Fries and Cooke considered this a good species.
So closely allied to neighboring species that it is difficult to determine it. Edible qualities are included in the alliance.
B. Veliformes. Pileus very thin, etc.
* Cyclodei. Stem bearing ring, etc.
None edible.
** Lanatuli. Pileus with superficial downy covering, etc.
C. lagopus Fr.—Gr, a hare; a foot. Pileus 1 in. broad, whitish, disk livid, very tender, cylindrical then bell-shaped, when young beautifully downy then naked, flattened and split, radiately furrowed. Stem 5 in. and more long, 1 line thick, very weak, very fragile, slightly attenuated at both ends, everywhere white-woolly. Gills at length remote, narrow, black. Fries.
Fries distinguishes two forms. A, nemorum. Stem slender, 4–6 in. long. B, viarum. Stem 2–3 in. long. Pileus broader, livid. Both forms are inodorous. The pileus of the long-stemmed form is sometimes entirely clear brown, at others grayish with a brownish disk. Stem very weak, 5 in. and more in length, 1 line thick, attenuated at both ends. Pileus thin, expanded bell-shaped, about 1 in. across, when young elegantly flocculose, then furrowed, disk livid. Gills rather distant.
New York, Peck, 38th Rep.; Mt. Gretna, Pa., July, 1898, on rubbish about abandoned camp. Prof. M.W. Easton.
A strikingly beautiful species. Both forms were found in abundance, tested and eaten with enjoyment. They are extremely delicate, and of attractive but not high flavor.