The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Part 22

_Collybia atrata. Fr._

CHARCOAL COLLYBIA.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 83.--Collybia atrata. One-half natural size. Caps dull blackish-brown. Gills grayish-white.]

Atrata, clothed in black; from the pileus being very black when young.

The pileus is from one to two inches broad, at first regular and convex, when expanded becoming, as a rule, irregular in shape, sometimes partially lobed or wavy; in young plants the cap is a dull blackish brown, faded in older specimens to a lighter brown, umbilicate, smooth, s.h.i.+ning.

The gills are adnate, slightly crowded, with many short ones, rather broad, grayish-white.

The stem is smooth, equal, even, hollow, or stuffed, tough, short, brown within and without, but lighter than the cap. The plant grows in pastures where stumps have been burned out, always, so far as I have noticed, on burned ground. Spores .00023.00016.

_Collybia ambusta. Fr._

THE SCORCHED COLLYBIA.

Ambusta, burned or scorched, from its being found on burned soil.

The pileus is nearly membranaceous, convex, then expanded, nearly plane, papillate, striatulate, smooth, livid brown, hygrophanous, umbonate.

The gills are adnate, crowded, lanceolate, white, then of a smoky tinge.

The stem is somewhat stuffed, tough, short, livid. Spores 5-63-4.

This species differs from C. atrata in having an umbonate pileus.

_Collybia confluens. Pers._

THE TUFTED COLLYBIA. EDIBLE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 84.--Collybia confluens. Natural size, showing reddish stems.]

Confluens means growing together; so called from the stems often being confluent or adhering to each other.

The pileus is from an inch to an inch and a quarter broad, reddish-brown, often densely cespitose, somewhat fleshy, convex, then plane, flaccid, smooth, often watery, margin thin, in old specimens slightly depressed and wavy.

The gills are free and in old plants remote from the stem, rather crowded, narrow, flesh colored, then whitish.

The stem is two to three inches long, hollow, pale red, sprinkled with a mealy p.u.b.escence. The spores are slightly ovate, inclined to be pointed at one end, 5-63-4.

These plants grow among leaves in the woods after warm rains, growing in tufts, sometimes in rows or lines. They are not as large as C.

dryophylla, the stem is quite different and the plants seem to have the ability to revive like a Marasmius. They can be dried for winter use.

_Collybia myriadophylla. Pk._

MANY-LEAVED COLLYBIA.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 85.--Collybia myriadophylla.]

Myriadophylla is from two Greek words, meaning many leaves. It has reference to its numerous gills.

The pileus is very thin, broadly convex, then plane or centrally depressed, sometimes umbillicate, hygrophanous, brown when moist, ochraceous or tan-color when dry.

The gills are very numerous, narrow, linear, crowded, rounded behind or slightly adnexed, brownish-lilac.

The stem is slender, but commonly short, equal, glabrous, stuffed or hollow, reddish-brown. The spores are minute, broadly elliptical, .00012 to .00016-inch long, .0008-inch broad. _Peck_, 49th Rep.

I found only a few specimens in Haynes's Hollow. The caps were about an inch broad and the stems were an inch and a half long. It will be easily identified if one has the description of it, because of its peculiarly colored gills. I found my plants on a decayed stump in August. In the dried specimens the gills a.s.sume a more brownish-red hue, as in the next following species.

Collybia colorea. Pk. They sometimes appear to have a glaucous reflection, probably from the abundance of the spores. The stem is more or less radicated and often slightly floccose-pruinose toward the base.

The basidia are very short, being only .0006 to .0008-inch long.

_Collybia atratoides. Pk._

THE BLACKISH COLLYBIA.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 86.--Collybia atratoides. Two-thirds natural size.

Caps blackish to grayish-brown.]

Atratoides means like the species _atrata_, which means black; so called because the caps when fresh are quite black. Atratoides has a different habitat and is not so dark.

The pileus is thin, convex, sub.u.mbilicate, glabrous, hygrophanous, blackish-brown when moist, grayish-brown and s.h.i.+ning when dry.

The gills are rather broad, subdistant, adnate, grayish-white, often transversely veiny above and venosely connected.

The stem is equal, hollow, smooth, grayish-brown with a whitish mycelioid tomentum at the base. The spores are nearly globose, about .0002-inch broad. The pileus is six to ten lines broad and the stem is about one inch long. _Peck._

The plant is gregarious, growing on decayed wood and on mossy sticks in mixed woods. The margin of the cap is often serrated, as you will see in Figure 86, yet this does not seem to be a constant characteristic of the species. It is closely related to C. atrata, but its habitat and the color of its pileus and gills differ very greatly. I have not eaten it, but have no doubt of its good qualities.

Found in August and September. Quite common in all our woods.

_Collybia acervata. Fr._

THE TUFTED COLLYBIA. EDIBLE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 87.--Collybia acervata. Two-thirds natural size.

Caps pale, tan or dingy pink.]

Acervata, from acervus, a ma.s.s, a heap.

Pileus fleshy but thin, convex, or nearly plane, obtuse, glabrous, hygrophanous, pale, tan-color or dingy pinkish-red, and commonly striate on the margin when moist, paler or whitish when dry.

Gills narrow, close, adnexed or free, whitish or tinged with flesh-color.