Effect of salt and heat
The allusion to vinegar as an absorbent of the poison suggests the prevalent habitual use of salt as a safeguard by many in the employment of the fungusas food, as both of these ingredients play a prominent part in a fungus cuisine. It is averred by some writers that one of the most noxious of Amanitæ—the Fly-agaric—is eaten in some countries, notably Russia, without unpleasant results, while it is confidently asserted to be harmless after, as it were, having its venom drawn by a soaking in brine previous to cooking. Boiling—both in the possible neutralizing of the poison through heat, and in the withdrawal of the same in the solution—would also be contributive to safety in such cases, provided the tainted liquid were not retained as in a stew or soup.
Epicurean perversity
On this topic it is interesting to note the epicurean perversity of a certain French author, who, in the face of the already overwhelming abundance of nature's esculent species of fungi, must needs include all the deadly Amanitæ as well, though he gives a recipe by which the poison is extracted by the copious aid of salt, vinegar, boiling water, and drawing. This process, on general principles, might invite humorous speculation as to the appetizing qualities of the residual morsel thus acquired, or as to the advisability of deliberately selecting a poisonous substance for the desideratum of the washed-out, corned, spiced, nondescript remnant which survives the process of extraction, not only of its noxious properties, but of even what nutriment it might possibly contain.
Mushrooms à la mode
Fancy a beefsteak similarly "prepared," all its nourishing ingredients extracted and thrown away; its exhausted remnant of muscular fibre now the mereabsorbent vehicle for vinegar, salt, lemon-juice, butter, nutmeg, garlic, spice, cloves, and other seeming indispensables to the preparation of the Champignonà la mode!
The verdict of the extreme fungus epicure upon the delectable flavor of this or that mushroom must indeed be takencum grano salis, the customary culinary treatment, or maltreatment, of these delicately flavored fruits having for its apparent object the elimination as far as possible of any suggestion of the true flavor of the fungus. I fancy that even the caustic, rebellious root of the Indian-turnip or the skunk-cabbage thus tamed and subdued in a smothering emollient of spiced gravy or ragoût might negatively serve a purpose as more or less indigestible pabulum.
Enough without Amanita
While, as already mentioned, a few of this genus Amanita are edible, it is well in concluding our chapter to emphasize the caution of an earlier page as to the absolute exclusion of the entire genus from the bill of fare of the amateur mycophagist. There is an abundance of wholesome, delicious fungi at our doors without them.
Many species of Amanita are to be found more or less frequently in company with the esculent varieties recommended in the chapters following. Among these the two extremes of variation from the typical form are seen in theA. muscariusin its permanent retention of the volva scales and the obscurity of its cup, and in theA. phalloides, herewith pictured about half natural size, with the frequententire absenceofthese remnant scales, which wither and fall off, leaving the yellowish or greenish cap perfectly smooth.
It is to thevolvaorcup, then, that we must turn for the one fixed permanent character by which this genus is to be identified.
AMANITA PHALLOIDES
A
Our introductory description of the Amanita presents the most perfect botanical type of a large division of the fungus tribe, theAgaricaceæ, or gill-bearing mushrooms, one of the two great orders of fungi which include the large majority of edible species.
A brief consideration of the general classification of fungi will not be out of place at the head of this chapter.
A fungus is a cellular cryptogamous (flowerless) plant, nourished through its spawn or mycelium in place of roots, living in air, and propagated by spores.
Fungi—mycetes—are naturally subdivided into two great divisions:
1.Sporifera—those in which the spores or reproductive bodies arenakedor soon exposed, as shown in illustration onpage 79.
2.Sporidiifera—in which the spores areenvelopedin sacs orasci. These resemble in shape thecystidiumof illustration onpage 79.
The first of these divisions—theSporifera, or naked-spored fungi—is again subdivided into four families, as follows:
1.Hymenomycetes.Hymenium, or spore-bearing surface,exposedand conspicuous, as seen in the common mushroom and all Agarics and Polyporei.
2.Gasteromycetes(gaster, a belly). Hymenium, or spore-bearing surface,enclosedin a more or less spherical case, called the peridium, which ruptures and expels the spores at maturity in the form of dust, as in the puff-balls.
