North American species of Mycena.

286 NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES OF MYCENA

projections; pleurocystidia absent; gill trama dark vinaceous brown
in iodine; pileus trama with a thin pellicle, a region of inflated cells
(the hypoderm) beneath it and the remainder floccose, all parts beneath the pellicle reddish wine color in iodine.
Habit, habitat, and distribution.-Scattered to subcespitose on
sticks and debris; throughout northeastern and central North America
and along the Pacific coast from Washington to California. This is a
common species in Michigan and along the Pacific coast during late
fall after many agarics have ceased to fruit.
Material studied.-Smith, 32-90, 32-348, 32-362, 32-400, 32-457,
32-482, 32-487, 32-537, 32-570, 33-1074, 716, 781, 910, 1058, 2514,
2542, 2571,2835, 3313, 3449, 3532, 3581, 3666, 4663, 5040, 5050, 5086,
7145, 7739, 7889, 7928, 8750, 8868, 8811, 9060, 9112, 14466, September 27 and November 17, 1931, October 29, 1932, Michigan. Atkinson, 13711, 13717, 13810 (all as M. ammoniaca). Brown, 1925,
Lake Quinault, Washington. Kauffman, September 14, 1907 (as
M. leptocephala). Gruber, Idaho. Mains, 32-263, 32-359, 32-437,
32-715, 32-798, 32-813, 34-67, 34-156, 5050. Wehmeyer, 816.
Observations.-The manner in which this species fades and its
appearance when faded are almost as distinctive as the strong odor
of iodoform which develops after the fruiting bodies have been collected. The faded portions of the cap appear pale gray and have a
curious sheen, as if covered with a faint bloom. This appearance
is caused by the way the moisture escapes from between the cells of
the pellicle and is not due to hairs or cystidia, as is usual when a
fungus appears pruinose. The two-spored form is more common than
the four-spored form in the regions where I have collected.
For a lengthy account of this species and its related forms the
reader is referred to Ktihner (1928). He regards it as the typical form
of M. vitilis. The names "M. vitilis" and "M. filopes" have been
used in various concepts so much that at times one is tempted to discard both. Since in his Monographia (1857, p. 63) Fries described
M. vitilis as "inodorus," it is reasonable to assume that he placed an
odorless Mycena under that name. Apparently this is also the
opinion of Lundell, who has been trained in the Friesian concepts.
Rather than become entangled in the complex nomenclature of the
fungi in this series it seems better to use a recent name which definitely
applies to the fungus in question and has the added advantage of
being admirably descriptive.