In rich woods, mostly in beech-leaf mold. Putnam county, Ind., May, 1892, 1893 and 1894. First found by Dr. W.V. Brown.
The plant is esculent, tender and possesses a fine flavor. Often as many as 8 or 10 plants would be found in one small area, but the plant appears to be local and never very abundant. Some single plants would weigh nearly half a pound.
MI´TRULA Fr.
(Emended, Massee.)
Ascophore stipitate, fleshy. Head subglobose, ovate, or clavate, even, glabrous, everywhere covered with the hymenium, adnate throughout to the more or less elongated stem; asci cylindric-clavate, 8-spored. Spores narrowly elliptic-fusiform, hyaline, continuous or septate, irregularly 1–2-seriate; paraphyses present. Fries.
Mitrulla vitellina.
M. vitelli´na Sacc., var. irregularis Pk.—vitellus, egg-yolk. Pileus clavate, often irregular or compressed and somewhat lobed, obtuse, glabrous, yellow, tapering below into the short, rather distinct, yellowish or whitish stem. Spores narrowly elliptical, 8–10µ long.
When the Irregular mitrula is well grown and symmetrical it closely resembles the typical European plant, but usually the clubs or caps are curved, twisted, compressed or lobed in such a way that it is difficult to find two plants just alike. The plants are usually only one or two inches high, so that they would scarcely be thought of any importance as an edible species. But sometimes it grows in considerable profusion in wet mossy places in woods, so that it would not be difficult to gather a pint of them in a short time. Its beautiful bright yellow color makes it a very attractive object. It is our largest species of Mitrula and occurs in autumn.