Figure 17.Figure 17.—Amanita solitaria. Two-thirds natural size, showing the peculiar veil.
Figure 17.—Amanita solitaria. Two-thirds natural size, showing the peculiar veil.
Figure 18.Figure 18.—Amanita solitaria. Two-thirds natural size, showing scaly cap and stem.
Figure 18.—Amanita solitaria. Two-thirds natural size, showing scaly cap and stem.
Figure 19.Plate II. Figure 19.—Amanita solitaria.Natural size, showing scaly cap and stem, plant white.
Plate II. Figure 19.—Amanita solitaria.Natural size, showing scaly cap and stem, plant white.
Solitary, growing alone. I have found this plant in various parts of the state and have always found them growing alone. In Poke Hollow, where I found the specimens in the illustrations, I found several on the hillside on different occasions, but I have never found them growing in groups. It is quite large in size, white or whitish, very woolly or floccose. Usually the cap, stem, and the gills are covered with a floccose substance which will serve to identify the species. This fluffy exterior adheres readily to your hands or clothing. The cap is sometimes tinged with brown, but the flesh is white and smells quite strong, not unlike chloride of lime. The annulus is frequently torn from the stem and is found adhering to the margin of the cap.
The pileus is from three to five inches broad, or more, when fully expanded, at first globose to hemispherical, as will be seen in Figures 17 and 18, convex, or plane, warty, white or whitish, the pointed scales being easily rubbed off, or washed off by heavy rains, these scales varying in size from small granules to quite large conical flakes, and differing in condition and color in different plants.
The gills are free, or are not attached by the upper part, the edges are frequently floccose where they are torn from the slight connection with theupper surface of the veil; white, or slightly tinged with cream-color, broad.
The stem is four to eight inches high, solid, becoming stuffed when old, bulbous, rooting deep in the soil, very scaly, ventricose sometimes in young plants, white, very mealy. Volva friable. Ring, large, lacerated, usually hanging to the margin of the cap, but in Figure 19 it adheres to the stem.
This is a large and beautiful plant in the woods, and easily identified because of its floccose nature and the large bulb at the base of the stem. It is not so warty and the odor is not nearly so strong as the Amanita strobiliformis. It is edible but very great caution should be used to be sure of your species. Found from July to October in woods and roadsides.
Figure 20.Figure 20.—Amanita radicata. Two-thirds natural size, showing scaly cap, bulbous stem and root broken off and peculiar veil.
Figure 20.—Amanita radicata. Two-thirds natural size, showing scaly cap, bulbous stem and root broken off and peculiar veil.
Radicata means furnished with a root. The root of the specimen in Figure 20 was broken off in getting it out of the ground.
The pileus is subglobose, becoming convex, dry, verrucose, white, margin even, flesh firm, white, odor resembling that of chloride of lime.
The gills are close, free, white.
The stem is solid, deeply radicating, swollen at the base or bulbous, floccose or mealy at the top, white; veil thin, floccose, or mealy, white, soon lacerated and attached in fragments to the margin of the pileus or evanescent. The spores are broadly elliptic, 7.5–10µ long, 6–7µ broad.Peck.
This is quite a large and beautiful plant, very closely related to Amanita strobiliformis, but readily distinguished from it because of its white color, its clearly radiating stem, and small spores. The stem shows to be bulbous and the cap covered with warts. I found the plant frequently in Poke Hollow and on Ralston's Run. July and August.
Figure 21.Figure 21.—Amanita radicata.
Figure 21.—Amanita radicata.
The Fir-cone Amanita.
Figure 22.Plate III. Figure 22.—Amanita strobiliformis.Young plant showing veil covering the entire gill-surface of the plant. Cap covered with persistent warts, stem rough and rooting, odor strong of chloride of lime.
Plate III. Figure 22.—Amanita strobiliformis.Young plant showing veil covering the entire gill-surface of the plant. Cap covered with persistent warts, stem rough and rooting, odor strong of chloride of lime.
