The entire fungus is tender and delicious cooked in any way.
L. farino´sa Pk.—farina, meal. Pileus thin, rather tough, flexible, at first globose or ovate, then bell-shaped or convex, covered with a soft, dense, white veil of mealy down, which soon ruptures, forming irregular, easily-detersible scales, more persistent and sometimes brownish on the disk. Flesh white, unchangeable. Gills close, free, white, minutely downy on the edge. Stem equal or slightly tapering upward, somewhat thickened at the base, slightly mealy, often becoming glabrous, hollow or with a cottony pith above, solid at the base, white, pallid or straw-colored, the ring lacerated, somewhat appendiculate on the margin of the pileus, evanescent. Spores subovate, 10–13×8µ.
Pileus 1.5–2.5 in. broad. Stem 2–3 in. long, 2–4 lines thick.
Mushroom beds in a conservatory, Boston, Mass. March. Communicated by E.J. Forster.
This species is related to L. cepæstipes, from which it may be distinguished by its pileus, which is not folded on the margin, and by its larger spores. It is edible. It is very distinct from Amanita farinosa. Peck, 43d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Ohio, Lloyd, Prof. William Miller (Lloyd Myc. Notes).
L. America´na Pk. (Plate [XII], fig. 1, p. [32]. Plate [XVa].) Pileus at first ovate, then convex or expanded, umbonate, scaly, white, the umbo and scales reddish or reddish-brown. Gills close, free, white. Stem somewhat thickened at or a little above the base, hollow, bearing a ring, white. Spores subelliptical, uninucleate, 8–10×5–8µ.
The American lepiota belongs to the same genus as the parasol mushroom and the Smooth lepiota. It has one character in which it differs from all other species of Lepiota. The whole plant when fresh is white, except the umbo and the scales of the cap, but in drying it assumes a dull reddish or smoky-red color. By this character it is easily recognized.
In the very young plant the cap is somewhat egg-shaped and nearly covered by the thin reddish-brown cuticle, but as the plant enlarges the cuticle separates and forms the scales that adorn the cap. On the central prominence or umbo, however, it usually remains entire. The margin of the cap is thin and is generally marked with short radiating lines or striations. The gills do not quite reach the stem and are, therefore, free from it. Sometimes they are connected with each other at or near their inner extremity by transverse branches. They are a little broader near the margin of the cap than at their inner extremity. The stem affords a peculiar feature. It is often enlarged towards the base and then abruptly narrowed below the enlargement, as in the Onion-stemmed lepiota. In some instances, however, the enlargement is not contracted below and then the stem gradually tapers from the base upward. The stem is hollow and usually furnished with a collar, but sometimes this is thin and may disappear with advancing age. Wounds or bruises are apt to assume brownish-red hues.
The caps vary in width from 1–4 in.; the stems are from 3–5 in. long, and 2–5 lines thick. Sometimes plants attain even larger dimensions than these. The plants grow singly or in tufts in grassy ground or on old stumps. They may be found from July to October.