=Lepiota naucina= Fr. (_Lepiota naucinoides_ Pk., _Annularia lævis_ Krombh.) =Edible.=--The smooth lepiota, _L. naucina_, grows in lawns, in pastures and by roadsides, etc. It occurs during the latter part of summer and during autumn, being more abundant in September and early October. It is entirely white, or the cap is sometimes buff, and in age the gills become dirty pink in color. It is from 8--12 cm. high, the cap 5--10 cm. broad, and the stem 8--15 mm. in thickness. The =pileus= is very fleshy, nearly globose, then convex to nearly expanded, smooth, or rarely the surface is broken into minute scales. The =gills= are first white, free from the stem, and in age assume a dull pink tinge. The =spores= are usually white in mass, but rarely when caught on white paper they show a faint pink tinge. The spores are elliptical to oval. The =stem= is nearly cylindrical, gradually enlarging below so that it is clavate, nearly hollow or stuffed with loose threads. [Illustration: FIGURE 80.--Lepiota naucina.--Section of three plants, different ages.] Since the plant occurs in the same situations as the _Agaricus campestris_ it might be mistaken for it, especially for white forms. But of course no harm could come by eating it by mistake for the common mushroom, for it is valued just as highly for food by some who have eaten it. If one should look at the gills, however, they would not likely mistake it for the common mushroom because the gills become pink only when the plant is well expanded and quite old. There is much more danger in mistaking it for the white amanitas, _A. phalloides_, _A. verna_, or _A. virosa_, since the gills of these deadly plants are white, and they do sometimes grow in lawns and other grassy places where the smooth lepiota and the common mushroom grow. For this reason one should study the descriptions and illustrations of these amanitas given on preceding pages, and especially should the suggestions given there about care in collecting plants be followed, until one is so certainly familiar with the characters that the plants would be known "on sight." [Illustration: PLATE 25, FIGURE 81.--Lepiota procera. Grayish brown to reddish brown, gills and flesh white (3/4 natural size). Copyright.]