3.Coniomycetes, from the Greekκωνἱς, meaning dust, the entire fungus having adust-likeappearance. Mildew forms a good example of this family.
4.Hyphomycetes, from the Greekὑφα, meaning a thread.Thread-likefungi, the filaments being more conspicuous than the spore masses, of which group blue-mould affords an illustration.
The Hymenomycetes (1) is again subdivided into six orders, the discrimination being based on the diverse character of the spore surface. The first of these orders is theAgaricini, or gill-bearing fungi, to which our present chapter will be confined.
In this order the hymenium, or spore-bearing surface, is inferior,i.e., on the under side of the pileus, and is spread over lamellæ or gills, which radiate from the stem of the fungus, and each of which may be separated into two filmy flat divisions.
On the opposite page is shown an Agaric in vertical section, disclosing a full side view of the gills. A highly magnified view of this gill-surface is indicated herewith, duly indexed, the sporophore being shown in the act of shedding its spores from their points of attachment to the four stigmata at the summit. These fruitful four-pointed sporophores or basidia are intermingled with the cystidia and sterile cells, the whole mass forming the surface of the hymenium. The dissemination of the Agaric is further considered in a later chapter on "Spore-prints."
The most perfect botanical type of the Agarics is the Amanita, already sufficiently dwelt upon.
We will now proceed to the consideration of other examples in which the symbol of the fatal cup is happily absent, and whose identities as esculent species are clearly denoted by individual characteristics.
Agaricus campestris
"The" mushroom
Description of Campestris
Perhaps the one species which enjoys the widest range of popular confidence as the "mushroom" in the lay mind, as distinguished from "toadstool," is theAgaricus campestris, known as the "meadow mushroom" (Plate 5). It is the species commonly exposed in our markets. Its cultivation is an important industry, but it often yields an enormous spontaneous harvest in its native haunts. The plate shows a cluster of the mushrooms in their various stages of development, the detached specimen below representing the semi-opened condition in which the fungus is usually gathered for market. It will be observed that the base of the stem isentirely free from any suggestion of a volva or cup. As its popular name implies, this species in its wild state is one of the voluntary tributes of our late summer and autumn meadows and pastures, though it may occasionally frequent lawns, shrubberies, and barn-yards. In size it varies from two to three and a half inches across the pileus or cap, which is either smooth or slightly rough, scaly, or scurfy, and creamy white or tawny in color, according to age or variety. The most important distinguishing feature of this species is the color of the gills. If we break away the "veil" in the unopened specimen, we find them to be of a pallid flesh tint. In the more advanced state they become decidedly pinkish, with age and expansion gradually deepening to purplish, purple-brown, and finally brownish black. The gills are of unequal lengths, as shown in the section. The stem is creamy white and of solid substance, and always shows the remains of the veil in a persistent frill or ring just beneath the cap.
PLATE V"THE MUSHROOM"
Agaricus campestris
Pileus:At first globular, its edge connected to stem by the veil; then round convex, at length becoming possibly almost flat. Surface dry, downy, or even quite scaly, varying in color from creamy white to light brown. Diameter at full expansion, about three inches.Gills:Unequal in length; pink when first revealed, becoming brownish, brown, purplish, and finally almost black.Stem:Solid; of the color of the cap; paler and white in section, retaining the remnant of the veil in a permanent ragged ring.Spores:Brown.Taste:Sweet and inviting, and odor agreeable.Habitat:Pastures, lawns, and open rich soil generally.Season:Late summer and early autumn, occasionally in spring.
Pileus:At first globular, its edge connected to stem by the veil; then round convex, at length becoming possibly almost flat. Surface dry, downy, or even quite scaly, varying in color from creamy white to light brown. Diameter at full expansion, about three inches.
Gills:Unequal in length; pink when first revealed, becoming brownish, brown, purplish, and finally almost black.
Stem:Solid; of the color of the cap; paler and white in section, retaining the remnant of the veil in a permanent ragged ring.
Spores:Brown.