Figure 23.Plate IV. Figure 23.—Amanita strobiliformis.Showing long root.
Plate IV. Figure 23.—Amanita strobiliformis.Showing long root.
Strobiliformis means fir-cone form; so called from the similarity of its undeveloped form to that of the strobile of the pine.
The pileus is six to eight inches broad, when young, subglobose, then convex, expanded, nearly plane, with persistent warts, white, ash-color, sometimes yellow on the cap, the margin even and extending beyond the gills; warts hard, angular, pointed, white; flesh white, compact.
The gills are free, crowded, rounded, white, becoming yellow.
The stem is five to eight inches long, frequently longer, tapering upward, floccosely scaly, bulbous, rooting beyond the bulb; ring large, torn; volva forming concentric rings. The spores are 13–14×8–9µ.
This is one of the most stately plants in the woods. It is said to be edible, but the strong pungent odor, like chloride of lime, has deterred me from eating it. This, however, is said to disappear in cooking. It grows to be very large. Dr. Kellerman and I found a specimen in Haynes's Hollow whose stem measured over eleven inches, and cap nine inches. It is found in open woods and wood margins. Great caution should be used before the plant is eaten to know it beyond doubt. Found July to October.
The Delicate Amanita. Poisonous.
Figure 24.Figure 24.—Amanita mappa. Natural size, showing long smooth stem, cap yellowish-white and ring.
Figure 24.—Amanita mappa. Natural size, showing long smooth stem, cap yellowish-white and ring.
Mappa means a napkin, so called from the volva. The pileus is two to three inches broad, convex, then expanded, plane, obtuse or depressed, without separable cuticle; margin nearly even; white or yellowish, usually with patches of the volva dry.
The gills are adnexed, close, narrow, shining, white.
The stem is two to three inches long, stuffed, then hollow, cylindrical, nearly smooth, bulbous, nearly globose at the base, white, almost equal above the bulb.
The volva with its free margin is acute and narrow. The ring is membranaceous, superior, soft, lax, ragged.
Its color is quite as variable and its habits are much like A. phalloides, from which it can only be distinguished by its less developed volva, which, instead of being cup-shaped, is little more than a mere rim fringing the bulb. The odor at times is very strong. It is found in open woods and under brush. Label it poisonous.
Figure 25.Figure 25.—Amanita crenulata.
Figure 25.—Amanita crenulata.
Crenulata means bearing notches, referring to the crenulate form of the gills, which are very distinct.
The pileus is thin, two to two and a half inches broad, broadly ovate, becoming convex, or nearly plane, somewhat striate on the margin, adorned with a few thin whitish floccose warts or with whitish flocculent patches, whitish or grayish, sometimes tinged with yellow.
The gills are close, reaching the stem, and sometimes forming decurrent lines upon it, floccose crenulate on the edge, the short ones truncate at the inner extremity, white.
The stem is equal, bulbous, floccose mealy above, stuffed or hollow, white, the annulus slight, evanescent. Spores broadly elliptic or subglobose, 7.5–10 long, nearly as broad, usually containing a single large nucleus.Peck, Bull. Tor. Bot. Club.
The stem is bulbous at the base but the volva is rarely seen upon it although slight patches are frequently seen on the pileus. The ring is very evanescent and soon disappears. The specimens I have received from Mrs. Blackford look good enough to eat and she speaks highly of the edible qualities of this species. So far as I know this plant is confined to the New England states. Found from September to November. It grows in low damp ground under trees.
The Booted Amanita.
Figure 26.Figure 26.—Amanita cothurnata. Slightly reduced from natural size, showing different stages of development.
Figure 26.—Amanita cothurnata. Slightly reduced from natural size, showing different stages of development.
