ous shades of ochre yellow, rusty, rusty-brown,
brown, yellowish-brown. The hymenophore is never free from the stem in
the rusty-spored series, nor is there a volva.

_Pholiota. Fr._

Pholiota, a scale. The members of this genus have rusty spores. These
may be sepia-brown, bright yellowish-brown or light red. There is no
volva, but there is a ring which is sometimes persistent, friable, and
fugacious. In this respect it corresponds with the Armillaria among the
white spored agarics. The pileus is fleshy. The gills are attached to
the stem and sometimes notched with a decurrent tooth, tawny or rusty in
color on account of the falling of the spores. Many species grow on
wood, logs, stumps, and branches of trees, although others grow on the
ground.

_Pholiota precox. Pers._

THE EARLY PHOLIOTA. EDIBLE.

[Illustration: Figure 209.--Pholiota precox. Two-thirds natural size.
Caps whitish, often tinged with yellow.]

_Precox, early._ Pileus is fleshy, soft, convex, then expanded, at
length smooth, even, margin at first incurved; moist but not sticky,
whitish, often with slight tinge of yellow or tan-color; when the plant
is fully matured it is often upturned and fluted.

The gills are attached to the stem and slightly decurrent by a tooth,
moderately broad, crowded, unequal, creamy white, then rusty-brown.
Spores brownish, 8-13x6-7u.

The stem is stuffed, then hollow, often striate above the ring, rather
slender, sometimes mealy, skin peeling readily, whitish. The spores are
rusty-brown and elliptical. The caps are from one to two inches broad,
and the stem is from two to three inches long. The veil is stretched
like a drumhead from the stem to the margin of the cap. It varies in
manner of breaking; sometimes it separates from the margin of the cap
and forms a ring around the stem; again, but little remains on the stem
and much on the rim of the cap.

It appears every year on the Chillicothe high school lawn. The gills are
creamy-white when the cap first opens, but they soon turn to a
rusty-brown. It comes in May. I have never found it after June. I am
always delighted to find it for it is always appetizing at that season.
Look for them on lawns and pastures and in grain fields.

_Pholiota dura. Bolt._

THE HARD PHOLIOTA. EDIBLE.

[Illustration: Figure 210.--Pholiota dura. One-half natural size. Caps
tawny tan-color.]

Dura, hard; so called because the surface of the cap becomes quite hard
and cracked.