Figure 150.—Naucoria vernalis. Cap hair brown to clay color; gills grayish brown to wood brown; stem clay color (natural size). Copyright.
The pileus is convex, then the center is nearly or quite expanded, the margin at first inrolled and never fully expanded, hygrophanous, smooth (not striate nor rugose), flesh about 5–6 mm. thick at center, thin toward the margin. The color changes during growth, it is from ochraceous rufus when young (1–2 mm. broad), then clove brown to hair brown and clay color in age. The gills are grayish brown to wood brown, at first adnate to slightly sinuate, then easily breaking away and appearing adnexed. The spores are wood brown in color, oval to short elliptical and inequilateral 6–8 × 4–5 µ. Cystidia hyaline, bottle shaped, 40–50 × 8–12 µ. The stem is somewhat hollow and stuffed, rather cartilaginous, though somewhat brittle, especially when very damp, breaking out from the pileus easily though with fragments of the gills remaining attached, not strongly continuous with the substance of the pileus. The color is buff to pale clay color; the stem being even, not bulbous but somewhat enlarged below, mealy over the entire length, which may be washed off by rains, striate at apex either from marks left by the gills or remnants of the gills as they become freed from the stem. Base of stem sometimes with white cottony threads, especially in damp situations. In the original description the stem is said to be "striate sulcate." Figure [150] is from plants (No. 3242, C. U. herbarium) collected in woods near Ithaca, October 1, 1899.
GALERA Fr.
Galera with ochraceous (ochraceous ferruginous) spores corresponds to Mycena among the white-spored agarics. The pileus is usually bell-shaped, and when young the margin fits straight against the stem. The stem is somewhat cartilaginous, but often very fragile. The genus does not contain many species. Peck gives a synopsis of five American species in the 23rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 93, et seq., and of twelve species in the 46th Report, p. 61, et seq. One of the common species is Galera tenera Schaeff. It occurs in grassy fields or in manured places. The plants are 5–8 cm. high, the cap 8–16 mm. broad, and the stem 2–3 mm. in thickness. The pileus is oval to bell-shaped, and tawny in color, thin, smooth, finely striate, becoming paler when dry. The gills are crowded, reddish-brown, adnexed and easily separating. The stem is smooth, colored like the pileus but a little paler, sometimes striate, and with mealy whitish particles above. Galera lateritia is a related species, somewhat larger, and growing on dung heaps and in fields and lawns. Galera ovalis Fr., is also a larger plant, somewhat shorter than the latter, and with a prominent ovate cap when young. Galera antipoda Lasch., similar in general appearance to G. tenera, has a rooting base by which it is easily known. Galera flava Pk., occurs among vegetable mold in woods. The pileus is membraneous, ovate or campanulate, moist or somewhat watery, obtuse, plicate, striate on the margin, yellow. The plants are 5–8 cm. high, the caps 12–25 mm. broad, and the stem 2–3 mm. in thickness. The plant is recognized by the pale yellow color of the caps and the plicate striate character of the margin. The plicate striate character of the cap is singular among the species of this genus, and is shared by another species, G. coprinoides Pk.
FLAMMULA Fr.
In the genus Flammula, the pileus is fleshy, stem fleshy-fibrous, and the gills adnate to decurrent.
Figure 151.—Flammula polychroa, under view. Cap vinaceous buff to orange buff, scales lilac, purple or lavender; gills drab to hair brown (natural size). Copyright.