[**] Gills whitish. Pileus becoming pale.
Versiformes (variable in shape). Page [106].
Pileus thin, convex then deformed, tough, more or less squamulose or furfuraceous; gills adnate, broad, rather thick, generally distant. Color hygrophanous.
* Pileus squalid or brownish with dark squamules. None known to be edible.
[**] Pileus bright, of one color.
Series A.
I.—Discifor´mes.
C. nebula´ris Batsch.—nebula, a cloud. (Plate [XXIV], fig. 7, p. 82.) The Clouded clitocybe, Clitocybe nebularis, takes its name from the clouded-gray appearance of its thick cap, which is at first convex, but when mature, either flat or a little depressed. Its flesh is white, thickest in the middle, and in a vertical section is seen to taper rapidly downward into the stem. The gills are close together and rather narrow for the size of the plant. They are white or yellowish-white. The stout solid stem usually tapers upward from the base and is whitish.
The cap is two to four inches or more broad, the stem one to two inches long and about half an inch thick. The Clouded mushroom grows in woods, and sometimes forms large tufts or clusters among fallen leaves. It is found in autumn, but is not very common in this country. Authors differ in their estimate of the edible qualities of this mushroom, but the more recent ones generally agree in classing it as edible. “Mushrooms and Their Use,” C.H. Peck.