Mushrooms With Gray Colored Cap
Amanita Strobiliformis = a Pine Cone — The Warted Amanita
Cap light gray, or dingy white when young; 7 to 9 inches broad when expanded fully. It is covered with large pyramidal, persistent warts. The margin is even, and extends beyond the gills. Flesh firm and white. Stem 6 to 8 inches long, 1 to 3 inches thick, solid, scaly, tapering upward, with a bulbous base and marked with a series of rings near the root, which extends deep into the ground. Ring large, torn. Gills white, free, rounded near the stem, ⅜ inch broad. This is said to be rather rare. We found it twice in August growing solitary on the roadside in the grass. It was large-sized, measuring 7 inches across cap, of a grayish-white color, with prominent warts; the stem was mealy, the volva was large. It was marked with distinct rings near the base. When kept many hours the smell becomes disagreeable. The name is given on account of the shape of the warts, which are conspicuous.
Amanita Vaginata = a Sheath — The Sheathed Mushroom
Cap gray, mouse color, sometimes slate-colored gray, and even brownish, 2 to 4 inches broad. It is thin and fragile, convex, and then nearly flat, with a slight mound or umbo, but sometimes none. It is deeply striate or grooved (sulcate) on the margin. Stem is white and often covered with mealy particles. It is slender, either hollow or stuffed, 3 to 5 inches long, ⅓ to ½ inch thick. It is not bulbous, but is sheathed quite high in a loose, soft wrapper, the remains of the volva. There is no ring. Gills are whitish, free from the stem, and rounded. It is easily broken. There are several varieties (Peck). In one the plant is white, Var. alba. In Var. livida the cap is a leaden brownish color, and in the Var. fulva the cap is tawny yellow and ochraceous. The mouse-colored form is the most common. We found many specimens in July and August.
Cortinarius Corrugatus = Wrinkled — The Wrinkled Cortinarius
Cap gray, with a pinkish-yellowish tint, 2 inches broad, campanulate, sticky, broken up into squamules, pellicle scaling, margin thin. Stem slender, 5 inches long, shiny, mealy at apex, slightly bulbous. Gills gray color, adnexed, distant, ventricose. This is a pretty mushroom. The shade of color of the pileus is delicate. We found it in August in the woods.
Boletus Felleus = Bitter — The Bitter Boletus
This Boletus varies much in color; our plant was a brownish-gray, a dingy color. Cap 3 to 8 inches broad, convex or nearly plane, glabrous, even, flesh white, turning to flesh or pink color when wounded. Taste bitter, tubes adnate, long, depressed around the stem, crowded. Stem variable, 2 to 4 inches long, about ½ to 1 inch thick, equal or tapering, reticulated above, bulbous or enlarged at base, a little paler than the pileus. The Boleti we found grew in great numbers, in different localities, and were of all sizes. The color of the reticulations was a brownish-gray.
Boletus Griseus = Gray — The Gray Boletus
Cap dark gray, 2 to 4 inches broad, broadly convex, smooth, soft, silky, flesh whitish. Tubes adnate, slightly depressed, mouths small. Stem 2 to 4 inches long, 3 to 6 lines thick, yellowish, much reticulated, sometimes reddish toward the base. Our plant was of a brownish color at base, and grew in the month of September.
Psalliota Campestris = a Field — The Common Mushroom
There are several edible species of the genus Psalliota, chiefly the Field or Common Mushroom, which is constantly seen on our tables. Cap varies from white and gray to brown. It is 2 to 4 inches broad, fleshy, convex, then flattened, dry, sometimes covered with silky fibrils, and when old smooth. The margin of the cap generally extends beyond the gills. Flesh white. Stem rather short, 1 to 3 inches long, ⅓ to ⅔ inch thick, white or whitish, slender, stuffed and then hollow, nearly even. Ring distant, simple. Gills free, ventricose, narrowing at both ends, thin, first a pink color, then afterward brown or blackish-brown. It grows in rich pastures or in meadows, and is found in autumn. It has a most delicious flavor.
Agaricus Placomyces. — The Flat-capped Mushroom
Cap a whitish-gray, about 3 inches broad, convex, and then expanded and flat. It is covered with small, distinct, brown, persistent scales, except on the disc, where they are so close together that they appear of a brown color. Stem is long and slender, 3 inches and more, stuffed and then hollow, equal and bulbous at the base. It is whitish, but sometimes has yellowish stains toward the base. Gills are first white, then pink, and lastly a blackish-brown. It grows under trees, and is found in summer and autumn.
Coprintus Atramentarius = Ink — The Inky Coprinus
Cap gray or grayish-brown, smooth, except a slight scaly appearance on the disc. It is silky near the margin, and the margin is irregular. When young it is often egg-shaped. Gills crowded, whitish, soon becoming brown and then deliquescent. Stem smooth, hollow, white. It grows in clusters until late in the autumn. We found our plants on a lawn in great profusion in the month of October.
Pluteus Cervinus = a Deer — The Fawn-colored Pluteus
Cap about 3 inches broad, whitish-gray color, at first bell-shaped, then expanded, smooth, even, but afterward broken up into fibrils, margin entire; flesh soft, white. Stem 3 to 6 inches long, nearly equal and solid, whitish, striate with black fibrils. Gills rounded behind, free, crowded, ventricose, white, then flesh color as the spores mature. This is a common species, appearing early in the season—April to November. It usually grows from stumps and old logs. It can be easily known by its gills, being quite free from the stem, where it joins the pileus.