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

234

The North American Species of Pholiota

pore, shape in face view ovate to nearly elliptic, in profile somewhat
narrowly inequilateral; color in KOH dull cinnamon and about the
same in Melzer's reagent; wall about 0.25 p/ thick.
Basidia 4-spored, 18-22 x 5-6.5,u, narrowly clavate, yellowish in
KOH, dull ochraceous orange in Melzer's reagent. Pleurocystidia 38-65
(76) x 9-15 /uL basically fusoid-ventricose but neck elongate and with
swellings and constrictions, apex typically obtuse; smooth; wall thin at
first but soon thickened to 0.6-1.2 /u at upper portion of ventricose part
and in adjacent part of neck, content of some cystidia yellow and coagulated even in fresh specimens, coagulated content in revived sections (in
KOH) orange brown but soon fading to yellowish, in Melzer's reagent the
content nearly colorless, many originating from the parallel hyphae of
the gill trama. Cheilocystidia 28-40 x 7-12 pA, clavate to fusoid ventricose
but the necks short, walls thin, smooth, yellowish in KOH. Caulocystidia
present merely as the occasional more or less appressed clavate end-cell
of a surface hypha, walls yellowish in KOH.
Gill trama consisting of a broad band of parallel hyphae with more
or less inflated elongate hyphal cells having thin to scarcely thickened
walls yellowish to hyaline in KOH as revived, walls smooth; subhymenium a gelatinous band of narrow (2-3 p.) much branched hyphae. Pileus
cutis of interwoven narrow (2-4 p.) hyphae yellow to hyaline in KOH,
outline distinct but imbedded in a gelatinous matrix, hypodermium of
rusty to orange-brown hyphae with inflated cells to 12-20 p. diam., walls
smooth to incrusted. Context hyphae yellow in KOH (fresh or revived
specimens), typically thin walled, closely interwoven and hyphal cells
inflated. Clamp connections present.
HABIT, HABITAT, AND DISTRIBUTION: Gregarious on decaying aspen log,
Proud Lake Recreation Area, Sept. 3, 1966. Smith 73302, type.
OBSERVATIONS: This species may be more closely related to P. graveolens than any other species, but the thick-walled cystidia separate it at
once. The strong odor, tendency of the cystidia to develop thickened
walls, the orange mycelium at the base of the stipe on old bsidiocarps,
and the dull brown pileus disc compared to the bright yellow margin are
a distinctive set of features.
Stirps Olivaceophylla
This stirps is placedl here because a few of the pleurocystidia develop
walls up to around 0.5 p. thick, but it is to be regarded as borderline. In
all features save the lack of gelatinization of the subhymenium it appears
to be a group typical of subg. Flammnuloides. Both of the species included
here need further critical study based on ample collections.
Key

1. Lamellae white when young; pileus chestnut to bister in color from