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

Smith * Hesler 29
as lack of dermato-cystidia but again this does not hold because so many
of the species have caulocystidia. In short the evidence, as presented in
the following descriptions, convinced us that Kuehneromyces was untenable as a genus.
For the most part its species have their relationships with others in
subgenus Hemipholiota, with the result that the truncate spore as a
character is used to define a section with several stirpes which show
intergradation with Naematoloma, Stropharia or Psilocybe.
In our estimation the North American species Singer placed in
Pachylepyrium finds a logical place along with section Confragosae
as a subgenus (Hygrotrama) in Pholiota. The thick walled spore (wall
0.5-1.8 /u thick) as well as the intense pigmentation are found in other
species not closely related but obviously in Pholiota, P. pulchella for
instance, with the spore wall about 0.5 u/ thick. Both features are merely
a matter of degree of development. The color spectrum of the spore
deposit for Pholiota is from ferruginous to earth-brown, to yellow-brown
("bister" etc.) to cinnamon-brown to clay-color or more ochraceous, and
within this range, in our estimation, it is forcing the issue to make generic
groupings with one of these shades as a major character.
The subgenus Pholiota with P. squarrosa as type pin-points the name
as associated with scaly species lacking any gelatinization in the pileus
cuticle. Here, however, the subhymenium is usually gelatinous whereas
in subg. Flavidula it is rarely gelatinous. Hence, in many respects the
type of the genus is close to subg. Flavidula as far as anatomical features
are concerned. However, the most widely known (and as it turns out the
most frequently misidentified species) are in section Adiposae, where,
through the development of gelatinous layers in the cuticle, we see the
beginnings of a connection to subg. Flammuloides.
Flammuloides as a subgenus contains the largest number of species
of any of the subgenera and the species may be said to have evolved in
an almost routine manner, since the characters are largely different patterns of pigmentation, slight but constant differences in spore size, features of pleuro-, cheilo-, and caulocystidia, favored substrata, and the usual
odd characters of one type or another which crop out in most of the
larger groups of Agarics in general-in fact speciation in subgenus
Flammuloides may be characterized as monotonous.
Subg. Flammula as typified by F. flavida necessitated a shift in the
use of the name from cystidiate species with non-dextrinoid spores to
acystidiate species with at least weakly but distinctly dextrinoid spores.
This is one of those unfortunate changes in the meaning of a name which
cannot be helped. It is brought about by the type-system in nomenclature.
From the standpoint of evolution subg. Hemipholiota is most interesting since it is in this group that we have placed the "primitive" species
of Pholiota such as P. discolor, P. mutans and P. striatula. These connect
to Galerina mostly and indicate to us the probable area of origin of the