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

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The North American Species of Pholiota

scales on pileus; pale yellowish within above, paler downward at times.
Annular zone on stipe from broken veil distinct.
Spore deposit rusty brown. Spores 5-6 X 3-3.5 /, smooth, germ pore
distinct and apex obscurely truncate in many; shape in face view ovate
to elliptic, in profile slightly bean-shaped to subelliptic; in KOH ochraceous to tawny, paler in Melzer's reagent; wall about 0.3 ut thick.
Basidia 4-spored 18-26 X 3.5-5 /, narrowly clavate, hyaline to ochraceous in KOH and Melzer's reagent. Pleurocystidia of two types: 1)
clavate-mucronate to fusoid, 30-55 x 8-14 u/, wall thin, smooth, hyaline
to yellowish, content with an inclusion of amorphous highly refractive
material, hyaline to ochraceous in KOH and Melzer's reagent. 2) 23-40
x 5-11 /IL, subclavate to subfusoid, thin-walled, smooth, content homogeneous (no refractive inclusion), both types intergrading in that some
show refractive granular material not organized into a solid inclusion.
Cheilocystidia 22-33 X 4-7 A/, similar to pleurocystidia (both types),
some merely narrowly clavate to fusoid-ventricose, content yellowish to
hyaline and homogeneous. Caulocystidia none found (from examination
of dried material).
Gill trama with a central area of floccose hyphae with greatly inflated
cells (to 25 FL), subparallel at first, then somewhat interwoven, hyphal
walls thin smooth and ochraceous to hyaline; subhymenium a thin layer
of interwoven somewhat gelatinous narrow hyphae, hyaline in KOH.
Pileus cutis an interwoven layer of non-gelatinous hyphae 3-10 /t broad,
smooth or incrusted and layer reddish fulvous in KOH. Context hyphae
paler and ochraceous, smooth and thin-walled, cells greatly inflated.
Clamp connections present and very prominent. All hyphae inamyloid.
HABIT, HABITAT, AND DISTRIBUTION: Caespitose on soil along a road
among grasses, Wondy Island, Kodiak, Alaska. July 27, 1964. Wells and
Kempton, no. 2.
OBSERVATIONS: The dry pileus, minute spores, prominent chrysocystidia and less conspicuous clavate hymenial cystidia with homogeneous
content, scaly stipe and pale yellow lamellae are distinctive. The scales
of both cap and stipe are very fine and do not show conspicuously on
dried specimens as they do in P. squarrosa and P. squarrosoides.
Section Adiposae Konrad & Maublanc
Encyc. Myc. 15: 156. 1948
Stirps Squarrosoides
In aspect the species placed here more closely resemble P. squarrosa
than any other because of the dense covering of dry squamules over the
young pilei. However, a gelatinous subcutis is present which becomes
noticeable chiefly in age. This stirps contains the best edible species in
the genus.