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

INTRODUCTION
History
Fries (1821) established Tribe xxii, Pholiota of Agaricus, for many
of the species here placed in the genus Pholiota. The history of the genus
may be said to start from this publication since it is the official starting
date for the nomenclature of agarics. Although the Greek word Pholiota
means scale, some glabrous species such as Agarictis caperatus were admitted to the group. He included sixteen species, some of which (e.g.,
P. aurivella, P. adiposa, P. flammans, P. squarrosa and P. mutabilis) are
still included.
In the same publication Fries erected a second group, Tribe xxv,
Flammula, with fifteen species including Agaricu.s alnicola, astragalinus,
spumosus, carbonarius, lubricus, lentus and others, species which are now
included under Pholiota. Fries made a distinction between the two tribes
on the basis of the character of the veil. In Pholiota he stated that the
veil forms an annulus, membranous or radiate-floccose, and in Flammula
it was said to be fugacious. In 1874, however, he characterized Pholiota
as having an annulate partial veil, but then stated that Pholiota passes
without distinct limits into Flammula.
Kummer (1871) was apparently the first to assign generic rank to
these two Friesian tribes. Quelet (1886) proposed the genus Dryophila to
encompass both tribes but then divided them into subgenera Pholiota
and Flammula. Since Quelet's time, authors have varied between this
concept and in maintaining both tribes as genera. Earle (1909) noting
that the name Flammula is a homonym, having been used for a genus of
phanerogams previously, proposed the name Visculus in place of it.
Earle, in the same publication, recognized the genus Hypodendrum
Paulet (1793). It will be noted that this name is "pre Friesian." Overholts
(1932) used Paulet's name since he was following the old American Code
at the time, and placed in the genus species with squarrose stipes. Those
with glabrous or merely fibrillose stipes were placed under Pholiota. He
excluded species of Flammula from his treatise.
In more recent times it has been observed that some of the speci(e
of the Pholiota-Flammula group exhibit a germ pore broad enough ti
cause the spore apex to appear more or less truncate. Based chiefly o?:

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