Key to Gasteromycetes and Ascomycetes.Section A. Fungi that have the spores inside the cap. (Stomach fungi or Gasteromycetes.)Section B. Fungi that have the spores in delicate sacs. (Spore sac fungi or Ascomycetes.)SECTION A.1.Fungi covered with a hard rind,Scleroderma.2.In which the spores when ripe turn to dust,4.Where spores are at first closed in a cup-like sac that resembles a bird’s-nest,3.3.Fungi with the outside covering bowl-shaped of one cottony layer,Crucibulum, the Crucible.Outside covering tubular, trumpet-shaped, of 3 layers,Cyathus, the cup.Outside covering opening with a torn mouth,Nidularia, bird’s-nest.4.Outer covering splitting into star-like points,Geaster, earth star.Outer covering opening by a single mouth at the top,Lycoperdon, puff-ball.Spores at first borne in an egg-like sac, when ripe elevated on a cap at the top of the stem, no veil, has an odious smell,Phallus, stink-horn fungus.SECTION B.1.Where the sacs soon become free, no special covering, mostly fleshy, cup-like fungi,Peziza, cup fungus.Sacs opening from the first, caps pitted or furrowed,2.2.Cap lobed, irregular, saddle-shaped,Helvella, yellowish fungus.Cap oval or conical, upper surface with deep pits formed by long ridges,Morchella or Morel, honey-combed fungus.(The genera described under Section B. all belong to the order of Discomycetes, fungi that have the spore sacs collected in a flattened disc.)
Section A. Fungi that have the spores inside the cap. (Stomach fungi or Gasteromycetes.)
Section B. Fungi that have the spores in delicate sacs. (Spore sac fungi or Ascomycetes.)
In which the spores when ripe turn to dust,
Where spores are at first closed in a cup-like sac that resembles a bird’s-nest,
Fungi with the outside covering bowl-shaped of one cottony layer,
Crucibulum, the Crucible.
Outside covering tubular, trumpet-shaped, of 3 layers,
Cyathus, the cup.
Nidularia, bird’s-nest.
Outer covering splitting into star-like points,
Geaster, earth star.
Outer covering opening by a single mouth at the top,
Lycoperdon, puff-ball.
Spores at first borne in an egg-like sac, when ripe elevated on a cap at the top of the stem, no veil, has an odious smell,
Phallus, stink-horn fungus.
Where the sacs soon become free, no special covering, mostly fleshy, cup-like fungi,
Peziza, cup fungus.
Sacs opening from the first, caps pitted or furrowed,
Helvella, yellowish fungus.
Cap oval or conical, upper surface with deep pits formed by long ridges,
Morchella or Morel, honey-combed fungus.
(The genera described under Section B. all belong to the order of Discomycetes, fungi that have the spore sacs collected in a flattened disc.)
Acute´. Gills when called acute have sharp edges or are pointed at either end.Adnate´. Spoken of gills when they are firmly attached to the stem.Adnex´. A less degree of attachment of gills than adnate.A´garic. A mushroom that bears gills.Aluta´ceous. A light leather color.Anas´tomosing. Interlacing of veins, spoken of gills that are united by cross veins or partitions.An´nulus. The ring on the stem of a mushroom, formed by the separation of the veil from the margin of the cap.A´pex. The top. The end of the stem nearest to the gills.Ap´ical. Relating to the apex.Appendic´ulate. Hanging in small fragments.Arach´noid. Like a cobweb.Ar´cuate. Shaped like a bow.Are´olate. Any surface divided into little areas or patches.Axis. Stipe or stalk.Band. A broad bar of color.Basid´ium (plural basidia). Mother cells in the hymenium.Behind. Posterior, the end of a gill next to the stem is said to be the posterior end.Bifur´cate. Two-forked.Bulbous. Spoken of the stem when it has a bulb-like swelling at the base.Cæs´pitose. Growing in tufts.Campan´ulate. Bell-shaped.Cap. The pileus.Cartilag´inous. Gristly, tough.Casta´neus. Chestnut color.Cell. A mass of protoplasm, with or without an enclosing wall.Chlorophyll. The green coloring-matter contained in plants.Cla´vate. Club-shaped.Close. Crowded together—term used in describing gills.Cohe´rent. Sticking together.Con´cave. Having a rounded inwardly curved surface.Concen´tric. With a common centre, as a series of rings, one within the other.Con´nate. Growing together from the first.Constric´ted. Contracted.Contin´uous. Without interruption.Convex. Elevated and regularly rounded.Con´volute. Covered with irregularities on the surface, like the human brain.Coria´ceous. Leathery in texture.Cor´rugated. Wrinkled.Corti´na. A veil of cobwebby texture. It gives the name to the genus Cortinarius.Cre´nate. In wavy scallops.Cu´ticle. Pellicle, a skin-like layer on the outside surface of the cap and stem.Cy´athiform. Cup-shaped.Decid´uous. Falling off when mature at the end of the season.Decur´rent. Gills that run down the stem