he volva, while in other cases
portions of the volva or outer veil appear on the surface of the cap in
rather broad patches, or it may be broken up into a number of smaller
ones quite evenly distributed over the surface of the cap. The presence
or absence of these scales on the cap depends entirely on the way in
which the volva ruptures. When there is a clean rupture at the apex the
pileus is free from scales, but if portions of the apex of the volva are
torn away they are apt to remain on the cap.

[Illustration: PLATE 14, FIGURE 56.--Amanita phalloides, brownish,
umber, or olive-brown form (natural size). Caps brownish or whitish, and
streaked with brown, scales white, gills and stem white, stem slowly
turning dull brown where bruised. Copyright.]

The white form is common in this country, and so is the olive or umber
form. The yellow form is rarer. Sometimes there is only a tinge of
yellow at the center of the white pileus, while in other cases a large
part of the pileus may be yellow, a deeper shade usually on the center.
The green form is probably more common in Europe than in this country.
The olive form varies considerably also in the depth of the color,
usually darker on the center and fading out to light olive or gray, or
whitish, on the margin. In other cases the entire pileus may be dark
olive or umber color. The =gills= in all the forms are white, and free
from the stem or only joined by a narrow line. The stem is stuffed when
young, but in age is nearly or quite hollow. It is cylindrical, 6--20
cm. long x 6--12 mm. in thickness. In the larger specimens the bulb is
quite prominent and abrupt, while in the smaller specimens it is not
always proportionally so large. The =stem= is usually smooth and the
color is white, except in the dark forms, when it is dingy or partakes
more or less of the color of the pileus, though much lighter in shade.
There is a tendency in these forms to a discoloration of the stem where
handled or bruised, and this should caution one in comparing such forms
with the edible _A. rubescens_.

[Illustration: FIGURE 57.--Amanita phalloides, volva circumscissile, cap
scaly, limb of volva not prominent, cap dark, scales white (natural
size). Copyright.]

Perhaps no part of the plant is more variable than the outer veil or
volva. Where the volva is quite thick and stout it usually splits at the
apex, and there is a prominent free limb, as shown in Fig. 55. Sometimes
thin portions of the v