Amanita solitaria_ and _strobiliformis_ Vittad., represent only variations in a single species as Bulliard interpreted the species more than a century ago. Forms of the plant are also found which suggest that _A. polypyramis_ B. & C., collected in North Carolina, is but one of the variations of _A. solitaria_.

Figures 75, 76 show well certain stages in the development of this plant. The conical or pyramidal warts are formed in a very young stage of the plant by the primary separation of the outer part of the volva, and as the pileus expands more, and the cessation of growth of the outer veil proceeds inward, the scales become more widely separated at the apex and broader at the base. In some cases the volva is probably thinner than in others, and with the rapid expansion of the pileus in wet weather the scales would be smaller, or more floccose. But with different conditions, when it is not so wet, the plant expands less rapidly, the surface of the pileus becomes drier, the volva layer does not separate so readily and the fissures between the scales proceed deeper, and sometimes probably enter the surface of the pileus, so that the size of the warts is augmented. A similar state of things sometimes takes place on the base of the stem at the upper margin of the bulb, where the concentric fissures may extend to some distance in the stem, making the scales here more prominent in some specimens than in others. A similar variation in the character of the scales on the bulb of _Amanita muscaria_ is sometimes presented.

The veil is often loosely attached to the edges of the gills, and so is stripped off from the stem quite early. Sometimes it is more strongly adherent to the stem, or portions of it may be, when it is very irregularly ruptured as it is peeled off from the stem, as shown in the plant near the left side in Fig. 75. The veil is very fragile and often tears a little distance from the margin of the cap, while the portion attached to the stem forms the annulus. This condition is shown in the case of three plants in Fig. 75. The plant is said to be edible.

AMANITOPSIS Roze.

This genus has white spores, and a volva, but the annulus and inner veil are wanting. In other respects it agrees with _Amanita_. It is considered as a sub-genus of _Amanita_ by some.

=Amanitopsis vaginata= (Bull.) Roz. =Edible.=--The sheathed amanitopsis, _A. vaginata_, is a quite common and widely distributed plant in woods. It is well named since the prominent volva forms a large sheath to the cylindrical base of the stem. The plant occurs in several forms, a gray or mouse colored form, and a brownish or fulvous form, and sometimes nearly white. These forms are recognized by some as varieties, and by others as species. The plants are 8--15 cm. high, the caps 3--7 cm. broad, and the stems 5--8 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is from ovate to bell-shaped, then convex and expanded, smooth, rarely with fragments of the volva on the surface. The margin is thin and marked by deep furrows and ridges, so that it is deeply striate, or the terms sulcate or pectinate sulcate are used to express the character of the margin. The term pectinate sulcate is employed on account of a series of small elevations on the ridges, giving them a pectinate, or comb-like, appearance. The color varies from gray to mouse color, brown, or ochraceous brown. The flesh is white. The =gills= are white or nearly so, and free. The =spores= are globose, 7--10 µ in diameter. The =stem= is cylindrical, even, or slightly tapering upward, hollow or stuffed, not bulbous, smooth, or with mealy particles or prominent floccose scales. These scales are formed by the separation of the edges of the gills from the surface of the stem, to which they are closely applied before the pileus begins to expand. Threads of mycelium growing from the edge of the lamellæ and from the stem intermingle. When the pileus expands these are torn asunder, or by their pull tear up the outer surface of the stem. The =volva= forms a prominent sheath which is usually quite soft and easily collapses (Fig. 77).

The entire plant is very brittle and fragile. It is considered an excellent one for food. I often eat it raw when collecting.

Authors differ as to the number of species recognized in the plant as described above. Secretan recognized as many as ten species. The two prominent color forms are quite often recognized as two species, or by others as varieties; the gray or mouse colored form as _A. livida_ Pers., and the tawny form as _A. spadicea_ Pers. According to Fries and others the _livida_ appears earlier in the season than _spadicea_, and this fact is recognized by some as entitling the two to specific rank. Plowright (Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc., p. 40, 1897--98) points out that in European forms of _spadicea_ there is a second volva inside the outer, and in _livida_ there are "folds or wrinkles of considerable size on the inner surface of the volva." He thinks the two entitled to specific rank. At Ithaca and in the mountains of North Carolina I have found both forms appearing at the same season, and thus far have been unable to detect the differences noted by Plowright in the volva. But I have never found intergrading color forms, and have not yet satisfied myself as to whether or not the two should be entitled to specific rank.

Some of the other species of _Amanitopsis_ found in this country are =A. nivalis= Grev., an entirely white plant regarded by some as only a white form of =A. vaginata=. Another white plant is =A. volvata= Pk., which has elliptical spores, and is striate on the margin instead of sulcate.

