The North American species of Pholiota, by Alexander H. Smith and L. R. Hesler.

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The North American Species of Pholiota

Illustration: Peck, N.Y. Mus. Bull. 67, pl. M., Figs. 35-41. Text figs. 102 -104; 105-106.
Pileus 1.2-2.5 (3.5) cm broad, convex becoming nearly plane, pale
buff or yellow-ferruginous, slightly viscid, glabrous. Context thin.
Lamellae adnate, whitish when young, brownish-ferruginous when
mature, narrow, crowded.
Stipe 1.5-3 cm long, 2 mm thick, whitish, becoming ferruginous
toward the slightly villose-strigose base, apex flocculent-pulverulent, equal,
solid or stuffed. Veil slight, whitish to pale yellow.
Spores 6-7.5 x 3.5-4 a., smooth, apical pore very minute but present;
shape in face view oblong to narrowly elliptic, in profile slightly beanshaped to suboblong, as revived in KOH rusty brown, merely ochraceous
in Melzer's reagent; wall about 0.25 /u thick.
Basidia 17-23 X 4.5-6 /u, 4-spored (rarely 2-spored), subclavate
hyaline in KOH, yellowish in Melzer's reagent. Pleurocystidia abundant,
26-35 x 10-20 p., broadly fusoid to clavate-mucronate, with bright yellow
coagulated content that adheres along wall preventing the cell from
reviving in KOH, content orange to dull red in Melzer's reagent. Cheilocystidia 18-32 x 4-8 (9) pL, cylindric-capitate to narrowly fusoid-ventricose, walls thin, smooth and hyaline, content homogeneous, hyaline to
yellowish. Caulocystidia 27-46 x 6-12 /u elongate clavate to fusoid-ventricose or irregularly fusoid, walls yellowish and often thickened slightly
(0.5) p,, content a coagulated more or less wrinkled mass of amorphous
material pale yellow to orange-brown in KOH, also cells similar to
cheilocystidia at very apex.
Gill trama of a central area of floccose hyphae of elongate celled
hyphae with smooth thin yellowish walls in KOH, cells (4) 5-12 u. diam.
(more inflated in center area), subhymenium a broad and distinct gelatinous layer. Pileus cutis a collapsed trichodermium of nongelatinous
loosely arranged rusty brown hyphae with encrusted walls, (usually
heavily banded), the hyphae 4-9 aj wide and cells not greatly inflated;
hypodermial zone bright rusty in KOH fading to ochraceous, almost
pseudoparenchymatic in structure (cells inflated and closely packed),
cell walls thickened (double) to about 0.5 JL. Context hyphae with walls
like those of hypodermial area-refractive, smooth and showing a middle
layer. Clamp connections present. All hyphae inamyloid.
HABIT, HABITAT, AND DISTRIBUTION: On roots, stumps and watersoaked wood in open places, Smithtown, Suffolk Co., New York. Type
studied.
OBSERVATIONS: Kauffman in his study of the type noted the curious
cells in the hymenium, which in the light of the present work are merely
cystidia approaching the chrysocystidia type. Harding placed the species
in synonomy with Flammula carbonaria, probably because Kauffman
placed it in synonymy with F. highlandensis, and in an examination of a
portion of the type Hesler found no pleurocystidia. Smith's observations