The pileus is thin, convex to expanded, depressed in the center, sooty-gray with a watery appearance, pallid to nearly white when dry.
The gills are slightly decurrent, whitish then gray, somewhat crowded.
The stem is slender, hollow, gray. The spores are elliptical, 8–10×4–5µ.
It grows in decayed wood. Its smoky color, funnel-shaped pileus, and gray short stem will distinguish it. I have some plants sent me from Massachusetts which seem to be much smaller than our plants.
Omphalia umbellifera. Linn.
The Umbel Omphalia. Edible.
Umbellifera—umbella, a small shade; ferro, to bear. Pileus one-half inch broad, membranaceous, whitish, convex, then plane, broadly obconic, slightly umbilicate even in the smallest plants, hygrophanous in wet weather, rayed with darker striæ.
The gills are decurrent, very distant, quite broad behind, triangular, with straight edges.
The stem is short, not more than one inch long, dilated at the apex, of same color as the pileus, at first stuffed, then hollow, firm, white, villous at the base.