are called decurrent.Dehis´cence. The opening of a peridium, when ripe, to discharge the spores.Deliques´cent. Turning to liquid when mature.Dichot´omous. Two-forked, regularly dividing by pairs from below upward.Dimid´iate. Divided into two equal parts, applied to gills that only reach half-way to the stem, and to the cap when it is semi-circular or nearly so.Disc. The central part of the upper surface of the cap.Distant. Gills when they are far apart.Emar´ginate. A gill which has a sudden curve in its margin close to the stem.Entire. An edge that is straight, has no notch.Ep´iphytal. Growing on the outside of another plant.Equal. A stem is equal when it is of uniform thickness, gills when they are of equal length.Eccen´tric. A stem which is not in the centre, but is attached to the cap between the margin and centre.Fascic´ulate. Growing in clusters.Ferru´ginous. Color of iron rust.Fi´brous. Composed of fibres.Fis´tulose. Tubular, hollow.Fleshy. Composed of juicy cellular tissue.Floccose. Woolly, downy.Free. Gills when not attached to the stem.Fungus (plural Fungi). A plant that has no chlorophyll, and obtains its nourishment from dead or living organic matter.Fus´cous. Dingy dark-brown, or gray color,Gelat´inous. Of the nature of jelly.Genus. A number of species that have the same principal characteristics.Gib´bous. Swollen unequally—applied to the cap.Gill. Lamella, a radiating plate under the cap of an Agaric.Gla´brous. Smooth.Glo´bose. Nearly round.Gran´ular. Consisting of or covered with grains.Grega´rions. Growing in groups.Hab´itat. Place of growth.Homoge´neous. Of like nature.Hyme´nium. The fruit-bearing surface, a continuous layer of spore mother cells.Hy´phæ (singular Hypha). Elementary threads of a fungus, cylindrical, thread-like bodies, developing by growth at the apex.Im´bricated. Overlapping like the tiles of a roof.Incras´sated. Thickened.Inferior. Applied to a ring that is far down on the stem.Infundibuliform. Funnel-shaped.Involute. Rolled inward.Labyrin´thine. Like a labyrinth.Lac´erate. Torn.Lamel´la. See gill.Line. 1/12 of an inch.Mac´ulate. Spotted.Me´dial or median. When the ring is situated in the middle of the stem.Membrana´ceous. Thin, soft, like a membrane.Mica´ceous. Covered with shining particles, like mica.Mother cell. A cell from which another is derived.Myce´lium. The vegetative part of fungi, commonly called the spawn.Mycol´ogist. One who is versed in the study of fungi.Obo´vate. Having the broad end turned toward the top.Ob´solete. Nearly imperceptible.Obtuse. Blunt.Ochra´ceous. Light brownish-yellow.Ovate. Egg-shaped.Par´asite. A plant growing on another living body, from which it gains its nourishment.Pel´licle. See cuticle.Peren´nial. Growing from year to year.Perid´ium. The outer covering of the spores in some fungi, as in puff-balls.Peridi´olum. The inside peridium containing the spores.Pi´leus. See cap.Pir´iform or pyriform. Pear-shaped.Plane. Level surface.Pores. The tubes in Polyporei.Poste´rior. Term applied to the end of the gill next to the stem.Pru´inose. Covered with a bloom or powder.Pulver´ulent. Covered with powder or dust.Putres´cent. Decaying.Rad´icating. Taking root.Retic´ulated. Marked with cross lines like a net.Rev´olute. Rolled upward or backward.Ri´mose. Cracked.Rim´ulose. Covered with small cracks.Ring. Annulus.Riv´ulose. Marked with lines like rivers in maps.Rotund´. Round.Ru´gose. Wrinkled.Sap´id. Agreeable to the taste.Sap´rophyte. A plant that lives on decaying matter.Scab´rous. Rough.Scis´sile. Easily split.Sep´arating. Spoken of gills when they easily separate from the stem.Ses´sile. Stemless.Sin´uate. Wavy, A gill that has a sudden curve near the stem.Sor´did. Dingy.Spore. The same body that answers to the seed of flowering plants.Spo´rophore. That part which bears the spores or spore mother cells.Squa´mose. Scaly.Stalk. A stipe or stem.Stel´late. Star-shaped.Stipe. See stalk.Strobil´iform. Shaped like a pine-cone.Stuffed. When a stem is filled with pith or a spongy substance.Suc´culent. Juicy, fleshy.Sul´cate. Grooved.Supe´rior. Spoken of a ring that is high up on the stem.Tes´sellated. In small squares, or checkered.To´mentose. Covered with matted wool.Tra´ma. The substance proceeding from and of like nature with the part that bears the hymenium—the framework of the gills.Trem´elloid. Jelly-like.Tu´bæform. Trumpet-shaped.Umbil´icate. Having a central depression.Um´bo. Arising or mound in the centre of the cap.Veins. Swollen wrinkles on the sides and at the base between the gills.Ven´tricose. Swelling in the middle.Ver´nicose. Varnished.Vil´lose. Covered with weak, soft hairs.Vires´cent. Greenish.Vir´gate. Streaked.Vis´cid. Sticky.Vis´cous. Gluey.Zones. Circular bands of color.
