Cortinarius squamulosus.
C. squamulo´sus Pk. (Plate [LXXXII], fig. 1, p. 306). Pileus thick, fleshy, convex, densely fibrillose-squamulose, cinnamon-brown, the scales darker. Lamellæ not crowded, deeply emarginate, pale pinkish-brown, then cinnamon-colored. Stipe thick, solid, shreddy, subsquamulose, concolorous, swollen at the base into a very large tapering or subventricose bulb.
Height 4–6 in., breadth of pileus 2–4 in., stipe 6–9 lines thick at the top, 12–18 lines at the bottom.
Borders of swamps in woods. Sandlake. August.
Related to C. pholideus and C. arenatus, but distinct by the deep emargination of the lamellæ. It gives out a strong odor while drying. The color of the flesh is pinkish-white. Peck, 23d Rep. N.Y.
This species was discovered in 1869, and had not since been observed by the writer until the past season. It is manifestly a species of rare occurrence. Peck, 28th Rep.
Massachusetts, Frost; Wisconsin, Minnesota. Ranges from New England to Kentucky unchanged. Morgan.
Specimens from E.B. Sterling, Trenton, N.J., September, 1897. Asylum grounds. Several found at Mt. Gretna, August and September, 1897. Solitary in oak woods, gravelly soil. McIlvaine. Sent to Professor Peck and identified. Specimens were much darker than Professor Peck’s plates.
C. squamulosus is not attractive in appearance. The caps, only, are edible. Their consistency is very pleasant and flavor fairly good.