They grow in tufts on dead trunks and old stumps, especially of the sugar maple. They closely resemble P. squarrosa. Found late in the fall. Its favorite haunt is the inside of a stump or within the protection of a log.
Pholiota squarrosa. Mull.
The Scaly Pholiota. Edible.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Plate XXXII. Figure 217.—Pholiota squarrosa.
Squarrosa means scaly. The pileus is three to four inches broad, fleshy, bell-shaped, convex, then expanded; obtusely umbonate, tawny-yellow, clothed with rich brown scales; flesh yellow near the surface.
The gills are attached to the stem, with a decurrent tooth, at first yellowish, then of a pale olive, changing to rusty-brown in color, crowded, and narrow. The spores are elliptical, 8×4µ.
The stem is three to six inches high, saffron yellow, stuffed, clothed with small fibers, scaly like the pileus, attenuated at the base from the manner of its growth. The ring is close to the apex, downy, rich brown, inclining to orange in color.