E. Fischer, etc. "Gasteromycetæ," Saccardo,Sylloge Fungorum. Vol. vii, part i. Padua, 1888.
Chas. H. Peck. "United States species of Lycoperdon."
Geo. Massee. "Monograph of the British Gasteromycetes."Annals of Botany,Nov., 1889. "Monograph of the Genus Lycoperdon" inJournal Royal Micro. Soc.London, 1887.
C. Bambeke.Morphologie du Phallus impudicus.Gand, 1889.
A. P. Morgan. "North American Geasters" inAmerican Naturalist. Roy. 8vo. 1887.
L. and C. Tulasne. "Essai d'une Monographie des Nidulariees." Ann. des Sci. Nat. 8vo. Paris, 1844.
M. C. Cooke.The Myxomycetes of Great Britain.Plates. 8vo. London, 1877.The Myxomycetes of the United States, by the same author. New York, 1877.
Geo. Massee.A Monograph of the Myxogasters.Col. plates. Roy. 8vo. London, 1892.
A. De Bary. "Die Mycetozoon" (Schleimpilz). Plates. 8vo. Leipzig, 1864.
J. Rostafinski.Sluzowce, Mycetozoa Monografia.Plates. 4to. Paris, 1875.
Geo. A. Rex. New American Myxomycetes. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., part iii, Dec. 16, 1890, pp. 436-438.
Balliet Letson. "Slime Molds." The Ornithologist and Botanist. Vol. i. Binghamton, N. Y., Nov., 1891, p. 85. 1 col.
Thos. H. McBride. "The Myxomycetes of Eastern Iowa." Bulletin from the Laboratories of Natural History of the State University of Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa, 1892.
AGARICINI.
Subgenus LepiotaFries. Veil universal and concrete, with the cuticle of the pileus breaking up in the form of scales. Gills typically free, often remote, not sinuate or decurrent. Stem generally distinct from the hymenophore. Volva absent. Habitat terrestrial, mostly found on rich soil or in grassy places. (In Saccardo'sSylloge, Lepiota is given generic rank.)
The Lepiotas have a wide geographical distribution. No less than 225 species have been recorded as found in different parts of the world. These are pretty evenly divided between the torrid and temperate zones. They are generally smaller than the Amanitas, less fleshy and somewhat dry and tough. The flesh is soft and thready, not brittle. In the plants of most of the species the cap is rough, the cuticle being broken up into tufts or scales. These tufts are readily distinguished from the warts which characterize certain species of Amanita, being formed from the breaking up of the cuticle with the concrete veil, while the wart-like excrescences seen upon Amanitamuscaria, for example, are composed of fragments of the volva, which is always found enclosing the very young plants of the genus Amanita.
A few of the species are characterized by a smooth cap; in some instances it is granulose or mealy. Usually the cuticle is dry, but in a few of the species it is viscid. The stem is generally long and hollow, and, being of different texture from the flesh of the cap, is easily separated from it, often leaving a distinct socket at the junction of stem and cap. It is sometimes smooth, sometimes floccose. In some species it is bulbous at the base, in others not. The ring which encircles the stem is at first continuous with the cuticle of the cap, breaking apart with its expansion. It is sometimes movable, sometimes evanescent.
The species generally are considered edible, or innoxious. None are recorded as dangerous. A mycophagist from Augusta, Ga., reports,however, that the members of a family in that vicinity were made quite ill from eating the LepiotaMorgani, a greenish-spored species of Lepiota, while he himself ate of the same dish, experiencing no unpleasant effects. I have had no personal experience with this species.
Two edible species of Lepiota, which are widely commended as of good quality, and which are sufficiently abundant to have value as esculents, are figured in Plate XI. A third, Ag. (Lepiota) cepæstipes, var. cretaceus—Lepiotacretacea, figured inPlate XI½, is an exotic species found in greenhouses. It is of very delicate flavor.
EdibleFigs. 1 to 4 Agaricus (Lepiota) procerus, Fries (Lepiota procera)"Parasol Mushroom."Figs. 5 to 9 Lepiota naucinoides Peck. (Agaricus naucinus Fries)"Smooth White Lepiota."T. Taylor, del.
Plate XI.
Figs.1 to 4.—Ag. (Lepiota) procerusScop. (Lepiota procera). "Parasol Mushroom."
Edible.
Cap at first ovate, then expanded, showing distinct umbo, cuticle thick, torn into evanescent scales; gills remote from the stem, free, white, or yellowish-white; stem long, slender, variegated with brownish scales, hollow or slightly stuffed, bulbous at the base, and bearing a well-defined thickish ring, which in the mature plant is movable. Spores white, elliptical. The color of the cap varies from a light tan or ochraceous yellow to a dark reddish-brown. The surface showing beneath the lacerated cuticle is of a lighter hue than the cuticle, and is silky and fibrillose, giving the cap a somewhat shaded or spotted appearance. The flesh is dry, soft and thready, white. Taste and odor pleasant.