Taste:Sweet and inviting, and odor agreeable.
Habitat:Pastures, lawns, and open rich soil generally.
Season:Late summer and early autumn, occasionally in spring.
PLATE V
Agaricus Campestris.
Cultivation of mushrooms
Doubtless a sufficient and satisfactory reason for the universal dignity which this species has acquired as "the mushroom" may be found in the fact that it is the only species prominently under cultivation, and almost the only one which is sure to respond to the artificial cultivation of its spawn in the so-called "mushroom bed." The "spawn" of the Campestris has thus become a mercantile commodity, duly advertised in the seedsmen's catalogues.
Mushroom "spawn" bed
This so-called spawn is in truth nothing but the mycelium, or subterranean vine of the mushroom (seePlate 2), taken from the beds in which the mushrooms have been grown, or in which the mycelium has been cultivated. The cultivator simply prepares a "bed" to receive it—duplicating as far as possible the soil conditions from which it was taken, whether from foreign cultivation or his old manure-bed or stable-yard—a rich, warm compost of loam and horse-manure, this latter ingredient being a most important consideration, as the fungus in its several varieties, notably the larger,Agaricus arvensis, known as the "horse-mushroom," has followed the track of the horsearound the world. These natural conditions having been even approximately fulfilled, will, within two months, generally reward the cultivator with a crop of mushrooms, which, with the continued ramifications of the mycelium permeating the muck as the yeast fungus permeates the home-made loaf, will insure a continual succession of crops for weeks or months, to be renewed spontaneously, perhaps, the following season.
The present volume, having specific reference to fungi in their wild state, and the celebration of their esculent virtues, being thus essentially in antithesis to artificial culture, further consideration of the cultivation of the mushroom is omitted. The reader is referred to the volumes in my bibliographical list, Nos. 8 and 22, in which full instructions will be found.
Species opposed to cultivation
Certain exceptions
The Campestris is conspicuous among mushrooms in its ready accommodation to artificial imitation of its native environment. There is no other mushroom which is thus confidently to be relied on. Other species—not a dozen, however, out of the thousands—will occasionally reward the cultivator, who has devoted the most scrupulous care to the humoring of their fastidious conditions of growth. Thus theAgaricus candicansof the Italian markets is said to have been successfully raised from chips of the white poplar which have been properly covered with manure. Other species, it is claimed, can be humored from a block of the cob-nut tree after singeing its surface over burned straw, while Dr. Thore claims that bothBoletus edulis, andAgaricus procerusare "constantly raised by the inhabitants of his district from a watery infusion of said plants poured upon the ground." The truth of these statements has been denied by authorities, and individual experiment will only tend to discredit their trustworthiness. In general the mushroom or toadstool absolutely refuses to be "coaxed or cajoled." The mycelium of all is practically identical; but species such as the Coprinus, for instance, which are perhaps found growing naturally in company with the Campestris, and whose spawn is similarly transplanted to the artificial environment, will show no sign of reappearance, while its fellow may literally crowd the bed.
Not to be humored
The "fairy-ring" mushroom grows year after year upon our lawn, because its mycelium is continually present, simply threading its way outwardly, inch by inch, in the congenial surrounding soil. Instances are reported of the occasional successful establishment of this mushroom in new quarters by the transfer of a clod of earth threaded with mycelium taken from the "fairy-ring" to another lawn, in which the immediate soil conditions happened to be harmonious, and this method of actual transference of the spawn might occasionally be effectual. But the writer, in his limited number of experiments, has never yet been able to propagate a mushroom by a transfer of thesporesto soil where the conditions would appear to be exactly suitable. On a certain lawn, for instance, every year I obtain a number of theCoprinus comatus(Plate 16). Upon another lawn, apparently exactly similar as to soil conditions, I transfer the melting mushroomwhere it sheds its inky spore-solution upon the earth, and yet, after years of waiting, there is no response. Even an absolute transfer of the webby spawn from the original haunt has proven equally without result. Thus while the habitual fungus-hunter comes to recognize a certain logical association between a given character of natural haunt and some certain species of fungi—a prophetic suspicion often immediately fulfilled—as when he inwardly remarks, as he comes upon an open, clear spot in the woods, "This is an ideal haunt for the green Russula," and instantly stumbles upon his specimen; yet he may take the pallid spawn, with a small clod of earth from its roots, and place it in the mould not ten feet distant, apparently in identically auspicious conditions, and it absolutely refuses to be humored. He may mark the spot, and look in vain in its precincts for a decade for his Russula, though the ground in the vicinity be dotted with them.
