=Volvaria bombycina= (Pers.) Fr. =Edible.=--The silky volvaria is so called because of the beautiful silky texture of the surface of the cap. It is not very common, but is world wide in its distribution, and occurs on decayed wood of logs, stumps, etc., during late summer and in autumn. It is usually of a beautiful white color, large, the volva large and thick, reminding one of a bag, and the stem is ascending when the plant grows on the side of the trunk, or erect when it grows on the upper side of a log or stump. The plant is from 8--16 cm. high, the cap 6--20 cm. broad, and the stem 1--1.5 cm. thickness. The =pileus= is globose, then bell-shaped, and finally convex and somewhat umbonate, white, according to some becoming somewhat reddish. The entire surface is silky, and numerous hairs stand out in the form of soft down, when older the surface becoming more or less scaly, or rarely becoming smooth at the apex. The flesh is white. The =gills= are crowded, very broad along the middle, flesh colored, the edge sometimes ragged. The =spores= are rosy in mass, oval to broadly elliptical, 6--9 × 5--6 µ, smooth. The =stem= tapers from the base to the apex, is solid, smooth. The =volva= is large and bag-like. The plant is considered edible by some. Figure 137 is from a plant (No. 3096, C. U. herbarium) collected on a log of Acer rubrum in Cascadilla woods, Ithaca, on August 10th, 1898. [Illustration: FIGURE 137.--Volvaria bombycina. Cap, stem and volva entirely white, gills flesh color (natural size). Copyright.] =Volvaria speciosa= Fr.--This plant seems to be rare, but it has a wide distribution in Europe and the United States. It occurs on richly manured ground, on dung, etc. The plants are 10--20 cm. high, the cap 6--12 cm. broad, and the stem 1--2 cm. in thickness. The entire plant is white or whitish, sometimes grayish, especially at the center, where it is also sometimes darker and of a smoky color. The =pileus= is globose when young, then bell-shaped, and finally more or less expanded, and umbonate, smooth, very viscid, so that earth, leaves, etc., cling to it. The flesh is white and very soft. The =gills= are free, flesh colored to reddish or fulvous, from the deeply colored spores. The =spores= are broadly elliptical, or oval, 12--18 × 8--10 µ. The =stem= is nearly cylindrical, or tapering evenly from the base, when young more or less hairy, becoming smooth. The =volva= is large, edge free, but fitting very close, flabby and irregularly torn. The species is reported from California by McClatchie, and from Wisconsin by Bundy.