then the cap appears depressed. It is fleshy, thin,
whitish or brown, tawny, or with a tinge of ochre, and becoming pale in
age and when dry. As the plant becomes old the pileus often cracks in
various ways, sometimes splitting radially into several lobes, and then
in other cases cracking into irregular areas, showing the white flesh
underneath. The surface of the pileus when young is sometimes sprinkled
with whitish particles giving it a mealy appearance. The =gills= are
attached to the stem, crowded, becoming more or less free by breaking
away from the stem, especially in old plants. They are white, then flesh
colored, brownish with a slight purple tinge. The =stem= is white,
smooth, or with numerous small white particles at the apex, becoming
hollow. The =veil= is very delicate, white, and only seen in quite young
plants when they are fresh. It clings to the margin of the cap for a
short period, and then soon disappears.

[Illustration: FIGURE 27.--Hypholoma appendiculatum (natural size),
showing appendiculate veil. Copyright.]

Sometimes the pileus is covered with numerous white, delicate floccose
scales, which give it a beautiful appearance, as in Fig. 26, from
specimens (No. 3185 C. U. herbarium), collected on the campus of Cornell
University among grass. The entire plant is very brittle, and easily
broken. It is tender and excellent for food. I often eat the caps raw.

=Hypholoma candolleanum= Fr., occurs in woods on the ground, or on very
rotten wood. It is not so fragile as _H. appendiculatum_ and the gills
are dark violaceous, not flesh color as they are in _H. appendiculatum_
when they begin to turn, and nearly free from the stem.

=Hypholoma lacrymabundum= Fr.--This plant was found during September and
October in wet grassy places in a shallow ditch by the roadside, and in
borders of woods, Ithaca, N. Y., 1898. The plants are scattered or
clustered, several often joined at the base of the stem. They are 4--8
cm. high, the cap 2--5 cm. broad, and the stem 4--8 mm. in thickness.

[Illustration: FIGURE 28.--Hypholoma lacrymabundum (natural size). Cap
and stem tawny or light yellowish, with intermediate shades or shades of
umber, surface with soft floccose scales. Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex to expanded, sometimes broadly umbonate in age,
and usually with radiating wrinkles extending irregularly. On the
surface are silky or tomentose threads not much elevated from the
surface, and as the plant ages