The few specimens tested were delicate and of slight flavor.
II.—Phæ´oti.
N. pedi´ades Fr.—Gr, a plain. Pileus 1–2 in. broad, yellow or pale yellowish-ochraceous then becoming pale, slightly fleshy, convex then plane, obtuse, even, dry, smooth, at length crookedly cracked, but always without striæ. Flesh white. Stem 2–3 in. long, 1–2 lines thick, stuffed with a pith, somewhat flexuous, tough, equal, but with a small bulb at the base, slightly silky becoming even, yellowish. Gills adnexed, 2 lines broad, at first crowded, at length somewhat distant, somewhat dingy-brown, then dingy cinnamon.
Spores brownish-rust-color. The small bulb at the base is formed by the mycelium being rolled together. Stature variable. Fries.
Spores dingy rust-color, elliptical, 10–12×4–5µ Massee.
West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, in grassy places, pastures and along pavements. Common. May to November. McIlvaine.
In 1897 Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, abounded with N. pediades, which were collected and eaten by many. The caps are tender and of a mushroom flavor.
N. semi-orbicula´ris Bull.—semi, half; orbicularis, round. (Plate [LXXVIII], p. 294.) Pileus 1–2 in. broad, tawny rust-color then ochraceous, slightly fleshy, convexo-expanded, obtuse, dry, even, smooth, corrugated when dry. Stem 3–4 in. long, scarcely beyond 1 line thick, cartilaginous, tough, slender, tense and straight, equal, even, smooth, becoming pallid rust-color, shining, often darker at the base, internally containing a separate narrow tube which is easily broken up into fibrils. Gills adnate, rarely sinuate behind, almost 3 lines broad, and many times broader than the flesh of the pileus, crowded, pallid then rust-color.
The pileus is slightly viscid when fresh and moist. Easily distinguished from S. semi-globatus, with which it has been confounded, by the stem. Stevenson.
Spores 14×8µ W.G.S.; 10×5–6µ Massee.