Mt. Gretna, Pa., in mixed woods. October and November. McIlvaine.
It is of excellent flavor, consistency and food value.
T. transmu´tans Pk.—changing. Pileus convex, nearly bare, viscid when moist, brownish, reddish-brown or tawny-red, usually paler on the margin. Flesh white, taste and odor farinaceous. Gills narrow, close, sometimes branched, whitish or pale yellowish, becoming dingy or reddish-spotted when old. Stem equal or slightly tapering upward, bare or slightly silky-fibrillose, stuffed or hollow, whitish, often marked with reddish stains or becoming reddish-brown toward the base, white within. Spores subglobose, 5µ.
Pileus 2–4 in. broad. Stem 3–4 in. long, 3–6 lines thick.
Woods. The plants are often cespitose.
I suspect that Agaricus frumentaceus of Curtis’s catalogue belongs to this species. Both the pileus and stem, as well as the gills, are apt to assume darker hues with age or in drying, and this character suggested the specific name. The species is classed as edible. Peck, 44th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Curtis catalogues T. frumentaceum as edible.
T. transmutans is reported from many states. It has a mealy taste and odor. Wherever it is found it is a valuable food species.
T. sejunc´tum Sow.—separated; from the peculiar manner in which the gills separate from the stem. Pileus fleshy, convex then expanded, umbonate, slightly viscid, streaked with innate brown or blackish fibrils, whitish or yellowish, sometimes greenish-yellow. Flesh white, fragile. Gills broad, subdistant, rounded behind or emarginate, white. Stem solid, stout, often irregular, white. Spores subglobose, 6.5µ.
Pileus 1–3 in. broad. Stem 1–3 in. long, 4–8 lines thick.