Dormant spores
Year after year I have thrown my refuse specimens of hundreds of species of fungi out of my studio window, over the piazza rail or upon my lawn, yet never with the slightest sign that one of the millions of spores in the species thus sown has vegetated.
Considering the ready accommodation of the Campestris, the contrast of the fastidiousness in other species is a notable phenomenon. As a rule, "they will not colonize; they will not emigrate; they will not be cheated out of their natural possessions: they refuse to be educated, and stand themselves upon their single leg, as the most independent and contrary growth with which man has to deal."
Plate VI.VARIATIONS IN AGARICUS CAMPESTRIS
Varieties of the Campestris
The Campestris is probably the most protean of all mushrooms, and mycologists are even yet at odds as to the proper botanical disposition of many of the contrasting varieties which it assumes. A few of these are indicated in Plate 6. Indeed, some of these, as in theAgaricus arvensis, following, have until quite recently figured as distinct species. In its extreme form it might well so do, but when science is confronted with an intermediate specimen bearing equal affinities to the Campestris and Arvensis—and perhaps reinforced by other individuals which actually merge completely into the Campestris—the discrimination of the Arvensis as a distinct species becomes impossible, and would hardly seem warrantable.
Berkeley gives the following selection of the more distinct varieties, not including the Arvensis withitsvariations, and which he considers a distinct species:
1. The so-called "garden mushroom," with its brownish, hairy, scaly cap.2.A. pratensis, in which the pileus is more or less covered with reddish scales, and the flesh as well as gills a pinkish tinge.3.A. villaticus, large size and very scaly.4.A. silvicola, pileus smooth and shining, stem elongated and conspicuously swollen at base; often found in woods.5.A. vaporarius, brown pilose coat which covers the stem as well as the cap, and leaves streaky fragments on the stalk as it elongates.6. He also figures another marked form, with the cap of a reddish color, completely covered with a pilose coat; the gills being perfectly white in young specimens, and the flesh turning bright red when bruised.Any one of the above, he admits, are as much entitled to classification as "distinct species" as the Arvensis.
1. The so-called "garden mushroom," with its brownish, hairy, scaly cap.
2.A. pratensis, in which the pileus is more or less covered with reddish scales, and the flesh as well as gills a pinkish tinge.
3.A. villaticus, large size and very scaly.
4.A. silvicola, pileus smooth and shining, stem elongated and conspicuously swollen at base; often found in woods.
5.A. vaporarius, brown pilose coat which covers the stem as well as the cap, and leaves streaky fragments on the stalk as it elongates.
6. He also figures another marked form, with the cap of a reddish color, completely covered with a pilose coat; the gills being perfectly white in young specimens, and the flesh turning bright red when bruised.
Any one of the above, he admits, are as much entitled to classification as "distinct species" as the Arvensis.
The "horse" mushroom
The application of the title "horse-mushroom" to this last-mentioned species was generally supposed to be referable to the same popular traditions of which we see the analogies in the names horse-weed, horse-nettle, horse-balm, horseradish among the herbs—the prefix "horse" referring to the element of coarseness or rank growth. But in the instance of the mushroom it bears a deeper significance, as this ample cosmopolitan variety of the Campestris, which follows the horse all over the world, from stable and through lane to pasture, and which can only be grown in the manure of this animal, is now generally believed to be a secondary, exaggerated form consequent upon the following conditions:
The spores of the Campestris are shed in myriads in the pastures. The grazing horse no doubt swallows thousands of them, which, upon their return to the soil under especially favorable conditions for growth, vegetate into mycelium, and at length fructify in the full-formed mushroom. The dense white spawn of this species may often be seen beneath the manure in pastures where no sign of the mushroom itself is yet apparent.