Cothurnata means buskined; from corthunus, a high shoe or buskin worn by actors. This species is easily separated from the other Amanitas. I shall give Prof. Atkinson's description of it in full: "The pileus is fleshy and passes from nearly globose to hemispherical, convex, expanded, and when specimens are very old sometimes the margin is elevated. It is usually white, though specimens are found with a tinge of citron yellow in the center or of tawny yellow in the center of other specimens. The pileus is viscid, strongly so when moist. It is finely striate on the margin, and covered with numerous, white, floccose scales from the upper half of the volva, forming more or less dense patches, which may wash off in heavy rains.
The gills are rounded next the stem, and quite remote from it. The edge of the gills is often eroded or frazzly from the torn-out threads with which they were loosely connected to the upper side of the veil in the young or button stage. The spores are globose or nearly so, with a large "nucleus" nearly filling the spore.
The stem is cylindrical, even, and expanded below into quite a large ovalbulb, the stem just above the bulb being margined by a close-fitting roll of the volva, and the upper edge of this presenting the appearance of having been sewed at the top like the rolled edge of a garment or buskin. The surface of the stem is minutely floccose, scaly or strongly so, and decidedly hollow even from a very young stage or sometimes when young with loose threads in the cavity.
A. cothurnata resembles in many points A. frostiana and it will afford the collector a very interesting study to note the points of difference. I found the two species growing on Cemetery Hill. Figure 26 is from plants collected in Michigan and photographed by Dr. Fisher. Found in September and October.
The Reddish Amanita. Edible.
Figure 27.Figure 27.—Amanita rubescens. One-third natural size, caps a dingy reddish-brown, stains reddish when bruised.
Figure 27.—Amanita rubescens. One-third natural size, caps a dingy reddish-brown, stains reddish when bruised.
Rubescens is fromrubesco, to become red. It is so called because of the dingy reddish color of the entire plant, and also because when the plant is handled or bruised it quickly changes to a reddish color. It is often a large bulky plant and rather uninviting.
The pileus is four to six inches broad, dingy reddish, often becoming pale flesh color, fleshy, oval to convex, then expanded; sprinkled with small pale warts, unequal, mealy, scattered, white, easily separating; margin even, faintly striate, especially in wet weather; flesh soft, white, becoming red when broken.
The gills are white or whitish, free from the stem but reaching it and forming at times decurrent lines upon it, thin, crowded.
The stem is four or five inches long, nearly cylindrical, solid, though inclined to be soft within, tapering from the base up, with a bulbous base which often tapers abruptly below, containing reddish scales, color dull red. It has seldom any distinct evidence of a volva at the base but abundant evidence on the cap. Ring large, superior, white, and fragile.
The plant is quite variable in color, sometimes becoming almost white with a slight reddish or brownish tint. The strong distinguishing character of the species is the almost entire absence of any remains of the volva at the base of the stem. By this, and by the dull red hues and the bruised portions quickly changing to a reddish color, it is easily distinguished from any of the poisonous Amanitas.
According to Cordier it is largely used as an article of food in France. Stevenson and Cooke speak well of it. I noticed the small Bohemian boys gathered it about Salem, Ohio, not having been in this country more than a week and not being able to speak a word of English. It convinced me that it was an article of diet in Bohemia and that our species is similar to theirs. I have found the plants in woods about Bowling Green and Sidney, Ohio. The plants in Figure 27 were collected on Johnson's Island, Sandusky, Ohio, and photographed by Dr. Kellerman. It is found from June to September.
Rough Amanita.
Aspera means rough. The pileus is convex, then plane; warts minute, somewhat crowded, nearly persistent; margin even, rather thin, increasing in thickness toward the stem; scarcely umbonate, reddish with various tints of livid and gray; flesh rather solid, white, with tints of reddish-brown immediately next to the epidermis.
The gills are free, with sometimes a little tooth behind, running down the stem, white, broad in front.
The stem is white, squamulose, bulb rugulose, ring superior and entire. The spores are 8×6µ.
When the flesh is bruised or eaten by insects it assumes a reddish-brown color, and in this respect it resembles A. rubescens. The odor is strong but the taste is not unpleasant. In woods from June till October. The collector should be sure he knows the plant before he eats it.
