ms a ring on the stem
is present. The stem is fibrous, or the outer portion cartilaginous in
some species, and not easily separable from the substance of the pileus
(continuous with the hymenophore), and the gills are attached to the
stem, sinuate, or decurrent, spores white. Peck, 43rd Report N. Y. State
Mus., p. 40--45, describes 6 species.

Some of the species resemble very closely certain species of _Amanita_
or _Lepiota_, but can be distinguished by the firm continuity of the
substance of the stem and cap.

=Armillaria mellea= Vahl. =Edible.=--This is one of the most common of
the late summer and autumn fungi, and is widely distributed over the
world. It grows about the bases of old stumps or dead trees, or from
buried roots. Sometimes it is found attached to the living roots of
trees. The plant occurs in tufts or clusters, several to many
individuals growing together, the bases of their stems connected with a
black rope-like strand from which they arise. The entire plant is often
more or less honey colored, from which the plant gets its specific name.
Its clustered habit, the usually prominent ring on the stems, and the
sharp, blackish, erect scales which usually adorn the center of the cap,
mark it as an easy plant to determine in most cases. The colors and
markings, however, vary greatly, so that some of the forms are very
puzzling. The plant varies in height from 10--15 cm., the cap from 5--10
cm. broad, and the stem 4--10 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is oval to convex and expanded, sometimes with a slight
umbo or elevation at the center. The color varies from honey color to
nearly white, or yellowish brown to dull reddish brown, usually darker
on the center. In typical forms the pileus is adorned with pointed dark
brown, or blackish, erect, scales especially abundant over the center,
while the margin is often free from them, but may be marked with looser
floccose, brownish, or yellowish scales. Sometimes there are no blackish
pointed scales anywhere on the cap, only loose floccose colored scales,
or in some forms the cap is entirely smooth. The margin in old specimens
is often striate. The pileus is usually dry, but Webster cites an
instance in which it was viscid in wet weather.

The =gills= are attached to the stem squarely (adnate) or they are
decurrent (extend downward on the stem), are white, or whitish, becoming
in age more or less dingy or stained. The spores are rounded or
elliptical, 6--9 mu.