Acute´. Gills when called acute have sharp edges or are pointed at either end.
Adnate´. Spoken of gills when they are firmly attached to the stem.
Adnex´. A less degree of attachment of gills than adnate.
A´garic. A mushroom that bears gills.
Aluta´ceous. A light leather color.
Anas´tomosing. Interlacing of veins, spoken of gills that are united by cross veins or partitions.
An´nulus. The ring on the stem of a mushroom, formed by the separation of the veil from the margin of the cap.
A´pex. The top. The end of the stem nearest to the gills.
Ap´ical. Relating to the apex.
Appendic´ulate. Hanging in small fragments.
Arach´noid. Like a cobweb.
Ar´cuate. Shaped like a bow.
Are´olate. Any surface divided into little areas or patches.
Axis. Stipe or stalk.
Band. A broad bar of color.
Basid´ium (plural basidia). Mother cells in the hymenium.
Behind. Posterior, the end of a gill next to the stem is said to be the posterior end.
Bifur´cate. Two-forked.
Bulbous. Spoken of the stem when it has a bulb-like swelling at the base.
Cæs´pitose. Growing in tufts.
Campan´ulate. Bell-shaped.
Cap. The pileus.
Cartilag´inous. Gristly, tough.
Casta´neus. Chestnut color.
Cell. A mass of protoplasm, with or without an enclosing wall.
Chlorophyll. The green coloring-matter contained in plants.
Cla´vate. Club-shaped.
Close. Crowded together—term used in describing gills.
Cohe´rent. Sticking together.
Con´cave. Having a rounded inwardly curved surface.
Concen´tric. With a common centre, as a series of rings, one within the other.
Con´nate. Growing together from the first.
Constric´ted. Contracted.
Contin´uous. Without interruption.
Convex. Elevated and regularly rounded.
Con´volute. Covered with irregularities on the surface, like the human brain.
Coria´ceous. Leathery in texture.
Cor´rugated. Wrinkled.
Corti´na. A veil of cobwebby texture. It gives the name to the genus Cortinarius.
Cre´nate. In wavy scallops.
Cu´ticle. Pellicle, a skin-like layer on the outside surface of the cap and stem.
Cy´athiform. Cup-shaped.
Decid´uous. Falling off when mature at the end of the season.
Decur´rent. Gills that run down the stem are called decurrent.
Dehis´cence. The opening of a peridium, when ripe, to discharge the spores.
Deliques´cent. Turning to liquid when mature.
Dichot´omous. Two-forked, regularly dividing by pairs from below upward.
Dimid´iate. Divided into two equal parts, applied to gills that only reach half-way to the stem, and to the cap when it is semi-circular or nearly so.
Disc. The central part of the upper surface of the cap.
Distant. Gills when they are far apart.
Emar´ginate. A gill which has a sudden curve in its margin close to the stem.
Entire. An edge that is straight, has no notch.
Ep´iphytal. Growing on the outside of another plant.
Equal. A stem is equal when it is of uniform thickness, gills when they are of equal length.
Eccen´tric. A stem which is not in the centre, but is attached to the cap between the margin and centre.
Fascic´ulate. Growing in clusters.
Ferru´ginous. Color of iron rust.
Fi´brous. Composed of fibres.
Fis´tulose. Tubular, hollow.