Cap from 3 to 5 inches broad; stem from 5 to 10 inches high.
This species is commonly found in pastures and in open grassy places; sometimes in open woods near cultivated fields, usually solitary or in very small clusters. It is a favorite among mycophagists. Lepiotaracodesclosely resembles Lepiotaprocera, and by some botanists the two are regarded as forms of the same species. In L.racodesthe pileus is at first globose, expanded, and finally depressed in the centre; the cuticle is thin and broken into persistent scales; the whole plant smaller than L. procera. Flesh slightly reddish when bruised. Edible. There is also a white variety (puellaris) with a floccose squamose cap.
PlateXI.
Figs.5 to 9.—Ag. (Lepiota) naucinusFries (Lepiota naucinoidesPeck). "Smooth White Lepiota."
Edible.
Cap at first sub-globose, then curved, the surface smooth and satiny when dry, creamy white; gills close and slightly rounded at the inner extremity towards the stem, free from the stem, white; stem white, smooth, hollow, and bulbous at the base; ring thick, distinct, movable,white. The gills, soon after gathering, become suffused with a faint pinkish or fleshy tint. The spores are white, sub-elliptical. Specimens occur in which there is a slight granulation in the centre of the cap, but they are rare. The varietysquamosashows the surface of the cap, somewhat broken into thick scales.
L.naucinoidesis a very clean and attractive looking mushroom, usually symmetrical in shape. It is a fleshier mushroom than L.procera, and is found in grassy places, in lawns, sometimes in gardens, or by roadsides, especially where the soil is rich. The specimens figured inPlate XIwere gathered in a rose garden, growing in loamy soil. Specimens have been received from different States, some of them much larger than those here illustrated.
This mushroom is recorded by some authors as equal in flavor to the Parasol mushroom. When stewed with butter it makes a very appetizing dish.
There is a fatally poisonous mushroom to which it bears some resemblance, and which might be taken for it, viz., Amanitaverna, or "Spring mushroom." It is therefore necessary, in order to guard against such a mistake, to give particular attention to the characteristics of these two mushrooms. They are both white throughout, and both have white spores and ringed stem. Amanitaverna, however, carries a white volva or cup-shaped sheath at the base of the stem, and the gills do not show a pinkish or flesh colored tinge at any stage. In Lepiotanaucinoides, as in all the Lepiotas, the volva is wanting. Amanitavernais apt to be moist and clammy to the touch, and is tasteless. L.naucinoidesis dry, and has a pleasant flavor. The first is foundwhollyinwoods; the second prefers pastures, open grassy places, and gardens, though sometimes found in light woods. I have never found an Amanita in a lawn, pasture, or garden.
An edible mushroom, Agaricus (Psalliota)cretaceus, found in pastures, bears a slight resemblance to L.naucinoides, when the color of the spores and gills are not taken into consideration. In the former the gills very quickly change from their early stage of rosy pink to a dark purplish-brown color, like that of the common mushroom. The spores are purplish-brown, while in L.naucinoidesthe pinkish hue which tinges the fading plant is very faint, and changes to a very light tan color with age. The spores being white, the gills retain their white color for a long time, never changing to dark brown.
L.AmericanaPk. A. & S., L.excoriataSchaeff., and L.rubrotinctaPk. have been tested and are of good flavor.
L.Americanahas a reddish or reddish-brown cap, umbonate, with close adpressed scales and white flesh. The gills are broad and free from the stem, sometimes anastomosing near it, white; stem white, hollow, tapering towards the cap, annulate. When dried the whole plant has a brownish-red hue. When cut or bruised it sometimes exudes a reddish juice. Miss Banning reports specimens found in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore.I have gathered very beautiful specimens in Montgomery county, Md. This mushroom sometimes grows to a very large size.
L.excoriatahas a pale fawn-colored cap, slightly umbonate, with thin cuticle, breaking into scales; gills remote, white; stem white, hollow, and short, nearly cylindrical. Odor faint, pleasant.
L.rubrotinctaPk. "Red-tinted Agaric." Cap reddish or pinkish, broadly umbonate and clothed with adpressed scales; gills whitish, free, and close; stem nearly equal or slightly thickened at the base, with a well-developed persistent white or pinkish ring. Spores white, sub-elliptical.
L.holosericeusFries has a fleshy white cap, soft, silky, and fibrillose, a solid bulbous stem, with persistent broad, reflexed ring, and free ventricose, white gills. Edible. It is found in gardens and cultivated places.