=Amanitopsis farinosa= Schw.--The mealy agaric, or powdery amanita, is a pretty little species. It was first collected and described from North Carolina by de Schweinitz (Synop. fung. Car. No. 552, 1822), and the specimens illustrated in Fig. 78 were collected by me at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899. Peck has given in the 33rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 49, an excellent description of the plant, though it often exceeds somewhat the height given by him. It ranges from 5--8 or 10 cm. high, the cap from 2--3 cm. broad, and the stem 3--6 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is from subglobose to convex and expanded, becoming nearly plane or even depressed by the elevation of the margin in old specimens. The color is gray or grayish brown, or mouse colored. The pileus is thin, and deeply striate on the margin, covered with a grayish floccose, powdery or mealy substance, the remnant of the evanescent volva. This substance is denser at the center and is easily rubbed off. The =gills= are white and free from the stem. The =spores= are subglobose and ovate to elliptical, 6--7 µ long. The =stem= is cylindrical, even, hollow or stuffed, whitish or gray and very slightly enlarged at the base into a small rounded bulb which is quite constant and characteristic, and at first is covered on its upper margin by the floccose matter from the volva.

At Blowing Rock the plants occurred in sandy soil by roadsides or in open woods. In habit it resembles strikingly forms of _Amanitopsis vaginata_, but the volva is entirely different (Fig. 78). Although _A. vaginata_ was common in the same locality, I searched in vain for intermediate forms which I thought might be found. Sometimes the floccose matter would cling together more or less, and portions of it remained as patches on the lower part of the stem, while depauperate forms of _A. vaginata_ would have a somewhat reduced volva, but in no case did I find intermediate stages between the two kinds of volva.

LEPIOTA Fr.

The genus _Lepiota_ lacks a volva, but the veil is present forming a ring on the stem. The genus is closely related to _Amanita_, from which it differs in the absence of the volva, or perhaps more properly speaking in the fact that the universal veil is firmly connected (concrete with) with the pileus, and with the base of the stem, so that a volva is not formed. The gills are usually free from the stem, some being simply adnexed, but in some species connected with a collar near the stem. The stem is fleshy and is easily separable from the cap. A number of the species are edible. Peck, 35th Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 150--164, describes 18 species. Lloyd, Mycol. Notes, November, 1898, describes 9 species.

=Lepiota naucina= Fr. (_Lepiota naucinoides_ Pk., _Annularia lævis_ Krombh.) =Edible.=--The smooth lepiota, _L. naucina_, grows in lawns, in pastures and by roadsides, etc. It occurs during the latter part of summer and during autumn, being more abundant in September and early October. It is entirely white, or the cap is sometimes buff, and in age the gills become dirty pink in color. It is from 8--12 cm. high, the cap 5--10 cm. broad, and the stem 8--15 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is very fleshy, nearly globose, then convex to nearly expanded, smooth, or rarely the surface is broken into minute scales. The =gills= are first white, free from the stem, and in age assume a dull pink tinge. The =spores= are usually white in mass, but rarely when caught on white paper they show a faint pink tinge. The spores are elliptical to oval. The =stem= is nearly cylindrical, gradually enlarging below so that it is clavate, nearly hollow or stuffed with loose threads.

Since the plant occurs in the same situations as the _Agaricus campestris_ it might be mistaken for it, especially for white forms. But of course no harm could come by eating it by mistake for the common mushroom, for it is valued just as highly for food by some who have eaten it. If one should look at the gills, however, they would not likely mistake it for the common mushroom because the gills become pink only when the plant is well expanded and quite old. There is much more danger in mistaking it for the white amanitas, _A. phalloides_, _A. verna_, or _A. virosa_, since the gills of these deadly plants are white, and they do sometimes grow in lawns and other grassy places where the smooth lepiota and the common mushroom grow. For this reason one should study the descriptions and illustrations of these amanitas given on preceding pages, and especially should the suggestions given there about care in collecting plants be followed, until one is so certainly familiar with the characters that the plants would be known "on sight."

The pink color of the gills of this lepiota has led certain students of the fungi into mistakes of another kind. This pink color of the gills has led some to place the plant among the rosy spored agarics in the genus _Annularia_, where it was named _Annularia lævis_ by Krombholtz (vide Bresadola Funghi Mangerecci e velenosi, p. 29, 1899). It fits the description of that plant exactly. The pink color of the gills, as well as the fact that the gills turn brownish when dry, has led to a confusion in some cases of the _Lepiota naucina_ with the chalky agaric, _Agaricus cretaceus_. The external resemblance of the plants, as shown in various illustrations, is very striking, and in the chalky agaric the gills remain pink very late, only becoming brown when very old.

=Lepiota procera= Scop. =Edible.=--The parasol mushroom, _Lepiota procera_, grows in pastures, lawns, gardens, along roadsides, or in thin woods, or in gardens. It is a large and handsome plant and when expanded seems not inappropriately named. It is from 12--20 cm. or more high, the cap expands from 5--12 cm., while the stem is 4--7 mm. in thickness. It occurs during summer and in early autumn.

