The North American species of Psathyrella.

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MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN

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optical section) nearly straight on the ventral line and convex for the dorsal line,
color in KOH hyaline to faintly brownish, in Melzer's nearly hyaline, in HO
mounts pale purplish brown on fresh material, wall thin.
Basidia 4-spored, 12-18 x 9-11 u, hyaline, short-clavate. Pleurocystidia absent.
Cheilocystidia 30-47 x8-15 Ju, hyaline in KOH, thin-walled, subcylindric to
ventricose, with the neck only slightly narrowed and the apex broadly rounded,
content not distinctive in either KOH or Melzer's. Caulocystidia abundant and
more or less similar to the cheilocystidia.
Gill trama somewhat interwoven, rusty-brown to tawny in KOH, hyphae
smooth to incrusted. Pileus trama of enlarged loosely interwoven cells, the walls
tawny to dark rusty brown in KOH and many (especially the narrow hyphae)
with fulvous bands, plates or spirals of incrusting pigment; the cuticle of clavate
cells organized into a loose palisade, the walls at the base of the cells pale tawny.
Clamp connections present.
Type locality. Hungary.
Habit and habitat. On dead leaves and stems of Typha and Carex, often
fruiting near the water-line, late spring and summer.
Distribution. Michigan, New York, Washington.
Observations. Brachybasidioles are present in the over-mature hymenium in
some collections at least. It is doubtful if their presence will aid in the recognition
of the species. Collections are frequently found in which the veil has been
obliterated.
Material examined. Michigan: Charlton G300; Smith 33-741, 1498, 3984,
32210, 49535, 66749. New York: Type of Naucoria scirpicola. Washington:
Simmons 1398.
141. Psathyrella comata (Atkinson) A. H. Smith, comb. nov.
Hypholoma comatum Atkinson, Proc. Am. Phil. Soc. 57: 355. 1918.
Illust. Text Figs. 315, 316.
Pileus 5-15 mm broad, ovoid becoming campanulate, white, becoming blackish
gray and slightly striate, when young, densely covered with radiating fibrils, then
silky fibrillose, the margin appendiculate.
Lamellae adnate, elliptic, cinereous then becoming blackish.
Stipe 3-5 cm long, 1.5 mm thick, equal, white, bulbous, straight or flexuous,
fibrillose-squamulose.
Spores 11-13x5-6 I, smooth, truncate from a well developed apical pore,
shape in face view oblong to elliptic or slightly ovate, in profile subelliptic to
obscurely inequilateral, color in KOH chocolate-brown going to dark chocolatecolor, wall 0.4-0.5 u thick.
Basidia 4-spored, 20-24 x 9-12 fu, subcapitate, hyaline in KOH. Pleurocystidia
not differentiated. Typical basidioles present. Cheilocystidia abundant, 38-50x
9-13 g, subcylindric to fusoid-ventricose with obtuse apex, wall smooth, hyaline
and thin, cell content not distinctive in KOH or Melzer's.
Gill trama of more or less vesiculose hyaline readily collapsing cells, regular
but the orientation of the hyphae difficult to discern. Pileus having a cuticle of
vesiculose cells more than one cell thick (?), material revived poorly. Hyphae
of the context hyaline, cells greatly enlarged and reviving poorly. (The type
and one additional collection studied.)
Type locality. Ithaca, New York.