Fleshy. Composed of juicy cellular tissue.
Floccose. Woolly, downy.
Free. Gills when not attached to the stem.
Fungus (plural Fungi). A plant that has no chlorophyll, and obtains its nourishment from dead or living organic matter.
Fus´cous. Dingy dark-brown, or gray color,
Gelat´inous. Of the nature of jelly.
Genus. A number of species that have the same principal characteristics.
Gib´bous. Swollen unequally—applied to the cap.
Gill. Lamella, a radiating plate under the cap of an Agaric.
Gla´brous. Smooth.
Glo´bose. Nearly round.
Gran´ular. Consisting of or covered with grains.
Grega´rions. Growing in groups.
Hab´itat. Place of growth.
Homoge´neous. Of like nature.
Hyme´nium. The fruit-bearing surface, a continuous layer of spore mother cells.
Hy´phæ (singular Hypha). Elementary threads of a fungus, cylindrical, thread-like bodies, developing by growth at the apex.
Im´bricated. Overlapping like the tiles of a roof.
Incras´sated. Thickened.
Inferior. Applied to a ring that is far down on the stem.
Infundibuliform. Funnel-shaped.
Involute. Rolled inward.
Labyrin´thine. Like a labyrinth.
Lac´erate. Torn.
Lamel´la. See gill.
Line. 1/12 of an inch.
Mac´ulate. Spotted.
Me´dial or median. When the ring is situated in the middle of the stem.
Membrana´ceous. Thin, soft, like a membrane.
Mica´ceous. Covered with shining particles, like mica.
Mother cell. A cell from which another is derived.
Myce´lium. The vegetative part of fungi, commonly called the spawn.
Mycol´ogist. One who is versed in the study of fungi.
Obo´vate. Having the broad end turned toward the top.
Ob´solete. Nearly imperceptible.
Obtuse. Blunt.
Ochra´ceous. Light brownish-yellow.
Ovate. Egg-shaped.
Par´asite. A plant growing on another living body, from which it gains its nourishment.
Pel´licle. See cuticle.
Peren´nial. Growing from year to year.
Perid´ium. The outer covering of the spores in some fungi, as in puff-balls.
Peridi´olum. The inside peridium containing the spores.
Pi´leus. See cap.
Pir´iform or pyriform. Pear-shaped.
Plane. Level surface.
Pores. The tubes in Polyporei.
Poste´rior. Term applied to the end of the gill next to the stem.
Pru´inose. Covered with a bloom or powder.
Pulver´ulent. Covered with powder or dust.
Putres´cent. Decaying.
Rad´icating. Taking root.
Retic´ulated. Marked with cross lines like a net.
Rev´olute. Rolled upward or backward.
Ri´mose. Cracked.
Rim´ulose. Covered with small cracks.
Ring. Annulus.
Riv´ulose. Marked with lines like rivers in maps.
Rotund´. Round.
Ru´gose. Wrinkled.
Sap´id. Agreeable to the taste.
Sap´rophyte. A plant that lives on decaying matter.
Scab´rous. Rough.
Scis´sile. Easily split.
Sep´arating. Spoken of gills when they easily separate from the stem.
Ses´sile. Stemless.
Sin´uate. Wavy, A gill that has a sudden curve near the stem.
Sor´did. Dingy.
Spore. The same body that answers to the seed of flowering plants.
Spo´rophore. That part which bears the spores or spore mother cells.
Squa´mose. Scaly.
Stalk. A stipe or stem.
Stel´late. Star-shaped.
Stipe. See stalk.
Strobil´iform. Shaped like a pine-cone.
Stuffed. When a stem is filled with pith or a spongy substance.
Suc´culent. Juicy, fleshy.
Sul´cate. Grooved.
Supe´rior. Spoken of a ring that is high up on the stem.
Tes´sellated. In small squares, or checkered.
To´mentose. Covered with matted wool.
Tra´ma. The substance proceeding from and of like nature with the part that bears the hymenium—the framework of the gills.
Trem´elloid. Jelly-like.
Tu´bæform. Trumpet-shaped.
Umbil´icate. Having a central depression.
Um´bo. Arising or mound in the centre of the cap.
Veins. Swollen wrinkles on the sides and at the base between the gills.
Ven´tricose. Swelling in the middle.
Ver´nicose. Varnished.
Vil´lose. Covered with weak, soft hairs.
Vires´cent. Greenish.
Vir´gate. Streaked.
Vis´cid. Sticky.
Vis´cous. Gluey.