The =pileus= is oval, then bell-shaped, convex and nearly expanded, with usually a more or less prominent elevation (umbo) at the center. Sometimes it is depressed at the center. It is grayish brown or reddish brown in color on the surface and the flesh is whitish. As the cap expands the surface layer ceases to grow and is therefore cracked, first narrow chinks appearing, showing white or grayish threads underneath. As the cap becomes more expanded the brown surface is torn into scales, which give the cap a more or less shaggy appearance except on the umbo, where the color is more uniform. The torn surface of the pileus shows numerous radiating fibres, and it is soft and yielding to the touch. The =gills= are remote from the stem, broad and crowded. The =spores= are long, elliptical, 12--17 µ long. The =stem= is cylindrical, hollow, or stuffed, even, enlarged below into a prominent bulb, of the same color as the pileus, though paler, especially above the annulus. The surface is usually cracked into numerous small scales, the chinks between showing the white inner portion of the stem. The =ring= is stout, narrow, usually quite free from the stem, so that it can be moved up and down on the stem, and is called a movable ring.

Figure 81 is from plants (No. 3842, C. U. herbarium) collected in a garden at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

A closely related plant, _Lepiota rachodes_ Vitt., has smaller spores, 9--12 × 7--9 µ. It is also edible, and by some considered only a variety of _L. procera_. It is rare in this country, but appears about Boston in considerable quantities "in or near greenhouses or in enriched soil out of doors," where it has the appearance of an introduced plant (Webster, Rhodora, 1: 226, 1899). It is a much stouter plant than _L. procera_, the pileus usually depressed, much more coarsely scaly, and usually grows in dense clusters, while _L. procera_ usually occurs singly or scattered, is more slender, often umbonate. _L. rachodes_ has a veil with a double edge, the edges more or less fringed. The veil is fixed to the stem until the plant is quite mature, when it becomes movable. The flesh of the plant on exposure to the air becomes a brownish orange tint.

=Lepiota morgani= Pk.--This plant occurs from Ohio, southward and west. It grows in grassy places, especially in wet pastures. It is one of the largest of the lepiotas, ranging from 20--40 cm. high, the cap 20--30 cm. broad, and the stem about 2 cm. in thickness. The =pileus=, when fully expanded, is whitish, with large dark scales, especially toward the center. The =ring= is large, sometimes movable, and the =gills= and =spores= are greenish. Some report the plant as edible, while others say illness results from eating it.

=Lepiota americana= Pk. =Edible.=--This plant is widely distributed in the United States. The plants occur singly or are clustered, 6--12 cm. high, the cap 4--10 cm. broad, and the stem 4--10 mm. in thickness. The cap is adorned with reddish or reddish brown scales except on the center, where the color is uniform because the surface is not broken up into scales. The flesh is white, but changes to reddish when cut or bruised, and the whole plant becomes reddish on drying.

Figure 82 is from plants (No. 2718, C. U. herbarium) collected at Ithaca.

The European plant, _L. badhami_, also reported in this country, changes to a brownish red. It is believed by some to be identical with _L. americana_.

=Lepiota acutesquamosa= Weinm.--This is a medium or small sized plant with a floccose pileus adorned with small, acute, erect scales, and has a loose, hairy or wooly veil which is often torn irregularly. The erect scales fall away from the pileus and leave little scars where they were attached.

=Lepiota cristata= A. & S. =Edible.=--The crested lepiota, _Lepiota cristata_, occurs in grassy places and borders of woods, in groves, etc., from May to September, and is widely distributed. The plant is small, 3--5 cm. high, the cap 1--4 cm. broad, and the stem 2--5 mm. in thickness. It grows in clusters or is scattered.

The =pileus= is ovate, bell-shaped, then convex and expanded, and thin. The surface is at first entirely dull reddish or reddish brown, but soon cracks into numerous scales of the same color arranged in a crested manner, more numerous between the margin and the center, and often arranged in a concentric manner. The center of the cap often preserves the uniform reddish brown color because the pileus at this point does not expand so much and therefore the surface does not crack, while the margin often becomes white because of the disappearance of the brown covering here. The =gills= are free from the stem, narrow, crowded, and close to the stem. The =spores= are more or less angular, elongated, more narrowed at one end, and measure 5--8 × 3--4 µ. The =stem= is slender, cylindrical, hollow, whitish, smooth. The =ring= is small, white, and easily breaks up and disappears.

The characters of the plant are well shown in Fig. 83 from plants collected at Ithaca. _Lepiota angustana_ Britz. is identical, and according to Morgan _L. miamensis_ Morgan is a white form of _L. angustana_.

=Lepiota asperula= Atkinson.--This lepiota resembles _A. asper_ in some respects, but it is smaller and the spores are much smaller, being very minute. The plant is 5--8 cm. high, the pileus 2--4 cm. broad, and the stem 4--6 mm. in thickness. It grows in leaf mould in the woods and has been found at Ithaca, N. Y., twice during July and September, 1897.