Pileum

“ The pileus often rests upon its back and is attached by a point when young, but it becomes turned backward with age. The species are few and infrequent. All inhabit decaying wood.
267C. ni ́dulans Pers.—nidus, a nest. Pileus 1–3 in. broad, stemless, attached by the pileus or rarely narrowed behind into a short stem-like base, caps often overlapping one another, suborbicular or kidney-shaped, downy, somewhat pointed-hairy or scaly-hairy toward the margin, yellow or buff color, the margin at first turned inward. Lamellæ rather broad, moderately close or subdistant, orange-yellow. ”

“ The tawny-color, spoon-shaped pileus, pale floccose scales, short lateral stem and decurrent lamellæ ascribed to that species are not well shown by our plant. The substance of the pileus, though rather tenacious and persistent, can scarcely be called leathery. The flesh is white or pale yellow. The hairy down of the pileus is often matted in small tufts and intermingled with coarse hairs, especially toward the margin. This gives a scaly or pointed-hairy appearance. The color of the pileus is often paler toward the base than it is on the margin. ”

“ The pileus thin and fleshy, entirely dry, at first clothed with silky down, becoming smooth in mature plants. The gills are changeable in color. The stem is equal or tapering downward, stuffed, sometimes hollow, smooth.
V. Telamonia, meaning a bandage or lint. The pileus is moist, watery, smooth or sprinkled with whitish superficial fibres, the remnants of the web-like veil. The flesh is thin, somewhat thicker at the center. The stem is ringed and frequently scaly from the universal veil, slightly veiled at the apex, hence almost with a double veil. The plants are usually quite large. ”

“ The pileus is smooth, even, viscid when young and moist, frequently adorned [Pg 21] with a few fragments of the volva, white, grayish white, sometimes smoky-brown; whether the pileus be white, oyster-color or smoky-brown, the center of the cap will be several shades darker than the margin. The plant changes from a knob or egg-shape when young, to almost flat when fully expanded. Many plants have a marked umbo on the top of the cap and the rim of the cap may be slightly turned up.
The gills are always white, wide, ventricose, rounded next to the stem, and free from it. ”

“ Presently some exceed the others in rapidity of growth, and their heads get above the ground, the stem elongates rapidly, the ring falls loosely round the stem, the margin of the pileus enlarges, and the oval head assumes a bell-shape; then a faint tint of brown spreads universally or in blotches over the upper part of the pileus, and the whiteness of its gills changes to a dull pink. ”

“ The pileus is from ovate to conic when young, the margin not at all incurved, but lies straight against the stem, somewhat unequal. [Pg 165] In expanding the cap becomes convex, then expanded, and finally many of the plants with the margin elevated and with a broad umbo, and finely striate for one-half to two-thirds the way from the margin to the center. When young the pileus has a very viscid cuticle, which easily peels from the surface, showing the yellow flesh. The cuticle is smoky olive to fuliginous, darker when young, becoming paler as the pileus expands, but always darker on the umbo. ”

“ The pileus is three to four inches broad, usually damp or watery, sometimes quite viscid, shining when dry, convex, then expanded, depressed in the center, margin at first incurved, even, smooth; warm, soft tan, rather light, and sometimes a very slight pinkish hue prevails. The flesh is solid and persistent.
The gills are rather crowded, slightly decur [Pg 171] rent, at first whitish, then a light yellow, many not reaching to the stem, none forked. The stem is from three to four inches long, of same color as the pileus, often a much lighter shade ”

“ When young, its stalk is tough, white, and solid; but as it grows this becomes hollow and presently changes to yellow; tapering below, it is effused into the substance of the pileus, which is of the same colour with it. The pileus is lobed, and irregular in shape, its margin at first deeply involute, afterwards when expanded, wavy. The veins or plaits are thick, subdistant, much sinuated, running some way down the stalk. ”

“ Adustum means scorched, burned. The pileus is two to three inches broad, yellowish-white, blackish around the margin, coriaceous, slightly zoned; plane at first, then slightly depressed; tomen [Pg 445] tose, thin; frequently a plant will be found growing on the top of another plant. The spines are at first white, adnate, short, turning flesh-color and when dried almost black.
The stem is short, solid, tapering upward.
The plant is found growing in the woods on trunks and sticks after a rain in July, August, and September. It is not as plentiful as Hydnum spongiosipes and H. scrobiculatum. ”

“ The pileus is fleshy, plane, slightly depressed, tessellated scaly, downy, not zoned, umber in color or brownish as if scorched, flesh dingy-white, taste slightly bitter when raw, margin round.
The spines are decurrent, entire, numerous, short, ashy-white, generally equal in length.
The stem is firm, short, thick, even, whitish. The spores are pale yellow-brown, rough.
The bitter taste entirely leaves the plant when well cooked. It seems to delight in pine or chestnut woods. I found it in Emmanuel Thomas' woods, east of Salem, Ohio. It is found from September to November. ”

