P. spadi´cea Schaeff.—spadiceus, date-brown. Pileus thin, submembranaceous, hemispherical, then convex or expanded, smooth, hygrophanous, pale grayish-brown and striatulate when moist, white or yellowish when dry. Gills narrow, close, attached, easily separating from the stem, at first whitish, then brown, tinged with flesh-color. Stem straight, equal, hollow, smooth, white.
Height 1–2 in., breadth of pileus 1–1.5 in. Stem 1–2 lines thick.
Grassy ground in yards and fields. Albany. June. Gregarious or cespitose. The pileus is fragile, the spores are brown. Peck, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Spores brown, 9×4µ Massee; purplish brown, 7.6×5.1µ Morgan.
Haddonfield, N.J., October, November, December, 1896. In large patches and where stumps had been taken from the ground. McIlvaine.
Var. hygro´philus Fr. Gr—moist; loving.
Pileus tawny, then clay-color. Stem 4–6 in. long, rather fusiform, rooting. Gills emarginate with a deeply decurrent line; at length umber-brown.
Var. polyceph´alus Fr.—polus, many; cephale, head.
Densely crowded. Stem thinner, flexuous. Gills nearly free, at length tawny-umber.
The plant is tender, cooks easily and is of fine flavor.