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

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The North American Species of Pholiota

observed. Context hyphae inflated; walls smooth, thin and pale ochraceous. Clamp connections present. All hyphae inamyloid.
HABIT, HABITAT, AND DISTRIBUTION: On spruce, Maine, August. Type
studied.
OBSERVATIONS: The microscopic data are all from the type. The
species should be compared carefully with P. graveolens. As dried the
gills of the type are about "buckthorn brown" (yellow-brown). The
dried pileus is a pale bright yellow. Also, P. vialis and P. piceina should
be compared on the basis of additional collections and culture studies
if possible. We are not completely satisfied that all three are distinct
from each other.
We have notes and a photograph (pl. 71) of an Idaho collection
which may belong here:
Pileus 3-6 cm broad, broadly convex becoming nearly plane, with
a few faint fibrils from the veil but soon glabrous, color pale bright
yellow ("Naphtllaline yellow") margin finally decoloring to yellowish
white, disc pale orange-brown at maturity, ochraceous at first. Context
thickish, yellow, when cut staining a brighter yellow then (finally)
dingy brownish; taste mild, odor of corn husks (~), with FeSO4-olive,
with tincture of Guaiac quickly green.
Lamellae pale yellow becoming dull cinnamon brown, broad, adnate,
close to subdistant.
Stipe 3-8 cm long, 6-10 mm thick, equal, soon hollow, bright yellow
in cortex, surface pale yellow above, soon rusty fulvous below, drying
pale bright yellow like the pileus with the basal discoloration not pronounced, thinly fibrillose from the pale yellow veil.
Spore deposit dark cinnamon. Spores 6.5-8 x 3.8-4.2 ft smooth, with
a minute apical pore; shape elliptic varying to subovate in face view,
nearly elliptic in profile; color in KOH dull cinnamon, paler in Melzer's
reagent; wall about 0.25,t thick.
Basidia 4-spored, 18-24 x 6-8 pt clavate, mostly yellow in KOH (as
spores begin to form), dingy ochraceous in Melzer's. Pleurocystidia
50-85 x 9-17 p, fusoid ventricose, apex obtuse, thin-walled, with a long
narrow pe(icel (originating at edge of central non-gelatinous strand in
gill trama), smooth. Cheilocystidia similar to pleurocystidia but shorter,
caulocystidia in fascicles, clavate to fusoid-ventricosa 30-80 x 10-18 pt,
mostly thin-walled and smooth.
Gill trama with a central strand of parallel hyphae of relatively
short cells and in area toward the pileus trama the cells inflating markedly, thin-walled, hyaline to yellowish in KOH, some oleiferous hyphae
present; subhymenium a gelatinous zone of hyaline branched narrow
hyphae. Pileus cutis a pellicle of mixed narrow (2-3 pt) and wider (4 -7 /L) hyphae with disintegrating walls yellowish to hyaline in KOH;
hypodermium of interwoven non-gelatinous somewhat roughened to
smooth hyphae ochraceous to ochraceous brown in KOH. Context hy