A huge variety
During the writing of the present pages I have received from Arizona a letter accompanied with a sketch of a most astonishing mushroom, which my correspondent finds plentifully prevalent in his vicinity, growing in arid sand, even in an exceptionally dry season. He claims that "it is deliciously edible," and he has partaken of it several times. Hissketch and description call to mind no existing form of mushroom known to me, though from one peculiarity in particular—namely, its frequently enormous size, "occasionally ten inches in diameter"—one would naturally expect to find it at least notorious, if not famous.
It is plainly an Agaric related to the Campestris, and from the fact of its having "pink gills darker in older specimens" I suspect it to be simply another local masquerade of this same Campestris, which suspicion, by the receipt of further data, I hope soon to verify.
Agaricus arvensis
Description of Arvensis
This other and larger variety, so readily confounded with the Campestris, demands further and more detailed description. It may frequently be found growing in company with the former, and so closely do the two kinds merge in specimens of equal size that it is often a puzzle to separate the species. Indeed, as already mentioned by some mycologists, the larger form is considered merely as a variety of the Campestris. The accompanying plate(5)may well serve as a portrait of this species also. It frequents the same localities as the former, and is occasionally seen crowded in clusters of crescent shape, or in scattered rings, while its size is generally conspicuous, the solid cream-colored or white cap often expanding to the diameter of seven inches. Its substance discolors to yellowish brown on being bruised.The stem is less solid than in Campestris, often with a pithlike or even hollow heart. The gills are of unequal length, as in the former species, though of much the same tints of pink and brown and black, though more dingy in the lighter shades. The veil is often more conspicuous, and occasionally appears to be double, the outer or lower more or less ragged or split into a fringe at the edge. The species can hardly be mistaken for any poisonous variety, and, once recognized, its generous size, frequent profusion, and savory qualities make it a tempting quest to the epicure, being considered by many as superior in flavor to its rival, the smaller Campestris.
In matters of taste
But this question of gastronomic prestige will perhaps never be finally settled.De gustibus non est disputandum.Species considered here by many as thene plus ultraof delicacies, like the Campestris, are discriminated against in other countries, and in Rome, it is said, are even thrown into the Tiber by inspectors and guardians of the public health who find it exposed for sale in the markets. There are those connoisseurs in delicate feasting who consider no other species comparable to this. These fastidious gourmands are in turn viewed with pitying consideration by other superior epicurean feeders with finer sensuous discrimination, who know perfectly well that our woods afford a number of common species which easily consign the Campestris to the fourth or fifth choice as a competitor at the feast.
The arts of the chef have been exhausted in the savory preparation of this, the most famous of themushrooms. A few of his ingenious methods are given in a later chapter. Meanwhile most of us will be perfectly contented with our simple "mushrooms on toast."
While the Campestris is generally considered as "the" mushroom, there is another species which almost equally shares the honors in popular favor.
I have alluded to the habit of the horse-mushroom as "growing in crescents or rings." This singular tendency is, however, much more fully exemplified in another fungus, which has thus won the popular patronymic of the "Fairy-ring" Champignon, and which is considered onpage 101.
Agaricus gambosus
Remarkably strong odor
Another very common example of mushroom in its season of early spring is theAgaricus gambosus, or St. George's mushroom, as it is popularly styled in Great Britain, from its usual appearance about the time of St. George's Day, April 23d. In addition to its unusually early season, which is the same with us, and which at this date would be a valuable hint in its identification, it has also the singular habit of growing in rings or clustered in crescents, after the manner of the Fairy-ring Champignon of our lawns. Add to this, also, a very strong odor, and we have at least three suggestive characteristics to aid us. This odor, according to Dr. Cooke, is so strong as to occasionally become oppressive and overpowering where the fungus is plentiful. Workmenemployed to root them out are said to have been so overcome by the odor as to be compelled to desist. Other features of this fungus are noted in Plate 7. The cap varies in size in different individuals, but is occasionally very large—five inches or more in diameter, the average expanse, perhaps, being about three inches. The cap is smooth, thick, and fleshy, suggesting soft kid leather, at first rounded convex, ultimately expanding quite horizontally, and is commonly fissured here and there with irregular cracks, both in its expanse and at its edges. Its color is white, or yellowish white. In surface appearance Dr. Berkeley compared it to a "cracknel biscuit." The gills are yellowish white, very moist and densely crowded, and of various lengths, as indicated in my sectional drawing on the plate, and are, moreover, annexed to the solid stout stem by a toothed border, also shown herewith.
