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

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The North American Species of Pholiota

5. Typically near decaying wood or on very decayed wood................ 6
6. Spores 2.8-3.5 (4) Ip broad........... Stirps Innocua
6. Spores 4-4.5 (5) ft broad.................................. Stirps Lenta
Stirps Astragalina
The bitter taste is the central feature. We recognize one species in
the group at present. Flammula amara Fr. sensu Kauffman probably
belongs here but we finally decided to exclude it pending further study.
176. Pholiota astragalina (Fr.) Singer Agar. in Mod. Tax., p. 516.
1951.
Agaricus astragalinus Fries, Syst. Myc. 1: 251. 1821.
Agaricus neesii Barla, Champ. Prov. Nice, p. 46. 1859.
Flammula astragalina (Fr.) Kummer, Der Fiihrer in die Pilzkunde, p.
82. 1871.
Dryophila astragalina Quelet, Enchir. Fung., p. 71. 1886.
Gymnopilus laeticolor Murrill, Mycologia 4: 251. 1912.
Flammnla laeticolor Murrill, Mycologia 4: 262. 1912.
Illustrations: Text figs. 390-392; pls. 80, 81.
Pileus 2-4 cm broad, obtusely conic or obtusely umbonate when
young, expanding to obtusely campanulate and finally with a spreading
or uplifted margin which may become wavy, usually retaining a slight
obtuse umbo, smooth, viscid to glutinous when wet, soon dry, glabrous
except for pallid, fibrillose remains of the veil along the margin, color
brilliant pinkish orange ("flame-scarlet" to "bittersweet-orange"), fading somewhat in age and soon developing blackish discolorations. Context moderately thick, tapered evenly to the margin (about 4 mm in
the disc), pliant and watery, "Mikado-orange" but soon paler yellowish
orange; odor none, taste bitter.
Lamellae sharply and deeply adnexed, at times appearing to be
almost free, close, 2-3 tiers of lamellulae, moderately broad (3-4 mm),
"capucine-yellow" (orange-yellow) but discoloring somewhat where
bruised, edges even.
Stipe 5-9 cm long, 4-7 mm thick, equal, terete, hollow, flexuous,
apex "cream-color" within, in the base sordid orange buff, surface more
or less fibrillose and pallid yellowish from the yellow veil, base tinged
faintly like the pileus and soon sordid orange, brown where handled,
glabrescent.
Spores 5-7 X 3.8-4.5 /p, smooth, germ pore minute and apex not
truncate; shape in face view ovate to elliptic, in profile somewhat inequilateral to obscurely so; revived in KOH rusty brown, in Melzer's reagent
paler and more cinnamon; wall about 0.3 p. thick.
Basidia 18-26 X 5-7 pu, 4-spored, narrowly clavate, yellowish in KOH