Height 3–6 in., breadth of pileus 6–18 lines.
Very variable in size and color. The covering of the pileus is easily rubbed off. It soon disappears and the plant quickly decays, seldom continuing through the day. Peck, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Mt. Gretna, Pa., about old picketing places in camp grounds. Prof. M.W. Easton, July, 1898.
West Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, May to September, on dung, rich ground, gardens and in woods. McIlvaine.
Very delicate; of strong mushroom flavor. It is common, and can usually be collected in numbers. It is of little food value in itself, but yields an excellent flavor to anything it is cooked with. It must be cooked as soon as gathered.
C. ni´veus Fr.—nix, snow. Pileus white, 1–2 in. across, thin, ovate then bell-shaped, margin at length turned upward, split or covered with a dense white, mealy or downy covering, slightly pink. Gills adnexed, narrow, crowded, at first cohering, white then pinkish, then black. Stem at first short, then up to 4 in., slender, attenuated upward, covered with white down, fragile, hollow.
Spores 16×11–13µ Massee; 10×12µ W.G.S.
Common on dung and dung heaps, clustered. May to frost.
West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. McIlvaine.
Very variable in size, but clearly distinguished by its snow-white color and adnexed gills. Like all of the thin, delicate species of this genus there is little substance left after cooking, but the savory flavor is imparted to the cooking medium.