Epicurean opinions
The season of this mushroom extends into June, and in its favorite haunt it may occasionally be gathered by the bushel. Opinions are at variance as to the comparative esculent qualities of this species. Certainly delicacy cannot be claimed for it; but those epicures who desire the characteristicfungus flavorat its maximum will find it in the Gambosus.
PLATE VIIST. GEORGE'S MUSHROOM
Agaricus gambosus
Pileus:Three to six inches in diameter, occasionally much larger; rounded convex, at length more flat and commonly cracked here and there; surface smooth, thick, and fleshy, suggesting soft kid leather. Color, pale ochre or yellowish white.Gills:Densely crowded; yellowish white; very moist; various lengths; each annexed to stem by a small sharp downward curve.Stem:Solid; stout; substance creamy white.Spores:White.Taste:Highly flavored; by some considered "too gamy."Odor:Powerfully strong, perhaps rank.Habitat:Fields, lawns, and pastures, frequently growing in broken rings or crescents.
Pileus:Three to six inches in diameter, occasionally much larger; rounded convex, at length more flat and commonly cracked here and there; surface smooth, thick, and fleshy, suggesting soft kid leather. Color, pale ochre or yellowish white.
Gills:Densely crowded; yellowish white; very moist; various lengths; each annexed to stem by a small sharp downward curve.
Stem:Solid; stout; substance creamy white.
Spores:White.
Taste:Highly flavored; by some considered "too gamy."
Odor:Powerfully strong, perhaps rank.
Habitat:Fields, lawns, and pastures, frequently growing in broken rings or crescents.
PLATE VII
Plate VII.—Agaricus Gambosus.
By many fungus-feasters this species is prized as thene plus ultra, and most various are the methods of its culinary preparation, either in the form of mince and fricassee with various meats, suitably seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter, or simply broiled and served on buttered toast. An appetizing recipe for this especial mushroom is given onpage 313.
Marasmius oreades
Fairy-ring mushrooms true and false
I remember, as a boy, summer after summer observing upon a certain spot upon our lawn this dense, and at length scattering, ring of tiny yellowish mushrooms, and the aroma, as they simmered on the kitchen stove, is an appetizing memory. This species is very common, and inasmuch as it is likely to be confounded with two noxious varieties, it is advisable to bring in prominent contrast the characters of the true and the false.
The true Fairy-ring Champignon is pictured in Plate 8. It is common on lawns and close-cropped pastures, where it is usually seen growing in rings more or less broken, and often several feet in diameter, or in disconnected arcs, the vegetation extending outward year by year. This mushroom is held in great esteem, and frequently grows in such profusion that bushels may be gathered in a small area.
"True" fairy-ring
The pileus is buff or cream colored, from one to two inches in diameter, leathery and shrivelled when dry, but when moist, after rain or dew, becoming brownish, soft, and pliable, the conditions perhapsalternating for several days; the skin refuses to be peeled, and in the older, fully opened specimens the centre of the cap is raised in a distinct tinymound; gills,widely separated, about ten or twelve to the inch at circumference in average specimens, same color as cap, or paler, unequal in length, curving upward on reaching stem, thus "free" from apparent contact with it; stem, equal diameter, tough, fibrous, and tenacious, paler than gills, smooth to the base (no spines nor down); cup, none; spores, white;taste nutty,somewhat aromatic,appetizing; habitat usually on lawns or pastures.