The Orange Amanita. Edible.
Figure 28.Figure 28.—Amanita cæsarea. From a drawing showing the different stages of the plant. Caps, gills, stem and collar yellow, volva white.
Figure 28.—Amanita cæsarea. From a drawing showing the different stages of the plant. Caps, gills, stem and collar yellow, volva white.
Figure 29.Photo by H. C. Beardslee.Figure 29.—Amanita cæsarea.
Photo by H. C. Beardslee.
Figure 29.—Amanita cæsarea.
The Orange Amanita is a large, attractive, and beautiful plant. I have marked it edible, but no one should eat it unless he is thoroughly acquainted with all the species of the genus Amanita, and then with great caution. It is said to have been Cæsar's favorite mushroom. The pileus is smooth, hemispherical, bell-shaped, convex, and when fully expanded nearly flat, the center somewhat elevated and the margin slightly curved downward; red or orange, fading to yellow on the margin; usually the larger and well-developed specimens have the deeper and richer color, the color being always more marked in the center of the pileus; margin distinctly striate; gills rounded at the stem end and not attached to the stem, yellow, free and straight. The color of the gills of matured plants usually is an index to the color of the spores but it is an exception in this case as the spores are white.
The stem and the flabby membranaceous collar that surrounds it toward the top are yellow like the gills, the depth of the color varying more with the size of the plant than is the case with color of the cap. Sometimes in small and inferior plants the color of both stem and gills is nearly white, and if the volva is not distinct it is difficult to distinguish it from the fly mushroom, which is very poisonous. The stem is hollow, with a soft cottony pith in the young plants.
In very young plants the edge of the collar is attached to the margin of the cap and conceals the gills, but with the upward growth of the stem and the expansion of the cap the collar separates from the margin and remains attached to the stem, where it hangs down upon it like a ruffle.
The expanded cap is usually from three to six inches broad, the stem from four to six inches long and tapering upward.
When in the button stage, the plant is ovate; and the white color of the volva, which now entirely surrounds the plant, presents an appearance much like a hen's egg in size, color, and shape. As the parts within develop, the volva ruptures in its upper part, the stem elongates and carries upward the cap, whilethe remains of the volva surrounds the base of the stem in the form of a cup.
When the volva first breaks at the apex, it reveals the point of the cap with its beautiful red color and in contrast with the white volva makes quite a pretty plant, but with advancing age the red or orange red fades to a yellow. In drying the specimens the red often entirely disappears. In young, as well as in old plants, the margin is often prominently marked with striations, as will be seen in Figures 28 and 29. The flesh of the plant is white but more or less stained with yellow next to the epidermis and the gills, which are of that color.
The plant grows in wet weather from July to October. It grows in thin woods and seems to prefer pine woods and sandy soil. I have found it from the south tier of counties to the north of our state. It is not, however, a common plant in Ohio.
From its several names—Cæsar's Agaric, Imperial Mushroom, Cibus Deorum, Kaiserling—one would infer that for ages it had been held in high esteem as an esculent.
Too great caution cannot be used in distinguishing it from the very poisonous fly mushroom.
Hated Amanita. Poisonous.
Spreta, hated. The pileus at first is nearly ovate, slightly umbonate, then convex, smooth, sometimes fragments of the volva adhering, the margin striate, whitish or pale-brown toward and on the umbo, soft, dry, more or less furrowed on the margin.
The flesh is white, thin on the edges, and increasing in thickness toward the center. Gills close, white, reaching the stem.
The stem is equal, smooth, annulate, stuffed or hollow, whitish, finely striate at the top from the decurrent lines of the gills, not bulbous at the base, the volva rather large and inclined to yellowish color. The spores are elliptical.
The plant resembles the dark forms of the Amanitopsis in having the marked striations and the entire and closely fitting volva at the base, but can be easily distinguished by its ring. I found it on Cemetery Hill in company with the Amanitopsis. It does not seem to root as deep in the ground as the Amanitopsis. It is very poisonous and should be carefully studied so that it may be readily recognized and avoided.