Zones. Circular bands of color.
The flat-capped mushroom,
The common or edible mushroom,
The death cup,
The fly Amanita,
Frost’s Amanita,
The poisonous Amanita,
The shining Amanita,
The sheathed Amanita,
The warted Amanita,
The bitter Boletus,
The bluing Boletus,
The chestnut Boletus,
The chrome-footed Boletus,
The dingy Boletus,
The edible Boletus,
The golden Boletus,
The granulated Boletus,
The gray Boletus,
The half-golden Boletus,
Murray’s Boletus,
The ornate stemmed Boletus,
The peppery Boletus,
The deceiving Boletus,
The yellow-cracked Boletus,
The related Boletus,
The rough Boletus,
The short-stemmed Boletus,
The small yellowish Boletus,
The thick-stemmed Boletus,
The white Boletus,
The Chantarelle,
The funnel-shaped Chantarelle,
The golden Chantarelle,
The waxy Clitocybe,
The club-shaped Clavaria,
The constricted Clavaria,
The pale yellow Clavaria,
The unequal Clavaria,
The oak-loving Collybia,
The tufted Collybia,
The inky Coprinus,
The glistening Coprinus,
The cinnamon-colored Cortinarius,
The violet-colored Cortinarius,
The wrinkled Cortinarius,
The zoned Cortinarius,
The common crucible,
The varnished cup,
The beefsteak mushroom,
The wandering earth star,
The cap-shaped Helvella,
The Jew’s ear,
The blood-red Hygrophorus,
The scarlet color Hygrophorus,
The vermilion Hygrophorus,
The gray-gilled mushroom,
The perplexing mushroom,
The tufted mushroom,
The delicious Lactarius,
The colorless Lactarius,
The fleecy Lactarius,
The mild Lactarius,
The orange brown Lactarius,
The peppery Lactarius,
The smooth Lepiota,
The tall Lepiota,
The cup-shaped puff-ball,
The pear-shaped puff-ball,
The fairy ring mushroom,
The edible Morel,
The thin stemmed Paxillus,
The golden cup-shaped mushroom,
The fetid wood witch,
The fat Pholiota,
The showy Pholiota,
The elm Pleurotus,
The palatable Pleurotus,
The fawn-colored Pluteus,
The birch Polyporus,
The black-stemmed Polyporus,
The changeable Polyporus,
The elegant Polyporus,
The perennial Polyporus,
The sulphury Polyporus,
The shining Polyporus,
The widely-spread Psathyrella,
The blood-red Russula,
The elegant Russula,
The forked Russula,
The green Russula,
The nauseating Russula,
The rosy-stemmed Russula,
The common Schizophyllum,
The hard-skinned mushroom,
The dry Stropharia,
The canary-colored Tricholoma,
The imbricated Tricholoma,
The sulphury Tricholoma,
The reed mace mushroom,
Inusing this table the student should first ascertain the color of the spores of the specimen under investigation. This will determine the particular table to be applied to its further examination. If, for instance, he finds its spores to be white, he will know that Table I. is the one to be consulted. Turning to that table, he should recall the place of its growth, its habitat. Now, suppose it to have been found growing on a stump, he will, by looking at the first column, Habitat, of Table I., be informed that it must be one of the four genera named in the column with the heading “On Stumps.” Let him then examine its “gills.” If he finds them to be “adnate,” he will be assured that it must be an “Armillaria,” as no other genus is shown in the column as growing “on stumps” and which has gills that are adnate. But to make assurance doubly sure, he may proceed furtherto discover whether the specimen has also the ring called for in column headed “Ring.” If it has, and was found growing in the summer, he may feel quite safe in classifying it as Armillaria. Sometimes the same genus will be found in more than one column. This ought not to mislead or confuse the beginner. In Table I., column headed “Volva,” Amanita is mentioned, and also in the column headed “Ring,” but this indicates that an Amanita has both the Volva (the universal veil) and the Ring. So in the columns headed by “Stem,” Pleurotus is represented as having a lateral or eccentric stem, and also as having no stem. The meaning is, that some species of the genus have no stem, while there are others in which the stem is lateral or eccentric.
Transcriber’s Note:Variations in spelling, wording and table format are as in the original.
In woods, in uncultivated places, on ground.
1.Some small.
2.In late summer.
3.Generally in autumn.
4.Large species.
5.Few.
6.Some.
7.Small species.
8.Sometimes on rotten wood.
9.Some on rotten wood.
10.Adnato decurrent.