Szekessy Vilmos (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 53. (Budapest 1961)
Bohus, G.: Psalliota studies. I.: Critical species, critical notes
up into scales combined with areolate cracking, this latter sometimes preponderant ; color of scales agreeing with basic color or darker : ochreous, ochreous brownish, greyish brownish ; scaling depending mainly on sunshine and drying air currents. Margin at first deflexed, later straight, frequently with remains of veil (in such cases ring weaker developed or whole velum partiale remaining on edge of cap and no ring present). Cuticle more or less extending over margin of cap. Gills 4—12 mm wide. At first whitish, —with fine rosy color of gills not infrequently persisting on fruit bodies of certain thalli —later discoloring through pale rosy-fleshy color to chocolate brown. Their edge (visible under magnification) finely floccose, at first whitish and also later lighter ; dry. Velum : connecting margin of cap with top of stem thicker than that covering stem . When separating itself from margin of cap, sometimes indented as a cog-wheel, ring then crenate. Ring pendent, rarely erect, broad when young, thin or thicker (when thick underside with areolate ornamentation), upper side mostly not costate, underside downy, usually soon withering. Remnants of velum covering stem : scales or downs (also in rings), with (rarely) linear second ring at base of sten. Stem relatively short (3 —11 cm) and wide (2—5 cm). Frequently of uniform thickness, but also swollen, bulbous or even tapering downwards, no infrequently continuing in mycelial strand. Surface below ring glabrous or floccoso-squamulose, sometimes with verticillate decoration. White, whitish ; when handled later brownish below. Flesh strikingly thick : 1,5—4,5 cm. Compact yet not tough, white ; in lower portion of stem and mostly later also more or less rusty brown. Rate of discoloration of cut surface different : frequently unchanged or but slightly flesh-colored, in single cases deep fleshcolored in stem, sometimes reddish above gills. Edible, on unanimous account one of most savoury mushrooms. Smell agreeable, psalliotid, never aniseed-like, sometimes a bit disagreeable in old specimens (then conforming to smell of older specimens of cultivated mushroom ; characteristically unpleasant odor of young Psalliota bernardii Quel, specimens being quite different). Spores short-elliptical, 6A —9,8 x 5,0—6,0 LI ; colorless, apiculum well recognizable. Cystids few in numbers on edges of gills, clavate, hardly larger than basidia (23—30x8—10 LI), separable from undeveloped basidia with difficulties only. Basidia 4-sterigmate, 23—25 x 6—8 LI. Variability: The fruit bodies of certain thalli have greyish caps, and are less compact. Specimens fructifying in the late fall may be deeper gray, better resembling Psalliota bernardii, but they can also be of a more or less brownish hue. The fruit bodies of some other thalli are striking in their gills remaining pink for a longer time, they are also thicker, undulating, and the flesh compacter. Certain thalli — on a more barren soil — produce always hard and heavy (200 — 300 g) fruit bodies which are always wholesome (free of worms). On the other hand, there are thalli on a blacker humus soil, which bring forth less solid fruit bodies, — these are frequently wormy even whe they are not bigger than a nut. Occurrence: the fungus fructifies in fairy-rings, on sandy soil, in the association Festucetum vaginatae danubiale (pH 5,3 — 6,7 at a depth of about 5 cm, on the basis of 5 samples), on the pastures of Kölesd, Kiskajdacs, Nagydorog ; further on sandstone in the old clearings (meadows) of Pilisborosjeno ; finally in the grazing fields of the Hortobágy in an unknown plant association (marketed in small quantities, together with Psalliota bernardii and P. macrospora).