Traditions of the mystic "ring"
The "ring" was long involved in mystery, being attributed to moles, lightning, witchcraft, etc.; and, clothed with popular superstition, has found its way into many folk-legends, and has figured in the lore of elfs and goblins, to whom, in the absence of scientific knowledge, the strange, fungus-haunted circle was referred, the "ring" being applied not merely to the circle of mushrooms themselves, but especially to the clearly defined ring of clear, fresh grass surrounding the central, more faded area. But the fairies no longer dance their moonlight rigadoon upon the charmed circle of the champignon, nor do the nimble elves "rear their midnight mushrooms" upon the rings of lush grass as of old, for science has stepped in and cleared up the mystery. The Rev. M. J. Berkeley, in hisOutlines to British Fungology, thus completely rescues the "fairy-ring" from the domain of poetry and reduces it to prosaic fact:
PLATE VIIIFAIRY RING CHAMPIGNON
Marasmius oreades
Pileus:Convex at first, becoming flat, with a mound at centre, at juncture of stem; texture, tough and pliable when moist, brittle in drying, alternating between these two conditions with rain and sun; color, reddish buff at first, becoming cream colored when old, when it is usually quite wrinkled.Gills:Broad, and quite separated; about ten or twelve to the inch at rim in large specimens; unequal in length; deep cream color; clearing the stem as they curve upward towards cap.Stem:Solid; equal diameter; tough and fibrous; naked and smooth at base.Spores:White.Taste:Sweet, "nutty," and appetizing.Odor:Aromatic and pleasant.Habitat:Pastures and lawns, generally growing in rings or curved lines.Diameter of pileus, full expansion, one to two inches.
Pileus:Convex at first, becoming flat, with a mound at centre, at juncture of stem; texture, tough and pliable when moist, brittle in drying, alternating between these two conditions with rain and sun; color, reddish buff at first, becoming cream colored when old, when it is usually quite wrinkled.
Gills:Broad, and quite separated; about ten or twelve to the inch at rim in large specimens; unequal in length; deep cream color; clearing the stem as they curve upward towards cap.
Stem:Solid; equal diameter; tough and fibrous; naked and smooth at base.
Spores:White.
Taste:Sweet, "nutty," and appetizing.
Odor:Aromatic and pleasant.
Habitat:Pastures and lawns, generally growing in rings or curved lines.
Diameter of pileus, full expansion, one to two inches.
PLATE VIII
Marasmius Oreades.
The "ring" explained
"These rings are sometimes of very ancient date, and attain such enormous dimensions as to be distinctly visible on a hill-side for a great distance. It is believed that they originate from a single fungus whose growth renders the soil immediately beneath unfit for its reproduction. The spawn, however, spreads all around, and in the second year produces a crop, whose spawn spreads again, the exhausted soil behind forbidding its return in that direction. Thus the circle is continually increased, and extends indefinitely till some cause intervenes to destroy it. If the spawn does not spread on all sides at first, an arc of a circle only is produced. The manure arising from the dead fungi of former years makes the grass peculiarly vigorous around, so as to render the circle visible even when there is no external appearance of fungus, and the contrast is often stronger from that behind being killed by the old spawn. This mode of growth is far more common than is supposed, and may be observed constantly in our woods, where the spawn can spread only in the soil or among the leaves and decaying fragments which cover it."
Various recipes
Many recipes are recommended for the preparation of this mushroom, some of which are given in a later chapter, including the method of desiccation so commonly employed with other species, and by which the champignon may be kept for ready use throughout the winter months.
In its fresh state, according to J. M. Berkeley, "Whenof good size and quickly grown, it is perhaps the best of all fungi for the table, whether carefully fried or stewed with an admixture of finely mixed herbs and a minute portion of garlic. It is at the same time tender and easy of digestion, and when once its use is known and its character ascertained, no species may be eaten with less fear. It is so common in some districts that bushels may be gathered in a day."
Marasmius urens
There are two other species of mushroom which might possibly be mistaken for the above by the casual eye, but which are easily distinguishable on careful examination. The first of these is the false Champignon (Plate 9, fig. 1). The most important distinguishing features are italicized. They will be seen to afford a striking contrast to the true edible species in these especial characters.