L.acutesquamosaWein, found in greenhouses and soil in gardens, is a heavy but not very tall species. The cap is obtuse, and fleshy, at first floccose. As the cap expands it bristles with erect pointed tufts or scales. The gills are white or yellowish, lanceolate and simple, free from the stem. Stem bulbous, somewhat stuffed, rough or silky below the ring, and downy above. Ring persistent. Color of cap whitish or light brown, with darker scales.
L.granulosusBatsch. Cap thin, wrinkled or corrugated, granulose, mealy; gills white,reaching the stem, sometimes free. Plants very small and varying in color—pink, yellow, and white, according to variety.
L.amiantha. Plants very small, ochraceous in color, with yellow flesh and white gillsadnateand crowded.
L.cepæstipesSow. Cap thin, broad, sub-membranaceous, broadly umbonate, adorned with mealy evanescent scales, margin irregular; gills white, at length remote. Stem hollow and floccose, narrow at top, ventricose; ring evanescent. Generally found in hothouses. Cap 1 to 3 inches broad. Stem 3 to 6 inches high. Spores white.
L.cristatais a common species found on lawns and in fields where the grass is short. The plants are small, the cap from ½ to 1½ inches in width. Not very fleshy. The cuticle of the cap is at first continuous and smooth but soon breaks into reddish scales. The stem is fistulose, slender and equal; gills free. Odor and taste somewhat strong and unpleasant.
Agaricus (Lepiota) cepæstipes—var. cretaceus, Peck. (Lepiota cretacea.)Edible.From Nature.
Plate XI½.
Ag. (Lepiota) cepæstipes, varietycretaceusPeck (Lepiota cretacea).
Edible.
This very delicate and beautiful agaric is found on tan and leaves in hothouses.
The specimens here delineated were gathered in one of the hothouses of the Agricultural Department and first described and figured inFood Products, No. 2, of the report of the Division of Microscopy. The plantsare a pure white throughout, and both stem and pileus are covered with small chalk-white mealy tufts. Berkeley says, "this species is probably of exotic origin, as it never grows in the open air." It is also met with in the hothouses of Europe. Specimens have been received from contributors who gathered them in greenhouses in different localities. This species should not be confounded with the purplish-brown spored mushroom Agaricus (Psalliota) cretaceus, which has pink gills turning to dark brown and is allied to the common meadow mushroom.
Lepiotacretaceais a delicious mushroom when broiled, or cooked in a chafing dish, and served on hot buttered toast. It has a pleasant taste when raw.
LepiotaMorganiPeck, the "Green-Spored Lepiota," is an exception to the general type of Lepiotas in the color of its gills and spores. It is western and southern in its range. This species is described by Peck in the Botanical Gazette of March, 1897, p. 137, as follows: "Pileus fleshy, soft, at first sub-globose, then expanded, or depressed, white, the brownish or alutaceous cuticle breaking up into scales except on the disk; lamellæ close, lanceolate, remote, white, then green; stem firm, equal, or tapering upwards, sub-bulbous, smooth, webby-stuffed, whitish, tinged with brown, annulus rather large, movable; flesh both of the pileus and stem white, changing to reddish, and then to yellowish hue when cut or bruised; spores ovate, sub-elliptical, mostly uninucleate, .0004 to .0005 inches long, .0003 to .00032 broad, sordid green.
"Plant 6 to 8 inches high, pileus 5 to 9 inches broad, stem 6 to 12 lines thick. Open dry grassy places. Dayton, Ohio. A. P. Morgan."
AGARICINI.
Genus CortinariusFries. This genus is distinguished by a cob-web-like veil, dry persistent gills, which in the mature plants become discolored, and pulverulent with the rusty or ochraceous colored spores. The veil is very delicate, resembling a spider's web. It is not concrete with the cuticle of the cap, but extends from its margin to the stem, in the young plants sometimes concealing the gills, but disappearing as the cap expands. Sometimes a few filaments are seen depending from the margin of the cap or encircling the stem.
In the young plants of this genus the gills vary very much in color. They are whitish, clay-color, violet, dark purple, blood-red, etc., according to species, but, as the plants mature, the gills become dusted with the rust-colored falling spores, and with age usually become a rusty ochraceous, or cinnamon color. The stem in some of the species is distinctly bulbous and in others equal, cylindrical, or tapering. In identifying the species it is necessary, in order to ascertain the true color of the gills, to examine the plants at different periods of growth.