It is found in open woods from July to September.
Amanitopsis is fromAminitaandopsis, resembling; so called because it resembles the Amanita. The principal feature wherein the genus differs from the Amanita is the absence of a collar on the stem. Its species are included among the Amanita by many authors. The spores are white. The gills are free from the stem, and it has a universal veil at first completely enveloping the young plant, which soon breaks it, carrying remnants of it on the pileus, where they appear as scattered warts. It differs from the Lepiota in having a volva.
The Sheathed Amanitopsis. Edible.
Figure 30.Figure 30.—Amanita vaginata. One-third natural size. Notice a portion of the volva adhering to the cap.
Figure 30.—Amanita vaginata. One-third natural size. Notice a portion of the volva adhering to the cap.
Vaginata—fromvagina, a sheath. The plant is edible but should be used with very great caution. It is quite variable in color, ranging from white to mouse color, brownish or yellowish.
The pileus is ovate at first, bell-shaped, then convex and expanded, thin, quite fragile, smooth, when young with a few fragments of the volva adhering to its surface, deeply and distinctly striate.
The gills are free, white, then pallid, ventricose, broadest in front, irregular. The flesh is white, but in the darker forms stained under the easily separating skin. The spores are white and nearly round, 7–10µ.
The stem is cylindrical, even or slightly tapering upward, hollow or stuffed, smooth or sprinkled with downy scales, not bulbous at the base.
The volva is long, thin, fragile, forming a permanent sheath which is quite soft and readily adheres to the base of the stem.
The striations on the margin are deep and distinct, as in the Orange Amanita. The cup is quite regular but it is fragile, easily broken and usually deep in the ground. In some plants a slight umbo is developed at the center.
The mushroom-eater wants to distinguish very carefully between this species and Amanita spreta, which is very poisonous.
It is found in woods, in open places where there is much vegetable mould, sometimes found in stubble and pastures, especially in meadows under trees. Found from June to November.
The plant varies considerably in color, and there are several varieties, separable by means of their color:
A. vaginata, var. alba. The whole plant is white.
A. vaginata var. fulva. The cap tawny yellow or pale ochraceous.
A. vaginata var. livida. The cap leaden brown; gills and stem tinged with smoky brown.
Figure 31.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Plate V. Figure 31.—Amanita vaginata
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Plate V. Figure 31.—Amanita vaginata
The Gray Amanitopsis. Edible.
Strangulata means choked, from the stuffed stem. The pileus is two to four inches broad, soon plane, livid-bay or gray, with patches of the volva, margin striate or grooved.
The gills are free, white, close.
The stem is stuffed, silky above, scaly below, slightly tapering upwards. The volva soon breaking up, forming several ring-like ridges on the stem. The spores are globose, 10–13µ.
This is a synonym for A. ceciliae. B. and Br. and perhaps nothing more than a vigorous growth of Amanitopsis vaginata. It has almost no odor and a sweet taste and cooks deliciously.
Found in the woods and in open places from August to October.
Lepiota means a scale. In the Lepiota the gills are typically free from the stem, as in Amanita and Amanitopsis, but they differ in having no superficial or removable warts on the cap, and no sheathing or scaly remains of a volva at the base of the stem. In some species the epidermis of the cap breaks into scales which persistently adhere to the cap, and this feature, indeed, suggests the name of the genus, which is derived from the Latin wordlepis, a scale.
The stem is hollow or stuffed, its flesh being distinct from the pileus and easily separable from it. There are a number of edible species.
The Parasol Mushroom. Edible.
Figure 32.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Plate VI. Figure 32.—Lepiota procera.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Plate VI. Figure 32.—Lepiota procera.
Procera means tall.
The pileus is thin, strongly umbonate, adorned with brown spot-like scales.
The gills are white, sometimes yellowish-white, free, remote from the stem, broad and crowded, ventricose, edge sometimes brownish.
