Portentosum means strange or monstrous.
Figure 63.—Tricholoma portentosum.
The pileus is three to five inches broad, fleshy, convex, then expanded, subumbonate, viscid, sooty, often with purple tinge, frequently unequal and turned up, streaked with dark lines, the thin margin naked, flesh not compact, white, fragile, and mild.
The gills are white, very broad, rounded, almost free, distant, often becoming pale-gray or yellowish.
The stem is three to six inches long, solid, quite fibrous, sometimes equal, often tapering toward the base, white, stout, striate, villous at base. The spores are subglobose, 4–5×4µ.
The plants grow in pine woods and along the margins of mixed woods, frequently by roadsides. It is usually found in October and November. The plants in Figure 63 were found near Waltham, Mass., and were sent to me by Mrs. E. B. Blackford. This is said to even excel T. personatum in edible qualities.
Clitocybe. Fr.
Clitocybe is from two Greek words, a hillside, or declivity, and a head; so called from the central depression of the pileus.