The pileus is pale buff, convex, central mound absent; the cap varies from one-half to one and a half inches in diameter, and is thus slightly smaller than the "true" fairy-ring; gills, yellowish brown, narrow, andcrowded, twenty-five or more to the inch at circumference in good specimen, curving upward at junction with stem, thus "free" from actual attachment; stem, solid, clothed withwhitish down, especially noticeable at the base; cup, none;taste, acrid. This last quality alone should distinguish the species, which, moreover, usually grows inwoods, though occasionally found upon the lawn in association with the edible species.
PLATE IXPOISONOUS CHAMPIGNONS
Marasmius urens
Pileus:Pale buff in color; tough and fleshy; flat convex, becoming depressed and at length wrinkled; one to two inches in diameter.Gills:Unequal, cream colored, becoming brownish; much closer together than in the true Champignon, hardly reaching the stem proper.Stem:Solid; fibrous; pale, its surface more or less covered with white, flocculent down, and densely clothed with white down at base.Taste:Acrid.Habitat:Lawns and pastures, often in association with the edibleM. oreades.
Pileus:Pale buff in color; tough and fleshy; flat convex, becoming depressed and at length wrinkled; one to two inches in diameter.
Gills:Unequal, cream colored, becoming brownish; much closer together than in the true Champignon, hardly reaching the stem proper.
Stem:Solid; fibrous; pale, its surface more or less covered with white, flocculent down, and densely clothed with white down at base.
Taste:Acrid.
Habitat:Lawns and pastures, often in association with the edibleM. oreades.
Marasmius peronatus
Pileus:Reddish buff; convex slightly flattened at top, becoming convex by expansion; very wrinkled when old; diameter, at full expansion, between one and two inches.Gills:Thin and crowded; creamy, becoming light reddish brown, continuing slightly down stem by a short, abrupt curve.Stem:Solid; fibrous; pale, densely clothed with stiff yellow hairs at base.Taste:Acrid.Habitat:In woods, among dead leaves, etc.
Pileus:Reddish buff; convex slightly flattened at top, becoming convex by expansion; very wrinkled when old; diameter, at full expansion, between one and two inches.
Gills:Thin and crowded; creamy, becoming light reddish brown, continuing slightly down stem by a short, abrupt curve.
Stem:Solid; fibrous; pale, densely clothed with stiff yellow hairs at base.
Taste:Acrid.
Habitat:In woods, among dead leaves, etc.
PLATE IX
Poisonous Champignons.
MARASMIUS URENS. M. PERONATUS.
POISONOUS FAIRY-RING MUSHROOM
Marasmius peronatus
The other false species (Plate 9, fig. 2) still more closely simulates the "fairy-ring," but may be identified by the growth ofspinesat the base of the stalk. The gills are alsoannexed to the stalkby a small, sharp,recurved tooth. Like the previous spurious species, it is found inwoods, and is rarely to be seen in association with the true Champignon or in its peculiar haunt.
Agaricus (Lepiota) procerus
Description
One of the most readily recognized of our wild mushrooms is the pasture or parasol Agaric (Agaricus procerus), a cluster of which in various stages of development is shown in Plate 10. It is frequently abundant in pasture-lands, and is occasionally found in woods. Its conspicuous cap sometimes measures six inches or more in diameter, the centre being abruptly raised in a mound. The pileus is at first egg-shaped. The color of the full specimen is pale-brown or buff, more or less spotted with darker brown shaggy patches, generally arranged in somewhat concentric order. The skin of the cap is thick and somewhat tough, especially in drying. The gills are almost pure white in early specimens, slightly creamy later, and unequal in length. Stem, often six or eight inches high, proportionately slender, and of equal diameter, bulbous at base, but without acup, hollow, fibrous, finely speckled or streaked with brown, and deeply inserted in the cap, at which juncture, by a narrow flat space, as shown in the section drawing below, it isdistinctly freefrom contact with the gills. The remnants of the veil are in the form of a more or less detachable ring encircling the stem. The spores are white and odorous. The flavor, when raw, is distinctly nutty, aromatic, sweet, and palatable; when dry, slightly pungent.