The genus Cortinarius is a large one, and contains many beautiful species. It is mainly confined to temperate regions. Not a singlespecies has been recorded as found in Ceylon, the West Indies, or Africa, but one tropical species is found in Brazil. Nearly four hundred species have been described, and over three hundred and seventy of these belong to the United States and Europe. A few are found in the extreme southern or temperate portion of South America, and several are reported from a temperate elevation among the Himalayas. Sweden and Great Britain, with their temperate climates, claim a large proportion of the European species. Not many of the Cortinarii have been recorded as edible, and none as dangerous. The Rev. M. J. Berkeley records, however, a case of poisoning by one of the species, C. (Inoloma)bolarisPers., which though not fatal was somewhat alarming, the symptoms being great oppression of the chest, profuse perspiration, and the enlargement for two days of the salivary glands of the patient. I have seen no other statements relating to the poisonous properties of this species, and the results alluded to may have been owing to some individual idiosyncrasy.
Berkeley, in his "Outlines," gives the following description of this mushroom: "Pileus fleshy, obsoletely umbonate, growing pale, variegated withsaffron-red, adpressed, innatescales; stem stuffed, then hollow, nearly equal, squamose, of the same color as the cap; gills subdecurrent, crowded, watery, cinnamon color. Cap 1 to 2 inches broad. Stem 2 to 3 inches long." In beech woods in September and October.
The genus Cortinarius has been divided by some authors into the following six groups: (1)Phlegmacium, in which the cap is fleshy and viscid, the veil partial, and the stem firm and dry; (2)Myxacium, in which the veil is universal and glutinous, hence the cap and stem both viscid; cap thin and the gills adnate or decurrent; (3)Inoloma, in which the cap is fleshy, dry, and at first silky with innate fibrils; veil simple and stem slightly bulbous; (4) Dermocybe, in which the pileus is thinly fleshy, dry, and at first downy, becoming smooth; the veil single and fibrillose; flesh watery, colored when moist, stem equal or attenuated downwards; (5) Telamonia, in which the cap is moist, at first smooth or dotted with the superficial fragments of the veil, the stem ringed below, or peronately scaly from the remains of the universal veil; (6) Hydrocybe, in which the cap is thin and moist, not viscid, smooth, or covered with superficial white fibrils; stem rigid, not scaly, veil thin, occasionally collapsed in an irregular ring. These subdivisions have been designated astribesby some botanists andsubgeneraby others, etc. To the divisions Inoloma and Phlegmacium, respectively, belong the two species illustrated in Plate XII.
EdibleFigs. 1 to 4 Cortinarius (Inoloma) violaceus, Linn."Violet Cortinarius."Figs. 5 to 7 Cortinarius (Phlegmacium) cærulescens, Fries.T. Taylor, del.
Plate XII.
Figs.1 to 4.—Cortinarius (Inoloma) violaceusFr. "Violet Cortinarius."
Edible.
Cap fleshy, at first convex, then nearly plane, dotted with hairy tufts or scales, margin at first involute, color purple or dark violet, flesh soft,purplish; gills distant, broad, adnate, somewhat rounded near the stem, at first purplish violet, changing to an ochraceous or brownish cinnamon color as the plant matures; stem solid, somewhat bulbous at the base, purple; cortina or veil white or tinged with violet, sometimes bluish.
This is a handsome species, and though it is somewhat rare in many localities, its pretty and unusual coloring does not allow it to be easily overlooked. It is edible, and has a mushroomy taste when raw. AgaricusnudusBull, a purple species with white spores, is sometimes confounded with it. There are other purple species of Cortinarius not so pleasant to the taste, which bear some resemblance to C.violaceus. The specimens figured inPlate XIIwere gathered near Dedham, Mass., on open ground on the border of a stretch of pine woods.
Figs.5 to 7.—Cortinarius (Phlegmacium) cærulescens.
Edible.
Cap fleshy, at first convex, then plane, surface even, viscid; color bluish or violet; gills adnexed and crowded, at first bluish, changing to violet or purplish hues; stem solid, short, and thick, with a broadly bulbous base, same color as the cap; veil filmy, single. In woods and on the borders of woods. This mushroom varies in color, the bluish or purplish tints being quite susceptible to atmospheric changes. When growing in the shade or well-sheltered places, it is much darker in hue than when exposed unsheltered to the bright sunlight. The specimen figured inPlate XIIwas gathered on low ground near a pine grove in Essex County, Mass.
Cortinarius (Phlegmacium)purpurascensFr. bears a slight resemblance tocærulescens, but can be distinguished from it by the spotted or zoned character of the cap and the broadly emarginate gills.
Cortinariusturmalis, an edible autumnal species, having an ochraceous or brownish-yellow cap with emarginate or decurrent gills, the latter at first whitish, then reddish clay color, is found in abundance in some parts of Maryland. The gills are never tinged with purple or blue. The flesh is white. The plants are easily discovered by those familiar with their habitat, as they grow under pine needles in groups, forming small mounds extending over large spaces, and in these hiding places, in the autumnal months, they are free from insects and dust. I have collected a bushel of them in less than an hour in fresh condition in October. Some of the French authors do not class this species as edible. Gillet, in his Hymenomycetes of France, enumerates fifty-three edible species of Cortinarius, but placesturmalisamong the suspects. I find this mushroom not only edible, but very valuable, because of its abundance in the localities where found. It is often densely cæspitose. The plant, when mature, is from 3 to 5 inches high.
