New England, Frost; California, H. and M.
Common in the West Virginia mountains, mixed woods in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. June to November. McIlvaine.
It is coarse, dry, hard, but chopped fine and cooked in various ways, either by itself or with meats, it is a good food.
C. infundibulifor´mis Schaeff.—infundibulum, a funnel; forma, form. (Plate [XXIV], fig. 11, p. 82.) The Funnel-form clitocybe, Clitocybe infundibuliformis, is a neat and pretty species easily recognized by the funnel shape of its mature cap and by its pale red color. When very young the cap is slightly convex and often adorned with a slight umbo in its center. As it matures the margin becomes elevated so that the cap assumes a shape somewhat resembling that of a wine glass. The margin is sometimes wavy. The flesh is thin and white. The gills are close, thin, white or whitish and decurrent. The stem is smooth, colored like or a little paler than the cap and mostly tapering from the base upward.
The cap is 2–3 in. broad, the stem 1½-3 in. long and ¼-½ in. thick.
The funnel-shaped mushroom grows in woods or copses in summer and autumn, especially in wet seasons. It is somewhat variable in color, but is usually a pale-red, tinged with buff, and sometimes becoming more pale with age. It delights to grow among fallen leaves, and often there is an abundant white cottony mycelium at the base of the stem. When it grows in clusters the caps are apt to be irregular because of mutual pressure. “Mushrooms and Their Use.” Peck.
Spores 5–6×3–4µ B.
Very common and in plenty after rains, when large patches of it may be found. I have usually found the light pinkish-buff color to abound, and the stem thinner than described by Prof. Peck. Size of cap from 1–3 in.
It is a good, reliable food species. The stem should be removed, and the caps well cooked.