The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Part 24

The gills are attached to the stem, ascending, rather distant.

The stem is thread-like, smooth, short.

The spores are 7-84. _Fries._

These plants are very small and easily overlooked. They grow on leaves in the woods after a rain. July and August. Quite common.

_Mycena setosa. Sow._

Setosa means full of setae or hairs.

The pileus is very delicate, hemispherical, obtuse, smooth.

The gills are distant, white, almost free.

The stem is short, slender, and covered with spreading hairs which gives rise to its specific name.

Commonly found on dead leaves in the woods after a rain. Found in July and August.

_Mycena haematopa. Pers._

THE BLOOD-FOOT MYCENA. EDIBLE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 90.--Mycena haematopa. Brownish-red or flesh-color.

A dull red juice exudes from the stem. Margin dentate by sterile flap.]

Haematopa is from two Greek words, meaning blood and foot.

The pileus is fleshy, one inch broad, conic, or bell-shaped, somewhat umbonate, obtuse, whitish to flesh-color, with more or less dull red, even, or slightly striate at the margin, the margin extending beyond the gills and is toothed.

The gills are attached to the stem, often with a decurrent tooth, whitish. Spores, 106-7.

The stem is two to four inches long, firm, hollow, sometimes smooth, sometimes powdered with whitish, soft hairy down, in color the same as the pileus, yielding a dark red juice which gives name to the species.

The color varies quite a little in these plants, owing to some having more of the red juice than others. The genus is readily identified by the dull blood-red juice, hollow stem, the crenate margin of the cap, and its dense cespitose habits. It is found on decayed logs in damp places from August to October. The plants in Figure 90 were found in Haynes' Hollow, September 8. The plant is widely distributed over the United States. No one will have the slightest difficulty in recognizing this species after seeing the plants in the figure above.

_Mycena alkalina. Fr._

THE STUMP MYCENA.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 91.--Mycena alkalina. Two-thirds natural size, often larger. Young specimens.]

Solitary or cespitose; pileus one-half to two inches broad, rather membranaceous, campanulate, obtuse, naked, deeply striate, moist, s.h.i.+ning when dry, when old expanded or depressed, but little changed in color, though occasionally with a pink or yellow hue, whitish or grayish, the center of the disk darker.

The gills are adnate, rather distant, slightly ventricose, at first pale, then glaucous, pinkish, or yellow, more or less connected by veins.

The stem is smooth, slightly sticky, s.h.i.+ning, villous at the base with a sometimes tawny-down, sometimes firm and tenacious, hollow, attenuated upward. The plant is rigid, but brittle, and strong-scented. Found on decayed stumps and logs, you will meet it frequently. August to November.

_Mycena filopes. Bull._

THREADY-STEMMED MYCENA.

Pileus membranaceous, obtuse, campanulate, then expanded, striate, brown or umber, tinged with pink.

The gills are free or minutely adnexed, slightly ventricose, white or paler than the pileus, crowded.

The stem is hollow, juicy, smooth, filiform, rather brittle, whitish or brownish. Found in woods on leaves, after a rain, from July to October.

_Mycena stannea. Fr._

THE TIN-COLORED MYCENA.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 92.--Mycena stannea. Natural size. Caps white, sometimes smoky.]

Stannea pertaining to the color of tin. This is a delicate species that grows in the woods in tufts on rotten wood in damp places. The general character is shown in the ill.u.s.tration, being nearly white but many of the pilei are somewhat smoky.

The pileus is firm, membranaceous, bell-shaped, then expanded, smooth, very slightly striate, hygrophanous, quite silky, tin-color.

The gills are firmly attached to the stem, with a decurrent tooth, connected by veins, grayish-white.

The stem is smooth, even, s.h.i.+ning, becoming pale, at length compressed.

This species differs from Mycena vitrea in having a tooth to the gills.

May, June, and July.

_Mycena vitrea. Fr._

Vitrea, gla.s.sy. This plant is quite fragile. The pileus is membranaceous, bell-shaped, livid-brown, finely striate, no trace of umbo.

The gills are firmly attached to the stem, not connected by veins, distinct, linear, whitish.

The stem is slender, slightly striate, polished, pale, base fibrillose.

This species differs from M. aet.i.tes and M. stannea in gills not having a decurrent tooth and not being connected by veins.

_Mycena corticola. Fr._

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 93.--Mycena corticola.]

Corticola means dwelling on bark.

It is one of the smallest of the Mycenas, the pileus being about two to four lines across, thin, hemispherical, obtuse, becoming slightly umbilicate, deeply striate, glabrous or flocculosely pruinose, gray, tan, or brownish.

The gills are attached to the stem, with slight decurrent tooth, broad, rather ovate, pallid.