Var. pulla´tus. Pileus with adpressed scales and tomentose, soon naked, brownish, then blackish. Stem equal, becoming smooth.
On dung. Clustered. Stature of the type.
Var. cine´reus. Pileus membranaceous, floccosely mealy, then naked, ashy-gray. Stem subequal, rootless, hollow to the base, often twisted. Spores 12–8µ.
On dung and rich soil.
Var. macrorhi´za. Pileus at first with feathery squamules. Stem short, hairy, rooting, sometimes more or less marginately subbulbous. Spores 13–14×8–9µ.
On dung. Pileus pale and smaller than in the typical form, stem shorter, with a more or less elongated rooting base. Berkeley.
Of this very variable species there is a small form growing on decayed wood in woods. It has the spores rather smaller than in the type, they being 10–11µ long, 8µ broad. It might be designated Var. silvi´cola. Peck, 43d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
West Virginia, 1881–1885, May to October. McIlvaine.
Common to the United States. Of excellent flavor and tender. It must be cooked at once.
C. tomento´sus (Bull.) Fr.—tomentum, pubescence. Pileus very thin, at first oblong-oval and floccose-scaly, soon bell-shaped, naked, closely striate, grayish-brown or blackish-brown, often with a leaden hue, finally expanded, the disk smooth, reddish or ochraceous-brown, the margin turned upwards and much split or lacerated. Lamellæ closely crowded, narrow, free, white then pinkish, finally black. Stem white, tall, fragile, tapering upward, finely floccose-squamulose, hollow, sometimes with a large tap root. Plant gregarious or cespitose.