hand plant (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is oval to ovate and conic, and in some cases it becomes
more or less expanded, but never, so far as I have observed, does it
become depressed or even plane. In wet weather it is usually at first
dark smoky in color, viscid, becoming grayish in age, and as the pileus
dries it becomes shining. In lighter colored forms the pileus is at
first light leather color to cream color. Toward the center of the
pileus are irregular wrinkles or shallow pits, the wrinkles anastomosing
more or less, and it is because of this character of the surface of the
pileus that the plant receives its specific name. During dry weather
there is a tendency for the pileus to crack, separating the dark color
of the surface into patches showing the white flesh beneath. The pileus
is often umbonate or gibbous, and the center is often darker than the
margin. The pileus in rare cases is entirely white. The =gills= are
adnate, broad in the middle, and in the more expanded forms as the gills
separate more and more from the stem there is a tendency for them to
become somewhat triangular. The =spores= are black in mass, are
elliptical or short fusiform, and measure from 10--12 x 15--18 mu. The
=stem= is cylindrical, sometimes tortuous, smoky gray, light reddish
brown, or paler, sometimes entirely white, the lighter forms of the stem
accompanying the light forms of the pileus; cartilaginous in texture,
becoming hollow, always darker below and paler above, smooth, granulate
with minute darker points, bulbous. The =veil= is very prominent and
stout when the plant is young, and extends from the margin of the pileus
to the stem when the plant is very young and the stem has not elongated.
As the stipe elongates the veil separates from the stipe as a ring, and
then, as the pileus expands, it is broken quite regularly into short
segments which become arranged regularly around the margin of the pileus
in the form of the letter V, which gives a beautiful appearance to this
stage of the plant. It is only when the plants are fresh and moist that
this condition of the veil can be seen, for on drying the veil
collapses. Water is sometimes caught under the veil before the pileus
separates far from the stem, and the spores falling thus float against
the stem at this point and make a dark ring around the stem, which,
however, should not be mistaken for the annulus. In no case was the veil
observed to cling to the stem, an