=Amanita spreta= Pk. =Said to be Poisonous.=--According to Peck this species grows in open or bushy places. The specimens illustrated in Fig. 71 grew in sandy ground by the roadside near trees in the edge of an open field at Blowing Rock, N. C., and others were found in a grove. The plants are 10--15 cm. high, the caps 6--12 cm. broad, and the stems 8--12 mm. in thickness. The =pileus= is convex to expanded, gray or light drab, and darker on the center, or according to Dr. Peck it may be white. It is smooth, or with only a few remnants of the volva, striate on the margin, and 1--.5 cm. thick at the center. The =gills= are white, adnexed, that is they reach the stem by their upper angle. The =stem= is of the same color as the pileus, but somewhat lighter, white to light gray or light drab, cylindrical, not bulbous, hollow or stuffed. The =annulus= is thin and attached above the middle of the stem. The =volva= is sordid white, and sheathes the stem with a long free limb of 3--5 lobes. It splits at the apex, but portions sometimes cling to the surface of the pileus. Figure 71 is from plants (No. 3707, C. U.) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., September, 1899. =Amanita cæsarea= Scop. =Edible=, _but use great caution_.--This plant is known as the orange amanita, royal agaric, Cæsar's agaric, etc. It is one of the most beautiful of all the agarics, and is well distributed over the earth. With us it is more common in the Southern States. It occurs in the summer and early autumn in the woods. It is easily recognized by its usually large size, yellow or orange color of the cap, gills, stem and ring, and the prominent, white, sac-like volva at the base of the stem. It is usually 12--20 cm. high, the cap 5--10 cm. broad, and the stems 6--10 mm. in thickness, though it may exceed this size, and depauperate forms are met with which are much smaller.