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

Smith * Hesler

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in age nearly plane, more rarely with an obtuse umbo, surface slimyviscid and covered by appressed spot-like tawny-brown scales arranged in
concentric rows and causing the predominant tawny-fulvous color, lemonyellow between the scales and on margin, margin at first appendiculate
with veil fragments. Context pliant, moderately thick, pale dull yellow,
odor and taste mild.
Lamellae when young pallid brownish (not yellow), becoming a
dull cinnamon and when dried rusty-fulvous, moderately broad, close,
tapering toward the cap margin, adnate to slightly adnexed or rounded
as they meet the stipe.
Stipe 8-12 cm long, 9-15 mm thick, solid, equal to a slightly enlarged
base, silky-pruinose to glabrous above the veil line and more densely
scaly as one progresses down from the line, the scales fibrillose and dry,
veil leaving an evanescent zone near apex (never a distinct annulus),
ground color yellowish over all and not distinctly darker over basal area.
Spore print rusty cinnamon. Spores 5.5-7 (7.5) X 3.5-4 (4.5) t,,
smooth, apical pore distinct but apex not truly truncate; shape in face
view oblong to elliptic or more rarely obscurely ovate, in profile elliptic
or nearly so varying to obscurely inequilateral, near cinnamon-brown in
KOH and not much different (paler) in Melzer's reagent.
Basidia 18-23 x 5.5-7 /., 4-spored, narrowly clavate, hyaline to yellowish in KOH or Melzer's reagent. Pleurocystidia 32-46 X 8-12 /i,
clavate to clavate-mucronate and filled with dark reddish brown contracted wrinkled content (as revived in either KOH or Melzer's reagent),
in addition chrysocystidia 26-42 X 6-12 E/ present with hyaline thin
smooth walls and a refractive inclusion, these clavate, fusoid or clavatemucronate. Cheilocystidia (23) 32-56 x (4) 6-9 (11) /u, versiform but
mostly varying around narrowly fusoid-ventricose to subcylindric-capitate,
more rarely clavate or enlarged part irregular in outline, walls thin
smooth and hyaline in KOH or in a few slightly thickened (+ 0.4 p,),
hyaline (yellow to tawny if poorly dried), content typically hyaline and
homogeneous. Caulocystidia numerous above veil line, (20) 30-70 x 6 -12 (20) /u, elongate clavate, elongate-fusoid and of regular to irregular
outline, filamentous-capitate with the capitellum lopsided at times, or
fusoid-ventricose, walls hyaline to pale cinnamon and smooth to incrusted.
Gill trama of a central area of floccose hyphae subparallel and cells
greatly elongated, 6-15 u/ wide, walls hyaline and somewhat refractive
as well as thickened slightly (showing as 2 double lines), smooth; subhymenium a gelatinous layer of closely packed hyaline hyphae 1.5-3 /u
diam. Pileus cutis a thick gelatinous pellicle reddish in KOH, the hyphae
4-10 p/ diam., appressed and walls gelatinizing, smooth to asperulate;
hypodermial region not differentiated. Context hyphae yellowish to
hyaline in KOH, smooth, walls thin, closely interwoven. Clamp connections present. All hyphae inamyloid.
HABIT, HABITAT, AND DISTRIBUTION: Caespitose-gregarious on A bies,