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

Smith ~ Hesler

x 8-14 /,, clavate, clavate-mucronate or broadly fusoid-ventricose, wall
smootl, thin, hyaline, content hyaline to yellow in KOH and homogeneous (with aspect of chrysocystidia but lacking the inclusion as revived in KOH). Cheilocystidia similar to pleurocystidia or varying to
vesiculose-pedicellate. Caulocystidia not studied.
Gill trama a central hyaline strand of floccose hyphae with cells
smooth, thin-walled, inflated, and hyaline in KOH; subhymenium a
broad gelatinous band of narrow (2,/) hyaline branched hyphae. Pileus
trama of hyaline floccose interwoven hyphae with inflated thin-walled
smootlh cells; above it a hypodermial region of bright rusty brown (in
KOH) incrusted inflated cells and above this a gelatinous pellicle of
yellow, narrower (4-7,t) nearly smooth tangled hyphae. Clamp connections present. All hyphae inamyloid.
HABIT, HABITAT, AND DISTRIBUTION: Gregarious on a much-decayed
mossy stump of Kalmia latifolia, Virginia, October. Type studied.
OBSERVATIONS: The spore size as given in Murrill's original description is slightly erroneous. The spores, gill trama, pileus trama and habitat
on wood make tis a typical "Flammula" of the Friesian classification.
The portion of the type examined was in part sterile, which accounts for
the pale gills. The stature is much like that of Pholiota rnyosotis, but no
clrysocystidia were found. The cystidia which are present are more
properly classed as leptocystidia. The species is most closely related to
P. scrotina by its peculiar spore feature but has mucl wider gills. Both
slhow tlhe same pattern of variation in spore size and shape. In P. serotina,
lhowever, the sublhymenium is poorly defined wlhereas in P. kalmicola it
is more liglhlyl developed than in any other Pholiota known to us.
Section Mutabiles Konrad & Maublanc, Encyc.
Myc. 15: 158. 1948
Kuich1ncromyccs Singer &- Smitl, Mycologia 38: 504. 1946.
As limited here the section includes only those species with truncate
spores measuring consistently less than 9 /, long.
Type species: Pholiota mutabilis.
Key to Stirpes
1. Stipe scaly below annulus or stipe 4-12 mm thick. Stirps Mutabilis
1. N ot as above........................................ 2
2. Pileus lacking a gelatinized pellicle. Stirps Marginella
2. P ileu s w ith pellicle gelatinized.......................................................... 3
3. Gills more or less olive-fuscous mature.......... Stirps Depauperata
3. Gills some shade of rusty brown when mature.................................... 4