The stem is very long, cylindrical, hollow or stuffed, even, very long in proportion to its thickness and is, therefore, suggestive of the specific name, procera. The ring is rather thick and firm, though in mature plants it becomes loosened and movable on the stem. This and the form of the plant suggest the name, parasol. The cap is from three to five inches broad and the stem from five to nine inches high. I found one specimen among fallen timber that was eleven inches tall and whose cap was six inches broad.
It has a wide distribution. It is found in all parts of Ohio but is not abundant anywhere. It is a favorite with those who have eaten it, and, indeed, it is a delicious morsel when quickly broiled over coals, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper, butter melted in the gills and served on toast. This mushroom is especially free from grubs and it can be dried for winter use.
There is no poisonous species with which one is likely to confound it. The very tall, slender stem with a bulbous base, the very peculiar spotted cap with the prominent dark colored umbo and the movable ring on the stem, are ear-marks sufficient to identify this species.
Spores white and elliptical, 14×10µ. Lloyd. It is found in pastures, stubble, and among fallen timber. July to October.
I am indebted to C. G. Lloyd for the photograph given here.
Smooth Lepiota. Edible.
Figure 33.Figure 33.—Lepiota naucina. The entire plant white.
Figure 33.—Lepiota naucina. The entire plant white.
Pileus soft, smooth, white or smoky-white; gills free, white, slowly changing with age to a dirty pinkish-brown color; stem annulate, slightly thickened at thebase, attenuated upward, clothed with fibres pure white. The Smooth Lepiota is generally very regular in shape and of a pure white color. The central part of the cap is sometimes tinged with yellow or a smoky white hue. Its surface is nearly always very smooth and even. The gills are somewhat narrower toward the stem than they are in the middle. They are rounded and not attached to the stem.
Cap two to four inches broad; stem two to three inches long. It grows in clean grassy places in lawn, pastures, and along roadsides. I have seen the roadside white with this species around Sidney, Ohio. The specimens represented in figure were found in Chillicothe, August to November.
This is one of the best mushrooms, not inferior to the meadow mushroom. It has this advantage over the former that the gills retain their white color and do not pass from a pink to a repulsive black. The halftone and the description ought to make the plant known to the most casual reader.
The American Lepiota. Edible.
Figure 34.Figure 34.—Lepiota americana. Center of disk red or reddish-brown, stem frequently swollen. Plant turning red when drying.
Figure 34.—Lepiota americana. Center of disk red or reddish-brown, stem frequently swollen. Plant turning red when drying.
This plant is quite common about Chillicothe, especially upon sawdust piles. It grows both singly and in clusters. The umbonate cap is adorned with reddish or reddish-brown scales except on the center where the color is uniformly reddish or reddish-brown because the surface is not broken up into scales; gills close, free, white, ventricose; stem smooth, enlarged at the base. In some plants the base of the stem is abnormally large; ring white, inclined to be delicate.
Wounds and bruises are apt to assume brownish-red hues. Dr. Herbst says: "This is truly an American plant, not being found in any other country. This is the pride of the family. There is nothing more beautiful than a cluster of this fungi. To look over the beautiful scaly pileus is a sight equally as fascinating as a covey of quail."
Found in grassy lawns and on old sawdust piles, in common with Pluteus cervinus. It is found almost all over the state. It is quite equal to the Parasol mushroom in flavor. It has a tendency to turn the milk or cream in which it is cooked to a reddish color. It is found from June to October. Mr. Lloyd suggests the name Lepiota Bodhami. It is the same as the European plantL. hæmatosperma. Bull.
In Honor of Prof. Morgan.
Figure 35.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Plate VII. Figure 35.—Lepiota morgani.Entire plant white or brownish-white. Gills white at first then greenish.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Plate VII. Figure 35.—Lepiota morgani.Entire plant white or brownish-white. Gills white at first then greenish.
