In _Amanita frostiana_ the remains of the volva sometimes form a similar collar, but not so stout, on the base of the stem. The variations in _A. frostiana_ where the stem, annulus and gills are white might suggest that there is a close relationship between _A. frostiana_ and _A. cothurnata_, and that the latter is only a form of the former. From a careful study of the two plants growing side by side the evidence is convincing that the two are distinct. _Amanita frostiana_ occurs also at Blowing Rock, appearing earlier in the season than _A. cothurnata_, and also being contemporary with it. _A. frostiana_ is more variable, not nearly so viscid, nor nearly so abundant, the stem is solid or stuffed, the annulus is more frail and evolved from the stem in a different manner. The volva does not leave such a constant and well defined roll where it separated on the stem transversely, and the pileus is yellow or orange. When _A. cothurnata_ is yellowish at all it is a different tint of yellow and then only a tinge of yellow at the center. Albino or faded forms of _A. frostiana_ might occur, but we would not expect them to appear at a definite season of the year in great abundance while the normal form, showing no intergrading specimens in the same locality, continued to appear in the same abundance and with the same characters as before. The dried plants of _A. cothurnata_ are apt to become tinged with yellow on the gills, the upper part of the stem and upper part of the annulus during the processes of drying, but the pileus does not change in like manner, nor do these plants show traces of yellow on these parts when fresh. The spores are also decidedly different, though the shape and size do not differ to any great extent. In _A. frostiana_ and the pale forms of the species the spores are nearly globose or oval, rarely with a tendency to become elliptical, but _the content is quite constantly finely granular_, while the spores of _A. cothurnata_ are perhaps more constantly globose or nearly so, but the spore is _nearly filled with a highly refractive oil globule or "nucleus."_ The pileus of _A. frostiana_ is also thinner than that of _A. cothurnata_. It is nearer, in some respects, to specimens of _Amanita pantherina_ received from Bresadola, of Austria-Hungary. [Illustration: FIGURE 71.--Amanita spreta. The two outside plants show the free limb of the volva lying close against the stem (natural size, often larger). Copyright.]