C.sebæceus, found also in pine woods, is recorded as edible. The plantis tall, white-stemmed, with broad tan-colored, somewhat viscid cap; emarginate gills, clay color at first, at last cinnamon color; stem solid, stout, fibrillose, and equal.
Cortinariuscollinitus, Smeared Cortinarius, and Cortinariuscinnamomeus, with its variety semi-sanguinea, have also been tested, and found edible. The first of these is somewhat common. The plants when fresh are covered with a glutinous substance, and this should be removed before cooking. Cap smooth under the glutinous coat, light brown or tawny yellow in color, flesh white; gills whitish or light gray when young, cinnamon-hued in the matured plant. Stem solid, nearly equal, cylindrical, yellowish, and somewhat scaly. C.cinnamomeusbelongs to the division Dermocybe. The cap is thin at first, silky with innate fibrids, becoming smooth, and varies from light brown to a dark cinnamon color. The gills are yellowish, then cinnamon; stem downy or silky, yellow. The varietysemi-sanguineahas the lamellæ red, almost as in the preceding species.
C. (Phlegmacium)varius, "Variable Cortinarius," edible, has a compact fleshy viscid, even cap, brownish in color, gills at first violet, changing to cinnamon, stout solid stem, white or whitish, adorned with adpressed flocci, flesh white.
Cortinarius (Telamonia)armillatusFries is given in M. C. Cooke's list of edible Cortinarii. Cap fleshy but not thick, fibrillose and slightly scaly, bright bay color, thin uneven margin; stem solid, dingy, rufescent, showing irregular red zones or bands elongated and slightly bulbous at the base; gills distant, broad, pallid in color at first, changing to dark cinnamon. C. (Telamonia)hæmatochelisBull. (edible), somewhat resembles the former in color and size, though not so bright a brown. Cap thin, silky-fibrillose; gills adnate, narrow and crowded, light cinnamon; stem long, solid, dingy, with a reddish zone.
C. (Hydrocybe)castaneusBull.,Chestnut Cortinarius(edible), is found in woods and gardens. The plants of this species are usually small. Cap at first campanulate, expanding, sometimes slightly umbonate in the centre, chestnut color; gills ventricose, crowded, purplish, changing to rust color; stem short, hollow or stuffed, cartilaginous, equal, pallid, reddish brown, or tinged with violet; veil white.
Subgenus CollybiaFries. Cap at first convex, then expanded, not depressed, with an involute margin; gills reaching the stem, but not decurrent, sometimes emarginate; stem hollow, with cartilaginous bark of a different substance from the hymenophore, but confluent with it; often swollen and splitting in the middle; spores white. The plants are usually found growing upon dead tree stumps; some grow upon the ground; a few are parasitic on other fungi or springing fromsclerotia, small impacted masses of mycelium. The species are generally small and firm and of slow growth. A few are edible, some few have an unpleasant odor. On account of the cartilaginous stem and the dryness of their substance, some of the smaller species are apt to be taken for Marasmii. Note: Saccardo in his Sylloge gives Collybia generic rank.
EdibleFigs. 1 to 3 Agaricus (Collybia) fusipes, Bull."Spindle Foot Collybia."Figs. 4 to 6 Agaricus (Collybia) maculatus, A. & S."Spotted White Collybia."Figs. 7 to 9 Agaricus (Collybia) velutipes, Curt."Velvet Footed Collybia."T. Taylor, del.
Plate XIII.
Figs.1 to 3.—Ag. (Collybia) fusipesBull. "Spindle-Foot Collybia."
Edible.
Cap fleshy, somewhat tough, convex, then plane, smooth, even or slightly cracked in places, umbo evanescent, reddish brown; gills adnexed, nearly free, broad, distant, at length separating near the stem, firm, white, changing to fawn color, or pale brown often spotted; stem long, stuffed, then hollow, externally cartilaginous, contorted, swollen in the middle, cracking in longitudinal slits, fusiform, tapering narrowly to a rooted base, reddish brown. On stumps in woods in the autumn. Cap 1 to 2 inches broad; stem 2 to 6 inches long. This species is densely cæspitose. It is very generally recorded among authors as edible, although the flesh is somewhat tough. It requires long and slow cooking. An English author recommends it for pickling. Only the caps should be used for this purpose.
Figs.4 to 6.—Ag. (Collybia) maculatusA. & S. (Collybia maculata). "Spotted White Collybia."
Cap fleshy and compact, convexo-plane, obtuse, smooth, even, margin thin, at first involute, turned inwards, white; stem long and stout, externally cartilaginous, ventricose, sometimes striate, tapering towards the base; gills free, or nearly so, narrow, crowded, somewhat linear, white, becoming spotted. Taste slightly acid. The whole plant is creamy white, becoming spotted and stained throughout with rusty-brown or foxy-red tints. The plants are usually large, long stemmed, and grow in irregular clusters on decayed tree stumps in woods. Specimens of a large size have been gathered in the fir woods near Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. Cap 3 to 5 inches broad; stem 3 to 5 inches long. The varietyimmaculatusdiffers from the typical form in not becoming spotted and in the broader gills, which are serrated.
Figs.7 to 9.—Ag. (Collybia) velutipesCurt. "Velvet-Footed Collybia."
Cap fleshy, thin, at first convex, then plane, obtuse, smooth, viscid, tawny or brownish yellow, turning dark; flesh yellowish and soft; gills slightly adnexed, pale yellow; stem tough, stuffed, externally cartilaginous, sometimes slender, but usually thick, covered with a brown velvety down, dark bay color. This is a very common species in some localities. It is densely cæspitose, growing in heavy clusters on old logs and tree trunks in parks, woods, and gardens. The plants are quite gelatinous when cooked. Group figured from illustration by M. C. Cooke.
CollybiaradicataRehl. is recorded as an edible species. The plants have a thin, slightly fleshy cap, slightly umbonate, wrinkled, and glutinous at maturity; distant, white, adnexed gills, and tall, slender, rigidstem. The latter is often twisted and usually attenuated upwards, color pale brown. It has a long tapering root entering deeply into the soil. This species is solitary in habit, and is commonly found in grass, or near decayed stumps. Cap from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, stem 6 inches to 10 inches in length.
CollybiaesculentaJacq., a small species found in pine woods as well as in pastures in the spring, is recorded as edible by a number of authors. In this species the cap is nearly plane, obtuse, and smooth, brownish; gills adnate, whitish; stem very slender, fistulose, equal, tough, smooth, reddish clay color, deeply rooting.
As Chief of the Division of Microscopy, U. S. Department of Agriculture, the author prepared for the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago a collection of models of edible and poisonous mushrooms, for which a medal and diploma were there awarded. The same collection, which now belongs to the Museum of the Department of Agriculture, was exhibited at the Atlanta Cotton Exposition in 1895, where a diploma was again awarded for it, and has since been exhibited at the exposition of 1897 in Nashville, Tenn. The models composing this collection, about one thousand in number, were made from actual specimens and colored to nature, the same species being generally represented by numerous specimens so as to illustrate the various stages in the life of the plant, habit of growth, etc.
The following is a list of the mushrooms represented in this collection, among which there are types of most of the genera in which species recorded as edible occur:
AmanitaCæsareaSchaeff. "Orange Amanita." Edible.
AmanitarubescensPers. "The Blusher." "Reddish-Brown Amanita." Edible.
AmanitastrobiliformisVitt. "Fir-Cone" or "Pine-Cone Amanita." Edible.
AmanitapantherinusD. C. "Panther Mushroom." Poisonous.
AmanitaphalloidesFr. "Poison Amanita." Poisonous.
AmanitamuscariaLinn. "Fly Amanita." "False Orange." Poisonous.
AmanitavernaBull. "Spring Mushroom." "Vernal Amanita." Poisonous.
AmanitopsisvaginataRoze. "TheGrizette.""Sheathed Amanitopsis." Edible.
LepiotaproceraScop. "Parasol Mushroom." "Tall Lepiota." Edible.
LepiotaracodesVitt. "Ragged Lepiota." Edible.
ArmillariamelleaFr. "Honey Mushroom." Edible.
TricholomaterreumSchaeff. "The Gray Cap." Edible.
ClitocybeilludensSchw. "Giant Clitocybe." Unwholesome.
ClitocybeodoraBull. "Odorous Clitocybe." Edible.
ClitocybelaccataScop. Edible.
CollybiafusipesBull. "Spindle-Foot Collybia." Edible.
PleurotusostreatusJacq. "Oyster Mushroom." Edible.
PleurotusulmariusJacq. "Elm Pleurotus." Edible.
VolvariabombycinaSchaeff. "Silky Volvaria." This species has been recorded by some authors as poisonous. Hays, after testing it, speaks well of it, and states that is eaten on the Continent.
VolvariaspeciosaFr. Not commended.
PholiotacaperataPers. Edible.
Agaricuscampester. "Field Mushroom." Edible.
AgaricusarvensisSchaeff. "Horse Mushroom." Edible.
Hypholomasublateritium. "Brick Top." Edible.
HypholomaCandolliana. Edible.
CoprinuscomatusFr. "Shaggy Mane Mushroom." Edible.
Coprinusatramentarius. "Inky Coprinus." Edible.
CortinariusturmalisFr. Edible.
CortinariuscærulescensFr. Edible.
HygrophorusconicusFr. Conical Mushroom. Has been recorded by a number of authors as poisonous. Some later writers speak of it as edible.
HygrophoruspuniceusFr. "Purplish Hygrophorus." Edible.
HygrophorusceraceusFr. "Waxen Hygrophorus." Edible.
LactariusdeliciosusFr. "Delicious Lactarius." Edible.
LactariusvolemusFr. "Orange-brown Lactarius." Edible.
LactariustorminosusFr. This mushroom is said to contain an acrid juice which acts seriously on the stomach and alimentary canal.
LactariusrufusFr. Intensely acrid.
LactariusvellereusFr. Extremely acrid.
Lactariuspiperatus. "Fiery Milk Mushroom." Extremely acrid when raw. The Russians parboil it, throwing away the liquid, before preparing for pickling. A noted German chemist reports it "not very safe."
RussulaalutaceaFr. Yellow-gilled Russula. Edible.
RussulavirescensFr. Edible.
RussulacyanoxanthaSchaeff. "Variable Russula." Edible.
RussulaemeticaFr. This mushroom is extremely acrid when raw; by some authors it is recorded as poisonous, by others as edible. Chemical analysis has shown that it contains a varying proportion of muscarin, as well as cholin, etc.
CantharelluscibariusFr. "The Chantarelle." Edible.
MarasmiusoreadesBolt. "The Fairy Ring Mushroom." Edible.
BoletusedulisBull. Edible.
BoletusscaberFr. Edible.
BoletusgranulatusLinn. Edible.
BoletusbrevipesPk. Edible.
BoletusluteusLinn. Edible.
BoletuspachypusFr. Edible.
BoletusAmericanusPk. Edible.
BoletussubtomentosusLinn. Edible.
BoletuscastaneusBull. Edible.
BoletusSatanusLenz. "White-topped Boletus." Recorded as poisonous.
BoletusluridusSchaeff. "Red-pored Boletus." Recorded as poisonous.
StrobilomycesstrobilaceusBull. Edible.
FistulinahepaticaFr. "Beefsteak Fungus." Edible.
PolyporussulfureusBull. Edible.
HydnumrepandumLinn. Edible.
HydnumerinaceumBull. Edible.
SparassiscrispaWulf. Edible.
ClavariacinereaBull. Edible.
Clavariarugosa. Edible.
LycoperdongemmatumFr. Edible.
LycoperdongiganteumFr. "Giant Puff-Ball." Edible.
LycoperdonpyriformeSchaeff. "Pear-shaped Puff-Ball." Edible.
SclerodermavulgareFr.
MorchellaesculentaPers. Edible.
MorchellaconicaBull. Edible.
Hirneolaauricula JudæBull. Edible.
IthyphallusimpudicusLinn. Unwholesome.
ClathruscancellatusLinn. Unwholesome.
Note.—In addition to the above there were also represented a number of coriaceous or woody species which grow upon trees, old stumps, etc.
STUDENT'S HAND-BOOK
OF
Mushrooms of America
EDIBLE AND POISONOUS.
BYTHOMAS TAYLOR, M. D.
AUTHOR OF FOOD PRODUCTS, ETC.
Fellow of the A. A. A. S.; Hon. Member of the Mic. Section Royal Inst., Liverpool, England; Member of Honor of the International Medical Society of Hygiene, Brussels; Member of the American and Washington Chemical Societies; French Chemical Society, Paris; of the American Textile Society; Medical Society of Washington, D. C.; Cor. Member Academy of Arts and Sciences of Brooklyn, N. Y.; Cor. Member Mic. Societies of New York, Buffalo, etc., etc.
Published in Serial Form—No. 5—Price, 50c. per number.
WASHINGTON, D. C.:A. R. Taylor, Publisher, 238 Mass. Ave. N.E.1897.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE.
It has not been possible to represent all the genera of mushrooms which contain species having value as esculents within the compass of this series of five pamphlets, but the demand for these promises to justify the publication, at a future date, of a second series, which the author now has in preparation.
A. R. T.
Copyright, 1898, byThomas Taylor, M. D.,andA. R. Taylor.
AGARICINI.
Leucospori—(Spores White).
SubgenusPleurotusFries. The Pleuroti are similar in some respects to the Tricholomas and Clitocybes, some of the species having notched gills near the stem, and others, again, having the gills decurrent, or running down the stem. Most of the species grow upon dead wood or from decaying portions of live trees. Very few grow upon the ground. The stem is mostly eccentric, lateral, or wanting; when present it is homogeneous or confluent with the substance of the cap; the substance may be compact, spongy, slightly fleshy, or membranaceous. Veil evanescent or absent. The spores are white or slightly tinted.
M. C. Cooke figures over thirty species of Pleurotus found in Great Britain, and describes 45 species found in Australia. With few exceptions, all of these grow upon wood. Very few have value as esculents.
Agaricus (Pleurotus) ostreatus, Jacq.Edible.T. Taylor, del.
Plate J.
Ag. (Pleurotus) ostreatusJacq. "Oyster Mushroom."
Edible.
Cap soft, fleshy, smooth, shell-shaped, white or cinereous, turning brownish or yellowish with age. Flesh white, somewhat fibrous. Gills white, broad and decurrent, anastamosing at the base. Stem usually not well defined, lateral, or absent. Spores elliptical, white. The caps are sometimes thickly clustered and closely overlapping, and sometimes wide apart. This mushroom has long been known as edible both raw and cooked. It has a pleasant but not decided flavor and must be cooked slowly and carefully to be tender and easily digestible. Old specimens are apt to be tough. It is found on decaying wood and often on fallen logs in moist places or upon decaying tree-trunks. It is frequently recurrent on the same tree. I have gathered great quantities of the Oyster mushroom during several seasons past from a fallen birch tree which spanned a small stream. The lower end of the tree rested on the moist ground at the edge of the stream. Specimens have been found on the willow, ash and poplar trees, and upon the apple and the laburnum.
PleurotussapidusKalchb.Sapid Pleurotus. Edible.
This species closely resembles the Oyster mushroom in form and habit of growth, and is by some considered only a variety ofP. ostreatus. It grows usually in tufts with the caps closely overlapping, varying in color white, ashy, grayish or brownish. Flesh white. The stems are white, smooth and short, mostly springing from a common base. The gills are white and very broad, and decurrent. The spores assume a very pale lilac tint on exposure to the atmosphere.
PleurotusulmariusBull. "Elm Pleurotus." Edible.
The Elm Pleurotus is quite conspicuous by reason of its large size and light color. The cap is smooth and compact, usually whitish with a dull yellowish tinge in the center. Flesh white. The skin cracks very easily, giving it a scaly appearance. The gills are broad, and toothed or notched near their point of attachment to the stem as in the Tricholomas, white in color, turning yellowish with age. The stem is firm and smooth, solid and rather eccentric, thick and sometimes slightly downy near the base, from two to four inches in length. Although this mushroom seems to prefer the elm and is most frequently found on trees of that species, it is found also upon other trees, but principally the maple, the ash, the willow, and the poplar. It grows upon live trees, usually where the branches have been cut away, and upon stumps as well. Most authors recommend it as an esculent, although it has not the rich flavor of some other mushrooms. It dries well and can be kept thus for winter use. This species has a wide range and grows most abundantly in the autumn. Its resistance to cold has been frequently remarked.
AGARICINI.
SubgenusAmanita. The Amanitas are usually large and somewhat watery, the flesh brittle rather than tough. The very young plants are enveloped in a membranous wrapper, which breaks apart with the expansion of the plant, leaving a more or less persistent sheath at the base of the stem. The universal veil is distinct and free from the cuticle of the cap. The cap is convex at first, then expanded; in some species naked and smooth; in others, clothed with membranaceous patches of the volva. The stem is distinct from the fleshy substance of the cap, ringed and furnished with a volva or sheath. In some of the species this sheath is connate with the base of the stem, firm and persistent. In others, it is friable, at length nearly obsolete.
The ring is usually persistent, deflexed, more or less prominent, in rare cases pressed close against the stem, and sometimes scarcely distinguishable from it. The gills in most of the species are free from the stems, but there are exceptions to this rule. Spores white. As to geographical distribution, according to M. C. Cooke, seven-eighths of the species are distinctly located in the temperate zone, one-twentieth at a temperate elevation, and only one-twentieth presumably tropical. Out of the eighty species, about sixty are North American and European, and one species is found on the slopes of the Andes, in South America. As heretofore stated, this group among mushrooms is made responsible for most of the well authenticated cases of fatal poisoning by mushrooms. It would be judicious, therefore, for those who are not thoroughly familiar with the characteristics of the edible Amanitas to defer making experiments with them for table use until that familiarity is acquired.
Saccardo in hisSyllogedescribes no less than fifteen edible species of Amanita as found in different parts of the world. Of those I have personally been able to identify but three which are common in this country, and which have been well tested. Specimens of these three species are illustrated in Plates XIV andXIV½of this pamphlet. They are each and all found in varying abundance in different parts of the United States.