“ Pileus without a viscid pellicle, absolutely dry, rigid, the cuticle commonly breaking up into flocci or granules. Flesh thick, compact, firm, vanishing away short of the margin which is straight (never involute) , soon spreading, and always without striæ. Stem solid, at first hard, then softer and spongy. Gills, a few dimidiate, others divided, rigid, dilated in front and running out with a very broad, rounded apex, whence the margin of the pileus becomes obtuse and is not inflexed. Exceedingly handsome, but rather rare. ”

“ The veil is reticulate, frequently surrounding the whole of the stem from the pileus to the volva, often torn. The pileus is pitted, deliquescent, six to eight inches high, apex acute. Spores elliptic-oblong.
I am sure I never saw finer lace-work than I have seen on this plant. A few years ago one of these plants insisted upon growing near my house, where a fence post had formerly been, with the effect of almost driving the family from home. One can hardly imagine so beautiful a plant giving off such an odor. It is not a common plant in our state. ”

“ Pileus symmetrical, generally fleshy, never truly umbilicate, seldom umbonate. Veil absent or appearing only as fibrils or down on the margin of the pileus. Gills sinuate (the small sudden curve near the stem always apparent in the young plant) , sometimes with a slightly decurrent tooth. Stem central, usually stout, fleshy-fibrous, without a bark-like skin. Flesh continuous with that of the pileus. Ring and Volva absent. Spores white or dingy.
But one is known to be poisonous. Some are acrid or unpleasant in flavor. ”

“ Perithecia, bottle-like receptacles containing asci. Peronate, used when the stem has a distinct stocking-like coat. Persistent, inclined to hold firm, tenacious. Pervious, forming an open tube-like passage. Pileate, having a cap. Pileoli, secondary pilei; arising from a division of the primary pileus. Pileus, the cap, receptacle, or one part of a mushroom; other parts are the stem and gills. Pilose, covered with hairs. Pits, depressions in cells or tubes resembling pores, applied also to hollow depressions in the surface of the cap of the morel. ”

“ The stem is laterally attached, tough, and gradually expands into the pileus which it resembles in color; it is markedly reticulated at the top by the decurrent walls of the spore-tubes. The spore-surface is yellow, the tubes arranged in radiating rows, some being more prominent than others, the partitions often assuming the form of gills which branch and are connected by cross partitions of less prominence. The stratum of tubes, while soft, is very tenacious, not separating from the flesh of the pileus. ”

“ Pileus 11⁄2-21⁄2 in. across, subcylindrical, then oval bell-shaped, lower half of pileus usually undulate but not furrowed or striate, disk obtuse, usually depressed, distinctly scaly, dingy white, toward the apex tinged with pale brown, scales darker. Flesh very thin. Gills free, tapering toward each end, 1⁄4 in. or more broad, crowded, pale then blackish. Stem 5–8 in. long, 3⁄4 in. thick at the 372base, slightly attenuated upward, silky-white, stuffed; toward the base there is a depressed zone caused by the edge of the pileus when young. Ring fugacious. Spores elliptical, 15×7μ. ”

“ Pileus 2 in. broad, fuliginous, disk date-brown, thin, ovate then bell-shaped, covered with small branny scales, then opening into furrows and flattened, undulately sulcate, disk obtuse, even. Stem 2–3 in. long, 2–3 lines thick, fistulose, slightly firm, attenuated upward, adpressedly silky, becoming even, white. Gills adnexed, at first crowded, distant when the pileus is split, linear, white then reddish, at length brownish-blackish.
A larger and more remarkable species than all the neighboring ones. ”

“ The pileus is said to become greenish very late in the season. The stem, in the typical form, is described as sulphur-yellow in color, but with us it is more often white. The scales of the disk are sometimes wanting. In our plant the taste is slightly farinaceous at first, but it is soon unpleasant.
Var. pinastreti A. and S. is a slender form having a thin, even pileus, thinner and more narrow gills and a more slender stem. A. crassus Scop., A. aureus Schaeff., and A. flavovirens Pers. are recorded as synonyms of this species. Peck, 44th Rep. ”

“ In most of the species the pileus is at first resupinate, but it generally becomes reflexed as it enlarges. It is generally sessile or attached by a mass of white fibrils or tomentum. For this reason it is usually somewhat tomentose or villose about the point of attachment, even in species that are otherwise glabrous. In several species the pileus is moist or hygrophanous and then the thin margin is commonly striatulate. ”