Pileus fleshy, soft, at first subglobose, then expanded or even depressed, white, the brownish or yellowish cuticule breaking up into scales on the disk; gills close, lanceolate, remote, white, then green; stem firm, equal or tapering upward, subbulbous, smooth, webby-stuffed, whitish tinged with brown; ring rather large, movable as you will observe in Figure 35. Flesh of both pileus and stem white, changing to a reddish, then to yellowish hue when cut or bruised. Spores ovate or subelliptical, mostly uninucleate, sordid green. 10–13×7–8. Peck.
This plant is very abundant about Chillicothe and I found it equally so at Sidney. I have known several families to eat of it, making about half of the children in each family sick. I regard it as a dangerous plant to eat. It grows very large and I have seen it growing in well marked rings a rod in diameter. If you are in doubt whether the plant you have is Morgani or not, let it remain in the basket over night and you will plainly see that the gills are turning green. The gills are white until the spores begin to fall. The plant is found in pastures and sometimes in pasture woods. June to October.
Grainy Lepiota. Edible.
Granulosa—from granosus, full of grains. Pileus thin, convex or nearly plain, sometimes almost umbonate, rough, with numerous granular scales, often radiately wrinkled, rusty-yellow or reddish-yellow, often growing paler with age. Flesh white or reddish tinged. Gills close, rounded behind and usually slightly adnexed, white. Stem equal or slightly thickened at the base, stuffed or hollow, white above the ring, colored and adorned like the pileus below it. Ring slight and evanescent. Spores elliptical, .00016 to .0002 inch long, .00012 to .00014 inch broad.
Plant one to two and one-fifth inches high; pileus one to two and one-fifth inches broad; stem one to three lines thick. Common in woods, copses, and waste places. August to October.
"This is a small species with a short stem and granular reddish-yellow pileus, and gills slightly attached to the stem. The annulus is very small and fugacious, being little more than the abrupt termination to the coating of the stem. The species was formerly made to include several varieties which are now regarded as distinct."—Peck's Report.
Found in the open woods about Salem, Ohio. The plant is small but quite meaty and of a pleasing quality.
Pileus thin, convex, subumbonate, minutely mealy, especially on the margin, white disk slightly tinged with pink.
Gills close, rounded behind, free, white; stem slender, whitish, hollow; spores subelliptical, .0002 inch long.
Mossy places in woods. October.—Peck's Report. No one will fail to recognize the crested Lepiota the moment he sees it. It has many of the ear marks of the Lepiota family.
Figure 36.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Plate VIII. Figure 36.—Lepiota granosa.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Plate VIII. Figure 36.—Lepiota granosa.
Granosa means covered with granules.
The pileus is convex, obtuse or umbonate, even, radiately rugose-wrinkled, generally even and regular on the margin, reddish-yellow or light bay.
The gills are attached to the stem, slightly decurrent, somewhat crowded, whitish, then reddish-yellow.
The stem is thickened at the base, tapering toward the cap, flesh of the stem is yellow. The veil is membranous and forms a persistent ring on the stem.
It grows on decayed wood. I found it in large quantities, and tried to make it L. granulosa, but I found it fit better L. amianthinus, which it resembles very closely, but it is much larger and its habit is not the same. I was not satisfied with this description and sent the specimens to Prof. Atkinson, who set me right. It is a beautiful plant found on decayed wood in September and October.
The Onion Stemmed Lepiota. Edible.
Figure 37.Figure 37.—Lepiota cepæstipes. Pileus thin, white or yellowish.
Figure 37.—Lepiota cepæstipes. Pileus thin, white or yellowish.
Cepæstipes is from cepa, an onion and stipes, a stem, Pileus is thin at first ovate, then bell-shaped or expanded, umbonate, soon adorned with numerous minute brownish scales, which are often granular or mealy, folded into lines on the margin, white or yellow, the umbo darker.
The gills are thin, close, free, white, becoming dingy with age or drying.
The stem is rather long, tapering toward the apex, generally enlarged in the middle or near the base, hollow. The ring is thin and subpersistent. The spores are subelliptical, with a single nucleus, 8–10×5–8µ.
The plants often cespitose, two to four inches high. Pileus is one to two inches broad. It is found in rich ground and decomposing vegetable matter. It is also found in graperies and conservatories.Peck.
This plant derives its specific name from the resemblance of its stem to that of the seed-stalk of an onion. One form has a yellow or yellowish cap, while the other has a white or fair cap. It seems to delight to grow in well rotted sawdust piles and hot houses. The specimens represented in Figure 37 were collected in Cleveland and photographed by Prof. H. C. Beardslee.
The Squarrose Lepiota. Edible.
Figure 38.Figure 38.—Lepiota acutesquamosa. Two-thirds natural size, showing small pointed scales.
Figure 38.—Lepiota acutesquamosa. Two-thirds natural size, showing small pointed scales.
Acutesquamosa is fromacutus, sharp, andsquama, a scale; so called from the many bristling, erect scales on the pileus. The pileus is two to three inches broad, fleshy, convex, obtuse, or broadly umbonate; pale rusty with numerous small pointed scales, which are usually larger and more numerous at the disk.
The gills are free, crowded, simple, white or yellowish.
The stem is two to three inches or more long; stuffed or hollow, tapering upward slightly from a swollen base; below the ring rough or silky, pruinose above, ring large. The spores are 7–8×4µ.
They are found in the woods, in gardens, and frequently in greenhouses. There is a slight difference between the specimens growing in the woods and those in the greenhouse. In the latter the pubescent covering is less dense and the erect scales are more numerous than in the former. In older specimens these scales fall off and leave small scars on the cap where they were attached. The specimens in Figure 38 were gathered in Michigan and were photographed by Dr. Fisher of Detroit.
Armillaria, from armilla, a bracelet—referring to the ring upon the stem. This genus differs from all the foregoing white-spored species in having the gills attached to the stem by their inner extremity. The spores are white and the stem has a collar, though a somewhat evanescent one, but no wrapper at the base of the stem as in the Amanita and Amanitopsis. By the collar the genus differs from the other genera which are to follow.
The Amanita and Lepiota have the flesh of the stem and the pileus not continuous, and their stems are, therefore, easily separated from the cap, but in the Armillaria the gills and the pileus are attached to the stem.
The Honey-Colored Armillaria. Edible.
Figure 39.Figure 39.—Armillaria mellea. Two-thirds natural size. Honey colored. Tufted with dark-brown fugitive hairs. Flesh white.
Figure 39.—Armillaria mellea. Two-thirds natural size. Honey colored. Tufted with dark-brown fugitive hairs. Flesh white.
Mellea, from melleus, of the color of honey. Cap fleshy, honey colored, or ochraceous, striate on the margin, shaded with darker brown toward the center, having a central boss-like elevation and sometimes a central depression in full grown specimens, tufted with dark-brown fugitive hairs. Color of the cap varies, depending upon climatic conditions and the character of the habitat. Gills distant,ending in a decurrent tooth, pallid or dirty white, very often showing brown or rust colored spots when old. Spores white and abundant. Frequently the ground under a clump of this species will be white from the fallen spores. Stem elastic and scaly, four inches or more in length. Ring downy. Diameter of cap from two to five inches. Manner of growth is frequently in tufts, and, as with most of the Armillarias, generally parasitic on old stumps.
The veil varies greatly. It may be membranaceous and thin, or quite thick, or may be wanting entirely, as will be seen in Figure 39; in Figure 40 only a slight trace of the ring can be seen. The two plants grew under very different environment; the last grew in the woods and Figure 39 on a lawn in the city. The species is very common and grows either in thin woods or in cleared lands, on the ground or on decaying wood. Its favorite habit is about stumps. It is either solitary, gregarious, or in dense clusters. It is very abundant about Chillicothe, where I have seen stumps literally surrounded with it. It has a slight acridity while raw, which it seems to lose in cooking. Those who like it may eat it without fear, all varieties being edible.
Prof. Peck gives the following varieties: