^Cjcor0e Pratrvcis Aikirvsorv New Book on Mushrooms Edible> Poisonous, Etc. STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI: Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc. Hv Gi:o. l-\ Atkinson. Profe-sor of Botany in Cornell University, and Botanist of the Cornell University Atjricnllnral Experiment Station, and author of "Studies aiui Illustrations of Mushrooms." Il.l.US- TRATKD hy tnore than 200 half TONK kn- GRAViNGS from the author's brautifiiXv PHOTOGRAPHS OF MUSHROOMS. 70 of these are full page platks. 15 speciks illus- trated in COLOR. Price ^300, postpaid. Reasons Why You Need this Book. Itcoiit.Tiiisthe (inest illustrations of American mushrooms ever putilislicd. The descriptions are original, full, and made from fresh specimens. It deals exclusively with mushrooms and "toadstools." • The photosrraphs and descriptions were made by a life- loiiK student of nuishrooms. Tlic most dangerous eenus, Amanita, contains many yjhoto-i, and ciirefiil comparisons. It presents to yon the licst exiiinplos to follow in making notes on your collections, so they will Ix; valuable. It tells how to collect, preserve for the herbarium, or cook for the table. Itgives the most complete resume of mushroom poisoning. It is the Ix-st liook for the amateur, the siudeiU, nature- lovers, phy.sieians, and all who wish to Icaru about mushrooms. Send orders to GEO. F. ATKINSON, or THE PLANT PUBLISHING CO., Ithaca, N. Y. (see testimonials on next page.) .„>-*«?'- ■ / ^^-V). ■^\^~ r. ^ a: NJ A X..-^ :f A SATHBUN O Plate I. Fig. i.— Amanita muscaria. Fig. 2. — A. frostiana. Copyright 1900. STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI MUSHROOMS EDIBLE, POISONOUS, ETC. BY GEORGE FRANCIS ATKINSON, Professor of Botany in Cornell University and Botanist of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, AUTHOR OF "STUDIES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF MUSHROOMS"; "BIOLOGY OF FERNS' "ELEMENTARY BOTANY": "LESSONS IN BOTANY." WITH A Chapter on Recipes for Cooking Mushrooms, by Mrs. Sarah Tyson Rorer ; on the Chemistry and Toxicology of Mushrooms, by J. F. Clarii ; on the Structural Characters of Mushrooms, by H. Hasselbring. WITH 200 PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR, AND COLORED PLATES BY F. R. RATHBUN. LNMtAVT pew TtNfC POT^MICAfci liAltDfUl ITHACA. N. Y. ANDRIS & CHURCH, Pl'blishkrs. HiO«j. Issued octubbk ao, 1900. Copyright, 1900, By GEO. F. ATKINSON. All riKht.s reserved. The Genesee Press Il'e Post Pixpress Prinlinj; Co Rochester N Y INTF^ODUCTION, MFW TMVC BOTANIC AiL yAK»fMI Since the issu.' of inv " Studies aiui Illustrations of Mushrooms," as Bulletins nS aiul i^iS of the Cornell University A^iricultural Hx- [X'rinunt Station, llure Uaw Ix'en so many inquiries for them and for literature dealing with a lar^jer number of species, it seemed desirable to publish in book form a selection from the number of illus- trations of these plants which I have accumulated during the past six or seven years. The selection has been made of those species repre- senting the more important genera, and also for the purpose of illus- trafiriCT. ns far as possible, all the genera of agarics found in the United 'ew cases of the also, illustrative higher fungi, in STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI, ETC. CORRECTIONS. First thousand, page 143, for Entoniola read Enio- loina. First and second thousand, page 86, last line, for au- ratitia read aurantium ; 107, for sulphiiroides read sul- fitrcoides, for 26th read 2^rd ; 139 and 140, for toinento- siilsus read tomeutosuliis ; 158, for crustinuliforme read crust ulinifonne ; 209, for Mycenastrum read Myri- ostonia : 212, 213, for cinnabarina read cinnabarinum ; 249. for luridis read luridus ; 265, for Annelaria read Anellaria, and for Chamylotia read Chalytnotta. e after consider- for reproducing tant and difficult many cases to I. tell the mush- iroomsare edible /ery widespread ? toadstools are Dnous being due CO CT) 'cc Some apply the firm mushroom to a single species, the one in cultivation, and \vhi>,h grows also in fields (Agciridts (diiipc'stris), and call all otlurs toadstools. It is becoming customary with some students to apply the term mushroom to the entire group of higher fungi to which the mushroom belongs {Basidioniycetes), and toad- stool is regarded as a synonymous term, since there is, strictly speaking, no distinction between a mushroom and a toadstool. There are, then, edible and poisonous mushrooms, or edible and poisonous toadstools, as one chooses to employ the word. A more pertinent question to ask is how to distinguish the edible from the poisonous mushrooms. There is no single test or criterion, like the "silver spoon" test, or the criterion of a scaly cap, or the presence of a " poison ctip " or " death cup," which will serve The Genesee Pyess rite Post Express Printing Co Rochester N }' BOTANICAL i. ^ INTRODUCTION. Since the issue of iny " Studies and Illustrations of Mushrooms," as Bulletins 138 and 168 of the Cornell University Agricultural Hx- periment Station, there haw buen so many inquiries for them and for literature dealing with a larger number of species, it seemed desirable to publish in book form a selection from the number of illus- trations of these plants which I have accumulated during the past six or seven years. The selection has been made of those species repre- senting the more important genera, and also for the purpose of illus- trating, as far as possible, all the genera of agarics found in the United States. This has been accomplished except in a few cases of the more unimportant ones. There have been added, also, illustrative genera and species of all the other orders of the higher fungi, in which are included many of the edible forms. The photographs have been made with great care after consider- able experience in determining the best means for reproducing individual, specific, and generic characters, so important and difficult to preserve in these plants, and so impossible in many cases to accurately portray by former methods of illustration. One is often asked the question : " How do you tell the mush- rooms from the toadstools .'' " This implies that mushrooms are edible and that toadstools are poisonous, and this belief is very widespread in the public mind. The fact is that many of the toadstools are edible, the common belief that all of them are poisonous being due to unfamiliarity with the plants or their characteristics. Some apply the term mushroom to a single species, the one in ^ cultivation, and which grows also in fields {Agariciis campcstris), and call all others toadstools. It is becoming customary with some ^ students to apply the term mushroom to the entire group of higher fungi to which the mushroom belongs (Basidionivcetes), and toad- stool is regarded as a synonymous term, since there is, strictly speaking, no distinction between a mushroom and a toadstool. ,0 There are, then, edible and poisonous mushrooms, or edible and o> poisonous toadstools, as one chooses to employ the word. ^ A more pertinent question to ask is how to distinguish the edible «^ from the poisonous mushrooms. There is no single test or criterion, ^^_ like the "silver spoon" test, or the criterion of a scaly cap, or «=! the presence of a " poison cup " or " death cup," which will serve IV INTRODUCTION. in all cases to distinguish the edible from the poisonous. Two plants may possess identical characters in this respect, i. e., each may have the "death cup," and one is edible while the other is poisonous, as in Amanita avsaria, edible, and /I. phalloides, poison- ous. There are additional characters, however, in these two plants which show that thf two differ, and we recognize them as two different species. To know several different kinds of edible mushrooms, which occur in greater or less quantity through the different seasons, would ena'ble those interested in these plants to provide a palatable food at the expense only of the time required to collect them. To know several of the poisonous ones also is important, in order cer- tainly to avoid them. The purpose of this book is to present the important characters which it is necessary to observe, in an interesting and intelligible way, to present life-size photographic reproductions accompanied with plain and accurate descriptions. By careful observation of the plant, and comparison with the illustrations and text, one will be able to add many species to the list of edible ones, where now per- haps is collected " only the one which is pink underneath." The chapters 17 to 21 should also be carefully read. The number of people in America who interest themselves in the collection of mushrooms for the table is small compared to those in some European countries. The number, however, is increasing, and if a little more attention were given to the observation of these plants and the discrimination of the more common kinds, many per- sons could add greatly to the variety of their foods and relishes with comparatively no cost. The quest for these plants in the fields and woods would also afford a most delightful and needed recreation to many, and there is no subject in nature more fascinating to engage one's interest and powers of observation. Tht-re are also many important problems for the student in this group of plants. Many of our species and the names of the plants are still in great confusion, owing to the very careless way in which these plants have usually been preserved, and the meagerness of recorded observations on the characters of the fresh plants, or of the different stages of development. The study has also an important relation to agriculture and forestry, for there are numerous species which cause decay of valuable timber, or by causing " heart rot " entail immense losses through the annual decretion occurring in standing timber. If tills book contributes to the general interest in these plants as IM Rom (.HON. objects ot iiatiirr worthy of observation, if it siiLcecils in aitiinji those who are seekin^i information of \hv edible kinds, and stinuilates some students to undertake the advancement of our knowledge of this jiroup, it will ser\e the purpose the author liaei in mind in its preparation. I wisli here to express m\- siiueri.- thanl^ cm. in diameter. It is cylindrical in form, and even, quite tn'm and compact, though sometimes there is a central core where the threads are looser. The stem is also white and fleshy, and is usually smooth. The Ring.—There is usually present in the mature plant of Agaricus umpcstm a th,n collar {annulus) or ring around the upper end of the Ntem. It IS not a movable ring, but is joined to the stem. It is very dehcate, easily rubbed off, or may be even washed off during rains. FORM AND CHARACTKRS ' )]■ THI- Wl S1IR< )( )M. 3 Parts F'resent in Other Mushrooms — The Volva. — Some otht-r iiiush- rooms, like the di-aii/v Anuiiiihi {Aiiiaiiila phatloiJes) and other species of the genus Amanihi, have, in addition to the cap, gills, stem, and ring, a more or less well formed cup-liUc striKturc attacht-d to the lower end of the stem, and from which tht- stem appears to spring. (Figs. 55, 72, etc.) This is the volva, sometimes popularly called the "death cup," or "poison cup." This structure is a very important one to observe, though its presence hy no means indicates in all cases that the plant is poisonous. It will he described more in detail in treating of the genus Amanita, where the illustra- tions should also be consulted. Presence or Absence of Ring or Volva. — Of the mushrooms which have stems there are four types with respect to the presence or absence of the ring and volva. In the first type both the ring and volva are ab- sent, as in the common fairy ring mushroom, Maras- mius oreadcs; in the genus Lactariits, Knssula, Tricbolo- ma, Clitocvbc, and others. In the second type the ring is present while the \-olva is absent, as in the common mushroom, Agaricns campcstris, and its close allies; in the genus L'piota, Armil/aria, and others. In the third type the volva is present, but the ring is absent, as in the genus l^o/varia, or Amanitopsis. In the fourth t\-pe both the ring and volva are present, as in the nenu^ Amaiiifii. The Stem is Absent in Some Mushrooms. — There are also quite a large number of mushrooms which lack a stem. These usually grow on stumps, logs, or tree trunks, etc., and one side of the cap is attached directly to the wood on which the fungus is growing. ?"icuTKF. 2. — Agaricus campestris. "Buttons" just appearing through the sod. Some spawn at the left lower corner. Soil removed from ihe front. (Natural size.) 4 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. The Pileus in such cases is lateral and shelving, that is it stands out more or less like a shelf from the trunk or log, or in other cases is spread out flat on the surface of the wood. The shelvmg form is ^ well shown in the beautiful Claiidopus nidii- lans, sometimes called Pleurotus nidulans, and in other species of the genus Pleuro- tus, Crepidotus, etc. These plants will be described later, and no further description of the p e c u liarities in form of the mush- rooms will be now attempted, since these will be best dealt with when dis- cussing species fully under their appropriate ge- nus. But the brief general de- scription of form given above will be found useful merely as an introduction to the more de- tailed treatment. Chapter XXI should also be studied. For those who wish the use of a glossary, one is appended at the close of the book, dealing only with the more technical terms employed here. CHAPTER II DEVELOPMENT OF THE MUSHROOM. When the stems of tlic mushrooms are pulled or Jug from the ground, white strands are often clinging to the lower end. These strands are often seen by removing some of the earth from the young plant, as shown in Fig. 2. This is known among gardeners as " spawn." It is through the growth and increase of this spawn that gardeners propagate the cultivated mushroom. Fine specimens of the spawn of the cultivated mushroom can be seen by digging up from a bed a group of \-ery young plants, sucli a group as is FlGlRK 4. — Agaricus canipestris. Sections of " buttons " at tlitieient stages, showing formation of gills and veil covering them. (Natural size.) shown in Fig. 3. Here the white strands are more numerous than can readily be found in the lawns and pastures where the plant grows in the feral state. Nature of Mushroom Spawn. — This spawn, it should be clearl\- understood, is not spawn in the sense in which that word is used in tlsh culture ; though it may be employed so readily in propagation of mushrooms. The spawn is nothing more than the vegetative portion of the plant. It is made up of countless numbers of delicate, tiny, white, jointed threads, the imrtliiim. Mycelium of a Mold. — A good e.xample of m\'celium which is familiar to nearl\- e\erv one occurs in the form of a white mold on bread or G STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. on vetietables. One of the molds, so common on bread, forms at first a white cottony mass of loosely interwoven threads. Later the mold becomes black in color because of numerous small fruit cases containing dark spores. This last stage is the fruiting stage of the mold. The earlier stage is the growing, or vegetative, stage. The white mycelium threads grow in the bread and absorb food substances for the mold. Mushroom Spawn is in the Form of Strands of Mycelium. — Now in the mushrooms the threads of mycelium are usually interlaced into definite strands or cords, especially when the mycelium is well developed. In some species these strands become very long, and hi<;rKK 5.— Agaricus campestris. Nearly mature plants, showing veil stretched across gill cavity. ' (Natural size.) are dark brown in color. Each thread of mycelium grows, or in- creases in length, at the end. Each one of the threads grows inde- pendently, though all are intertwined in the strand. ?n this way the strand of mycelium increases in length. It even branches as it extends itself through the soil. The Button Stage of the Mushroom. —The "spawn" stage, or strands of mycelium, is the vegetative or growing stage of the mush- room. These strands grow through the substance on which the fungus feeds. When the fruiting stage, or the mushroom, begins there appear small knobs or enlargements at these strands, and these are the beginnings of the button stage, as it is properlv called. 1 liese knobs or young buttons are well shown in Fia. ^ JKey DEVELOP.WENT OF THE WL SHROO.M. 7 begin hy thf threads of myLeliuiii ^lowinii in ^reat numbers out from the side of the cords. These enlarge and elongate and make their way toward the surface of the ground. They are at first very iiiiiuite and grow troin the si/.e of a pinhead to that of a pea, and larger. Now they begin to elongate somewhat and the end enlarges as shown in tlie larger button in the figure. Here the two main parts of the mushroom are outlined, the stem and the cap. At this stage also the other parts of the mushroom begin to be outlined. The gills appc-ar on the under side of this enlargement at the end of the button, next the stem. They form by the growth of fungus threads downward in radiating lines which correspond in position to Fir.URE 6. — Agaricus campestris. Under view of two plants just after rupture of the veil, fragments of the latter clinging both to margin of the pileus and to stem. ( Natural si/.e.) the position of the gills. At the same time a veil is formed over the gills by threads which grow from the stem upward to the side of the button, and from the side of the button down toward the stem to meet them. This covers the gills up at an early period. From the Button Stage to the Mushroom. — [f we split several of the buttons of different sizes down through the middle, we shall be able to see the position of the gills covered by the veil during their forma- tion. These stages are illustrated in Fig. 4. As the cap grows in size the gills elongate, and the veil becomes broader. But when the plant is nearly grown the veil ceases to grow, and then the expanding cap pulls so strongly on it that it is torn. Figure 5 shows the \eil in a stretched condition just before it is rup- STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. fiiii/'KE 7. — Agaricus campestris. Plant in natural position just after rupture of veil, showing tendency to double annulus on the stem. Portions of the veil also dripping from margin of pileus. (Natural size.) tared, and in Fig. 6 the veil has just been torn apart. The veil of the common mushroom is very delicate and fragile, as the illustra- tion shows, and when it is ruptured it often breaks irregularly, sometimes por- tions of it clinging to the margin of the cap and por- tions clinging to the stem, or all of it may cling to the cap at times ; but usually most of it remains clinging for a short while on the stem. Here it forms the annulus or ring. The Color of the Gills. — The color of the gills of the com- mon mushroom varies in different stages of development. When very young the gills are white. But very soon the gills become pink in color, and during the button stage if the veil is broken this pink color is usually present unless the button is very small. The pink color soon changes to dark brown after the veil becomes ruptured, and when the plants are quite old they are nearly black. This dark color of the gills is due to the dark color of the spores, which are formed in such great numbers on the surface of the gills. Structure of a Gill. — la Fig. 8 is shown a portion of a section across one of the gills, and it is easy to <^f in i.,l-.^+ r^^.,.,^.. 4.U fn-i'RE 8.— Agaricus campestris. Section of see m what manner the gUl showing /;-=trama; .e/.=subhymeni- spores are borne. The ^nll ""^^ /'=basidium, the basidia make up is made up, as the iUustra- (MagSed^r ^ -^^=.sterigma; .,=spore. DEVELOPMENT OF I III-. WlSlllt-OOW. 9 tion shows, of myccliLim threads. The center of tlie gill is called the tnimj. The trama in the case of this plant is made up of threads with ratlier long cells. Toward the outside of the trama the cells branch into short cells, which make a thin layer. This forms the subliymciiium. The subhymenium in turn gives rise to long club- shaped cells which stand parallel to each other at right angles to the surface of the gill. The entire slu- face of the gill is covered with these c 1 u b- sha ped cells called basidia (sing. hasifiuni). Each of these c 1 u b - s h a p e d cells bears either two or four spinous pro- cesses called sh't'igniata (sing. stcrignuT), and these in turn each bear a spore. All these points are well show n in Fig. 8. The basidia together make up the hymciiiu))!. Wood Destroying Fungi. — Many of the mushrooms, and their kind, grow on wood. A visit to the damp forest during the sum- mer months, or during the autumn, will re\eal large numbers of these plants growing on logs, stumps, from buried roots or rotten wood, on standing dead trunks, or even on living trees. In the latter case the mushroom usually grows from some knothole or wound in the tree (Fig. 9). Man\- of the forms which appear on the trunks of dead or living trees are plants of tough or woody consistency. They are known as shelving or bracket fungi, or popularly as "fungoids " or " fungos." Both these latter words are \ery unfortunate and inappropriate. Many of these shelving or bracket fungi are perennial ■»v 11 Fk.ikk I.). — I'()ly])onis horealis, showinji wtmnd at base of hemlock >iiruce caused by falling tree. Bracket fruit foini of Polyporus borealis growing from wound. (I'S natural size.) 1(1 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. and live from year to year. They may therefore be found durmg the winter as well as in the summer. The writer has found specimens over eighty years old. The shelves or brackets are the fruit bodies. and consist of the pileus with the fruiting surface below. The fruit- ing surface is either in the form of gills like Agancus, or it is honey- combed, or spinous, or entirely smooth. Mycelium of the Wood Destroying Fungi.— While the fruit bodies are on the outside of the trunk, the mycelium, or vegetative part of the func'us. is within the wood or bark. By stripping off the bark from F'lc.URF 10. — Polyporus borealis. Strands of mycelium extending radially in the wood of the same living hemlock spruce shown in Fig. 9. (Natural size.) di>..(ying logs where these fungi are growing, the mycelium is often found in great abundance. By tearing open the rotting wood it can be traced all through the decaying parts. In fact, the mycelium is largely if not wholly responsible for the rapid disintegration of the wQiid. In living trees the mycelium of certain bracket fungi enters through a wound and grows into the heart wood. Now the heart wood is dead and cannot long resist the entrance and destructive action of the mycelium. The mycelium spreads through the heart of the tree, causing it to rot (Fig. 10). When it has spread over a large feeding area it can then grow out through a wound or old knot- V -i. V 0 0 ^ 1) tampi'sfris, close to tlu- cap, and place the latter, gills downward, on a piece of white paper. It should now be covered securely with a small bell jar, or other vessel, so that no currents of air can get Luuierneatli. In the course of a few- hours myriads of the brown spores will have fallen from the surface ot the gills, where they are borne. They will pile up in long lines along on either side of all the gills and so give us an impres- sion, or spore print, of the arrangement of the gills on the under side of the cap as shown in Fig. 12. A white spore print from the smooth lepiota (A. naiiiiihi') is shown in Fig. 1 5. This hori- zontal position of the cap then favors the falling of the spores, so that currents of air can scatter them and aid in the distribution of the fungus. But some may enquire how we know that there is any design in the horizontal position of the cap, and that there is some cause which brings about this uniformity of position with such entire harmon\- among such dissimilar forms. When a mushroom with a compara- tively long stem, not quite full)' matured or expanded, is pulled and laid on its side, or held in a horizontal position for a time, the upper part of the stem where growth is still taking place will curve upward I i(;i Ki 13. — Lepiota naucina. Spore print. (Natural size.) 14 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. SO that the pileus is again brought more or less in a horizontal position. In collecting these plants they are often placed on their side in the collecting basket, or on a table when in the study, in a few hours the younger, long stemmed ones have turned upward again. The plant shown in Fig. 14 {Amanita pJialloidcs) was placed on its side in a basket for about an hour. At the end of the hour it had not turned. It was then stood upright in a glass, and in the course of a tew hours had turned nearly at right angles. The stimulus it received while lying in a horizontal position for only an hour was sufficient to produce the change in direction of growth even after the upright position had been restored. This is often the case. Some of Fi(;iRK 14. — Amanita phalloides. Plant turned to one side by directive force of gravity, after having l)een placed in a horizontal position. (Natural size.) the more sensitive of the slender species are disturbed if they lie for only ten or fifteen minutes on the side. It is necessary, therefore, when collecting, if one wishes to keep the plants in the natural posi- tion for photographing, to support them in an upright position when they are being carried home from the woods. The cause of this turning of the stem from the horizontal position, so that the pileus will be brought parallel with the surface of the earth, is the stimulus from the force of gravity, which has been well demonstrated in the case of the higher plants. That is, the force which causes the stems of the higher plants to grow upward also regulates the position of the cap of the pileated fungi. The reason for this is to be seen in the perfection with which the spores are shed from the surfaces of the gills by falling downward and out from the crevices between. The same is true with the shelving fungi on trees. DH\HL( )l'N\r.Nr Ol" Tfli; Ml SllkOOW. 1 etc., ulure tlu- spores readil) tall mil tidm the pores of the honey- combed surface or troin between the teeth nt those sorts with a spiny under surface. It the caps were so arranged tliat the fruiting surface came to be on the upper side, the larger number of the spores would lodge in the crevices between the extensions of the fruiting surface. Singularly, this position of the fruiting surface does occur in the case of one genus with a few small species. Interesting examples of the operation ot this law are sometimes met with in abandoned coal mines, or more frequently in the woods, in abandoned mines the mushrooms sometimes grow from the mycelium which spreads out on the rock roof overhead. The rock P'iGi KK 15. — I'olyporus applaiuitus. From this view the larger cap is in the normal position in which it grew on the standing tree. Turn one-fourth way round to the right for position of the plant after the tree fell. (1/6 natural size.) rout prevents the plant trom growing upright, and in growing later- ally the weight of the plant together with the slight hold it can obtain on the solid rock causes it to hang downward. The end of the stem then curves upward so that the pileus is brought in a horizontal po- sition. I have seen this in the case of Cof^ritins micacciis several times. In the woods, especially in the case of the perennial shelving fungi, interesting cases are met with. Figure 15 illustrates one of these peculiar forms of Po/yponis {Fotncs) applaiiatus. This is the species so often collected as a " curio," and on account of its \'ery white under surface is much used for etching various figures. In the figure the larger cap which is horizontal represents the position of the plant when on the standing maple trunk-. When the tree fell lli STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. the shelf was brought into a perpendicular position. The fungus continued to grow, but its substance being hard and woody it cannot turn as the mushroom can. Instead, it now grows in such a way as to form several new caps, all horizontal, i. e., parallel with the sur- I'l.Aii. j, Kigi:kk i6. — Da.dalea ambigua. Upper right-hand shows normal plant in normal position when on tree. Upper left-hand shows abnormal plant with the large cap in normal position when growing on standing tree. Lower plant shows same plant in position after the tree fell, with new caps growing out in horizontal direction. (Lower jDlant 1,2 natural size. ) face of the earth, but perpendicular to the old shelf. If the page is turned one-fourth way round the figure will be brought in the position of the plant when it was growing on the fallen log. (ill. I BEARING FUNGI. 17 Another very interesting case is sliov\'n in the ambigunus trametes {Tranictes anihioiia), a white shelving timgiis which occurs in the Southern States, it is shown in Fig. i6. At the upper right hand is shown the normal plant in the mirmai position. At the upper left hand is shown an abnormal one with the large and first formed cap also in the normal position as it grew when the tree was stand- ing. When the tree fell the shelf was on the upper side of the log. Now numerous new caps grew out from the edge as shown in the lower figure, forming a series of steps, as it were, up one side and down the other. CHAPTER III. GILL BEARING FUNGI: AGARICACEAE.* The gill bearing fungi are known under the family Aiiaricaccj:, or popularly the agarics. They are distinguished by the fruiting area being distributed over the surface of plate-like or knife-like extensions or folds, usually from the under surface of the cap. These are known as the gills, or lamelhe, and they usually radiate from a common point, as from or near the stem, when the stem is present ; or from the point of attachment of the pileus when the stem is absent. The plants vary widely in form and consistency, some being very soft and soon decaying, others turning into an inky tluid, others being tough and leathery, and some more or less woody or corky. The spores when seen in mass possess certain colors, white, rosy, brown or purple brown, black or ochraceous. While a more natural division of the agarics can be made on the basis of structure and consistency, the treatment here followed is based on the color of the spores, the method in vogue with the older botanists. While this method is more artificial, it is believed to be better for the beginner, especially for a popular treatment. The sections will be treated in the following order : 1. The purple-brown-spored agarics. 2. The black-spored agarics. ^. The white-spored agarics. 4. The ochre-spored agarics. 5. The rosy-spored agarics. *For analytical keys to the families and genera see Chapter XXII. CHAPTER IV. THE PURPLE-BROWN-SPORED AGARICS.* The members of this subdivision are recognized at maturity by the purple-brown, dark brown or nearly black spores when seen In mass. As they ripen on the surface of the gills the large number give the characteristic color to the lamelUe. Even on the gills the purple tinge of the brown spores can often be seen. The color is more satisfactorily obtained when the spores are caught in mass by placing the cap, gills downward, on white paper. AGARICUS Linn. (PSALLIOTA Fr.) In the genus Agaricus the spores at maturity are either purple brown in mass or blackish with a purple tinge. The annulus is present on the stem, though disappearing soon in some species, and the stem is easily separated from the substance of the pileus. The gills are free from the stem, or only slightly adnexed. The genus is closely related to Stropharia and the species of the two genera are by some united under one genus {Psalliofa, Hennings). Peck, 36th Report, N. V. State Mus., p. 41-49, describes 7 species. Lloyd Mycol. Notes, No. 4, describes 8 species. C. O. Smith, Rhodora, I : 161 164, 1899, describes 8 species. Agaricus (Psalliota) campestris Linn. Edible. — This plant has been quite fully described in the treatment of the parts of the mushroom, and a recapitulation will be sufficient here. It grows in lawns, pastures, by roadsides, and even in gardens and cultivated fields. A few specimens begin to appear in July, it is more plentiful in August, and abundantly so in September and October, it is 5-8 cm, high (2-3 inches), the cap is 5-12 cm. broad, and the stem 8-12 mm. in thickness. The pileus is first rounded, then convex and more or less expanded. The surface at first is nearly smooth, presenting a soft, silky appearance from numerous loose fibrils. The surface is some- times more or less torn into triangular scales, especially as the plants become old. The color is usually white, but varies more or less to light brown, especially in the scaly forms, where the scales may be *For analytical kev to the genera see Chapter XXII. 18 FHRPLE-BROVVN-SPORHI) AGARICS. lit quite prominent and Jark brown in color. Sometimes the color is brownish before the scales appear. The tlesh- is white. The gills in the young button stage are white. They soon become pink in color and after the cap is expanded they quickly become purple brown, dark- brown, and nearly black from the large number of spores on their surfaces. The gills are free from the stem and rounded behind (near the stem). The stem is white, nearly cylindrical, or it tapers a little toward the lower end. The tlesh is solid, though the central core is less firm. The veil is thin, white, silky, and very frail. FiGURK 17. — Agaricus rodmani. Entirely white, showing double veil or ring. (Natural size.) Copyright 1900. It is stretched as the cap expands and finally torn so that it clings either as an annulus around the stem, or fragments cling around the margin of the cap. Since the annulus is so frail it shrivels as the plant ages and becomes quite inconspicuous or disappears entirely (see Figs. 1-7). Variations in the surface characters of the cap and stem have led some to recognize several varieties. This is known as the common mushroom and is more widely known and collected for food than any ..,, STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. other. It is also cultivated in mushroom houses, cellars, caves, abandoned mines, etc. Ajjaricus (Psalliota) rodmani Pk. Edible. — Rodman's mushroom, yloaricus rodmani, grows in grassy places along streets of cities, either beVveen the curbing and the walk, or between the curbmg and the pavement. It is entirely white or whitish and sometimes tinged with yellowish at the center of the pileus. The plants are 4-8 cm. high,\he cap 5-8 cm. broad and the stem 1-2 cm. in thickness. "ihe pileus is rounded, and then convex, very firm, compact and thick, with white flesh. The gills are crowded, first white, then pink,' and in age blackish brown. The stem is very short, solid, Figure 18. — Agaricus arvensis, fairy ring. Copyright i8go. nearly cylindrical, not bulbous. The annulus is quite characteristic, being very thick, with a short limb, and double, so that it often appears as two distinct rings on the middle or lower part of the stem as shown in Fig. 17. This form of the annulus is probably due to the fact that the thick part of the margin of the pileus during the young stage rests between the lower and upper part of the annulus, i. e., the thick veil is attached both to the inner and outer surface of the margin of the cap, and when it is freed by the expansion of the pileus it remains as a double ring. It is eagerly sought and much relished by several persons at Ithaca familiar with its edible qualities. The plant closely resembles A. campestris var., edulis, Vittad. (See Plate 54, Bresadola, 1 Funghi IWangerecci e Velenosi, 1899) and is probably the same. PURPLE-BROWN-SPORF.D AGARICS. 11 Ajjaricus (Psalliota) arvensis Schactt. Edible. — Tht- tiekl mushroom, or horse mushroom, y^i^iirhiis iiivi'iisls, grows in fields or pastures, sometimes under trees and in borders of woods. One form is often white, or yellowisli white, and often shows the yellow color when dried. The plant sometimes occurs in the form of a fairy ring as Figure 19. — Agaiicus silvicola. While to cream color, or yellow stain.s. (Natural size.) Copyright 1900. shown in Fig. 18. It is i;-i2 cm. high, the cap from 5-15 cm. broad and the stem 8-15 mm. in thickness. The pileus is smooth, quite thick and firm, conve.x to expanded. The gills are first white, then tinged with pink and finally blackish brown. The stem is stout, nearly cylindrical, hollow, bulbous. The veil is double like that of .-Igiiiuiis pLuomyccs, the upper nr inner STIDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. layer remaining as a membrane, while the lower or outer layer is split radially and remains in large patches on the lower surface of the upper membrane. . Ajjaricus (Psalliota) silvicola Vittad. Edible.— The Aganciis silvicola grows in woods, crroves, etc., on the ground, and has been found also in a newly made garden in the vicinity of trees near the woods. It is an attractive plant because of its graceful habit and the delicate shades of yellow and white, it ranges from I0-20 cm. high, the cap is 5-12 cm. broad and the stem 6-10 mm. in thickness. The pileus becomes convex, and expanded or nearly flat, and often with an elevation or umbo in the center. It is thin, smooth, whitish and often tinged more or less deeply with yellow (sulfur or ochraceous) and is sometimes tinged with pink in the center. The flesh is whitish or tinged with pink. The gills when very young are whitish, then pink, and finally dark brown or blackish brown, much crowded, and distant from the stem. The stem is long, nearly cylindrical, whitish, abruptly enlarged below into a bulh. It is often yellowish below, and especially in drying becomes stained with yellow. The ring is thin, membranaceous, delicate, sometimes with broad, soft, tloccose patches on the under side. The ring usually appears single, but sometimes the veil is seen to be double, and the outer or lower portion tends to split radially as in A. arvcnsis or A. placomyccs. This is well shown in large specimens, and especially as the veil is stretched over the gills as shown in Fig. 20. From the form of the plant as well as the peculiarities of the veil in the larger specimens, it is related io A. arvensis and placomyces (^silvaticiis) , more closely to the former. It occurs during mid-sum- KiiiiiKk 20. — Agaiicus silvicola, siiowing radiately torn lower part of veil. (Natural size.) Copy right 1900. C^ *''^^^-: M 1- := o Sou S'=" °^ is = "a '*" 9< > ^s o ft c §1 a 3 - < m I'-I'I.H-BROVVN-SPORED AGARICS. 'l-'> mer and early autumn. Figure lo is Irum plants (No. ujHG (.. U. herbarium) t-oliected in open wooels at Ithaca. Agaricus (Psalliotai siibrufcsccns |*k. Edible. — fhe Aoaiiciis subiii- fesci'HS was described b\' l)r. Peck from sptcimens collected on a compost heap composed chiefly ot leaves, at Glen Cove, Long Island. It occurs sometimes in greenhouses. In one case reported by Peck it appeared in soil prepared for forcing cucumbers in a greenhouse in Washington, D. C. According to the description the pileus becomes convex or broadly expanded, is covered with silky hairs and numerous minute scales. The color is whitish, grayish or dull reddish brown, the center being usually smooth and darker, while the tlesh is white. The gills change from white to pinkish and blackish brown in age. The stem is long, nearly cylindrical or somewhat enlarged or bulbous at the base, first stuffed, then hollow, white. The annulus is thick, and the under side marked by loose threads or scales. This plant is said to differ from the common mushroom {A. dDn- pesfris) in the more deeply hemispherical cap of the young plant, the hollow and somewhat bulbous stem, and in the scales on the under side of the annulus. In fresh plants the flesh has also a flavor of almonds. It is closel\' related to A. silvaticus Schaeff., p. 62, T. 242, Icones Fung. Bav. etc., 1770, if not identical with it. A. silvaticus has light ochraceous or subrufescent scales on the cap, a strong odor, and occurs in gardens as well as in the woods. Agaricus (^Psalliota) labaceus Berk., was described in Hooker's London Journal of Botany, 6: 314, 1847, from specimens collected in Ohio. The plant is white and is said to have a strong but not unpleasant odor. Agaricus amygdaliiiiis Curt., from North Carolina, and of which no description was published, was so named on account of the almond-like flavor of the plant. Dr. Farlow suggests (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 26: 356-358, 1804) that A. fabaccKS, aiingJa- liiiiis, and siibnifi'srt'iis are identical. Agaricus (Psalliota) placomyces Pk. Edible. — The flat-cap mushroom, Agaricus placomvccs Pk., occurs in borders of woods or under trees from June to September. According to Peck it occurs in borders of hemlock woods, or under hemlock trees. At Ithaca it is not always associated with hemlock trees. The largest specimens found here were in the border of mixed woods where hemlock was a constituent. It has been found near and under white pine trees in lawns, around the Norway spruce and under the Norway spruce. The plants are from 5 15 cm. high, the cap from 5-12 cm. in diameter, and the stem 6-8 mm. in thickness. •24 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. The pileus when young is broadly ovate, then becomes convex or tully expanded and flat in age, and is quite thin. The ground color is whitish, often with a yellowish tinge, while the surface is orna- mented with numerous minute brownish scales which are scattered over a large part of the cap, but crowded or conjoined at the center into a large circular patch. This gives to the plant with its shapely turm a beautiful appearance. In the young stage the entire surface of the pileus is quite evenly brown. As it expands the outer brown portion is torn asunder into numerous scales because the surface threads composing this brown layer cease to grow. These scales are farther apart toward the margin of the cap, because this portion of the cap always expands more than the center, in all mushrooms. The gills are at first white, or very soon pink in color, and in age are blackish brown. Spores 5-8 x 3-4 yu. The stem is nearly cylindrical, hollow or stuffed, white or whitish, smooth, bulbous, and the bulb is sometimes tinged with yellow. The veil is very handsome, and the way in which the annulus is formed from it is very interesting. The veil is quite broad, and it is double, that is, it consists of two layers which are loosely joined by threads. In the young stage the veil lies between the gills and the lower two-thirds of the stem. As the pileus expands the lower (outer part) layer of the veil is torn, often in quite regular radiating portions, as shown in Fig, 22. An interesting condition of the veil is shown in the middle plant in Fig. 23. Here the outer or lower layer of the veil did not split radially, but remained as a tube surrounding the stem, while the two layers were separated, the inner one being still stretched over the gills. It is customary to speak of the lower part of the veil as the outer part when the cap is expanded and the veil is still stretched across over the gills, while the upper portion is spoken of as the inner layer or part. It is closely related to A. arcensis, and may represent a wood inhabiting variety of that species. Agaricus (Psalliota) comtulus Fr.— This pretty little agaric seems to be rather rare. It was found sparingly on several occasions in open woods under pines at Ithaca, N. Y., during October, 1898. Lloyd reports it from Ohio (Mycolog. Notes, No. 56, Nov. 1899), and Smith from Vermont (Rhodora I, 1899). Fries' description (Epicrisis, No. 877) runs as follows: "Pileus slightly fleshy, convex, plane, obtuse, nearly smooth, with appressed silky hairs, stem hollow, sub- attenuate, smooth, white to yellowish, annulus fugacious ; gills free, crowded, broad in front, from flesh to rose color. In damp grassy places. Stem 2 inches by 2 lines, at first floccose stufl^ed. Pileus i-i 'j inch diameter. Color from white to yellowish." > CIT9 n r. a!_ r. -^ -K O X on r: o o 3' a tn n n PIPPLE-BROWN-SPORED AGARICS. -J') riif pl.ints collectfd at Ithaca arc illustiatt-d in Fi'j. 24 irom a photograph of plants (No. 2879 C. U. htrbarium)- \K' notes on these specimens run as follows : Plant 3-6 cm. high, pileus 1.5-3 cm. broad, stem ^-4 mm. in thickness. Pileus conve.x to e.xpanded, fleshy, thin on the margin, margin at tirst incurved, creamy white with egg yellow stains, darker on tlie center, in age somewhat darker to umber or fuliginous, moist when fresli, surface soon dry, tlesh tinged with yellow. The gills are white when young, then grayish to pale rose, and finally light purple brown, rounded in front, taper- ing behind (next the stem) and rounded, free from the stem, 45 mm. broad. Basidla clavate, 25-30 x 5-6 //. Spores small, oval, FlGlRE 24. — Agaricus comtulus (natural size, sometimes larger). Cap creamy white with eggvellow stains, smoky when older. Stem same color; gills grayish, then rose, then pinplehiown. Copyright 1900. 3-4 X 23 ^l, in mass light purple brown. The stem tapers above, is sub-bulbous below, yellowish and stained with darker yellowish threads below the annulus, hollow, fibrous, fleshy. The veil whitish stained with yellow, delicate, rupturing irregularly, portions of it clinging to margin of the pileus and portions forming a delicate ring. When parts of the plant come in contact with white paper a blue stain is apt to bt- imparted to the paper, resembling the reaction of iodine on starch. This peculiarity has been observed also in the case of another species of Airariciis. The species is regarded with suspicion by some. I collected the plant also at Blowing Rock, N. C, •26 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. in September, 1899. The caps of these specimens measure 4 cm. in diameter. Agaricus diminutlvus Pk., is a closely related species. It is distin- guished diietly by its somewhat larger size, and purplish to reddish brown hairs on the surface of the pileus, and by the somewhat larger spores, which, however, are small. 1 have found it at Ithaca, the surface of the pileus hairy, with beautiful, triangular, soft, appressed, purplish scales. HYPHOLOMA Fr. In the genus Hypholoma the spores are purple brown, the gills attached to the stem, and the veil when ruptured clings to the mar- gin of the cap instead of to the stem, so that a ring is not formed, or only rarely in some specimens. The stem is said to be continuous with the substance of the cap, that is, it is not easily separated from it. The genus is closely related to Agariciis {Psalliota) and Stropharia, from both of which it differs in the veil not forming a ring, but clinging to the margin of the cap. It further differs from Agaricus in the stem being continuous with the substance of the cap, while Stropharia seems to differ in this respect in different species. The plants grow both on the ground and on wood. There are several species which are edible and are very common. Peck gives a synopsis of six species in the 49th Report New York State Mus., page 61, 1896, and Morgan describes 7 species in Jour. Cinn. Soc. Nat. Hist. 6 : i n 1 15. Hypholoma siiblateritium Schaeff. Edible, bitter sometimes. The name of this species is derived from the color of the cap, which is nearly a brick red color, sometimes tawny. The margin is lighter in color. The plants grow usually in large clusters on old stumps or frequently appearing on the ground from buried portions of stumps or from roots. There are from six to ten, or twenty or more plants in a single cluster. A single plant is from 8-12 cm. high, the cap is 5-8 cm. broad, and the stem 6-8 mm. in thickness. The pileus is convex to expanded, smooth, or sometimes with loose threads from the veil, especially when young, even, dry. The flesh is firm, whitish, and in age becoming somewhat yellowish. The gills are adnate, sometimes decurrent by a little tooth, rather crowded, narrow, whitish, then dull yellow, and becoming dark from the spores, purplish to olivaceous. The stem usually tapers down- ward, is firm, stuffed, smooth, or with remnants of the veil giving it a tloccose scaly appearance, usually ascending because of the crowded T3 3 P '/! c ET «-► c 3 n n D. 3 N 09 sr ;-: o _: >^ iJ 5 a. u g58 III: c ■' o "^ ^ ^ ^ £ e- -. o " —' '-J "^ ~1 ^ ^ PrPPI.[--BR(>\VN-SPOPi;D AflAPICS. 27 growth. riK- veil is thin aiul only manifested in the young stage of the plant us a loose weft ot tiireads. As the cap expands the veil is torn and adheres to the margin, hut soon disappears. The flesh of this plant is said by European writers to be bitter to the taste, and it is regarded there as poisonous. This character seems to be the only distinguishing one between the HvpJioloma sub- later itiiim Schaeff., of Europe, and the Hypholoma perplex iim Pk.,, of this country wliich is edible, and probably is identical with H. stiblateritiiim. It the plant in hand agrees with this description in other respects, and is not bitter, there should be no danger in its use. According to Bresadola, the bitter taste is not pronounced in H. siib- lateritiitm. The taste probably varies as it does in other plants. For example, in P/zo/iota pnvcox, an edible species, 1 detected a decided bitter taste in plants collected in June, igoo. Four other persons were requested to taste the plants. Two of them pronounced them bitter, while two did not detect the bitter taste. There is a variety of Hvplwloma sublateritium, with delicate floccose scales in concentric rows near the margin of the cap, called Tar. squamosum Cooke. This is the plant illustrated in Fig. 25, from specimens collected on rotting wood in the Cascadilla woods, Ithaca, N. Y. It occurs from spring to autumn. Hypholoma epixanthum Fr., is near the former species, but has a yellow pileus, and the light yellow gills become gray, not purple. Hypholoma appendiculatum Bull. Edible. — This species is common during late spring and in the summer. It grows on old stumps and logs, and often on the ground, especially where there are dead roots. It is scattered or clustered, but large tufts are not formed as in H. sublateritium. The plants are 6-8 cm. high, the cap 5-7 cm. broad, and the stem 4-6 mm. in thickness. The pileus is ovate, convex to expanded, and often the margin elevated, and then the cap appears depressed. It is tlesh\', thin, whitish or brown, tawny, or with a tinge of ochre, and becoming pale in age and when dry. As the plant becomes old the pileus often cracks in various ways, sometimes splitting radially into several lobes, and then in other cases cracking into irregular areas, showing the white flesh underneath. The surface of the pileus when young is sometimes sprinkled with whitish particles giving it a mealy appearance. The gills are attached to the stem, crowded, becoming more or less free by breaking away from the stem, especially in old plants. They are white, then flesh colored, brownish with a slight purple tinge. Thf stem is wliite, smooth, or with numerous small 2S STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. white particles at the apex, becoming hollow. The veil is very deli- cate, white, and only seen in quite young plants when they are fresh. It clings to the margin of the cap for a short period, and then soon disappears. Sometimes the pileus is covered with numerous white, delicate tloccose scales, which give it a beautiful appearance, as in Fig. 26, from specimens (No. 3185 C. U. herbarium), collected on the campus of Cornell University among grass. The entire plant is very brittle. FiGURK 27.— Hypholoma appendiculatum (natural size), showing appendiculate veil. Copyright 1900. and easily broken, it is tender and excellent for food. I often eat the caps raw. Hypholoma candolieanum Fr., occurs in woods on the ground, or on very rotten wood. It is not so fragile as H. appendiculatum and the gills are said to be dark violaceous, not flesh color as they are in H. appendiculatum when they begin to turn. Hypholoma lacrymabundum Fr.-This plant was found during Sep- tember and October in wet grassy places in a shallow ditch by the roadside, and in borders of woods, Ithaca, N. Y., 1898. The plants are scattered or clustered, several often joined at the base of the stem. They are 4-8 cm. high, the cap 2-5 cm. broad, and the stem 4-0 mm. in thickness. PURPLE-BROWN-SPORED AGARICS. 29 The pileus is convex to expanded, sometimes broadly umhonate in age, and usually with radiating wrinkles extending irregularly. On the surface are silky or tomentose threads not much elevated from the surface, and as the plant ages these are drawn into triangular scales which are easily washed apart by the rains. The color is tawny or light yellowish with intermediate shades, darker on the umbo and becoming darker in age, sometimes umber colored, and stained with black, especially after rains where the spores are washed on the pileus. The tlesh is tinged with light yellow, or tawny, or Figure 28. — Hypholoma lacrymabundum (natural size). Cap and stem tawny or light yellowish, with intermediate shades or shades of umber, surface with soft floccose scales. Copyright igoo. brown, soft, and easily broken. The gills are sinuate, adnate, some- what ventricose, very rarely in abnormal specimens anastomosing near the margin of the pileus, at first light yellowish, then shading to umber and spotted witli black and rusty brown as the spores mature, easily breaking away from the stipe, whitish on the edge. Drops of moisture sometimes are formed on the gills, Basidia abruptly clavate, 30-35 x 10-12;/, Cystldia hyaline, thin walled, projecting above the hymenium 40;/, and 14 15/w broad. Spores black, purple tinged, broadly elliptical and somewhat curved, 9-1 1 x 7-8/<. 30 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. The stem is fleshy to fibrous, the same color as the pileus, floccose scaly more or less up to the veil, smooth or white pruinose above the veil, straight or curved, somewhat striate below. The veil in young plants is hairy, of the same texture as the surface of the pileus, torn and mostly clinging to the margin of the pileus, and disappearing with age. The general habit and different stages of development as well as some of the characters of the plant are shown in Fig. 28 (No. 4620 Cornell University herbarium). The edible qualities of this plant have not been tested. Hypholoma rugocephalum Atkinson. — This interesting species grows in damp places in woods. The plants are tufted or occur singly. They are 8-12 cm. high, the cap 6-10 cm. broad, and the stem 6-10 mm. in thickness. The pileus is convex to expanded, and the margin at last revolute (upturned). The surface is marked by strong wrinkles (ruga?), which radiate irregularly from the center toward the margin. The pileus is broadly umbonate, fleshy at the center and thinner toward the margin, the flesh tinged with yellow, the surface slightly viscid, but not markedly so even when moist, smooth, not hairy or scaly, the thin margin extending little beyond ends of the gills. The color is tawny (near fulvus). The gills are adnate, slightly sinuate, 5-7 mm. broad, in age easily breaking away from the stem and then rounded at this end, spotted with the black spores, lighter on the edge. The spores are black in mass (with a suggestion of a purple tinge), oval to broadly elliptical, inequilateral, pointed at each end, echinulate, or minutely tuberculate, 8-iix6-8/<. The basidia are short, cylindrical ; cystidia cylindrical, somewhat enlarged at the free end, hyaline, delicate, thin-walled, in groups of two to six or more (perhaps this is partly responsible for the black spotted condi- tion of the gills). The stem is cylindrical, even, somewhat bulbous, of the same color as the pileus, but lighter above the annulus, irregular, smooth, fleshy, hollow, continuous with the substance of the pileus. The annulus is formed of a few threads, remnants of the veil, which are stained black by the spores. Figure 29 is from plants (No. 3202 C. U. herbarium) collected near Ithaca, July 18, 1899. T o ■J! C 8S N n PURPLE-BROWN-SPORED AGARICS. 31 STROPHARIA Fr. The genus Shopliaiia has purplt-luown spores, the gills are attached to the stem, and the veil forms a ring on the stem. Stropharia semiglobata Batsch. — This species is rather common and widely distributed, occurring in grassy places recently manured, or on dunu. The plants are scattered or clustered, rarely two or I'"i(^.rKK 30. — Stropharia seiiugl<:)bata iiiauiral size). Cap ami stt-m light yellow, viscid; gills hrownish-iiurple. Copyright iqoo. three joined at the base. They are 5-12 cm. high, the cap 1-3 cm. broad, and the stems 2-4 mm. in thickness. The entire plant is light yellow, and viscid when moist, the gills becoming purplish brown, or nearly black. Stevenson says it is regarded as poisonous. 32 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. The pileus is rounded, then hemispherical (semiglobate), smooth, fleshy at the center, thinner toward the margin, even, very viscid or viscous when moist, light yellow. The gills are squarely set against the stem (adnate), broad, smooth, in age purplish brown to blackish, the color more or less clouded. The spores in mass, are brownish purple. The stem is slender, cylindrical, becoming hollow, straight, even or bulbous below, yellowish, but paler at the apex where there are often parallel stri:e, marks from the gills in the young stage. The stem is often viscid and smeared with the glutin- ous substance which envelopes the plant when young, and from the more or less glutinous veil. The ring is glutinous when moist. Figure 30 is from plants (No. 4613 C. U. herbarium) collected on one of the streets of Ithaca. Stropharia stercoraria Fr., is a closely related plant, about the same size, but the pileus, first hemispherical, then becoming ex- panded and sometimes striate on the margin, while the stem is stuffed. The gills are said to be of one color and the ring floccose, viscose, and evanescent in drying. It occurs on dung, or in grassy places recently manured. Stropharia seruginosa Curt., the greenish Stropharia, is from 6-8 cm. high, and the pileus 5-7 cm. broad. The groundcolor is yellow- ish, but the plant is covered with a greenish slime which tends to disappear with age. It is found in woods and open places during late summer and in autumn. According to Stevenson it is poisonous. CHAPTER V. THE BLACK-SPORED AGARICS. The spores are black in mass, not purple tinged. For analytical keys to the genera see Chapter XXII. COPRINUS Pers. The spt-cies of Coprinus are readily recognized from the black spores in addition to the fact that the gills, at maturity, dissolve into a black or inky fluid. The larger species especially form in this way an abundance of the black fluid, so that it drops from the pileus and blackens the grass, etc., underneath the plant. In some of the RLACK-SPORED AGARICS. •"»:5 smaller spcLJes the gills do not wholly Jiliquesce, but the cap splits on top along the line of the longer gills, this split passing down through the gill, dividing it into two thin lamina-, which, however, remain united at the lower edge. This gives a fluted appearance to the margin of the pileus, which is very thin and membranaceous. The plants vary in size, from tiny ones to those which are several inches high and more than an inch broad. Their habitat (that is, the place where they grow) is peculiar. A number of the species FiGURK 31. — Coprinus comatus, "'shaggy mane," in lawn. grow on dung or recently manured ground. From this peculiarity the genus received the name Copriniisirom the Greek word Hopvo?, meaning dung. Some of the species, however, grow on decaying logs, on the ground, on leaves, etc. Coprinus comatus Fr. Edible. — One of the finest species in this genus is the shaggy-mane, or horse-tail mushroom, as it is popularly called. It occurs in lawns and other grassy places, especiall\- in richly manured ground. The plants sometimes occur singly, or a few together, but often quite large numbers of them appear in a small area. They occur most abundantly during quite wet weather, .^4 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. or after heavy rains, in late spring or during the autumn and also in the summer. From the rapid growth of many of the mush- rooms we are apt to be taken by surprise to see them all up some day when the day before there were none. The shaggy-mane often furnishes a surprise of this kind. In our lawns we are accus- tomed to a pretty bit of greensward with clumps of shrubbery, and here and there the overhanging branches of some shade tree. On some fine morning when we find a whole flock of these shaggy- manes, which have sprung up during the night, we can imagme that Fici'RK 32. — Coprinus comatus. " Buttons," some in section showing gill slits and hollow stem ; colors white and black. (Natural size.) some such kind of a surprise must have come to Browning when he wrote these words : " By the rose flesh mushroom undivulged Last evening. Nay, in to-day's first dew Yon sudden coral nipple bulged, Where a freaked, fawn colored, flaky crew Of toadstools peep indulged."' The plant is called shaggy-mane because of the very shaggy appearance of the cap, due to the surface being torn up into long locks. The illustrations of the shaggy-mane shown here represent the different stages of development, and the account here given is largely taken from the account written by me in Bulletin 168 of the Cornell University Agr. Exp. Station. BLACK-SPORHD AGARICS. .5;> In Fig. 32 are shown two buttons of the sizt- wlun they are just ready to break through the soil. They appear mottled with dark and wliite, tor the outer layer ot fungus threads, which are dark brown, is torn and separated into patches or scales, showing between the delicate meshes of white threads which lie beneath. The upper Figure 33 — Coprinus comatus (natural size). part of the button is already forming the cap, and the slight con- striction about midway shows the lower boundary or margin of the pileus where it is still connected with the undexeloped stem. At the right of each of these buttons in the figure is shown a sec- tion of a plant of the same age. Here the parts of the plant, though 36 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Still undeveloped, are quite well marked out. Just underneath the pileus layer are the gills, in the section one gill is exposed to view on either side. In the section of the larger button the free edge of the gill is still closely applied to the stem, while in the small one the gills are separated a short distance from thestems showing "gill slits." Here, too, the connection of the margin of the pileus with the stem is still shown, and forms the veil. This kind of a veil is a marginal veil. The stem is hollow even at this young stage, and a slender cord of mycelium extends down the center of the tube thus formed, as is shown in the sections. The plants are nearly all white when full grown. The brown scales, so close together on the buttons, are widely separated except at the top or center of the pileus, wherethey remain close together and form a broad cap. A study of the different stages, which appear from the button stage to the mature plant, reveals the cause of this change in color and the wide separation of the dark brown scales. The threads of the outer layer of the pileus, and especially those in the brown patches seen on the buttons, soon cease to grow, though they are firmly entangled with the inner layers. Now the threads underneath and all through the plant, in the gills and in the upper part of the stem, grow and elongate rapidly. This pulls on the outer layer, tearing it in the first place into small patches, and causing them later to be more widely separated on the mature plant. Some of these scales remain quite large, while others are torn up into quite small tufts. FiGUKK 34. — Coprinus comatus (natural size). This one entirely white, none of the scales IMack tipped. BLACK-SPORHl) ACiAlt-ICS. 87 As tliL' plant ages, the next iiiiuT layers of the pileus grow less rapidly, so that the white layer beneath the hroun is turn up into an intricate tangle of loeks and tufts, or is frazzled into a delicate pile \\ hich exists here and there betueen well formed tufts. While all Kigi:re 35. — Coprinus comatus, sections of the plants in Kig. ^^ (natural size). present the same general characters there is considerable indi\idual variation, as one can see by comparing a number of different plants. Figure 34 shows one of the interesting conditions. There is little of the brown color, and the outer portion of the pileus is torn into long locks, quite e\enly distributed and curled up at the ends in an inter- 38 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. esting fashion which merits well the term " shaggy." In others the threads are looped up quite regularly into triangular tresses which appear to be knotted at the ends where the tangle of brown threads holds them together. There is one curious feature about the expansion of the pileus of the shaggy-mane which could not escape our attention. The pileus has become very long while compar- atively little lateral expansion has taken place. The pileus has remained cylindrical or bar- rel-shaped, while in the case of the com- mon mushroom the pileus expands into the form of an um- brella. The cylindrical or barrel -shaped pileus is character- istic of the shaggy- mane mushroom. As the pileus elong- ates the stem does also, but more rapidly. This tears apart the connec- tion of the margin of the pileus with the base of the stem, as is plainly shown in Fig. 33. In breaking away, the connecting por- tion or veil is freed both from the stem and from the margin of the pileus, and is left as a free, or loose, ring around Figure 36. — Coprinus coniatus, early stages of deliques- cence ; the ring is lying on the sod (natural size). BLACK-SPUkLlJ AGAklCS. 39 the stem. In Ihr shaggy-mane the vt-il liors not form a thin, l-x- panded curtain. It is really an annular outer layt-r of the button lying between the margin of the cap and the base of the stem. It becomes frro from the stem. As the stem elongates more rapidly than the cap, the lattir is lifted up awav from the base of the stem. Sometimes the free collar around the still l(n)sely ac superficial layer of or it remains more or less ' to the margin of the pileus ring is left as a base of the stem, herent to the the same, for a time adhere nt as shown in the plant at It is often lifted higher becomes free from the dangling somewhere on break and fall down on stances it may remain the margin of the pileus as the pileus in age ex- such cases one often to discover it clinging the cap. It is interest- of the plants at this can be made by split- lengthwise through the knife, as shown in Fig. at the right hand, the plainly seen running stem. The gills form plant, for they are very the left hand in Fig. 33. \ up on the stem before it ' cap, and is then left the stem, or it may tlie sod. In other in- luite firmly adherent to ^o that it breaks apart -lands somewhat. In searches for some time as a sterile margin of ing to observe a section stage. These sections ting the pileus and stem middle line with a sharp ,31:. Here, in the plant riGLKK 37. — Copiimis -^ -' . . comatus. later stage of " COrd " of mvcelium is diliquescence, pileus ti-jrou^'h tlie hollow becoming more ex panded (natural size), a large portion of the broad and lie closely packed side by side. They are nowhere attached to the stem, but at the upper end round off to the cap, leaving a well defined space between their ends and the stem. The cap, while it is rather thick at the center, i. e., where it joins the stem, becomes comparatively thin where it spreads out over the gills. At this age of the plant 4(» STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. the gills are of a rich salmon color, i. e., before the spores are ripe, and the taste when raw is a pleasant nutty flavor, reminding one of the meat of fresh green hickory nuts. In a somewhat earlier stage the edges of all the gills are closely applied to the stem which they surround. So closely are they applied to the stem in most cases that threads of mycelium pass from the stem to the edge of the gills. As the cap expands slightly in ageing, these threads are torn asunder and the stem is covered with a very delicate down or with flocculent particles which easily disappear on handling or by the washing of the rains. The edges of the gills are also left in a frazzled condition, as one can see by examining them with a good hand lens. The spores now begin to ripen and as they become black the color of the gills changes. At the same time the gills and the cap begin to dissolve into an inky fluid, first becoming dark and then melting into a black liquid. As this accumulates it forms into drops which dangle from the cap until they fall away. This change takes place on the margin of the cap first, and advances toward the center, and the con- trast of color, as the blackening invades the rich salmon, is very striking. The cap now begins to expand outward more, so that it becomes somewhat umbrella shaped. The extreme outer surface does not dissolve so freely, and the thin remnant curls upward and becomes enrolled on the upper side as the cap with wasted gills becomes nearly flat. Coprinus atramentarius (Bull.) Fr. Edible. — The ink-cap {Copri- nus atramentarius) occurs under much the same conditions as the shaggy-mane, and is sometimes found accompanying it. It is usually more common and more abundant. It springs up in old or newly made lawns which have been richly manured, or it occurs in other grassy places. Sometimes the plants are scattered, sometimes two or three in a cluster, but usually large clusters are formed where ten to twenty or more are crowded closely together (Fig. 39). The stems are shorter than those of the shaggy-mane and the cap is dif- ferent in shape and color. The cap is egg-shaped or oval. It varies in color from a silvery grey, in some forms, to a dark ashen grey, or smoky brown color in others. Sometimes the cap is entirely smooth, as 1 have seen it in some of the silvery grey forms, where the deli- cate fibres coursing down in lines on the outer surface cast a beauti- ful silvery sheen in the light. Other forms present numerous small scales on the top or center of the cap which are formed by the cleavage of the outer surface here into large numbers of pointed tufts. In others, the delicate tufts cover more or less the entire surface, giving the plant a coarsely granular aspect. This is perhaps I'l.Ai K y, FicuRK 38. — Coprinus comatus, drops of inky riuid about to fall from wasted pileus (natural size). N 'in O o _2 o BLACK-SPORHD AGARICS. 41 the more common appearance, at least so far as my observation goes. But not intrequently one finds forms which have the entire' outer surface of the cap torn into quite a large number of coarse scales, and these are often more prominent over the upper portion. Fine lines or striations mark also the entire surface of all the forms, especially toward the margin, where the scales are not so prominent. Tlu' marginal half of the cap is also frequently furrowed more or less irregularly, and this forms a crenate or uneven edge. Figure 40. — Coprinus atramentarius, scaly form (natural size). The annulus or ring on the stem of tlie ink-cap is very different from that of the shaggy-mane. It forms an irregularly zigzag elevated line of threads which extend around the stem near the base. It is well shown in Fig. 41 as a border line between the lower scaly end of the stem and the smooth white upper part. It is formed at the time of the separation of the margin of the cap from the stem, the connecting fibres being pulled outward and left to mark the line 42 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Of junction, while others below give the scaly appearance. It is easily effaced by rough handling or by the washing of the rains. A section of a plant is illustrated by a photograph in Fig. 42. On either side of the stem is shown the layer of fibres which form the annulus, and this layer is of a different texture from that of the stem. The stem is hollow as seen here also. In this figure one can see the change in color of the gills just at the time when they begin to diliquesce. This diliquescence proceeds much in the same way Figure 41. — Coprinus atramentaiius, showing annulus as border line between scaly and smooth part of the stem (natural size). as in the shaggy-mane, and sometimes the thin remnant of the cap expands and the margin is inrolled over the top. Coprinus micaceus (Bull.) Fr. Edible. — The glistening coprinus received its name because of the very delicate scales which often cover the surface of the cap, and glisten in the light like particles of mica. This plant is very common during the spring and early sum- mer, though it does appear during the autumn. It occurs about the bases of stumps or trees or in grassy or denuded places, from dead BLACK-SPOREI) AGARICS. 43 roots, etc., burit\l in thf soil. It occurs in dense tufts ot ten to thirty or more individuals ; sometimes as many as several hundred spring up from the roots of a dead tree or stump aioni^ the streets or in lawns, forming large masses. More rarely it occurs on logs in the woods, and sometimes the plants are scattered in lawns. From the different habits of tlu- plant it is sometimes difficult to determine, especially where the indi\iduals are more or less scattered. How- ever, the color, anJ the markings on the cap, especially the presence of the small shining scales when not effaced, char a c ter i ze the plant so that little difficulty is experi- enced in determin- ing it when one has once carefully noted these peculiarities. Figure 43 is from a group of three young indi- viduals photo- graphed just as the margin of the pileus is breaking away from the lower part of the stem, show- ing the delicate fibrous ring which is formed in the same way as in Copriniis atiwneii- tariiis. The ring is much more delicate and is rarely seen except in very young specimens which are carefully collected and which have not been washed by rains. The mature plants are 8-10 cm. high (^-4 inches), and the cap varies from 2-4 cm. in diameter. The stem is quite slender and the cap and gills quite thin as compared with the shaggy-mane and ink-cap. The gills are not nearly so crowded as the\' are in the two other Fua KK 42. — Coni|)iinus atranientarius, section of one of the plants in Fig. 41 (natural size). 44 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. species. The cap is tan color, or light buff, or yellowish brown. Except near the center it is marked with quite prominent striations which radiate to the margin. These striations are minute fur- rows or depressed lines, and form one of the characters of the species, being much more prominent than on the cap of the ink-cap. In wet weather this coprinus melts down into an inky fluid also, but in quite dry weather it remains more or less firm, and sometimes it does not diliquesce at all, but dries with all parts well preserved, though much shrunken of course, as is the case with all the very fleshy fungi. Fiot'RK 43. — Coprinus niicaceus, young stage showing annulus, on the cap the "mica" particles (natural size). fe^ Fu;i;Rii 44. — Coprinus micaceus, plants natural size, from floor of coal mine at Wilkesbarre. Caps tan color. Copyright 1900. I'l.Aiii 1 1, FicukK 45. — Paiireolus retiiugis, group of plants from lawn along street, showing veil in young plants at the left, which breaks into V-shaped loops and clings to marniii of the cap. Cap dark smoky color at" first, becoming grayish in age (natural size). Co]5yright 1900. BLACK-SPORED AGARICS. 45 PANAEOLUS Fr. In FciHiioliis the pileus is somewhat tlesliy, or thin, the mar^'in even, that is, not striate. The margin extends beyond the gills, and the gills are not uniform in color, being clouded or spotted with black and brown colors, the edge of the gills often white in contrast. The spores are black. The stem is usually smooth, sometimes tloccose scaly, often long, firm, generally hollow. The veil is of interwoven threads, sometimes quite compact, especially when the plants are young. Peck, 23rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 10 et seq., gives a synopsis of ti\'e species. Paaxolus retirugis Fr. — The color of this plant is not attractive, but it is one of the most beautiful species 1 have studied if one regards form and the general features in its development. It is said to occur on dung. I have found it in lawns or grassy places, especially freshly made lawns or greenswards which have been heavilv manured. The illustrations in Figs. 45-48 were made from photographs of plants which grew in a newly made boulevard along Buffalo street, Ithaca, N. Y. (No. 2356 C. U. herbarium). The plants are from 7-15 cm. high, the cap from 1-3 cm. in diameter, and the stem is 3-4 mm. in thickness. The size of the plants varies greatly according to the environment, being larger in moist soil and wet weather and smaller in dry soil and dry weather. It occurs in late spring and during the summer. The pileus is oval to ovate and conic, and in some cases it becomes more or less expanded, but never, so far as 1 have observed, does it become depressed or even plane, in wet weather it is usually at first dark smoky in color, viscid, becoming grayish in age, and as the pileus dries it becomes shining, in lighter colored forms the pileus is at first light leather color to cream color. Toward the center of the pileus are irregular wrinkles or sliallow pits, the wrinkles anastomosing more or less, and it is because of this char- acter of the surface of the pileus that the plant receives its specific name. During dry weather there is a tendency for the pileus to crack, separating the dark color of the surface into patches showing the white flesh beneath. The pileus is often umbonate or gibbous, and the center is often darker than the margin. The pileus in rare cases is entirely white. The gills are adnate, broad in the middle, and in the more expanded forms as the gills separate more and more from the stem there is a tendency for them to become somewhat triangular. The spores are black in mass, are elliptical or short fusiform, and measure from 10-12 x i q-iS//. The stem is cxMin- 46 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Figure 46. — Panaeolus retirugis, section of caps showing form and position of gills (natural size). drical, sometimes tortuous, smoky gray, light reddish brown, or paler, sometimes entirely white, the lighter forms of the stem accompanying the light forms of the pileus ; cartilaginous in texture, becoming hollow, always darker below and paler above, smooth, granulate with minute darker points, bulbous. The veil is very I-IGURE 47.— Panaolus retirugis, showing rugose character of cap in left- hand plant (natural size). Copyright 1900. HLACK-SPOki;!) ACJAklCS. 47 prominent and stout wiu-n thr pl.int is yniina, and extemis from the margin of the piieiis to the stem when the plant is very young and the stem has not elongated. As the stipe elongates the veil sepa- rates from the stipe as a ring, and then, as the pileus expands, it is broken quite regularly into short segments which become arranged regularly around the margin of the pileus in the form of the letter V, w hich gives a beautiful appearance to this stage of the plant. It is only when the plants are fresh and moist that this condition of the Fkure 48. — Pana;olus retirugis, showing cracked surface of cap in the left- hand plant, also in same plant the ring mark of black spores which lodged before veil ruptured ; in other plants showing well the V-shaped loops of veil on margin of cap (natural size). Copyright 1900. veil can be seen, for on drying the veil collapses. Water is some- times caught under the veil before the pileus separates far from the stem, and the spores falling thus float against the stem at this point and make a dark ring around the stem, which, however, should not be mistaken for the annulus. In no case was the veil observed to cling to the stem, and many plants ha\e been observed to see if this variation might present itself. This peculiarit\' of the veil in clinging to the margin of the pileus 48 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. KicrKK has led Hennings to place the plant in Karsten's genus (Engler and PrantI, Pflanzenfamilien) Chalymotta, as Chalymotta retirugis. The plants have several times been eaten raw by me, and while they have a nutty flavor and odor, the taste is not entirely agreeable in this condition, because of the accompanying slimy sensation. A number of smaller species, among them P. fimicola Fr., and P. papilionaceus Fr., occur in similar places. Panaeolus solidipes Pk., is a large spt-cies with a long, solid stem, growing on dung. Psilocybe foenisecii, abundant in lawns and grassy places during late spring and summer, resembles a Pan:i>olus. The cap shows zones of light and dark color, due to different amounts of water, which disappear as the plant matures, it belongs to the purple-brown-spored agarics. PSATHYRELLA Fr. The pileus is thin, membranaceous, striate, the margin not ex- tending beyond the edge of the gills, and when young the margin of the pileus lies straight against the stem. The gills are black to fuliginous, of a uniform color, i.e., not spotted as in PaniTolus and An- nellaria. The spores are black. The plants are all fragile. Only one species is men- tioned here. In appearance the species are like Psatliyra of the pur p 1 e- b r own- spored agarics, but much thinner. Peck describes three species in the 23d Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 102 et seq. Only one species is de- scribed here. 49- — Psathyrella disseminata (natural size), caps whitish grayish, or grayish-brown. Copyright 1900. Psathyrella disseminata Pers. Th distri is is a very common and widely huted species, appearing from late spring until late autumn. It BLACK-Sl'Oki:!) ACiARICS. 49 sometimes appears in greenhouses throughout the year. The plants are 2-3 cm. high, and the caps 6-10 mm. broad. The plants are crowdL\i in large tufts, often growing on decaying wood, but also on the ground, especially about much decayed stumps, but also in lawns and similar places, where buried roots, etc., are decaying. Tlicy resemble small specimens of a Coprinns. The pileus is whitish or gray, or gra>ish brown, \'ery thin, oval, then bell-shaped, minutely scaly, becoming smooth, prominently sulcate or plicate, plaited. The gills are adnate, broad, white, gray, then bKuk. The spores are black, oblong, 8 .\ 6 /<. The stem is very slender, becoming hollow, often curved. The entire plant is very fragile, and in age becomes so soft as to suggest a Coprmiis in addition to the general appearance. Figure 49 is from plants collected on decaying logs at Ithaca. GOMPHIDIUS Fr. The genus Gompliidius has a slimy or glutinous universal veil enveloping the entire plant when young, and tor a time is stretched over the gills as the pileus is expanding. The gills are somewhat mucilaginous in consistency, are distant and decurrent on the stem. The gills are easily removed from the under surface of the pileus in some species by peeling off in strips, showing the imprint of the gills beneath the projecting portions of the pileus, which extended part way between the laminae of the gills. The spores in some species are blackish, and for this reason the genus has been placed by many with the black spored agarics, while its true relationship is probably with the genus Hvgrophonis or Paxillus. Gomphidius nigricans Pk. — The description given by Peck for this plant in the 48th Report, p. 12, 1895, reads as follows : " Pileus convex, or nearly plane, pale, brownish red, covered with a tough gluten, which becomes black in drying, flesh firm, whitish ; lamelhe distant, decurrent, some of them forked, white, becoming smoky brown, black in the dried plant ; stem subequal, longer than the diameter of the pileus, glutinous, solid, at first whitish, especiall\- at the top, soon blackish bv the drying of the gluten, whitish within, slightly tinged with red toward the base; spores oblong fusoid, 15-25 // long, 6-7 /< broad. Pileus \ 2 inches broad; stem 1.5 2.5 inches long, 2-4 lines thick." " This species is easily known b\' the blackening gluten which smears both pileus and stem, and even forms a veil by which the lamelhr in the young plant are concealed. In the dried state the whole plant is black." 50 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Under pine trees, Westport, September. What appears to be the same plant was collected by me at Blowing Rock, N. C, t5 0) ft ifi o ra a; '5c S under a pine tree, m September, 1899 (No. 3979 C. U. herbari- um). The notes taken on the fresh plant are as follows : Very viscid, with a thick, tough viscid cuticle, cortina or veil viscid, and collapsing on the stem, forming coarse, walnut-brown or dark vinaceous reticulations, termi- nating abruptly near the gills, or reaching them. The stem is white underneath the slimy veil covering, tough, fibrous, continuous, and not separable from the hymeno- phore, tapering below. The pileus is con- vex, the very thin margin somewhat in- curved, disk ex- panded, uneven, near the center cracked into numerous small viscid brownish are- oles; pileus flesh color, flesh same color ex- cept toward the gills. Gills dark drab gray, arcuate, distant, decurrent, many of them forked, separating easily from the hymenophore, peeling off in broad sheets, and leaving behind corresponding elevations of the hymeno- ■r C 0) >> -a rt § &) rt -a -a = 'in 'So c o o ^ 'S. o 1. o d 1) pi « BLACK-SPOf<>F,r) AGARICS. 51 phi lie u liich cxteiuled between the larniiia- ot the lamelki'. Pileus 7 em. in Jiameter ; stem 4.^ i^'m. I '■ ->^>>. ^ Y ^' ^ ->* %^>-: . ■ ■- WIIIII-SPORBI) AGARICS. 53 of the usually brilliant Lolorinij ot the cap in contrast with tlic white stems and gills, and the usually white scales on tht- surface. It usually ranges from lo-it; cm. high, and the cap from 8-12 cm. broad, while the stem is 1-1.5 cm. in thickness, or the plant may be considerably larger. The pileus passes from convex to expanded and nearly flat in age, the margin when mature is marked by depressed lines forming par- allel striations, and on the surface are numbers of scattered floccose or rather compact scales, formed from the fragments of the upper part of the volva or outer veil. These scales are usually white in color and are quite easily removed, so that old plants are sometimes quite free from them. The scales are sometimes yellowish in color. The color of the pileus varies from yellow to orange, or even red, the yellow color being more common. Late in the season the color is paler, and in old plants also the color fades out, so that white forms are sometimes found. Tlie flesh is white, sometimes yellowish underneath the cuticle. The gills in typical forms are white, in some forms accredited to this species they are yellowish. The stem is cylindrical, hollow, or stuffed when young, and enlarged below into a prominent bulb. It is white, covered with loose floccose scales, or more or less lacerate or torn, and the lower part of the stem and upper part of the bulb are marked usually by prominent concentric scales forming interrupted rings. These are formed by the splitting of the outer veil or volva, and form the remnants of the volva present on the base of the stem. The main features in the development of the plant are shown in Figs. 52-54, where a series from the button stage to the mature plant is represented. In the youngest specimens the outline of the bulb and the young convex or nearly globose cap are only seen, and these are covered w ith the more or less floccose outer veil or volva. The fungus threads composing this layer cease to grow, and with the expansion of the cap and the elongation of the stem, the volva is torn into patches. The upper and lower surface of the inner veil is attached to the edge of the gills and to the outer surface of the stem by loose threads, which are torn asunder as the pileus expands. Floccose scales are thus left on the surface of the stem below the annulus, as in the left hand plant of Fig. 53. The veil remains attached longer to the gills and is first separated from the stem. Again, as in the right hand plant, it may first be separated from the gills when it is later ripped up from the stem. The fly agaric is one of the well known poisonous species and is very widely distributed in this country, as well as in other parts of 54 STUDIES OF AA\ERICAN FUNGI. the world. In well developed forms there should be no difticulty in distinguishing it from the common mushroom by even a novice. Nor should there be difficulty in distinguishing it from the royal agaric, or Ccesar's agaric (Amanita avsarea), by one who has become reasonably familiar with the characters and appearance of the two. But small and depauperate specimens of the two species run so nearly together in form, color, and surface characters, that it becomes a matter of some diftkulty for even an expert to distinguish them. FiGURK 54. — Amanita muscaria. View of upper side of cap (natural size). Colors as in Fig. 53. Copyright 1900. Figures 52-54 are from plants (No. 2065 C. U. herbarium) col- lected in an open woods near Ithaca. For the poisonous property of the plant see Chapter XX. Amanita frostiana Pk. Poisonous. — According to Dr. Peck, who published the first description of this plant, it grows in company with Amanita muscaria, but seems to prefer more dense woods, especially mixed or hemlock woods, and occurs from June to October. The plant is 5-8 cm. high, the caps 2-5 cm. broad, and the stems 3-6 mm. in thickness. The pileus is "convex to expanded, bright orange or yellow, warty, sometimes nearly or quite smooth, striate on the margin ; 1^ 2 n — w — M c- ' in at* n - 3 - :: orq — fc — ■ A n =■ x2 »-• w/ « rt 3 3 OS. -> S 3 ft ^ n^ n 81: r: WHITE-SPOIVHI) AGARICS. 55 lamellae white or tinged with yellow; stem white or )t'llow, stuffed, bearing a slight, sometimes evant'sccnt annulus, bulbous at the base, the bulb slightly margined by the volva ; spores globose," 7.5-10 // in diameter. He notes that it appears like a small form of A. muscaria, to which it was first referred as var. minor, — " Tlu- only characters for distinguishing it are its small size and its globose spores." It is near A. muscaria var. puella Pers. I ha\'e several times found tliis plant in the Adirondack moun- tains, N. Y., and Ithaca, and also at Blowing Rock, N. C. The voK'a is often yellowish, so tliat the warts on the pileus are also yellow, and sometimes the onl\' remnants of the volva on the base of the stem are yellow or orange particles. The annulus is also frequently yellow. In our plants, which seem to be typical, the spores are nearly globose, varying to oval, and with tlie minute point where the spore was attached to the sterigma at the smaller end, the spores usually being finely granular, 6-9 // in diameter, and rarely varying towards short elliptical, showing a tendency to approach the shape of the spores of A. muscaria. The species as 1 have seen it is a very variable one, large forms being difficult to separate from A. muscaria, on the one hand, and others difficult to separate from the depauperate forms of A. civsarea. In the latter, however, the strict are coarser, though the yellow color may be present only on portions of the pileus. The spores of A. ca'sarea are from globose to oval, ovate or short elliptical, the globose ones often agreeing in size with the spores of A. frostiana, but they usually contain a prominent oil drop or "nucleus," often nearly filling the spore. In some specimens of A. frostiana the spores are quite variable, being nearly globose, ovate to elliptical, approaching the spores of A. muscaria. These intermediate forms should not in themselves lead one to regard all these three species as representing variations in a single variable species. With observations in the Held 1 should think it possible to separate them. Amanita phailoides Fr. Deadly Poisonous. — The Amattita phalloidcs and its Vcuious forms, or closily related species, are the most dangerous of the poisonous mushrooms. For this reason the A. phailoides is known as the deadly agaric, or deadly amanita. The plant is very variable in color, the forms being pure white, or yellowish, green, or olive to umber. Variations also occur in the way in which the volva ruptures, as well as in the surface characters of the stem, and thus it is often a difficult matter to determine whether all these forms represent a single variable species or whether there are several species, and if so, what are the limits of these 5(i STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. species. Whether these are recognized as different forms of one species or as different species, they are all very poisonous. The plant usually occurs in woods or along the borders of woods. It does, however, sometimes occur in lawns. It varies from 6-20 cm. high, the cap from 3-10 cm. broad, and the stem 6-10 mm. in thickness. The pileus is fleshy, viscid or slimy when moist, smooth, that is, not striate, orbicular to bell-shaped, convex and finally expanded, and in old specimens more or less de- pressed by the elevation of the margin. The cap is often free from any remnants of the volva, while in other cases portions of the volva or outer veil appear on the surface of the cap in rather broad patches, or it may be broken up into a number of smaller ones quite evenly distributed over the surface of the cap. The pres- ence or absence of these scales on the cap depends entirely on the way in which the volva ruptures. When there is a clean rupture at the apex the pileus is free from scales, but if portions of the apex of the volva are torn away they are apt to remain on the cap. The white form is common in this country, and so is the olive or umber form. The yellow form is rarer. Sometimes there is only a tinge of yellow at the center of the white pileus, while in other cases a large part of the pileus may be yellow, a deeper shade usually on the center. The green form is probably more common in Europe than in this country. The olive form varies considerably also in the depth of the color, usually darker on the center and fading out to light olive or gray, or whitish, on the margin. In other cases the FicuRE 55. — Amanita phalloides, white form, showing cap, stem, ring, and cup- like volva with a free, prominent limb (natural size). ■tD C rt j£ 0 22 0 -w 0 IS is A V. .2f O *v« a. 0 'S U O u ^ T3 0) X tn rt 1 O 4) _^ ^ 0) OJ _N J3 ■« > _^ C « >■ 5 0 ^ rt _ n c £ 3 -a ^ o 60 <-M c c c o ^ 3 ^ -9 _>p. > 0 o fi 1-1 o s 0) -4.^ ^" w OJ _ n oT c c (— ' ^ js t/3 £ r; 0) js « 0 Urn 13 C rt _x -a u "rt OJ -*-< Q. x: rt Is c/: •^ CD rt rt £ 'J 1/! < ^ 1 1 is vd 0 m ^ (2: a:! A D '% fc -3 ,. ^ Tj- c< •^ (U w •4-< '_^ t« < VVIIITI--SPORFJ) AGARICS. 57 L'ntiru pilciLs ma\' be ilark ulivt- or umber color. The gills in all the forms are white, aiKJ tree from the stem or only joined by a narrow line. The sti-iii is stuffed when younii, but in age is nearl\- or quite hollow. It is cyUndrical, 6-20 cm. long ,\ 6-12 mm. in thii.i! 1— V Ci 3 V OJ rt ■y; C r. '5 5 v u X ^ 2, 5 ^ 5 < ^^ ^ 5 \vmTi:-Sinn^H[) AGARICS. >>< center, or of tawny oliw in tlu- CL-ntrr of otht-r specinit-ns. The pileus is viscid, strongly so wlun moist. It is finely striate on tiie margin, and covered w ith numerous, white, tloccose scales from the upper half of the \ol\a, forming more or less dense patches, which may wash off in heavy rains. The gills are rounded ne.xt 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 con- nected 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 cylind- rical, even, and ex- panded below into quite a large oval bulb, 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 hav- ing been sewed at the top like the rolled edge of a garment or buskin. The surface of the stem is minutely tloccose scaly or strongly so, and decidedly hollow even from a very young stage, or sometimes when young with loose threads in the cavity. Figures 68-70, from plants (No. 371 5, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899, illustrate certain of the features in the form and development of this plant. in Amanita Jrostiana the remains of the volva sometimes form a similar collar, but not so stout, on the base of the stem. The varia- tions in A. Jrostiana. where the stem, annulus and gills are white might suggest that there is a close relationship between A. Jrostiana and A. cothurnata, and that the latter is only a form of the former. From a careful study of the two plants growing side b\- side the Figure 69. — Amanita cothurnata. DitTerent stages opening up of plant, the two center ones showing veil heing ripped from stem, but veil narrow. The right-hand illustration has been scratched transversely, these marks not being characteristic of the plant (natural size). Copyright igoo. 68 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. evidence is convincing that the two are distinct. Amanita frostiana occurs also at Blowing Rock, appearing earlier in the season than A. cothiunata, and also being contemporary with it. A. frostiana is more variable, not nearly so viscid, nor nearly so abundant, the stem is solid or stuffed, the annulus is more frail and evolved from the stem in a different manner. The volva does not leave such a constant and well defined roll where it separated on the stem trans- versely, and the pileus is yellow or orange. When A. cothumata is yellowish at all it is a different tint of yellow and then only a tinge of yellow at the center. Albino or faded forms of A. frostiana might occur, but we would not expect them to ap- pear at a definite season of the year in great abundance while the normal form, show- ing no intergrading specimens in the sam.e locality, continued to appear in the same abundance the same as before. and with characters The dried FidiiRE 70. — Amanita cothurnata. Two plants in section show- ing clearly hollow stem, veil attachment, etc. (natural size). Copyright 1900. plants of A. cothurnata are apt to become tinged with yellow on the gills, the upper part of the stem and upper part of the an- nulus during the processes of drying, but the pileus does not change in like manner, nor do these plants show traces of yellow on these parts when fresh. The spores are also decidedly different, though the shape and size do not differ to any great extent, hi A. frostiana and the pale forms of the species the spores are nearly globose or oval, rarely with a tendency to become elliptical, but the content is quite constantly finely granular, while the spores of A. cothurnata are perhaps more constantly globose or nearly so, but the spore is nearly filled zvith a highly refractive oil globule or " nucleus." The pileus of \\iiiri;-si'( )i<'i;i) AcjAkics. 69 A.frostiana is also thiniur tli.in ih.it ot A.cotliiiiiicit.i. It is nearer, in some respects, to specimens ot Amanita pantlwriiia received from Bresadola, of Austria-Hunjiary. Amanita spreta Pk. Said to be Poisonous. — According to Peck this species ^lovvs in open or bushy places. The specimens illustrated in Fig. 71 grew in sandy ground by the roadside near trees in the edge of an open field at Blowing Rock', N. C, and others were found in a gro\'e. Tlu' pl.iiits are lo-i^ cm. high, the caps 6-12 cm. broad, and the stems itle plants show the free liml) uf tlie volva lying close against the stem (natural size, often larger). Copyright 1900. to e.xpanded, gray or light drab, and darker on the center, or according to Dr. Peck it may be white. It is smooth, or with onK* a few remnants of the volva, striate on the margin, and i-. 5 cm. thick at the center. The gills are white, adnexed, that is they reach the stem by their upper angle. The stem is of the same color as the pileus but somewhat lighter, white to light gray or light drab, cylindrical, not bulbous, hollow or stuffed. Tlie annulus is thin and attached above the middle of the stem. The volva is sordid white, and sheathes the stem w ith a long free limb of 3-5 lobes. It splits at 70 STUDIES OF AA\ER1CAN FUNGI. the apex, but portions sometimes cling to the surface of the pileus. Figure 71 is from plants (No. 3707, C. U.) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, September, 1899. Amanita caesarea Scop. Edible, but use great caution. — This plant is known as the orange amanita, royal agaric, Caesar's agaric, etc. It is one of the most beautiful of all the agarics, and is well dis- tributed over the earth. With us it is more common in the Southern States. It occurs in the summer and early autumn in the woods. It is easily recognized by its usually large size, yellow or orange color of the cap, gills, stem and ring, and the prominent, white, sac-like volva at the base of the stem. It is usually 12-20 cm. high, the cap 5-10 cm. broad, and the stems 6-10 mm. in thickness, though it may exceed this size, and depauperate forms are met with which are much smaller. The pileus is ovate to bell-shaped, convex, and finally more or less expanded, when the surface may be nearly flat or the center may be somewhat elevated or umbonate and the margin curved downward. The surface is smooth except at the margin, where it is prominently striate. The color varies from orange to reddish or yellow, usually the well developed and larger specimens have the deeper and richer colors, while the smaller specimens have the lighter colors, and the color is usually deeper on the center of the pileus. The gills are yellow, and free from the stem. The stem is hollow, even in young plants, when it may be stuffed with loose threads. It is often very floccose scaly below the annulus. It is cylindrical, only slightly enlarged below, where it is covered by the large, fleshy, sac-like white volva. The annulus is membranaceous, large, and hangs like a broad collar from the upper part of the stem. The stem and ring are orange or yellow, the depth of the color varying more with the size of the plant than is the case with the color of the cap. In small specimens the stem is often white, especially in depauperate speci- mens are the stem and annulus white, and even the gills are white when the volva may be so reduced as to make it difficult to distinguish the specimens from similar specimens of the poisonous fly agaric. In the button stage the plant is ovate and the white color of the volva, which at this time entirely surrounds the plants, presents an appearance not unlike that of an egg. The volva splits open at the apex as the stem elongates. The veil is often connected by loose threads with the outer portion of the stem and as the pileus expands this is torn away, leaving coarse floccose scales on the stem. Some of the different stages in the opening of the plant are shown in Fig. 72. This illustration is taken from a photograph of plants (No. 3726, C. c ■z v 2 < OS p re It C ■ re -i. re r. T. feANKLlM 1 ZOOT ^ 3 ^ 'athbun o Plate 19. Fig. I.— Amanita rubescens. Fig. 2. — A. Copyright 1900. ciEsaria. will ri£-SP(JkHlJ ACJAIt-ICS. 71 U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, September, I.S99. Thr plant is said to bo one of the best esculents, and has been prized as an article ot tood from ancient times. Great cau- tion should be used in dis- tinguishin^i it from the fly agaric and from other ama- nitas. Amanita rubescens Fr. Edible, but use great cau- tion.— The reddish amanita, Amanita rubescens, is so called because of the sordid reddish color diffused ovt'r the entire plant, and espec- ially because bruised por- tions quickly change to a reddish color. The plant is often quite large, from 12-20 cm. high, the cap 8-12 cm. broad and the stem 8-12 mm. in thick- ness, but it is sometimes much smaller. It occurs during the latter part of the summer and in early autunm, in woods and open places. The pileus is oval to convex, and becoming e.\- panded when old. It is smooth or faintly striate on the margin, and covered with numerous scattered, thin, tloccose, grayish scales, forming remnants of the larger part of the volva or outer veil. The color of the cap varies correspond- ingly, but is always tinged more or less distinctly with pink, red, or brownish red hues. The gills are white or whitish and free from the stem. The stem is nearly cylindrical, tapering some FiGi Ki. 7j. — Amanita rubescens. i'lant partly expanded. Dull reddisli l^rown, stains reddish where l^ruised ; for other details see text (natural size). Copyright 1900. 7:i STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. above, and with a prominent bulb which often tapers abruptly below. In addition to the suffused dull reddish color the stem is often stained with red, especially where handled or touched by some object. There are very few evidences of the volva on the stem since the volva is so tloccose and torn into loose fragments, most of which remain on the surface of the cap. Sometimes a few of these loose fragments are seen on the upper portion of the bulb, but they are easily removed by handling or by rains. The annulus is membranous, broad, and fragile. Since the plant has become well known it is regarded as excel- lent and wholesome for food and pleasant to the taste. In case of the larger specimens there should be no difficulty in distinguishing it from others by those who care to compare the descriptions closely with the fresh specimens. But as in all cases beginners should use extreme caution in eating plants they have not become thoroughly familiar with. Small specimens of this species sometimes show but little of the reddish color, and are therefore difficult to determine. Figures 73 and 74 are from plants (No. 3727 C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. Amanita solitaria Bull. Edible, but use caution. — The solitary amanita, like many other plants, is not always true to its name. While it often occurs solitary, it does occur sometimes in groups. It is one of the largest of the amanitas. Its large size, together with its chalky white or grayish white color, and ragged or shaggy appear- ance, makes it a striking object in the woods, or along roadsides in woods where it grows. Frequently parts of the cap, the entire stem and the gills are covered with a white, crumbly, tloccose substance of a mealy consistency which often sticks to the hands or other ob- jects. The plant ranges from 15-20 cm. or more high, the cap from 8-15 cm. broad, and the stems are 1-2 cm. or more in thickness. In form the piieus ranges from nearly globose in the button stage, to hemispherical, convex and expanded, when quite old the margin becoming more or less elevated. It is covered either with flaky or floccose portions of the volva, or with more or less distinct conic white scales, especially toward the center. The conic scales are easily rubbed off in handling or are easily washed off by rains. Many of them are loosened and fall because of the tension produced by the expanding piieus on the surface of which they rest. These scales vary in size from quite small ones, appearing like granules, to those fewer in number and larger, 3 mm. high and nearly as broad at the base. In other cases the scales are harder and stouter and dark colored. These forms will be discussed after the description of the other parts of the plant. r > W ^1 n £ Co v. = G N /^ rt — — rt o „ p ,^ 3; p 3 ^ o 3 .. u "2 '^ 1) So .X4 PI WHITE-SPORED AGARICS. T." The gills are free, or are only attached by the upper inner an;:le ; the edges are often tloccose where they are torn from the slight union with the upper surface of the veil. The stem is cylindrical, solid or stuffed when old, enlarged usually below into a prominent bulb which then tapers into a more or less elongated root-like process, sometimes extending 5-10 cm. in the ground below the bulb, in rare cases the bulb is not present, but the cylindrical stem extends for a consider- able distance into the ground. The veil is a very interesting part of the plant and the manner in which it forms and disappears as the cap expands is worth a careful study. This is well shown in Figs. 75, 76, from photographs of plants (No. 3731 C. U. herbarium) made at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. During the latter part of August and the first three weeks of Sep- tember the plants were quite common in the mountain woods at Blowing Rock. In certain features there was close agreement in the case of all the specimens examined, especially in the long rooting character of the base of the stem. The veil and annulus were also quite constant in their characters, though sometimes a tendency was manifested to split up m(ire irregularly than at other times. In the character of the warts of the pileus there was great variation, show- ing typical forms of Amanita soHtaria and grading into forms which might be taken for typical Amanita strobiliformis. Especially is this so in the case of some of my specimens (No. 3733), where the scales are pyramidal, dark brown, surrounded by a sordid buff or grayish area, and these latter areas separated by narrow chinks whitish in color. The scales in this specimen are fixed quite firmly to the sur- face of the pileus. In other specimens (No. 3732) these hard scales remove quite easily, while in still another the pileus is almost smooth, even the tloccose scales having been obliterated, while a very few of the hard angular warts are still present. In another half expanded plant (of No. 3732) thewarts are pyramidal, 4-6 mm. long at the cen- ter of the pileus and rather closely imbricated, hard, and firmly joined to the surface of the cap. In Nos. 3733 and 3731 the spores meas- ure 7-9 X 4-6 //. In 3732 they are longer, varying from 7-1 1 //. The specimens with the long hard scales suggest Amanita stro- biliformis Vittad., but the long rooting base of the stem does not agree with the description of that plant, but does clearly agree with Amanita solitaria Bull. A study of the variations in these plants suggests that Amanita solitaria and strobiliformis Vittad., represent only varia- tions in a single species as Bulliard interpreted the species more than a century ago. Forms of the plant are also found which suggest that 74 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. A. polypyramis B. & C, collected in North Carolina, is but one of the variations of A. solitaria. Figures 75, 76 show well certain stages in the development of this plant. The conical or pyramidal warts are formed in a very young stage of the plant by the primary separation of the outer part of the volva, and as the pileus expands more, and the cessation of growth of the outer veil proceeds inward, the scales become more widely separated at the apex and broader at the base. In some cases the volva is probably thinner than in others, and with the rapid expansion of the pileus in wet weather the scales would be smaller, or more tloccose. But with different conditions, when it is not so wet, the plant expands less rapidly, the surface of the pileus becomes drier, the volva layer does not separate so readily and the fissures between the scales proceed deeper, and sometimes probably enter the surface of the pileus, so that the size of the warts is aug- mented. A similar state of things sometimes takes place on the base of the stem at the upper margin of the bulb, where the con- centric fissures may extend to some distance in the stem, making the scales here more prominent in some specimens than in others. A similar variation in the character of the scales on the bulb of Amanita muscaria is sometimes presented. The veil is often loosely attached to the edges of the gills, and so is stripped off from the stem quite early. Sometimes it is more strongly adherent to the stem, or portions of it may be, when it is very irregularly ruptured as it is peeled off from the stem, as shown in the plant near the left side in Fig. 75. The veil is very fragile and often tears a little distance from the margin of the cap, while the portion attached to the stem forms the annulus. This condition is shown in the case of three plants in Fig. 75. The plant is said to be edible. AMANITOPSIS Roze. This genus has white spores, and a volva, but the annulus and inner veil are wanting, in other respects it agrees with Amanita. It is considered as a subgenus of Amanita by some. Amanitopsis vaginata (Bull.) Roz. Edible. — The sheathed amani- topsis, A. vaginata, is a quite common and widely distributed plant in woods. It is well named since the prominent volva forms a large sheath to the cylindrical base of the stem. The plant occurs in several forms, a gray or mouse colored form, and a brownish or fulvus form, and sometimes nearly white. These forms are recog- I'l \i K jj. Fic.iRK 76. — Amanita solitaria. Three plants, 34 natural size. Copyright 1900. o o o U P o > s £ OS D •J WHITE-SPORED AGARICS. 75 nized by some as varieties, and by others as species. The plants are 8-15 cm. high, the qt^fs 3-7 cm. broad, and the stems 5-8 mm. in thickness. The pileus is from ovate to bell-shaped, then convex and expanded, smooth, rarel\- with fragments of the volva on the surface. The margin is thin and marked by deep furrows and ridges, so that it is deeply striate, or the terms sulcate or pectinate sulcate are used to express the character of the margin. The term pectinate sulcate is employed on account of a series of small elevations on the ridges, giving them a pectinate, or comb-like, appearance. The color varies from gray to mouse color, brown, or ochraceous brown. The flesh is white. The gills are white or nearly so, and free. The spores are globose, 7-10// in diameter. The stem is cylindrical, even, or slightly tapering upward, hollow or stuffed, not bulbous, smooth, or with mealy particles or prominent tloccose scales. These scales are formed by the separation of the edges of the gills from the surface of the stem, to which they are closely applied before the pileus begins to expand. Threads of mycelium growing from the edge of the lamelki' and from the stem intermingle. When the pileus expands these are torn asunder, or by their pull tear up the outer surface of the stem. The volva forms a prominent sheath which is usually quite soft and easily collapses (Fig. 'jj^. The entire plant is very brittle and fragile, it is considered an excellent one for food. 1 often eat it raw when collecting. Authors differ as to the number of species recognized in the plant as described above. Secretan recognized as many as ten species. The two prominent color forms are quite often recognized as two species, or by others as varieties ; the gray or mouse colored form as A. livida Pers., and the tawny form as A. spadicea Pers. Ac- cording to Fries and others the livida appears earlier in the season than spadicej, and this fact is recognized by some as entitling the two to specific rank. Plowright (Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc, p. 40, 1897-98) points out that in European forms of spjdicej there is a second volva inside the outer, and in liTidj there are "folds or wrinkles of considerable size on the inner surface of the volva." He thinks the two entitled to specific rank. At Ithaca and in the mountains of North Carolina I ha\e found both forms appearing at the same season, and thus far have been unable to detect the difft-r- ences noted by Plowright in the volva. But I have never found intergrading color forms, and have not yet satisfied myself as to whether or not the two should be entitled to specific rank. Some of the other species of Anhini/opsis found in this country 76 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. are A. nivalis Grev., an entirely white plant regarded by some as only a white torm of A. vaginata. Another white plant is A. voivata Pk., which has elliptical spores, and is striate on the margin instead of sulcate. Amanitopsis farinosa Schw.— The mealy agaric, or powdery ama- nita, is a pretty little species. It was first collected and described from North Carolina by de Schweinitz (Synop. fung Car. No. 552, 1822), and the specimens illustrated in Fig. 78 were collected by me at Blowing Rock, N. C , during September, 1899. Peck has given in the 33rd Report N. Y. State Mas., p. 49, an excellent description Figure 78. — Amanitopsis farinosa. Cap grayish (natural size). Copyright 1900. of the plant, though it often exceeds somewhat the height given by him. It ranges from 5-8 or 10 cm. high, the cap from 2-3 cm. broad, and the stem 3-6 mm. in thickness. The pileus is from subglobose to convex and expanded, becoming nearly plane or even depressed by the elevation of the margin in old specimens. The color is gray or grayish brown, or mouse colored. The pileus is thin, and deeply striate on the margin, covered with a grayish tloccose, powdery or mealy substance, the remnant of the evanescent volva. This substance is denser at the center and is easily rubbed off. The gills are white and free from the stem. The C "53 c W OS c "o 3 u Bi CI < Cm \VHirR-SI'< )RJ-;i) AGARICS. 77 spores arc subglobose and ovate to elliptical, 6-7 // long. The stem is cylindrical, even, hollow or stuffed, whitish or gray and very slightly enlarged at the base into a small rounded bulb which is quite constant and characteristic, and at first is covered on its upper margin by the tloccose matter from the volva. At Blowing Rock the plants occurred in sandy soil by roadsides or in open woods. In habit it resembles strikingly forms of Amani- topsis vagiujtj, but the \olva is entirely different (Fig, 78). Although A. vjginjtii was commini in the same locality, I searched in vain for intermediate forms which I thought might be found. Sometimes the floccose matter wouKI clinu together more or less, and portions of it remained as patches on the lower part of the stem, while depau- perate forms of A. vjginata would have a somewhat reduced volva, but in no case did I find intermediate stages between the two kinds of volva. LEPIOTA Fr. The genus Lepiota lacks a volva, but the \eil is present forming a ring on the stem. The genus is closely related to Amjiiihi, from which it differs in the absence of the volva, or perhaps more properly speaking in the fact that the universal veil is firmly connected (concrete with) witli the pileus, and with the base of the stem, so that a volva is not formed. The gills are usually free from the stem, some being simply adnexed, but in some species connected with a collar near the stem. The stem is fleshy and is easily separable from the cap. A number of the species are edible. Peck, 35th Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 150-164, describes i8 species. Lloyd, Mycol. Notes, November, 1898, describes 9 species. Lepiota naiicina Fr. {Lcpiotj uaiicinoidcs Pk., Aiiuiihirij hnis Krombh.) Edible. — The smooth lepiota, L. junici)hi, grows in lawns, in pastures and by roadsides, etc. It occurs during the latter part of summer and during autumn, being more abundant in September and early October. It is entirely white, or the cap is sometimes buff, and in age the gills become dirty pink in color. It is from 8-12 cm. high, the cap 5-10 cm. broad, and the stem 8-15 mm. in thickness. The pileus is very fleshy, nearly globose, then conve.x to nearly e.xpanded, smooth, or rarely the surface is broken into minute scales. The gills are first white, free from the stem, and in age assume a dull pink tinge. The spores are usually white in mass, but rarely when caught on white paper they show a faint pink tinge. The spores are elliptical to oval. The stem is nearly cylindrical, gradually enlarging below so that it is clavate, nearly hollow or stuffed with loose threads. 7S STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI, Since the plant occurs in the same situations as the Agariciis campcstris it might be mistaken for it, especially for white forms. But of course no harm could come by eating it by mistake for the common mushroom, for it is valued just as highly for food by some who have eaten it. If one should look at the gills, however, they would not likely mistake it for the common mushroom because the gills become pink only when the plant is well expanded and quite old. There is much more danger in mistaking it for the white amanitas, A.phalloides, A. verna. or A. riwsa, since the gills of these deadly plants are white, and they do sometimes grow in lawns and Figure 8o. — Lepiota naucina. — Section of three plants, different ages. other grassy places where the smooth lepiota and the common mushroom grow. For this reason one should study the descriptions and illustrations of these amanitas given on preceding pages, and especially should the suggestions given there about care in collecting plants be followed, until one is so certainly familiar with the characters that the plants would be known " on sight." The pink color of the gills of this lepiota has led certain students of the fungi into mistakes of another kind. This pink color of the gills has/led some to place the plant among the rosy spored agarics in the genus Anmilaria. where it was named Anmilaria Icevis by Krombholtz (vide Bresadola Funghi Mangerecci e velenosi, p, 29, Jiv^^ ^^'■^' ^^'■- I'l.AiK 25, FicuuF. 8i.— Lepiota procera. Grayish brown to reddish brown, gills and flesh white (3/4 natural size). Copyright 1900. WfllTB-SPORED AGARICS. 7'.» iSc)(;). It fits the description of that plant exactly. The pink color ot the tiills, as well as the fact that the gills turn brownish when dry, has U-d to a confusion in some cases of the L'piotj luiiiiiui with the clialky agaric, .-lojiuiis crctJiCiin. The external resemblance of the plants, as show n in \arious illustrations, is very striking, and in the chalk\- ai^aric the gills remain pink very late, only becoming brown when \ery old. l.epidta procera Scop. Edible. — The parasol mushroom, Lcpiota proit'ia, grows in pastures, lawns, gardens, along roadsides, or in thin woods, or in gardens. It is a large and handsome plant and when expanded seems not inappropriately named. It is from 12-20 cm. or more high, the cap expands from 5-12 cm., while the stem is 4-7 mm. in thickness, it occurs during summer and in ^arly autumn. The pileus is oval, then bell-shaped, convex and nearly expanded, with usually a more or less prominent elevation (umbo) at the center. Sometimes it is depressed at the center. It is grayish brown or reddish brown in color on the surface and the flesh is whitish. As the cap expands the surface layer ceases to grow and is therefore cracked, first narrow chinks appearing, showing white or grayish threads underneath. As the cap becomes more expanded the brown surface is torn into scales, which give the cap a more or less shaggy appearance except on the umbo, where the color is more uniform. The torn surface of the pileus shows numerous radiating fibres, and it is soft and yielding to the touch. The gills are remote from the stem, broad, and crowded. Tlie spores are long, elliptical, 12-17 /' long. The stem is cylindrical, hollow, or stuffed, even, enlarged below into a prominent bulb, of the same color as the pileus, though paler, especially above the annulus. The surface is usually cracked into numerous small scales, the chinks between showing the white inner portion of the stem. The ring is stout, narrow, usually quite free from the stem, so that it can be moved up and down on the stem, and is called a mo\'able ring. Figure 81 is from plants (No. 3842, C. U. herbarium) collected in a garden at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September. 1899. A closely related plant, Lcpiota rjchihics \'itt., has smaller spores, 9 1 2 \ 79 H. It is also edible, and by some considered onl\- a variety of /.. piiHCi\i. It is rare in this country, but appears about Boston in considerable quantities " in or near greenhouses or in enriched soil out of doors," where it has the appearance of an introduced plant (Webster, Rhodora, I: 226, i8(»). It is ,1 much stouter plant than L. proicij, the pileus usually depressed, much more coarsely scaly, and usually grows in dense clusters, while L. procera usually 80 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. occurs singly or scattered, is more slender, often umbonate. L. rachodi's has a veil with a double edge, the edges more or less fringed. The veil is fixed to the stem until the plant is quite mature, when it becomes movable. The tlesh of the plant on exposure to the air becomes a brownish orange tint. Lepiota morgan! Pk. — This plant occurs from Ohio, southward and west, it grows in grassy places, especially in wet pastures, it is FiGiKE 82.— Lepiota ameiicana. Scales and center of cap reddish or reddish brown. Entire plant turns reddish on drying (natural size). Copyright 1900. one of the largest of the lepiotas, ranging from 20-40 cm. high, the cap 20-30 cm. broad, and the stem about 2 cm. in thickness. The pileus, when fully expanded, is whitish, with large dark scales, f-specialiy toward the center. The ring is large, sometimes movable, and the gills and spores are greenish. Some report the plant as edible, while others say illness results from eating it. Lepiota americana Pk. Edible.— This plant is widely distributed in the United States. The plants occur singly or are clustered, 6-12 WHITE-SPORHD AGARICS. SI cm. high, the cap 4-10 cm. broad, and the stem 4-10 mm. in thick- ness. The cap is adorned with reddish or reddish brown scales except on the center, where the color is uniform because the surface is not broken up into scales. The tlesh is white, but changes to reddish when cut or bruised, and the whole plant becomes reddish on drying. Figure 82 is from plants (No. 2718, C. U. herbarium) collected at Ithaca. The European plant, L. I\h1lianii, also reported in this country, changes to a brownish red. It is believed by some to be identical with L. anu'ricjiij. > iiii Ki. S3.— Lepiota cristata. Kntirely wiiite, but scales grayish or pinkish lirown, stem dften flesh color (natural size). Copyright njoo. Lepiota acutesquamosa Weinm. — This is a medium or small sized plant with a tloccose pileus adorned with small, acute, erect scales, and has a loose, hairy or wooly veil which is often torn irregularly. The erect scales fall away from the pileus and lea\e little scars where they were attached. Lepiota cristata A. & S. Edible. — The crested lepiota, Lepiota cris- tata, occurs in grassy places and borders of woods, in groves, etc., from May to September, and is widely distributed. The plant is small, 3-5 cm. high, the cap 1-4 cm. broad, and the stem 2-:; mm. in thickness. It grows in clusters or is scattered. The pileus is ovate, bell-shaped, then convex and expanded, and thin. The surface is at first entirely dull reddish or reddish brown, but soon cracks into numerous scales of the same color arranged in a crested manner, more numerous between the margin and the center, and often arranged in a concentric manner. The center of the cap 82 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. often preserves the uniform reddish brown color because the pileus at this point does not expand so much and therefore the surface does not crack, while the margin often becomes white because of the dis- appearance of the brown covering here. The gills are free from the stem, narrow, crowded, and close to the stem. The spores are more or less angular, elongated, more narrowed at one end, and measure 5_8 X 3-4 M- The stem is slender, cylindrical, hollow, whitish, smooth. The ring is small, white, and easily breaks up and disappears. The characters of the plant are well shown in Fig. 83 from plants collected at Ithaca. Lepiota angustana Britz. is identical, and accord- ing to Morgan L. miamensis Morgan is a white form of L. angustana. Lepiota asperula Atkinson. — This lepiota resembles A. asper'm some respects, but it is smaller and the spores are much smaller, being very minute. The plant is 5-8 cm. high, the pileus 2-4 cm. broad, and the stem 4-6 mm. in thickness, it grows in leaf mould in the woods and has been found at Ithaca, N. Y., twice during July and Septem- ber, 1897. The pileus is convex and bell-shaped, becoming nearly or quite expanded. It is hair brown to olive brown in color. The surface is dry, made up of interwoven threads, and is adorned with numerous small, erect, pointed scales resembling in this respect A. asper Fr. The gills are white or yellowish, free, but rather close to the stem, narrow, often eroded on the edge, sometimes forked near the stem., and some of them arranged in pairs. The spores are oblong, smooth, and very minute, measuring 5x2 /<. The stem is the same color as the pileus, cylindrical, hollow, with loose threads in the cavity, en- larged into a rounded bulb below, minutely downy to pubescent. The outer portion of the bulb is formed of intricately interwoven threads, among which are entangled soil and humus particles. The veil is white, silky, hairy, separating from the stem like a dense cor- tina, the threads stretched both above and below as shown in Fig. 84 from plants (No. 3157 C. U. herbarium), collected at Ithaca. In some specimens, as the pileus expands, the spaces between the pointed scales are torn, thus forming quite coarse scales which are often arranged in more or less concentric rows, showing the yellow-tinged flesh in the cracks, and the coarse scales bearing the fine point at the center. A layer connecting the margin of the pileus with the base of the stem and covered with fine brown points, some- times separates from the edge of the cap and the base of the stem, and clings partly to the cortina and partly to the stem in much the same way that portions of the volva cling to the stem of certain species of Amanita, as seen in A.velatipes (Fig. 66). Sometimes u CN r. c tr r a -c 2-^ a — r. ^ p c rr 2 ^. "" -^ S£. i" c • '^ o c ore rt o :! o .- 00 WHITB-SIMJh'HD AGARICS. 83 this is left on the base of the stem and tlu-n resembles a short, free limh of a \()l\a, an-i suggests a species of Aniauila. The scales, however, are concrete with the pileus, and the species appears to show a closer relationship with L-piohi. ARMILLARIA Fr. In the y,(.'nus ArmilLirij tiit- inner veil which forms a ring on the stem is present. The stem is fibrous, or the outer portion cartilagin- ous in some species, and not easily separable from the substance of the pileus (continuous with. the hymenophore), and the gills are attached to the stem, sinuate, or decurrent, spores white. Peck, 43rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 40-45, describes 6 species. Some of the species resemble very closely certain species of Aiihi- iiitd or L'pioLi. but can be distinguished by the firm continuity of the substance of the stem and cap. Armillaria mellea \ ahl. Edible. — This is ont- of the most common of the late summer and autumn fungi, and is widely distributed over the world. It grows about the bases of old stumps or dead trees, or from buried roots. Sometimes it is found attached to the li\ing roots of trees. The plant occurs in tufts or clusters, several to many indi- viduals growing together, the bases of their stems connected with a black rope-like strand from which they arise. The entire plant is often more or less honey colored, from which the plant gets its specific name. Its clustered habit, the usually prominent ring on the stems and the sharp, blackish, erect scales which usually adorn the center of the cap, mark it as an easy plant to determine in most cases. The colors and markings, however, vary greatly, so that some of the forms are very puzzling. The plant varies in height from 10-15 ^'m- the cap from 5-10 cm. broad, and the stem 4-10 mm. in thickness. The pileus is oval to convex and e.xpanded, sometimes with a slight umbo or elevation at the center. The color varies from honey color to nearly white, or yellowish brown to dull reddish brown, usually darker on the center. In typical forms the pileus is adorned with pointed dark brown, or blackish, erect, scales especially abundant over the center, while the margin is often free from them, but may be marked with looser tloccose, brownish, or yellowish scales. Some- times there are no blackish pointed scales anywhere on the cap, onl\- loose tloccose colored scales, or in some forms the cap is entirely- smooth. The margin in old specimens is often striate. The pileus is usually dry, but Webster cites an instance in which it was viscid in wet weather. The gills are attached to the stem squarely (adnate) or they are S4 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. decurrent (extend downward on the stem), are white, or whitish, becomintr in age more or less dingy or stained. The spores are rounded "or elliptical, 6-9 /<. The stem is elastic, spongy within and sometimes hollow. It is smooth or often tloccose scaly below the ring, sometimes with prominent transverse bands of a hairy sub- stance. It is usually whitish near the upper end, but dull brown or reddish brown below the annulus, sometimes distinctly yellowish. The veil varies greatly also. It may be membranaceous and thin, or quite thick, or in other cases may be absent entirely. The ring of course varies in a corresponding manner. As shown in Fig. 85 it is quite thick, so that it appears double on the edge, where it broke away from the inner and outer surfaces of the margin of the cap. it is frequently fixed to the stem, that is, not movable, but when very thin and frail it often disappears. The honey colored agaric is said by nearly all writers to be edible, though some condemn it. It is not one of the best since it is of rather tough consistency, it is a species of considerable economic import- ance and interest, since it is a parasite on certain coniferous trees, and perhaps also on certain of the broad-leaved trees. It attacks the roots of these trees, the mycelium making its way through the outer layer, and then it grows beneath the bark. Here it forms fan-like sheets of mycelium which advance along both away from the tree and towards the trunk. It disorganizes and breaks down the tissues of the root here, providing a space for a thicker growth of the mycel- ium as it becomes older. In places the mycelium forms rope-like strands, at first white in color, but later becoming dark brown and shining. These cords or strands, known as rhi{omorphs, extend for long distances underneath the bark of the root. They are also found growing in the hollow trunks of trees sometimes. In time enough of the roots are injured to kill the tree, or the roots are so weakened that heavy winds will blow the trees over. The fruiting plants always arise from these rhizomorphs, and by digging carefully around the bases of the stems one can find these cords with the stems attached, though the attachment is frail and the stems are easily separated from the cords. Often these cords grow for years without forming any fruit bodies. In this condition they are often found by stripping off the bark from dead and rotting logs in the woods. These cords were once supposed to be separate fungi, and they were known under the name Rhiiomorpha subcor- tical is. Armiiiaria aurantia Schaeff . ( Tricholoma peckii Howe) Suspected.— This is a very pretty species and rare in the United States. The T r ft 'J- " 7. 1. fT '^ — , •/. 'jr 3 C > -• a r. C O ft C 2 £- "■ e S EI r. 3-Cf: c -c ^ ft ft [A 2 o _ n 3 n - rt c O f^ 3 "C (re — _ c WlilTE-SPORED AGARICS. S5 plants are 6-8 cm. high, the cap 4-7 cm. hruaJ, and the stem 6-8 mm. in thickness. It occurs in woods. It is known by its viscid pileus, the orange brown or ochraceous rufus color of the pileus and stem, and the color of the stem being confined to the superficial layer, which becomes torn into concentric floccose scales, forming numerous minute tloccose irregular rings of color around the stem. Tile pileus is conve.x to expanded, with an umbo, and the edge inrolled, tleshw thin, viscid, ochraceous rufus (in specimens collected Figure .S(). — Annillaria aurantia Schaeff. ( = Tricholonia peckii Howe). Cap orange-brown or ochraceous rufus, viscid ; floccose scales on stem same color (natural size). Copyright 1900. by myself), darker on the umbo, and minutely scaly from tufts of hairs, and the viscid cuticle easily peeling off. The gills are narrow, crowded, slightly adne.xed, or many free, white, becoming brown dis- colored where bruised, and in drying brownish or rufus. The spores are minute, globose to ovoid, or rarels' sub-elliptical when a little longer, with a prominent oil globule usuallv, 3-3.5 .\ V5 /', some- times a little longer when the elliptical forms are presented. The stem is straight or ascending, even, very floccose scaly as the pileus is unrolled from it, scales same color as the pileus, the scales running 86 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. transversely, being separated perhaps by the elongation of the stem so that numerous floccose rings are formed, showing the white flesh of the stem between. The upper part of the stem, that above the annulus, is white, but the upper part floccose. This plant has been long known in Europe. There is a rather poor figure of it in Schaeffer Table 37, and a better one in Gillet Champignons de France, Hymenomycetes, I, opposite page 76, but a very good one in Bresadola Funghi Mangerecci e Velenosi, Tavel 18, 1899. A good figure is also given by Barla, Les Champignons des Alpes — Mari- times, PI. 19, Figs. 1-6. The plant was first reported from America in the 41st Report, State Muse- um, N. Y., p. 82, 1888, under the name Tric/io/oma peckii Howe, from the Catskill Mountains, N. Y. Figure 86 is from plants (No. 3991, C. U. herbari- um) collected in the Blue Ridge moun- tains, at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. The European and American description both ascribe a bitter taste to the flesh of the pileus, and it is regarded as suspicious. There does not seem to be a well formed annulus, the veil only being present in a rather young stage, as the inrolled margin of the pileus is unrolling from the surface of the stem. It seems to be more in the form of a universal veil resembling the veil of some of the lepiotas. It shows a relationship with Tricholoma which possesses in typical forms a delicate veil present only in the young stage. Per- haps for this reason it was referred by Howe to TrkJioIoma as an undescribed species when it was named T. peckii. If its affinities should prove to be with Tricholoma rather than with Armillaria, it would then be known as Tricholo^ua aiirantia. Fkiire 87. — Tricholoma personatum. Entire plant grayisli brown, tinged with lilac or purple, spores light ochraceous (natural size, often larger). WMITE-SPORED AGARICS. 87 TRICHOLOMA Fr. In the gt-nus Tricbolonu the volva and annulus are both wanting, the spores are white, and the gills are attached to the stem, but are more or less strongly notched or sinuate at the stem. Sometimes the notch is very slight. The stem is tleshy-tibrous, attached to the center of the pileus, and is usually short and stout. In some speci- mens when young there is a slight cobwebby veil which very soon disappears. The genus is a very large one. Some species are said to be poisonous and a tew are known to be edible. Peck, 44th Re- port, N. V. State Mus., pp. 38-64, describes 46 species. Trichoioma persona- turn Fr. Edible. — This plant occurs during the autumn and persists up to the winter months. It grows on the grouiui in open places and in woods. The stem is short, usually 3-7 cm. long x 1-2 cm. in thick- ness, and the cap is from 5-10 cm. or more broad. Theentire plant often has a lilac or pur- ple tint. The pileus is con- vex, expanded, moist, smooth, grayish to brownish tinged with lilac or purple, especi- ally when young, fading out in age. When young the pileus is sometimes adorned with white mealy particles, and when old the margin may be more or less upturned and wavy. The gills are crowded, rounded next the stem, and nearly free but close to the stem, violet or lilac when young, changing to dull reddish brown when old. The spores when caught in mass are dull pink or salmon color. They measure 7-9 ;< long. The stem is solid, fibrous, smooth, deep lilac when young and retaining the lilac color longer than the pileus. Sometimes the base is bulbous as in Fig. ^y. This plant is regarded by all writers as one of the best of the edible fungi. Sometimes the pileus is water soaked and then the Fic.t RE 88. — Trichoioma personatum. Section (natural size). S8 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. flavor is not so fine. The position of the plant is regarded as doubt- ful by some because of the more or less russety pink color of the spores when seen in mass, and the ease with which the gills sepa- rate from the pileus, characters which show its relationship to the genus Paxilliis. Tricholoma sejunctum Sowerb. Edible.— This plant occurs on the ground in rather open woods during late summer and in the autumn. It is 8-12 cm. high, the cap 5-8 cm. broad, and the stem 10-15 mm. in thickness. FiciRE 89 — Tricholoma sejunctum. Cap light yellow, streaked with dark threads on the surface, viscid. Stem and gills white (natural size, often larger). Copyright 1900. The pileus is convex to expanded, umbonate, viscid when moist, light yellow in color and streaked with dark threads in the surface. The flesh is white, and very fragile, differing in this respect from T. cgiii'sfre, which it resembles in general form. The gills are broad, rather distant, broadly notched near the stem, and easily separating from the stem. The stem is solid, smooth and shining white. Figure 89 is from plants collected at Ithaca. It is said to be edible. o o so 'i-l a, o U IS * ^ D o o o -J 30 -1 VVHITE-SPORBD AGARICS. 89 CLITOCYBE Fr. The volva and aniuilus are wanting in this ^ienus, and the spores are wliite. The stem is elastic, spon^iy within, the outside being elastic or tibrnu.s, ■^i that tlie fibres hold together well when the stem is twisted or broken, as in Tihl/o/onui. The stem does not separate readiK' from the pileiis, but the rather strong fibres are continuous with the substance of the pileus. The gills are narrowed toward the stem, joined squarely or decurrent (running down on the stem), very rarely some of them notched at the stem while others of the same plant are decurrent. In one species at least (C. UiiCiita, by some placed in the genus Lurjrin), the gills are often strongly notched or sinuate. The cap is usually plane, depressed, or funnel-shaped, many of the species lia\ing the latter form. The plants grow chiefly on the ground, though a number of species occur on dead wood. The genus contains a \ery large number of species. Peck describes ten species in the 23rd Report, N. Y. State Mus., p. 76, et seq., also 48th Report, p. 172, several species. Morgan, Jour. Cinn. Soc. Nat. Hist. 6: 70-73, describes 12 species. Clitocybe Candida Bres. Edible. — This is one of the large species of the genus. It occurs in late autumn in Europe. It has been found on several occasions during late autumn at Ithaca, N. Y., on the ground in open woods, during wet weather. It occurs in clusters, though the specimens are usually not crowded. The stem is usually very short, 2-4 cm. long, and 23 cm. in thickness, while the cap is up to 10-18 cm. broad. The pileus is sometimes regular, but often very irregular and produced much more strongly on one side than on the other. It is convex, then expanded, the margin first incurved and finally wavy and often somewhat lobed. The color is white or light buff in age. The flesh is thick and white. The gills are white, stout, broad, somewhat decurrent, some adnate. The taste is not unpleasant when raw, and when cooked it is agreeable. I have eaten it on several occasions. Figures 90, 91 are from plants (No. 4612 C. V. herbarium) collected at Ithaca. Clitocybe iaccata Scop. Edible. — This plant is a very common and widely distributed one, growing in woods, fields, roadsides and other waste places. It is usually quite easily recognized from the whitish scurfy cap, the pink or purplish gills, though the spores are white, from the gills being either decurrent, adnate, or more or less strongly notched, and the stem fibrous and whitish or of a pale pink color. When the plants are mature the pale red or pink gills appear 9(1 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. mealy from being covered with the numerous white spores. The pileus is thin, convex or later expanded, of a watery appear- ance, nearly smooth or scurfy or slightly squamulose. The spores are rounded, and possess spine-like processes, or are prominently rough- ened. In the warty character of the spores this species differs from most of the species of the genus Oitocybe, and some writers place it in a different genus erected to accommodate the species of Oitocybe which have warty or spiny spores. The species with spiny spores are few. The genus in which this plant is placed by some is Laccaria, and then the plant is called Laccaria laccata. There are several other species of Oitocybe which are common and which one is apt to run across often, especially in the woods. These are of the funnel form type, the cap being more or less funnel-shaped, Clitocybe infundibuli^^ formis Schaeffer is one of these. The cap, when mature, is pale red or tan color, fading out in age. it is 5-7 cm. high, and the cap 2-4 cm. broad. It is considered delicious. Clitocybe cyathiformis, as its name indicates, is similar in form, and occurs in woods. The pileus is of a darker color, dark brown or smoky in color. Clitocybe illudens Schw. Not Edible. — This species is distributed through the Eastern United States and sometimes is very abundant. It occurs from July to October about the bases of old stumps, dead trees, or from underground roots. It is one of the large species, the cap being 15-20 cm. broad, the stem 12-20 cm. long, and 8-12 mm. in thickness. It occurs in large clusters, several or many joined at their bases. From the rich saffron yellow color of all parts of the plant, and especially by its strong phosphorescence, so evident in the dark, it is an easy plant to recognize. Because of it phosphorescence it is sometimes called " Jack-my-lantern." The pileus is convex, then expanded, and depressed, sometimes with a small umbo, smooth, often irregular or eccentric from its crowded habit, and in age the margin of the pileus is wavy. The flesh is thick at the center and thin toward the margin. In old plants the color becomes sordid or brownish. The gills are broad, not crowded, decurrent, some extending for a considerable distance down on the stem while others for a less distance. The stem is solid, firm, smooth, and tapers toward the base. While the plant is not a dangerously poisonous one, it has occasioned serious cases of illness, acting as a violent emetic, and of course should be avoided. Its phosphorescence has often been observed. Another and much smaller plant, widely distributed in this country as well as in Europe, and belonging to another genus, is also phosphorescent. It is Pamn; stipticus, a small white plant with to !? n c so O o o cr re n n = O D. ~ ft o o c re e s »3 WHITE-SPORED AGARICS. !•! a short lateral stem, c^rovvinii on branches, stumps, truiik>, t-tc. When freshly devi-loped the phosphorfscence is marked, but when the plants becomt- old they often fail to show it. FiGi'RE 92 — Clitocybe illudens. Entire plant rich saffron yellow, old plants become sordid brown sometimes; when fresh shows phosphorescence at night (2 3 natural size, often much larger). Copyright looo. COLLYBIA Fr. hi the genus Collvbij the annulus and volva are both wanting, the spores are white, the gills are free or notched, or sinuate. The stem is either entirely cartilaginous or has a cartilaginous rind, while the central portion of the stem is fibrous, or fleshy, stuffed or flstulose. The pileus is fleshy and when the plants are young the margin of 9: STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. the pileus is incurved or inrolled, i. e., it does not lie straight against the stem as in Mvccna. Many of the species of Collybia are quite firm and will revive somewhat after drying when moistened, but they are not coriaceous as in Manisiiiiifs, nor do they revive so thoroughly. It is difficult, however, to draw the line between the two genera. Twenty-five of the New York species of Collybia are described by Peck in the 49th Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 32 et seq. Morgan describes twelve species in Jour. Cinn. Soc. Nat. Hist., 6: 70-73. Collybia radicata Rehl. Edible. — This is one of the common and wid ely distributed species of the genus. It occurs on the ground in the woods or groves or borders of woods, it is quite easily recog- nized by the more or less flattened cap, the long striate stem some- what enlarged below and then tapering off into a long, slender root-like process in the ground. It is from this "rooting" character that the plant gets its specific name. It is 10-20 cm. high, the cap 3-7 cm. broad and the stem 4-8 mm. in thick- ness. The pileus IS tleshy, thin, convex to nearly plane, or even with the margin upturned in old plants, and the center sometimes umbonate. It is smooth, viscid when moist, and often with wrinkles on the surface which extend radially. The color varies from nearly white in some small specimens to grayish, grayish brown or umber. The flesh is white. The gills are white, broad, rather distant, adnexed, i. e., joined to the stem by the upper angle. The spores are elliptical and about 15X io/<. The stem is the same color as the pileus though paler, and usually white above, tapers gradually above, is often striate or grooved, or sometimes only mealy. The long tapering "root" is often attached to some underground dead root. FiGURK 93. — Collylria radicata. Cap grayish brown to grayish and white in some smalfforms. WHITH-SPORED AGARICS. !>:> I have no photoiirciph of this plant, aiui the pen sketch here presented was made by Mr, Rathbun trDiii one of his water color drawings. Collybia lonKlpes Bull., is a closely related plant. It is mucli larger, has a velvet)', t one of the \er\- small mv- Cenas, and with the F'GI'REQ?— Mycena vulgaris. Entirely white, center ' of cap gravish. entire plant very shniv when niotst brilliant red pileus and (natural siV.e). Copyright iqoo.' 98 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Figurp^qS — Mycena acicula. Cap brilliant red, gills and stem yel- lowish (natural size). Copyright 1900. yellow gills and stem it makes a very pretty object growing on leaves, twigs, or rotten wood in the forest. It occurs during sum- mer and autumn, it is 2-5 cm. high, the cap 2-4 mm. broad, and the stem is thread-like. The pileus is very thin, mem- branaceous, bell-shaped, then con- vex, whenthe pointed apex appears as a small umbo, it is smooth, striate on the margin, and of a rich vermil- lion or orange color. The gills are rounded at the stem and adnexed, rather broad in the middle, distant, yellow, the edge white, or sometimes the gills are entirely white. The stem is very slender, with a root-like process entering the rotten wood, smooth except the hairs on the root- like process, yellow. Figure 98 is from plants (No. 2780, C. U. herbarium) collected in a woods near Ithaca. It has been found here several times. Mycena cyanothrix Atkinson. — This is a very pretty plant growing on rotting wood in clusters, often two or three joined at the base, the base of the stem inserted in the rotten wood for 1-2 cm., and the base is clothed with blue, hair-like threads. The plants are 6-9 cm. high, the cap 1-2 cm. broad, and the stem not quite 2 mm. in diameter. The pileus is ovate to convex, viscid when young. The color is bright blue when young, becoming pale and whitish in age, with a tendency to fuscous on the center. The cap is smooth and the margin finely striate. After the plants have dried the color is nearly uniform ochraceous or tawny. The gills are close, free, narrow, white, then grayish white, the edge finely toothed or fimbriate. The spores are globose, smooth, 6-9//. The stem is slender, hollow, faintly purple when young, becoming whitish or flesh color, flexuous, or nearly straight, even, often two united at the base into a root-like extension which enters the rotten wood. The base of the stem is covered with deep blue mycelium which retains its color in age, but disappears on drying after a time. Figure 99 is from plants (No. 2382, C. U. herbarium) collected at Ithaca, in woods, June 16, 1898. Mycena hsematopa Pers. — This is one of the species of Mycena with a red juice which exudes in drops where wounds occur on the plant. It is easily recognized by its dense cespitose habit, the deep blood WHITE-SPORKD AGARICS. •»9 red juicf, the hollow stem, and the crL-nate or denticulate sterilt- margin of the cap. Numbers of the plant occur usually in a single cluster, and their bases are closely joined and hairy. The stems are more or less ascending according to the position of the plant on the wood. The plants are 5-10 cm. hiuh, the cap is 1-2.5 ^^^^- broad, and the stem 2-^ mm. in thickness. Till' pileus is conic, then l^ell-shaped, and as the margin of the cap FiGi KK 99. — MyLciKi cyanotlirix. Cap viscid when young, blue, he- coming pale and whitish in age, and fuscous in center ; gills white ; stem faintly purple when young, then flesh color or white, blue, clothed with blue hairs at base (natural size). Copyright 1900. expands more appears umbonate, obtuse, smooth, even or somewhat striate on the margin. The color \aries from whitish to flesh color, or dull red, and appears more or less saturated with a red juice. The thin margin extends a short distance beyond the ends of the gills, and the margin is then beautifully crenate. The gills are adnate, and often extend down on the stem a short distance by a little tooth. Tile stem is tuin, sometimes smooth, sometimes witli KlU STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. minute hairs, at the base with long hairs, hollow, in color the same as that of the pileus. The color varies some- what, being darker in some plants than in others. In some plants the juice is more abundant and they bleed profusely when wounded, while in other cases there is but little of the juice, sometimes wounds only showing a change in color to a deep red without any free drops exuding. Figure lOO is from plants collected at Ithaca, in August, 1899. It is widely distributed in Europe and North America. Mycena succosa Pk., another species of Mycena with a juice, occurs on very rotten wood in the woods. It is a small plant, dull white at first, but soon spotted with black, and turning black in handling or where bruised, and when dried. Wounds exude a "serum-like juice," andthe wounds soon become black. KiGiRE 100.— Mycena hc-ematopa. Dull red or flesh color, ^t waS described by Peck or whitish, a dull red juice exudes where broken or cut, under Qollvbiil in the 25th margin of cap serrate with thin sterile flaps (natural d + ' size). Copyright 1900. Keport, p. 74. OMPHALIA Fr. The genus OmpJmlia is closely related to Mycena and CoUybia. It differs from these mainly in the decurrent gills. In the small species of Mycena where the gills are slightly decurrent, the pileus is not umbilicate as it is in corresponding species of Ompha/ia. In some of the species of Omphalia the pileus is not umbilicate, but here the gills are plainly decurrent. The stem is cartilaginous. WlllTH-SPOPED AGARICS. c Omphalia campanclla Batsch. — One ot the distributed species of tlu- tzeiius is the littk' brll-mnphalia, Omphalia ianipaiu'lla. It occurs throu^ihout the summer anJ autumn on dead "r] or rotten logs, stumps, branches, etc., in woods. It is often clustered, large numbers covering a consider- able surface of the decaying log. It is 1-3 cm. high, the cap 8-20 mm. broad, and the stem very slender. The plleiis is convex, umbilicate, faintly striate, dull reddish yellow, in damp weather with a watery ap- pearance. The gills are narrow, yellow, connected by veins, strongly curved because of the form of the pileus, and then being decurrent uw the stem. The stem is slender, often ascending, brownish hairy toward the basf, and paler above. Omphalia epichysium Pers. — This plant occurs during the autumn in woods, growing usually on much decayed wood, or sometimes appar- ently on the ground. The smoky, or dull gray color of the entire plant, the depressed or funnel- shaped pileus, and short, slender stem, ser\-e to distinguish it. The cap is 2-4 cm. broad, the plant is 3-5 cm. high, and the stem 2-4 mm. in thickness. The pileus is conve.x, becoming expanded, umbilicate or depressed at the center or nearly funnel- shaped, smooth, smoky or gray with a saturated watery appearance, light gray or nearly white when dry. The gills are narrow, crowded, or a little stem is smooth, hollow, equal. Figure loi most common and widely 3" P •a c' 3 n "2. o ora 0_ o p CTQ o o decurrent. The slender is from plants (No. 3373, 102 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. C. U. herbarium) collected in woods near Ithaca, N. Y., in the autumn of 1899. PLEUROTUS Fr. The genus Plcnrotns is usually recognized without difficulty among the fleshy, white-spored agarics, because of the eccentric (not quite in the center of the pileus) or lateral stem, or by the pileus being attached at one side in a more or less shelving position, or in some species where the upper side of the pileus lies directly against the wood on which the plant is growing, and is then said to be resupinatc . The gills are either decurrent (extending downward) on the stem, or in some species they are rounded or notched at the junction with the stem. There is no annulus, though some- times a veil, and the genus re- sembles both Tricholoma and Clitocybe, except for the position of the stem on the pileus. In Tricholoma and Clitocybe the stem is usually attached at the center, and the majority of the species grow on the ground, while the species of Plcrirotus are especially characterized by growing on wood. Some species, at least, appear to grow from the ground, as in Pleurotus petaloides, which is sometimes found growing on buried roots or portions of decayed stumps which no longer show above ground. On the other hand, species of Clitocybe, as in C. Candida (Fig. 91), often have an eccentric stem. This presents to us one of the many diificulties which students, especially beginners, of this group of fungi meet, and also suggests how unsatisfactory any arrangement of genera as yet proposed is. Pleurotus ulmarius Bull. Edible.~The elm pleurotus is so called FiciRE 102. — Pleurotus ulmarius. Cap white, or with shades of yellow or brown near the center (natural size). Copyright 1900. WHITE-SP()l^i:i) AGARICS. 103 because it is often found growintj on Jead dm branches or trunks, or from wounds in living trees, but it is not confined to the elm. It is a large species, easily distinguished from the oyster agaric and the other related species by its long stem attached usually near the center of the cap, and by the .lills being rounded or notched at their inner Figure 103. — I'leurotus ulmarius. Under view and section (natural size). Copyright iqoo. extremity. The cap is 5-12 cm. broad, the stem 5-10 cm. long, and 1-2 cm. in thickness. The pileus is convex, the margin incurved, then nearly expanded, smooth, firm, white or whitish, or with shades of yellow or brown on the center, and the flesh is white. The gills are broad, rather distant. 104 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. sinuate, white or nearly so. The spores are globose, 5-8 // in diam- eter. The stem is firm, eccentric, usually curved because of its lat- eral attachment on the side of the tree, and the horizontal position of the pileus. The elm pleurotus has been long known as an edible fungus, and is regarded as an excellent one for food on account of its flavor and because of its large size. It occurs abundantly during the late autumn, and at this season of the year is usually well protected from the attacks by insects. It occurs in the woods, or fields, more fre- quently on dead trees. On shade trees which have been severely pruned, and are nearly or quite dead it sometimes appears at the wounds where limbs have been removed in great abundance. In the plants shown in Fig. 102 the stems are strongly curved because the weight of the cap bore the plant downward. Sometimes when the plant is growing directly on the upper side of a branch or log, the stem may be central. Pleurotus ostreatus Jacq. Edible. — This plant is known as the oyster agaric, because the form of the plant sometimes suggests the outline of an oyster shell, as is seen in Fig. 104. It grows on dead trunks and branches, usually in crowded clusters, the caps often overlapping or imbricated. It is large, measuring 8-20 cm. or more broad. The pileus is elongated and attached at one side by being sessile, or it is narrowed into a very short stem. It is broadest at the outer extremity, where it becomes quite thin toward the margin. It is more or less curved in outline as seen from the side, being depressed usually on the upper side near the point of attachment, and toward the margin convex and the margin incurved. The color is white, light gray, buff or dark gray, often becoming yellowish on drying. The gills are white, broad, not much crowded, and run down on the stem in long elevated lines resembling veins, which anastomose often in a recticulate fashion. The spores are white, oblong, 7-10 yw long. The stem when present is very short, and often hairy at the base. The oyster agaric has long been known as an edible mushroom, but it is not ranked among the best, because, like most Plcuroti, it is rather tough, especially in age. It is well to select young plants. Figure 104 is from plants (No. 2097, C. U. herbarium) collected at Ithaca, N. Y. Pleurotus sapidus Kalchb. Edible.— This plant usually grows in large clusters from dead trunks or branches or from dead portions of living trees. It grows on a number of different kinds of trees. The stems are often joined at the base, but sometimes the plants are scattered over a p - r -■ a n O fi 15" 5 £ IT '£. ~ N " o £. "< c erg - w'2 O X P r ■£8 o i- "^ p. >- I) O t" 03 _0 • = o -:; 3 -S •/i (1) 3 . O as WtllTE-SPOkHI) AGARICS. 1<>.') portion of the branch or trunk. The cap is from 5-10 cm. broad. The plants occur from June to No\'ember. The pileus is ^unw-x, tlie mar^iin incurvcJ wlien _\-(»un^', and mnre or less depressed in age, smooth, broadened toward the margin and tapering into the short stem which is very short in some cases and elongated in nthers. Often tlir caps are quite irregular and the mar- gin wavy, especiall\' wlien old. It is quite firm, but the margin splits quite readily on being handled. The color varies greatly, white, yellowish, gray, or brownish and lilac tints. The flesh is white. The stems are usually attached to the pileus, at or near one edge. The gills are white, broad, not at all crowded, and extend down on the stem as in the oyster agaric. They are white or whitish, and as in the other related species are sometimes cracked, due probably to the tension brought to bear because of the expanding pileus. The spores are tinged witli lilac when seen in mass, as when caught on paper. The color seems to be intensified after the spores have lain on the paper for a day or two. It is \'ery difficult to distinguish this species from the oyster aga- ric. The color of the spores seems to be the only distinguishing character, and this may not be constant. Peck suggests that it may only be a variety of the oyster agaric. I have found the plant growing from a dead spot on the base of a living oak tree. There was for several years a drive near this tree, and the wheels of vehi- cles cut into the roots of the tree on this side, and probably so injured it as to kill a portion and give this fungus and another one (Po/ysficfits pi'rgcniii'iiiis) a start, and later they ha\'e slowly encroached on the side of the tree. Figure 105 represents the plant (No. 3307, C. U. iierbariuni) from a dead maple trunk in a woods near Ithaca, collected during the autumn of 1899. ^his plant compares favorably with the oyster agaric as an edible one. Neither of these plants preserve as well as the elm pleurotus. Pleurotus dryinus Pers. Edible. — Pleurotus Jiriiius represents a sec- tion of the ;ienus in which the species are pro\ided with a veil when young, but which disappears as the pileus expands. This species has been long known in Europe on trunks of oak, ash, willow, etc., and occurs there from September to October. It was collected near Ithaca, N. V., in a beech woods along Six-mile creek, on October 24th, 1898, growing from a decayed knothole in the trunk of a living hickory tree, and again in a few days from a decayed stump. The pileus varies from 5-10 cm. broad, and the lateral or eccentric stem is 2-12 cm. long by 1-2 cm. in thickness, the length of the stem 106 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. depending on the depth of the insertion of the stem in a hollow por- tion of the trunk. The plant is white or whitish, and the substance is quite firm, drying quite hard. The pileus is convex to expanded, more or less depressed in the center, the margin involute, and the surface at first floccose, becom- ing in age floccose scaly, since the surface breaks up into triangular scales more prominent in and near the center, smaller and inconspic- uous toward the margin. The prevailing color is white, but in age the scales become cream color or buff (in European plants said to become fuscous). The pileus is either definitely lateral (Fig. io6) or eccentric when the stem is attached near the center as in Fig. 107. The gills are white, becoming tinged with yellow in age, decurrent (running down on the stem) in stride for short distances, 4-5 mm. broad, not crowded. The stem is nearly central (Fig. 107), or definitely lateral (Fig. 106), the length varying according to condi- tions as stated above. It is firm, tough, fibrous. The veil is promi- nent in young and medium plants, floccose, tearing irregularly as the pileus expands. Figure 107 is from plants (No. 2478J C. U. herbarium) growing from knothole in living hickory tree, and Fig. 106 from plants (No. 2478/') growing on a dead stump, near Ithaca. According to the descriptions of P. diyimis as given by Persoon, and as followed by Fries and most later writers, the pileus is defi- nitely lateral, and more or less dimidiate, while in P. corticatus Fr., the pileus is entire and the stem rather long and eccentric. Steven- son suggests (p. 166) that corticatus is perhaps too closely allied to dryimis. The plants in our Fig. 108 agree in all respects with P. cor- ticatus, except that possibly the lamellae do not anastomose on the stem as they are said to in corticatus. According to the usual descrip- tions corticatus is given as the larger species, while Fig. 106 of our plant, possessing the typical characters of dryinus, is the larger. The form of the pileus, the length and position of the stem, depends, as we know, to a large extent on the position of the plant on the tree. When growing from the upper side, so that there is room above for the expansion of the cap, the pileus is apt to be more regular, just as is the case in Pleurotus ulmarius, and the stem more nearly central. When the plant grows from a hollow place in the trunk as those shown in Fig. 107 did, then there is an opportunity for them to grow more or less erect, at least iintil they emerge from the hollow, and then the pileus is more nearly equal in its expansion and the stem is longer. Berkeley describes specimens of P. dryinus with long stems H yi Oj JO "t n c so w „ o p^ tr p 3? li*-» V O re" -1 e o M ^ o n ^ e 3 X c n -^ 0_ »< O 3 "^ C ft / P s S: »> r> 0»q (t re P 3 »J — 5L T3 re o ^ crq 8": (A n 3 re Plate ^;^, Figure 107. — Pleurotus dryinus, form corticatus. Entire plant white, scales cream or buff in age sometimes The ruptured veil shows in the small plant below (natural size|. Copyright 1900. WHITE-SPORED AGARICS. IHT jirovvint: from a hollnw in an ash, anJ Stf\enson (p. \()j) imports the samt- conditinn. Pleurotiis sulpluiroides Pk. — Tliis rare species, tirst collectcJ in the Catskill Mountains 1869, and described by Peck in the 26th Report, N. Y. State Mas., p. 86, 1870, was found by me on two different occasions at Ithaca, M. V.. durin o S "= d •- o o o o tc ■3 o u of gluten, which makes it very slippery in handling. The odor is mild and not unpleasant like that of a closely related species, H. cossiis. The plants are 6-i 5 cm. high, the cap is from 3-8 cm. broad, and the stem 3-8 5 mm. in thickness. It V' "^ grows on the ground * .^aBfc r, in woods, or in open grassy places. The pileus is fleshy, moderately thick, sometimes thin, convex to ex- panded, the margin uneven or sometimes wavy, smooth, and shining. When young the margin of the cap is incurved. The gills are strongly decurrent, distant, with vein-like eleva- tions near the stem. Spores rather long, oval, 6-10 X 5-6 /A, granular. The stem varies in length, it is spongy to stuffed within, sometimes hollow and tapers below. The slime which envelops the plant is sometimes so abundant as to form a veil covering the entire plant and ex- tending across from ^ the margin of the cap to the stem, covering the gills. As the plant dries this disappears, and does not leave an annulus on the stem. Figure 113 is from a photograph of plants (No. 2534, C. U. her- barium) collected in Enfield Gorge near Ithaca, N. Y., Nov. 5th, 1898. CD . a. p WHITE-SPORED AGARICS. 118 Hygrophorus I'uliKiiieus Frost. Bdible. — TIk- smoky li\tzropliorus was described in the ^s^'i Report of the N. V. State Museum, p. 134. It is an American plant, and was first collected at West Albany, dur- ing the month ot November. It is one of the larger species of the genus, and grows on the ground in woods, in late autumn. The plants are 5-10 cm. high, the cap from 3-10 cm. broad, and the stem 1-2 cm. in thickness. The large size of the plant together with the smoky, brown, viscid cap aid in the recognition of the plant. The piieus is conve.x, becoming expanded, smooth, very viscid, dull reddish brown or smoky brown, darker on the center ; the mar- gin of the piieus is even in young specimens, becoming irregular in others ; and in age often elevated more or less. The gills are broad, distant, usLuill\- decurrent, often connected by veins, white, with yel- lowish tinge in drying. The spores o\al to elliptical, /- 710SIIS. ligiiyotis and gerardii seem to be very closely re- lated. Forms of fiiligiiiosus approach lionyottis in color, and the pileus sometimes is rugose wrinkled, while in //;'- nyofits pale forms occur, and :| S- the pileus is not always «'§ rugose wrinkled. The color Z c of the bruised lamelhf is the same in the two last species and sometimes the change in color is not mark'ed. Lactarius torminosus (Schaeff.) Fr. — This plant is widel\" distribu- ted in Europe, Asia, as well as in America. It is easily recognized by the uneven mixture of pink and ochraceous colors, and the very hairy or tomentose margin of the cap. The plants are 5-10 cm. high, the cap about the same breadth, and the stem 1-2 cm. in thickness. It occurs in woods on the ground during late summer and autumn. a CI S, w ^ n 2 - I" c O O o — - n 120 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Thf pileus is convex, depressed in the center, and the margin strongly incurved when young, the abundant hairs on the margin forming an apparent veil at this time which covers up the gills. The upper surface of the pileus is smooth, or sometimes more or less cov- ered with a tomentum similar to that on the margin. The color is an admixture of ochraceous and pink hues, sometimes with concen- tric zones of darker shades. The gills are crowded, narrow, whitish, with a tinge of yellowish flesh color. The stem is cylindrical, even, hollow, whitish. The milk is white, unchangeable, acrid to the taste. Figure 1 18, left hand plants is from plants (No. 3911, C. U. herbarium) collected in the Blue Ridge Mountains, N. C, in September, 1899, and the right hand plant (No. 2960, C. U. herbarium) collected at Ithaca, N.Y. , ' , ! :■ ,_ -.>|-'jj''|J^^B ^^M^z iHSr''' jjj ^^^^ 1^1 Figure i 19.— Lactarius piperatus. Entirely white, milk very peppery (natural size, often larger). Copyright 1900. Lactarius piperatus (Scop.) Fr.— This species is very hot and pep- pery to the taste, is of medium size, entirely white, depressed at the center, or funnel-shaped, with a short stem, and very narrow and crowded gills, and abundant white milk. The plants are 3-7 cm. high, the cap 8-12 cm. broad, and the stem 1-2 cm. in thickness. It grows in woods on the ground and is quite common, sometimes very common in late summer and autumn. The pileus is fleshy, thick, firm, convex, umbilicate, and then depressed in the center, becoming finally more or less funnel-shaped by the elevation of the margin. It is white, smooth when young, in age sometimes becoming sordid and somewhat roughened. ^ The'gills WHITE-SPORED A(JARICS. I •.: 1 are white, verv' narrow, very much crowJeJ, and sonu- of them forked, arcuate and ttun ascending because of the funnel-shaped pileus. The spores are smooth, oval, with a small pr)int, 5-7 X4-5 //. The stem is equal or taperinj: bt-low, short, solid. The milk is white, unchan^ieable, very acrid to llu- taste and abundant. The plant is reported as edible. A closely related spe- cies is L. f)erga)neniis (Swartz) Fr., which resembles it very closely, but has a longer, stuffed stem, and thinner, more pliant pileus which is more frequently irregular and eccentric, and not at first umbilicate. Figure 119 is from plants (No. 3887, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. FlGiRE 120. — Lactarius resinuis. Kntire plant white, in age scales on cap dull ochraceous (natural size). Copyright iijoo. Lactarius resimus Fr. ? — This plant is very common in the woods bordering a sphagnum moor at Malloryville, N. Y., ten miles from Ithaca, during Jul\' to September. 1 have found it at this place every summer for the past three years. It occurs also in the woods of the damp ravines in the vicinity of Ithaca, it was also abundant 122 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, during September, 1899. The plants are large, the caps lo-i 5 cm. broad, the stem 5-8 cm. long, and 2-3 cm. in thickness. The pileus is convex, umbilicate, then depressed and more or less funnel-shaped in age, white, in the center roughened with fibrous scales as the plant ages, the scales becoming quite stout in old plants. The scales are tinged with dull ochraceous or are light brownish in the older plants. The ochre colored scales are sometimes evident over the entire cap, even in young plants. \n young plants the margin is strongly involute or inrolled, and a loose but thick veil of interwoven threads ex- tends from the surface of the roll to the stem. This disappears as the margin of the cap un- rolls with the expanding pileus. The margin of the pileus is often ster- ile, that is, it extends beyond the ends of the gills. The gills are white, stout, and broad, decurrent, some of them forked near the stem. When bruised, the gills after several hours be- come ochraceous brown. The spores are sub- globose, minutely spiny, 8-12 /<. The stem is solid, cylindrical, minutely tomentose, spongy within when old. The taste is very acrid, and the white milk not changing to yel- low. While the milk does not change to yellow, broken portions of the plant slowly change to flesh color, then ochraceous brown. Fig- ures 120, 121 are from plants collected in one of the damp gorges near Ithaca, during September, 1896. The forked gills, the strongly inrolled margin of the cap and veil of the young plants are well shown in the illustration. Lactarius chrysorrheus Fr. — This is a common and widely distribu- ted species, from small to medium size. The plants are 5-8 cm. high, the cap 5-10 cm. broad, and the stem 1-1.5 cm. in thickness, it Figure 121. — Lactarius resimus. Section of young plant showing inrolled margin of cap, and the veil (natural size). Copyright u)oo. WHITB-SPORED AGARICS. 1 -^I grows in woods and groves during late summer and autumn. The pileus is fleshy, of medium thickness, convex and depressed in the center from the younjz condition, and as the pileus e.xpands the margin becomes more and more upturned and the depression deeper, so that eventually it is more or less broadly funnel-form. The color varies from white to tlesh color, tinged with yellow some- times in spots, and marked usually with faint zones of brighter yellow. The zones are sometimes very indistinct or entirely wanting. The gills are crowded, white then yellow, where bruised becoming yellow- ish, then dull reddish. The stem is equal or tapering below, hollow ' "-^ Figure 122. — Lactarius chrysorrheus. Cap white or rtesh color, often tinged with yellowish, and with darker zones (natural size). Copyright i()00. or Stuffed, paler than the pileus, smooth (sometimes pitted as shown in the Fig. 122). The plant is acrid to the taste, the milk white changing to citron yellow on e.xposure. Figure 122 is from plants (No. 3875, C. U. her- barium) collected in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Blowing Rock, N. C, September, 1899. The species was quite abundant in this local- ity during August and September, in chestnut gro\-es, mixed woods, and borders of woods. Lactarius deliciosus (I.) Fi . Hdible. — Lacfjiins lic/iiiosus grows in damp woods, is widely distributed and sometimes is quite common. It occurs from July to October, it is one of the medium or large sized species, being 3-10 cm. hiuh, the cap 5-12 cm. broad, and the 124 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Stem 1-2 cm. in thickness. It is easily recognized by its orange color and the concentric zones of light and dark orange around on the pileus, and by the orange milk which is exuded where wounded. The pileus is first convex, then slightly depressed in the center, becoming more expanded, and finally more or less funnel-shaped by the elevation of the margin. It is usually more or less orange in color or mottled with varying shades, and with concentric bands of a deeper color. The gills are yellowish orange often with darker spots. The stem is of the same color as the pileus but paler, sometimes with darker spots. The flesh of the plant is white, shaded with orange. In old plants the color fades out somewhat and becomes unevenly tinged with green, and bruised places become green. Peck states that when fresh the plant often has a slight acrid taste. Being a widely distributed and not uncommon plant, and one so readily recognized, it has long been known in the old world as well as here. All writers on these subjects concur in recommending it for food, some pronouncing it excellent, some the most delicious known. Its name suggests the estimation in which it was held when chris- tened. Lactarius chelidonium Pk. Edible. — This pretty little Lacfariiis was described by Peck in the 24th Report, N. Y. State Mus., p. 74. It is closely allied to Lactarius dcliciosits from which it is said to differ in its "more narrow lamelte, differently colored milk, smaller spores." The plant is about 5 cm. high, the cap about 5 cm. broad, and the stem 1-1.5 cm. in thickness. The pileus is fleshy, firm, convex and depressed in the center, smooth, slightly viscid when moist, " of a grayish green color with blue and yellow tints, and a few narrow zones on the margin." The gills are crowded, narrow, some of them forked at the base, and sometimes joining to form reticulations. The spores are yellowish. The short stem is nearly equal, smooth, hollow, and the same color as the pileus. The taste is mild, the milk not abundant, and of a yellowish color, " resembling the juice of Celandine or the liquid secreted from the mouth of grasshoppers." Wounds on the plant are first of the color of the milk, changing on exposure to blue, and finally to green. The plant occurs during late summer and in the autumn in woods. Peck reported it first from Saratoga, N. Y. It has been found elsewhere in the State, and it has probably quite a wide distribution. I found it during September, 1899, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of N. C. Figure i, plate 35 is from some of the beautiful water color drawings made by Mr. Franklin R. Rathbun. Plate 35. Fig. i. — Lactarius deliciosus. Fig. 2. — F. chelidonium. Fig. 3. — F. indigo. Copyright igoo. \VIIITi--SPORED AGARICS. 125 Lactarius indij^o (Scluv.) Fr. — The inditio blue lactarius is a very striking and ca.silv ifcognizt-d plant because of the rich indigo blue color so predominent in the entire plant. It is not very abundant, but is \videl\' distributed in North America. The plant is 5-7 cm. high, the cap t;-i2 cm. broad, and tlic stem is i 2 cm. in thickness. The plants occur during late summer and in the autumn. The pileus when young is umbilicate, the margin involute, and in age tile margin becomes elevated and then the pileus is more or less funnel-sliaped. The indigo blue color is deeply seated, and the sur- face of the pileus has a silvery gray appearance through which the indigo blue color is seen. The surface is marked by concentric zones of a darker shade. In age the color is apt to be less uniformly dis- tributed, it is paler, and the zones are fainter. The gills are crowded, and when bruised, or in age, the indigo blue color changes somewhat to greenisli. The milk is dark blue. RUSSULA Pers. The species of Ritssii/a are very characteristic, and the genus is easily recognized in most cases after a little experience. In the very brittle texture of the pkiiits the genus resembles Z.jrA7/7M5, and many of them are more brittle than the species of this genus. A section of the pileus shows under the microscope a similar vesicular condi- tion, that i^ the grouping of large rounded cells together, with threads between. But the species of Russii/a are at once separated from those of Lactaniis by the absence of a juice which exudes in drops from bruised parts of Lactarius. While some of the species are white and others have dull or sombre colors, many of the species of Russii/a have bright, or e\en brilliant colors, as red, purple, violet, pink, blue, yellow, green. In determining many of the species, however, it is necessary to know the taste, whether mild, bitter, acrid, etc., and in this respect the genus again resembles Lactarius. The color of the gills as well as the color of the spores in mass should also be deter- mined. The genus is quite a large one, and the American species are not well known, the genus being a difficult one. In Jour. .V\\co- log., 5: 58-64, 1889, the characters of the tribes of Russula with descriptions of 25 species are quoted from Stevenson, w ith notes on their distribution in \. A. by MacAdam. Russula alutacea Hr. Edible. — This handsome Riissii/a differs from the others described here in the color of the gills and spores. The plant is common and occurs in mixed woods during the summer and early autumn. It is 5-10 cm. high, the cap 5-12 cm. broad, and the stem 1.5-2.5 cm. in thickness. 126 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. The pileus is fleshy, oval to bell-shaped, becoming plane, and sometimes umbilicate. It is red or blood red in color, sometimes purple, and becoming pale in age, especially at the center. It is vis- cid when moist, the margin thin and striate-tuberculate. The gills are free from the stem, stout, broad, first white, becoming yellow, and in age ochraceous. The gills are all of the same length, not crowded, and they are connected by vein-like elevations over the surface. The stem is stout, solid, even, white, portions of the stem are red, sometimes purple. The taste is mild, and the plant is regarded as one of the very good ones for food. Russula lepida Fr. Edible. — This elegant Russiila occurs in birch woods or in mixed woods during late summer and autumn. It is 5-8 cm. high, the cap 6-8 cm. broad, and the stem 1-2 cm. in thickness. The pileus is fleshy, convex, then expanded, obtuse, not shining, deep red, becoming pale in age, often whitish at the center, silky, in age the surface cracking, the margin blunt and not striate. The gills are rounded next the stem, thick, rather crowded, and sometimes forked, white, sometimes red on the edge near the margin of the pileus. The gills are often connected by vein-like elevations over the surface. The stem is equal, white or rose color. The taste is mild. Russula virescens (Schaeff.) Fr. Edible.— This plant grows on the ground in woods or in grassy places in groves from July to September. The stem is short, 2-7 cm. long x 1-2 cm. thick, and the cap is 5-10 cm. broad. The plant is well known by the green color of the pileus, and by the surface of the pileus being separated into numerous, quite regular, somewhat angular areas or patches, where the green color is more pronounced. The pileus is first rounded, then convex and expanded, and when old somewhat depressed in the center. It is quite firm, dry, green- ish, and the surface with numerous angular floccose areas or patches of usually a deeper green. Sometimes the pileus is said to be tinged with yellow. The gills are adnate, nearly free from the stem, and crowded. The stem is white and firm. The greenish Russula, Russula vircsccus, like a number of other plants, has long been recommended for food, both in Europe and in this country. There are several species of Russula in which the pileus is green, but this species is readily distinguished from them by the greenish floccose patches on the surface of the pileus. Russula furcata is a common species in similar situations, with forked gills, and the cap very variable in color, sometimes reddish, purple, purple liANKLIN I |po-r 1^ O «^THBUN o Plate 36. Fiii. i. — Russula virescens. Fig. 2. — R. alutacea. Fig. 3. — R. lepida. Fig. 4. — R. emetica. Fig. 5, — Yellow Russula. Fig. 6.— R. adusta. Copyright 1900. WHITH-SPORED AGARICS. 127 briiu n, or in one form grt-en. I knciw ot thr Kiissiila fiinata having been eatt-n in r.itlH-r small quantities, and while in this case no harm resuheJ the taste was not agreeable. Russula fragilis (Pers.) Fr.— This plant is vt-ry common in damp woods, or during wet weather from Juiv to September, It is a small plant and very fragile, as its name suggests, much more so than most other species. It is 2-4 cm. high, the cap 2-5 cm. broad, and the stem about i cm. in thickness. The pileus is convex, sometimes slightly umbonate, then plane, and in age somewhat depressed. The cuticle peels off very easily. The color is often a bright red, or pink, sometimes purple or violet, and becomes paler in age. It is somewhat viscid when moist, and the margin is very thin and strongly striate and tuberculate, i. e., the ridges between the marginal furrows are tuberculate. The gills are lightly adne.xed, thin, crowded, broad, all of the same length, white. The stem is usually white, sometimes more or less pink colored, spongy within, becoming hollow. The taste is very acrid. Russula emetica Fr. Poisonous. — This Russiila has a very wide dis- tribution and occurs on the ground in woods or open places during summer and autumn. It is a beautiful species and very fragile. The plants are 5-10 cm. high, the cap 5-10 cm. broad, and the stem 1-2 cm. in thickness. The pileus is oval to bell-shaped when young, becoming plane, and in age depressed. It is smooth, shining, the margin furrowed and tuberculate. The color is from pink or rosy when young to dark red when older_, and fading to tawny or some- times yellowish in age. The cuticle is easily separable as in R. fra- gilis, the flesh white, but reddish just beneath the cuticle. The gills are nearly free, broad, not crowded, white. The stem is stout, spongy within, white or reddish, fragile when old. The plant is very acrid to the taste and is said to be poisonous, and to act as an emetic. Russula adusta (Pers.) Fr. — This plant occurs on the grouni.1 in woods during late summer and in autumn. It is 3-6 cm. high, the cap 5-15 cm. broad, and the stem is 1-1.5 cm. in thickness. The pileus is tleshy, firm, convex, depressed at the center, and when old more or less funnel-shaped from the upturning of the mar- gin, which is at first incurved and smooth. It varies from white to gray and smoky color. The gills are adnate, or decurrent, thin, crowded, of unequal lengths, white, then becoming dark. The stem is colored like the pileus. The entire plant becomes darker in dry- ing, sometimes almost black. It is near Russula nigricans, but is smaller, and does not have a red juice as R. fiigricans has. 12S STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. CANTHARELLUS Adanson. From the other vvhite-spored agarics of a fleshy consistency Can- tl/arcl/u^ is distinguished by the form of the gills. The gills are gen- erally forked, once or several times, in a dichotomous manner, though sometimes irregularly. They are blunt on the edge, not acute as in most of the other genera. The gills are usually narrow and in many species look like veins, folds, or wrinkles, but in some species, as in Caniliarelliis anrantia- nis, they are rather thin and broad. Cantharellus cibarius Fr. Edible. — This plant is known as the c/ia7i- terelle. it has a very wide distribution and has long been regarded as one of the best of the edible mushrooms. Many of the writers on fungi speak of it in terms of high praise. The entire plant is a uniform rich chrome yellow. Sometimes it is symmetrical in form, but usually it is more or less irregular and unsymmetrical in form. The plants are 5-10 cm. high, the cap 4-8 cm. broad, and the stem short and rather thick. The pileus is fleshy, rather thick, the margin thick and blunt and at flrst inroUed. it is convex, becoming expanded or sometimes depressed by the margin of the cap becoming elevated. The margin is often wavy or repand, and in irregular forms it is only produced at one side, or more at one side than at the other, or the cap is irregu- FicuRE 123 — Canthaiellus cibarius. Under view showing forked gills with veins connecting them. Entire plant rich chrome yellow (natural size). ■fl !J5 J3 'J o o o O Cu S O to 5 o u 3 X 5 U VVHITE-SPOFVED AGARICS. 129 larly loheJ. The gills are very narrow, stout, Jistant, more or less sinuous, forked or anastomosinji irregularly, and because of the pileus being something like an inverted cone the gills appear to run down on the stem. The spores are faintly yellowish, elliptical, 7-10 //. Figure 123 represents but a single specimen, and this one with a nearly lateral pileus. FlGrRF, 125. — Cantharellus aurantiacus, under view, enlarged nearly twice, showing regularly forked gills. Cantharellus aurantiacus Fr. — This orange cantharellus is very common, and occurs on the ground or on very rotten wood, logs, branches, etc., from summer to very late autumn. It is widely dis- tributed in Europe and America. It is easily known by its dull orange or brownish pileus, yellow gills, which are thin and regularly forked, 130 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. and by the pileus being more or less depressed or funnel-shaped. The plants are from 5-8 cm. high, the cap from 2-7 cm. broad, and the stem about 4-8 mm. in thickness. The pileus is fleshy, soft, flexible, convex, to expanded, or obconic, plane or depressed, or funnel-shaped, the margin strongly inrolled when young, in age simply incurved, the margin plane or repand and undulate. The color varies from ochre yellow to dull orange, or orange ochraceous, raw sienna, and tawny, in different specimens. It is often brownish at the center. The surface of the pileus is minutely tomentose with silky hairs, especially toward the center, and sometimes smooth toward the margin. The flesh is 3-5 mm. at the center, and thin toward the margin. The gills are arcuate, decur- rent, thin, the edge blunt, but not so much so as in a number of other species, crowded, regularly forked several times, at length ascending when the pileus is elevated at the margin. The color of the gills is orange to cadmium orange, or sometimes paler, cadmium yellow or deep chrome. The stem is clay color to ochre yellow, en- larged below, spongy, stuffed, fistulose, soft, fibrous, more or less ascending at the base. The taste is somewhat nutty, sometimes bitterish. The plants in Fig. 124 (No. 3272, C. U. herbarium) were collected near Ithaca, October 7, 1899. MARASMIUS Fr. In this genus tht- plants are tough and fleshy or membranaceus, leathery and dry. They do not easily decay, but shrivel up in dry weather, and revive in wet weather, or when placed in water. This is an important character in distinguishing the genus. It is closely related to Collybia, from which it is difficult to separate certain spe- cies. On the other hand, it is closely related to Lentinns and Panus, both of which are tough and pliant. In Marasmius, however, the substance of the pileus is separate from that of the stem, while in Lentinns and Panus it is continuous, a character rather difficult for the beginner to understand. The species of Marasmius, however, are generally much smaller than those of Lentinns and Panus, espe- cially those which grow on wood. The stem in Marasmius is in nearly all species central, while in Lentinns and Panus it is generally more or less eccentric. Many of the species of the genus Marasmius have an odor of garlic when fresh. Besides the fairy ring (M. orea- ites) which grows on the ground, M. rotula, is a very common spe- cies on wood and leaves. It has a slender, black, shining stem, and a brownish pileus usually with a black spot in the depression in the \vtJiii:-si'< )Ri;i) A(]ARi(:s. i;;i center. Tlu' spccit-s art- very numerous. Peck, 23rd Report, N. V. State Mus., p. 124-126, describes 8 species. Morgan Jour. Cinn. Soc. Nat. Hist. 6: 189 194, describes 17 species. Marasmius oreades Fr. Edible. — This is the well known " fairy ring " mushroom, it grow.s during the summer and autumn in grassy places, as in lawns, by roadsides, in pastures, etc. It appears most abundantly during wet weather or following heavy rains. It is found usually in circles, or in the arc of a circle, though few scattered plants not arranged in this way often occur. The plants are 7-10 cm. high, the cap 2-4 cm. broad, and the stem 3-4 mm. in thickness, rhi^ pileus is conve.x to expanded, sometimes the center elevated, fleshy, rather thin, tough, smooth, buff color, or tawny or reddish, in age, or in drying, paler. When moist the pileus may be striate FiGiRK 126. — Marasmius oreades. Caps buff, tawny, or reddish. on the margin. Tlie gills are broad, free or adnexed, rounded near the stem, white or dull yellowish. The spores are elliptical, 7-8 /< long. The stem is tough, solid, whitish. This widely distributed fungus is much prized everywhere by those who know it. It is not the only fungus which appears in rings, so that this habit is not peculiar to this plant. Sevt-ral different kinds are known to appear in rings at times. The appearance of the fungus in rings is due to the mode of growth of the mycelium or spawn in the soil. Having started at a given spot thf mwelium consumes the food material in the soil suitable for it, and the plants for the tlrst year appear in a group. In the center of this spot the mycelium, having consumed all the available food, probably dies after producing the 13:> STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. crop of mushrooms. But around the edge of the spot the mycelium or spawn still exists, and at the beginning of the next season it starts into growth and feeds on the available food in a zone surrounding the spot where it grew the previous year. This second year, then, the plants appear in a small ring. So in succeeding years it advances outward, the ring each year becomes larger. Where the plants appear only in the arc of a circle, something has happened to check or destroy the mycelium in the remaining arc of the circle. It has been noted by several observers that the grass in the ring occupied by the mushrooms is often greener than that adjoining. This is perhaps due to some stimulus exerted by the mycelium of the fungus on the grass, or possibly the mycelium may in some way make certain foods available for the grass which gives an additional supply to it at this point. 1 have as yet no photograph of the fairy ring mushroom, and the few plants illustrated here (Fig. 126) are from pen drawings by Mr. Rathbun from some of his color sketches. Illustrations of some fme large rings formed by this fungus appeared in circular No. 13 by Mr. Coville, of the Division of Botany in the U. S. Dept. Agr. Marasmius cohserens (Fr.) Bres. {Mvcena cohcTrens Fr. Collybialach- iiophylla Berk. Colly bia spiiiiilifem Pk.) — This plant grows in dense clusters, ten to twenty individuals with their stems closely joined below and fastened together by the abundant growth of threads from the lower ends. From this character the name cohvrens was derived. The plants grow on the ground or on very rotten wood in woods dur- ing late spring and in the summer. The plant is not very common in this country, but appears to be widely distributed both in Europe and here, having been collected in Carolina, Ohio, Vermont, New York, etc. The plants are 12-20 cm. high, the cap 2-2.5 cm. broad, and the stem 4-7 mm. in thickness. The pileus is fleshy, tough, convex or bell-shaped, then expanded, sometimes umbonate, or in age sometimes the margin upturned and more or less wavy, not viscid, but finely striate when damp, thin. The color varies from vinaceous cinnamon to chestnut or light leather color, or tawny, paler in age, and sometimes darker on the center. The gills are sometimes more or less crowded, narrow, 5-6 mm. broad, adnate, but notched, and sometimes becoming free from the stem. The color is light leather color, brick red or bay, the color and color variations being due to numbers of colored cystidia or spicules scat- tered over the surface of the gills and on the edge. The cystidia are fulvous, fusoid, 75-90 ^long. The spores are oval, white, small, 6x 3//. The stem is long and slender, nearly cylindrical, tapering some- VVHITE-SPORHl) ACiARICS. 133 what above, slightly enlarged below, and rooting. The color is the same as that of the pileus or dark bay brown, and shining, and seems to be due to large numbers of spicules similar to those on the gills. The color is paler below in some cases, or gradually darker below in others. The stems are bou nd together below by numer- ous threads. Figure 127 is from plants (No. 2373, C. U. her- barium) col- lected in woods near Free\'ille, N. Y. The plants have been collected near Ithaca on three different occas- ions, twice near Freeville about nine miles from Ithaca, and once in the woods at Ithaca. It is easily disting- uished by its color and t h e presence of the peculiar set:e or cystidia. Although the plant has been collected on several different occa- sions in America, it does not seem to have been recognized under this name until recently, save the record of it from Carolina by de Schweinitz (Synop. fung. Car. No. 606, p. 81). Figure 127. Marasmius cohaerens ( Fr.) Bres. (= Mycena cohaerens Fr. = Collyhia lachnophylla Berk. = C. spinulifera Pk.) Color chestnut, light leather color, tawny or vinaceous cinnamon, darker in center; stems dark, shining; gills leather color, or fulvous, or wine color, brick red or bay, \ arying in ditterent specimens (natural size). Copyright 1900. 134 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. LENTINUS Fr. The plants of this genus are tough and pHant, becomuig hard when old, unless very watery, and when dry. The genus differs from the other tough and pliant ones by the peculiarity of the gills, the gills being notched or serrate on the edges. Sometimes this appearance is intensified by the cracking of the gills in age or in drying. The nearest ally of the genus is Panus, which is only sep- arated from Lentinus by the edge of the gills being plane. This does not seem a very good character on which to separate the species of the two genera, since it is often difficult to tell whether the gills are naturally serrate or whether they have become so by certain tensions which exist on the lamelUi? during the expansion and drying of the pileus. SchrcEter unites Panus with Lentinus (Cohn's Krypt. Flora, Schlesien, 3, i ; 554, 1889). The plants are usually very irregular and many of them shelving, only a few grow upright and have reg- ular caps. Lentinus vulpinus Fr. — This is a large and handsome species, having a wide distribution in Europe and in this country, but it does not seem to be common. It grows on trunks, logs, stumps, etc., in the woods. It was quite abundant during late summer and in the autumn on fallen logs, in a woods near Ithaca. The caps are shelving, closely overlapping in shingled fashion (imbricated), and joined at the nar- rowed base. The surface is convex, and the margin is strongly incurved, so that each of the individual caps is shell-shaped (con- chate). The surface of the pileus is coarsely hairy or hispid, the surface becoming more rough with age. Many coarse hairs unite to form coarse tufts which are stouter and nearly erect toward the base of the cap, and give the surface a tuberculate appearance. Toward the margin of the cap these coarse hairs are arranged in nearly parallel lines, making rows or ridges, which are very rough. The hairs and tubercules are dark in color, being nearly black toward the base, especially in old plants, and sometimes pale or of a smoky hue, espe- cially in young plants. The pileus is flesh color when young, becom- ing darker when old, and the flesh is quite thin, whitish toward the gills and darker toward the surface. The gills are broad, nearly white, flesh color toward the base, coarsely serrate, becoming cracked in age and in drying, narrowed toward the base of the pileus, not forked, crowded, 4-6 mm. broad. The cap and gills are tough even when fresh. The plant has an intensely pungent taste. Figures 128, 129 represent an upper, front, and under view of the pilei (No. 3315, C. U. herbarium). c ere l>> r. N rr S EL 2. cic' t o =^ o 2. WHITE-SPORHl) AdARICS. 1:5:. Lentinus Iccomtei Fi., is a very common aiivl wiJcly distributed species growing on wmxuI. When it grows on tlu- upper side of logs the pileus is some- times regular and funnel- shaped (cyathiform), but it is often irregular and produced on one side, especially if it grows on the side of tlu- sub- t- stratum. In most cases, how- g ever, there is a funnel-shaped r. depression above the attach- J ment of the stem. Tlie pileus _ is tough, reddish or reddish g brown or leather color, hairy =' or sometimes strigose, the C. margin incurved. The stem is -5- usually short, hairy, or in age | it may become more or less 'rr> smooth. The gills are narrow, S crowded, the spores small, | ovate to elliptical 5-6 x 2-3 /'. g According to Bresadola this is S" the same as Paiius ruJis Fr, 2. It resembles very closely also ^ Paniis cyatliiformis (Schaeff.) £ Fr., and }\ stiionsiis B. & C. | Lentinus lepideus Fr., [A. ^ squaniosus (^Sc\vA'ing stumps, logs, rtc, from spring until late autumn. Some- times it is found growing in sawdust. The pileus is tleshy, bell-shapcJ, iIkii con\f.\, and becoming e.\panded, the surface usually smooth, but showing radiating fibrils, grayisli brow 11, or sometimes sooty, sometimes more or less scaly. Thr Kills aic not crowded, broad, Uw from the stem, white, then Fuji KK 133. — Pluteus tomentosulsus. Cap and stem entirely white, gills flesh color, stem furrowed and tomentose (natural size). Copyright 1900. becoming tlesh color with the maturity' of the spores. One \er)- characteristic feature of the plant is the presence of cystidia in the h\'menium on the gills. These are stout, colorless, elliptical, thick- walled, cUid terminate in two or three blunt, short prongs. The stem is nearly equal, solid, the color much the same as that of the pileus, but often paler abo\e, smooth or sometimes scaly. In some forms the plant is entirely white, except the gills. In addition to the white forms occurring in the woods, I have found them in an old abandoned cement mine growing on wood props. 14(1 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Pluteus tomeotosulsus Pk. — This plant was described by Peck in the 32d Report, N. Y. State Mus., page 28, 1879. It grows on decay- ing wood in the woods during July and August. The plants are 5-12 cm. high, the cap 3-7 cm. broad, and the stem 4-8 mm. in thickness. The description given by Peck is as follows : " Pileus thin, convex or expanded, subumbonate, dry, minutely squamulose-tomentose, white, sometimes pinkish on the margin; lamellae rather broad, rounded behind, free, crowded, white then tlesh colored ; stem equal, solid, striate, slightly pubescent or subtomentose, white ; spores sub- globose, 7 /< in diameter, generally containing a large single nucleus." From the plant collected at Ithaca the following notes were made. The pileus and stem are entirely white, the gills tlesh color. The pileus is expanded, umbonate, thin except at the umbo, minutely tloccose squamulose, no pinkish tinge noted ; the tlesh is white, but on the umbo changing to tlesh color where wounded. The gills are free, with a clear white space between stem and rounded edges, crowded, narrow (about 3-4 mm. broad) edge finely fimbriate, prob- ably formed by numerous bottle-shaped cystidia on the edge, and which extend up a little distance on the side of the gills, but are not distributed in numbers over the surface of the gills ; cystidia thin walled, hyaline. The spores are flesh colored, subglobose, 5-7 //. Stem cylindrical, even, twisted somewhat, white, striate and minutely squamulose like the pileus, but with coarser scales, especially toward the base, solid, flesh white. The species received its name from the tomentose, striate charac- ter of the stem. The plants (No. 3219, C. U. herbarium) illustrated in Fig. 133 were collected in Enfield Gorge, vicinity of Ithaca, July 28, 1899. VOLVARIA Fr. This genus takes its name from the volva, which means a wrap- per, and which, as we know from our studies of Amanita, entirely envelopes the plant at a young stage. The genus is characterized then by the rosy or reddish spores, the presence of a volva, and the annulus is wanting. The stem is easily separable from the pileus at its junction, in this respect being similar to Amanita, Amanitopsis, L'piota and others. The gills are usually, also, free from the stem. The species grow on rotting wood, on leaf mould and on richly man- ured ground, etc. They are of a very soft texture and usually soon decay. Volvaria bombycina (Pers.) Fr. Edible.— The silky volvaria is so called because of the beautiful silky texture of the surface of the cap. It is not very common, but is world wide in its distribution, and occurs kUSV-SP'JkED AGARICS. II on dfcayed wood of logs, stumps, etc., during late- summer and in autumn. It is usually of a beautiful white color, large, the volva large and thick, reminding one of a bag, and the stem is ascending when the plant grows on the side of the trunk, or erect wlten it grows on the upper side nt a log or stump. The plant is from 8-16 cm. high, the cap 6-20 cni. broad, and the stem i-i-S cm. in thickness. The pileus is globose, then bell- shaped, and finally conve.x and somewhat umbonate, white, accord- ing to some becoming somewhat red- dish. The entire surface is silkv, and numerous hairs stand out in the form of soft down, when older the surface becoming more or less scah', or rarely becoming smooth at the apex. The flesh is white. The gills are crowded, very broad along the middle, flesh colored, the edge sometimes ragged. The spores are rosy in mass, oval to broadly el- liptical, 6-9 -x 5-6 i^(, smooth. The stem tapers from the base to the apex, is solid, smooth. The volva is large and bag-like. The plant is considered edible by some. Fig- ure 134 is from a plant (No. 3096, C. U. herbarium) collected on a log of Acer rubrum in Cascadilla woods, Ithaca, -SP( )kHl) AGARICS. 1 l^'. pressed, ll is whitish in color, or dark •Jniy, or with a it-aden tint, dry, sometimes with a distinct bloom on the surface, and the margin is often wa\v. The cap is sometimes produced mure on one side than on the other. The gills are not close, at first whitish, then sahnon colored as tiie spores mature, and thev are decurrent as is character- istic of the genus. The spores are elUpticai or nearly so, and meas- ure IO-I2 u long. Figure 135 is from plants collected near Ithaca, in the autumn of 1898. This species is considered to be one of the excellent mush- rooms for food. When fresh it has a mealy odor and taste, as do several of the species of this genus. It is known as the prune mushroom. Clitopilus orcella BliII. Edible. — This plant is sometimes spoken of as the sweet-bread mushroom. It is much like the prune mushroom just described, in odor and taste, and sometimes resembles it in form and other characters. It is white in color, and the plants are usually considerably smaller, and the pileus is, according to my obser\'ations, sometimes more irregular, lobed and wavy on the margin. The flesh is also softer, and the cap is said to be slightly viscid in wet weather. The plant grows in the woods, and sometimes in open fields. ENTOLOMA Fr. The \'ol\a and annulus are absent in this genus, the spores are rosy, the gills adnate to sinuate or adnexed, easily separating from the stem in some species. The stem is fleshy or fibrous, sometimes waxy, and the pileus is fleshy with the margin incurved, espe- cially when young. The spores are prominently angular. The genus corresponds with Triclwloma of the white-spored agarics, and also with Hcbelonm and IiKicvbi' of the ochre-spored ones. Eiitoloma rc- paiiJiini Bull., is an hioivbc [/. repiinJiini (Bull.) Bres.] and has angular spores resembling those of an Entolonui, but the spores are not rosy. (See Fig. 223.) Entoloma jubatum Fr. — Growing on the ground ni woods. The plants are 5-10 cm. high, the cap 3-6 cm. broad, and the stem 3-6 mm. in thickness. The pileus is conic in some plants, to convex and umbonate, thin, minutely scal\- with blackish liairv scales, dull heliotrope purple, darker on the umbo. The gills are vinaceous rufus to deep flesh color, strongly sinuate, and irregularly notched along the edge. The spores are irregularly oval to short oblong, coarsely angular, with an oil drop, 5-7 angled, 7-1 1 x 6-7 n. The stem is of the same color as the pileus, sometimes deeply rooting, hollow. Figure 136 is from 144 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. plants (No. 4000, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. Entoloraa grayanum Pk.— This plant grows on the ground in woods. It is from 6-8 cm. high, the cap is 3-6 cm. broad, and the stem 4-6 mm. in thickness. FiGiRK 136. — Entoloma jubatuni. Entire plant dull heliotrope purple, gills later flesh color (natural size). Copyright 1900. The pileus is convex to expanded, sometimes broadly umbonate, drab in color, the surface wrinkled or rugose, and watery in appear- ance. The flesh is thin and the margin incurved. The gills are first drab in color, but lighter than the pileus, becoming pinkish in age. ROSV-SP(JREI) AGARICS. I 4:. The spores on paprr are very li^lU saltnon color. Ihey are globose or rouiuled in outline. 5 7 angled, with an oil globule, cf5' =; ~ 3 "c o X - ,. p .y. 3 >-i 5 2. i. o oro -i i2 3 = U It 9- a — . r, 3 2 ft S. ■ X bO J= ■Ji J5 ^ E D -^ w fs 0 ^ X! o ^ o 1^ o % ^_, 0 JS ^ bc D >-> >> 0 a, o U ■f. '% 'oT o N 13 '35 >, OS &• 3 U rt c ' — - rt c C is .2 o )M 'c J3 0 •y) X ^ 3 Im 0 a> ni J5 ■♦-» •4-> .2 ^ (A o J3 >* Pi rt w 1 iJC i>i ^ ■- K OS o fe ^ -*• OCHRE-SPORHD AGARICS. I ')3 Pholiota johnsoniana Pk. Edible. — This species was described from specimens collected at Knovversville, N. Y., in 1889, by Peck, in the 23rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 98, as Agciriciis johmoniafiiis. I found it at Ithaca, N. Y., for the first time during the summer of i89<;, and it was rather common during September, iii(/), in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Blowing Rock, N. C. It grows in woods or in pastures on the ground. The larger and handsomer specimens I have found in rather damp but well draint'd woods. The plants are 7-15 cm. high, the cap i;-io cm. broad, and the stem 6-12 mm. in thickness. The pileus is fleshy, very thick at the center, convex, tht-n ex- panded and plane, smooth, sometimes fmely striate on the thin mar- gin when moist, yellowish, or fulvus, the margin whitish. The gills are attached to the stem by the upper angle (adnexed), rounded, or some of them angled, some nearly free. In color they are first gray, then rusty brown. They appear ascending because of the somewhat top-shaped pileus. The spores are irregularly ovoid, 4-6 x 3-3.5//. The stem is cylindrical or slightly tapering upward, smooth, slightly striate above the annulus, whitish, solid, with a tendency to become hollow. The veil is thick, and the annulus narrow and very thick or "tumid", easily breaking up and disappearing. The plant is quite readily distinguished by the form of the pileus with tlie ascending gills and the tumid annulus. Peck says it has a "somewhat nutty flavor." Figure 145 is from plants (No. 4014, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. NAUCORIA Fr. This genus, with ferruginous spores, corresponds with Collybia among the white-spored agarics. The gills are free or attached, but not decurrent, and the stem is cartilaginous. The plants grow both on the ground and on wood. Peck, 23rd Report N. \ . State Mus., p. 91, et seq., gives a synopsis of seven species. Naucoria semi^orbicularis Bull. Edible. — This is one of the common and widely distributed species. It occurs in lawns, pastures, road- sides, etc., in waste places, from June to autumn, being more abund- ant in rainy weather. The plants are 7-10 cm. high, the cap 3-5 cm. broad, and the stem 2-3 mm. in thickness. The pileus is convex to expanded, and is remarkably hemispherical, from which the species takes the name of scmi-orbkiiLiris. It is smooth, viscid when moist, tawny, and in age ochraceous, sometimes the surface is cracked into areas. The gills are attached, sometimes notched, crowded, 154 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. much broader than the thickness of the pileus, pale, then reddish brown. The stem is tough, slender, smooth, even, pale reddish brown, shining, stuffed with a whitish pith. Peck says that the plants have an oily flavor resembling beechnuts. Naucoria vernalis Pk. — Naucoria vernalis was described by Peck in 23rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 91, from plants collected in May. The plants described here appeared in woods in late autumn. The specimens from which this description is drawn were found growing from the under side of a very rotten beech log, usually from deep crevices in the log, so that only the pileus is visible or exposed well to the view. The plants are 4-8 cm. high, the cap 2-3 cm. broad, and the stem 4-5 mm, in thickness. The taste is bitter. FicuRE 146. — Naucoria vernalis. Cap hair brown to clay color; gills grayish brown to wood brown; stem clay color (natural size). Copyright 1900. The pileus is convex, then the center is nearly or quite expanded, the margin at first inrolled and never fully expanded, hygrophanus, smooth (not striate nor rugose), flesh about 5-6 mm. thick at center, thin toward the margin. The color changes during growth, it is from ochraceous rufus when young (1-2 mm. broad), then clove brown to hair brown and clay color in age. The gills are grayish brown to wood brown, at first adnate to slightly sinuate, then easily breaking away and appearing adnexed. The spores are wood brown in color, oval to short elliptical and inequilateral, 6-8 x 4-5//. Cystidia hya- line, bottle shaped, 40-50 x 8-12//. The stem is somewhat hollow and stuffed, rather cartilaginous, though somewhat brittle, especially OCHRE-SPORKD AGARICS. 1 •'>•') wlKii \ory damp, breaking out tioin the pileus easily though with tragments of the gills remaining attached, not strongly continuous with the substance ot the pileus. The color is buff to pale clay color; the stem being even, not bulbous but somewhat enlarged below, mealy over the entire length, which may be washed off by rains, striate at apex either from marks left by the gills or remnants of the gills as they become freed from the stem. Base of stem sometimes with white cottony threads, especiall\- in damp situations. In the original description the stem is said to be "striate sulcate." Figure 146 is from plants (No. 3242, C. U. herbarium) collected in woods near Ithaca, October i, 1899. GALERA Fr. Galcra with ochraceous (ochraceous ferruginous) spores corres- ponds to Myct-na among the white-spored agarics. The pileus is usually bell-shaped, and wlien young the margin fits straight against the stem. The stem is somewhat cartilaginous, but often very fragile. The genus does not contain many species. Peck gives a synopsis of tWe American species in the 23rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 9^, ('/ scq., and of twelve species in the 46th Report, p. 61, el Si\). One of the common species is Galera tenera Schaeff. It occurs in grassy fields or in manured places. The plants are 5-8 cm. high, the cap 8-16 mm. broad, and the stem 2-3 mm. in thickness. The pileus is oval to bell-shaped, and tawny in color, thin, smooth, finely striate, becoming paler when dry. The gills are crowded, reddish-brown, adnexed and easily separating. The stem is smooth, colored like the pileus but a little paler, sometimes striate, and with mealy whitish particles above. Galera lateritia is a related species, somewhat larger, and growing on dung heaps and in fields and lawns. Galera ovalis Fr., is also a larger plant, somewhat shorter than the latter, and with a prominent ovate cap when voung. Galera antipoda Lasch., similar in general appearance to G. tiiwra, has a rooting base by which it is easil\- known. Galera flava Pk., occurs among vegetable mold in woods. The pileus is membraneous, ovate or companulate, moist or somewhat watery, obtuse, plicate striate on the margin, yellow. The plants are 5-8 cm. high, the caps 12 25 mm. broad, and the >tem 2-3 mm. in thickness. The plant is recognized by the pale yellow color of the caps and the plicate striate character of the margin. The plicate striate character of tlie cap is singular among the species of this genus, and is shared by another species. G. coprlnoides Pk. 156 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. FLAMMULA Fr. In the genus F/ammula, the pileus is tleshy, stem tleshy-fibrous, and the gills adnate to decurrent. Flammula polychroa Berk. — This is a beautiful plant with tints of violet, lavender, lilac and purple, especially on the scales of the pi- leus, on the veil and on the stem, it occurs in clusters during late summer and autumn, on logs, branches, etc., in the woods. The plants occur singly, but more often in clusters of three to eight or Figure 147. — Flammula polychroa, under view. Cap vinaceous buff to orange buff, scales lilac, purple or lavender; gills drab to hair brown (natural size). Copyright 1900. more. The plants are 4-7 cm. high, the cap 3-5 cm. broad, and the stem 4-6 mm. in thickness. The pileus is convex, and in the young stage the margin strongly incurved, later the cap becomes expanded and has a very broad umbo. It is very viscid. The surface is covered with delicate hairs which form scales, more prominent during mid-age of the plant, and on the margin of the cap. These scales are very delicate and vary in color from vinaceous-buff, lilac, wine-purple, or lavender. The ground color of the pileus is vinaceous-buff or orange-buff, and toward the margin often with shades of beryl-green, especially where it has been OCHRH-SPORl-:i3 AGARICS. 1 ')7 touched. In the )'oun;j, phiiUs the (.olor ot llie delicate hairy surface is deeper, often phlox-purple, the color becoming thinner as the cap expands. The gills are notched (sinuate) at the stem, or adnate, sometimes slightly decurrent, crowded. Before exposure by the rupture of the veil they are cream-buff in color, then takinj^ on darker shades, drab to hair brown or sepia with a purple tinge. The stem is yellowish, nearly or quite the color of the cap, often with a purplish tinge at the base. It is covered with numerous small punctate scales of the same color, or sulphur yellow above where they are more crowded and larger. The scales do not extend on the stem above the point where tlie \eil is attached. The stem is slightly striate above the attachment of the veil. It is somewhat tough and cartilaginous, solid, or in age stuffed, or nearly hollow. The veil is floccose and quite thick when the plant is young. It is scaly on the under side, clinging to the margin of the pileus in triangular remnants, appearing like a crown. The color of the veil and of its remnants is the same as the color of the scales of the cap. The spores in mass are light brown, and when fresh with a slight purple tinge. (The color of the spores on white paper is near wal- nut brown or hair brown of Ridgeway's colors.) Under the micro- scope they are yellowish, oval or short oblong, often inequilateral, 6-8 X 4-5yw. Figure 147 is from plants (No. 4016, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, September, 1899, on a fallen maple log. The plants sometimes occur singly. It has been collected at Ithaca, N. Y., and was first described from plants collected at Waynesville, Ohio. Flammula sapinea Fr., is a common plant growing on dead conifer- ous wood. It is dull yellow, the pileus 1-4 cm. in diameter, and with numerous small scales. HEBELOMA Fr. In Hebi-loma the gills are either squarely set against the stem (adnate) or they are notched (sinuate), and the spores are clay-col- ored. The edge of the gills is usually whitish, the surface clay-col- ored. The \'eil is only seen in the young stage, and then is very delicate and flbrillose. The stem is fleshy and fibrous, and some- what mealy at the apex. The genus corresponds with TricholotHJ of the white-spored agarics. All the species are regarded as unwhole- some, and some are considered poisonous. The species largely occur during the autumn. Few have been studied in America. 158 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Hebeloma crustinuliforme Bull. — This plant is usually common in some of the lawns, during the autumn, at Ithaca, N. Y. It often forms rings as it grows on the ground. It is from 5-7 cm. high, the cap 4-8 cm. in diameter, and the stem is 4-6 mm. in thickness. The pileus is convex and expanded, somewhat umbonate, viscid when moist, whitish or tan color, darker over the center, where it is often reddish-brown. The gills are adnexed and rounded near the stem, crowded, whitish, then clay color and reddish-brown, the edge Figure 148. — Hebeloma crustinuliforme, var. minor. Cap whitish or tan color, or reddish brown at center; gills clay color (natural size). Copyright 1900. whitish and irregular. The gills are said to exude watery drops in wet weather. The stem is stuffed, later hollow, somewhat en- larged at the base, white, and mealy at the apex. Figure 148 is from plants (No. 2713, C. U. herbarium) collected in lawns on the Cornell University campus. The plants in this figure seem to represent the variety minor. INOCYBE Fr. In the genus Inocvbe there is a universal veil which is fibrillose in character, and more or less closely joined with the cuticle of the pileus, and the surface of the pileus is therefore marked with fibrils or is more or less scaly. Sometimes the margin of the pileus pos- sesses remnants of a veil which is quite prominent in a few species. The gills are adnate, or sinuate, rarely decurrent, and in one species they are free, it is thus seen that the species vary widely, and there may be, after a careful study of the species, grounds for the separation of the species into several genera. One of the most remarkable species is Inocvbe cchinata Roth. This plant is covered with a universal veil of a sooty color and powdery in nature. The gills are reddish purple, and the stem is of the same color, the spores on white paper of a faint purplish red color. Some place it in Psal/iota. Collected at Ithaca in August, igoo. OCHRI--SP( )ki:i) AdAl^-lCS. 1 r.n TUBARIA W. Smith. In the genus Tiibaiij tlir spores arc rust-rtai, or runts' brown (ferruginous or tuscus-ferruginous), the stem is somewhat cartilagi- nous, hollow, and, what is more important, the gills are more or less decurrent, broad next to the stem, and thus more or less triangular in outline. It is related to Niiikoriii and Giileia, but differs in the decurrent gills. The pileus is convex, or with an umbilicus. Tubaria pellucida Bull. — This species grows by roadsides in grassy places. T li e plants are trom 3-4 cm. high, and the cap 1-2 cm. in diameter, and the stem 2-3 mm. in thickness. The pileus i s conic, then bell- shaped, often ex- panded and with a slight um bo ; the color is dull, reddish brown, and it has a watery appearance. The plant is sometimes enveloped with a loose and delicate luiiversal or outer veil, which remains on the margin of the cap in the form of silky squamules as shown in the figure. The margin of the pileus is faintly striate. The gills are only slightly decurrent. Figure 149 is from plants (No. 2360 C. U. herbarium) collected along a street in Ithaca. The stem is at first solid, becoming hollow, tapering above, and the apex is mealy. CREPIDOTUS Fr. in Oepiiiotus the pileus is lateral, or eccentric, and thus more or less shelving, or it is resupinate, that is, lying flat or nearly so on the wood. The species are usually of small size, thin, soft and fleshy. The spores are reddish brown (ferruginous). The genus corresponds to Plcurotus among the white-spored agarics, or to Clan- dopiis among the rosy-spored ones. Peck describes eleven species in the 39th Report, N. Y. State Mus.. p. 69 et seq., 1886. Figure 149. Tubaria pellucida. Dull reddish brown (natural size), 100 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Crepidotus versutus Pk. — This little Crepidotiis has a pure white pileus which is covered with a soft, whitish down. The plants grow usually on the underside of rotten wood or bark, and then the upper side of the cap lies against the wood, and is said to be resupinate. Sometimes where they grow toward the side of the log the cap has a tendency to be shelving. In the resupinate forms the cap is attached usually near one side, and then is produced more at the opposite side, so that it is more or less lateral or eccentric. As the plant becomes mature the edge is free from the wood for some distance, only being attached over a small area. The cap is somewhat reniform, thin, and from 6-12 cm. in diameter. The gills radiate from the point FiGURK 150. — Crepidotus versutus. Cap white, downy; gills whitish, then rusty (twice natural size). Copyright 1900. where the cap is attached to the substratum, are not crowded, rounded behind, that is, at the lateral part of the cap where they con- verge. They are whitish, then ferruginous from the spores. The spores are sub-elliptical, sometimes inequilateral, and measure from 8-12 X 4-6 /v. Crepidotus herbarutn Pk., is a closely related species, separated on account of the smaller spores. Both species grow either on herbs or decaying wood. As suggested by Peck they are both closely related to C. chimonophUiis Berk., which has "oblong elliptical" spores. The shape of the spores does not seem to differ from the specimens which 1 have taken to be C. versutus. OCHRH-SPORED AGARICS. I'll Crepidotiis applanatiis Ir., i^ a Liiuci >pcrciL>, >hflving and often inibrii.ati.J. Crcpidotus tulvutoraentosus Pk., is a pretty species witli a tomentose cap and tawny scales, usually occurring: singly. It is closely related to C t\ilolcpis Fr. Figure i so is from plants of Crcpidutiis irrsiitiis Pk., (No. 2732 C. U. herbarium) collected on rotting wood at Freeville, N. V., ei^iit miles from Ithaca. The plants are represented twice natural size. CORTINARIUS Fr. The genus Coiiiiiariiis is chietlv distinguished from the other genera of the ochre-spored agarics by the presence of a spider-web- like (arachnoid) veil which is separate from the cuticle of the pileus, that is, superficial. The gills are powdered by the spores, that is, the spores fall away \\ ith difficulty and thus give the gills a pulveru- lent appearance. The plants are fleshy and decay easily. It is necessary to have plants in the young as well as the old state to properly get at the characters, and the character of the veil is only seen in young or half-developed specimens. The species are to be distinguished from other ochre-spored agarics with a cobwebby veil by the fact that the \eil in Corfifuriiis is superficial and the gills pow- dery. The number of species is very large, and they are dififlcult to determine. They mostly occur in Northern countries and in the autumn or late summer ; some species, however, occur during early summer. Peck, 23d Report, N. V. State Mus., p. 105-112, describes 21 species. Cortinarius (Inoloma) violaceus (L.) Fr. Edible. — This species is know n b\- the violet or dark violet color which pervades all parts of the plant. The plants are 8-10 cm. high, the pileus 7-1 5 cm. broad, and the stem is bulbous, 6-8 mm. in thickness. The \eil is single. It occurs in woods and open places during late summer and in the autumn. Tlie flesh of the plant is also violet, and this color is imparted to the liquid when the plant is cooked. Tlie flavor is said to be something like that of Aii;jriciis cjiiipesfris. Cortinarius (Myxaciumj collinitus (Pers.) Fr. Edible. — This is known as the smeared cortinarius because of the abundant glutinous substance with which the plant is smeared during moist or wet weather. It grows in woods. The plants are 7-10 cm. high, the cap 5-8 cm. in diameter, and the stem is 8-12 mm. in thickness. It is usually known by the smooth, even, tawny cap, the great abundance of slimy substance covering the entire plant when moist, and when dry the cracking of the gluten on the stem into annular patches. The pileus is conve.x to e.xpanded, smooth, e\en, glutinous when 1(W STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. M o C wet, shining when dry, tawny. The gills are adnate with a pecuHar bluish gray tinge when young, and clay color to cinnamon when old. The spores are nearly elliptical, and 12-15 \ 6-7 /<. The stem is cylindrical, even, and with patches of the cracked gluten when dry. Cortinarius (Dermocybe) cinnamomeus (L.) Fr. Edible. — The cinna- mon cortinarius is so called « because of the cinnamon color of the entire plant, especially of the cap and stem. It grows in the woods during summer and autumn, it is a very pretty plant, and varies from 5-8 cm. high, the cap from 2-10 cm. broad, and the stem 4-6 mm. in thickness. The pileus is conic, or con- vex, and nearly expanded, sometimes nearly plane, and again with a prominent blunt or conic umbo. Sometimes the pileus is abruptly bent downward near the margin as shown in the plants in Fig. 151, giving the appear- ance of a "hip-roof." The surface is smooth, silky, with innate fibrils. Sometimes there are cinnabar stains on parts of the pileus, and often there are concentric rows of scales near the margin. The flesh is light yellowish and with stains of cinnabar. The gills are adnate, slightly sinu- '^" ^ ate, and decurrent by a tooth, easily separating from the stem, rather crowded, slightly ventricose. The color of the gills varies greatly ; sometimes they are the same color as the pileus, sometimes reddish brown, sometimes blood red color, etc. This latter form is a very pretty plant, and is var. semi-sangnineus Fr. Figure 151 is from plants (No. 2883 C. U. herbarium) collected ■r. tn — ■ 0) o 2 S £ _ X O o U 0; w ■u o n 9 W era o — P S, o t \hv soft, silky appearance of the sur- face of pilrus and stem, aiul thf delicate yellowish white color. It occurs in woods, on the ^iround among decaying leaves. The plants are 412 cm. high, the cap 47 cm. broad, and the stem above is 6-10 mm. in thickness, and below from 2-3 cm. in thickness. The pileus is convex to nearly expanded, and sometimes a little depressed, usually, however, remaining convex at the top. It is dr)-, on the center finely tomentose to minutely squamulose, sometimes the scales splitting up into concentric rows around tlu' cap. The cap is fleshy at the center, and thin at the margin, the color is from cream buff to buff, darker on the center. The gills are sinuate or adnate, slightly broader in the middle (ventricose) in age, pale at first, then becoming ochre yellow, and darker when the plant dries. The spores are tawny in mass, oval, elliptical, minutely tuberculate when mature, 6-9 X 4-6 /<. The stem is clavate, pale cream buff in color, solid, becoming irregularly flstulose in age, bulbous or somewhat ventri- cose below, the bulb often large and abrupt, 1.5-3 cm. in diameter. The veil is prominent and attached to the upper part of the stem, the abundant threads attached over an area i cm. in extent and forming a beautiful cortina of the same color as the pileus and stem, but be- coming tawny when the spores fall on it. The stem varies consid- erably in length and shape, being rarely ventricose, and then only at the base ; the luilbous forms predominate and the bulb is often very large. Figures 152, i^^ are from plants (No. 3674 (>. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, i.S(». BOLBITIUS Fries. The genus Bulbitius contains a few species with )'ellowish or \'el- lowish brown spores. The plants are very fragile, more or less mucilaginous when moist, usually with yellowish colors, and, what is the most characteristic feature beside the yellowish color of the spores, the gills are very soft, and at maturity tend to dissolve into a mucilaginous consistency, though they do not diliquesce, or only rarely dissolve so far as to form drops. The surface of the gills at maturitv becomes covered with the spores so that they appear pow- dery, as in the genus Corti)hiriits, which they also resemble in the color of the spores. In the mucilaginous condition of the gills the genus approaches Coprinns. It is believed to occupy an intermediate 164 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. position between Coprimis and Cortinarius. The species usually grow on dung or in manured ground, and, in this respect resemble many of the species of Coprimis. Some of the species are, however, not always confined to such a substratum, but grow on decaying leaves, etc. Bolbitius variicolor Atkinson. — This plant was found abundantly during May and June, 1898, in a freshly manured grass plat between the sidewalk and the pavement along Buffalo street, Ithaca, N. Y. Fic.uRK 154. — Bolbitius variicolor. Cap viscid, various shades of yellow, or smoky olive; gills yellowish, then rusty (natural size). The season was rainy, and the plants appeared each day during quite a long period, sometimes large numbers of them covering a small area, but they were not clustered nor cespitose. They vary in height from 4-10 cm. the pileus from 2-4 cm. broad, and the stem is 3-8 mm. in thickness. The colors vary from smoky to fuliginous, olive and yellow, and the spores are ferruginous. The pileus is from ovate to conic when young, the margin not at all incurved, but lies straight against the stem, somewhat unequal. OCIIkH-Sl'CJkHl) ACjAklCS. l'')5 In expaiuling tlu- eup becomes convc-x, tluii cxpaiuitJ, aiul finally many of the plants with tlu- margin elevated and with a broad umbo, and finely striate for onL-haU to two-thirds the way from the margin to the center. When young the pileus has a very viscid cuticle, which easily peels from the surface, showing the yt-llow flesh. The cuticle is smoky olive to fuliginous, darker when young, becom- ing paler as the pileus expands, but always darker on the umbo. Sometimes the fibres on the surface of the cap are drawn into strands wliich anastomose into coarse reticulations, giving the appearance of elevated veins which have a general radiate direction from the center of the cap. As the pileus expands the yellow color of the flesh shows through the cuticle more and more, especially when young, but becoming light olive to fuliginous in age. In dry weather the surface of the pileus sometimes cracks into patches as the pileus expands. The gills are rounded next the stem, adnate to adnexed, becoming free, first yellow, then ferruginous. The basidia are abruptK- club- shaped, rather distant and separated regularly b\' rounded cells, four spored. The spores are ferruginous, elliptical, lo-i 5 x 6-8 ;/, smooth. The stem is cylindrical to terete, tapering above, sulphur and ochre yellow, becoming paler and even with a light brown tinge in age. The stem is hollow, and covered with numerous small sellow floccose scales which point upward and are formed by the tearing away of the edges of the gills, which are loosely united with the surface of the stem in the young stage. The edges of the gills are thus sometimes finely fimbriate. At maturit\- the gills become more or less mucilaginous, depend- ing on the weather. Plants placed in a moist chamber change to a mucilaginous mass. When the plants dry the pileus is from a drab to hair brown or sepia color (Ridgeway's colors). Figure 1^4 is from plants (No. 2355 C. IJ. herbarium). PAXILLUS Fr. In the genus Piixi/Iiis the gills are usually easily separated from the pileus, though there are some species accredited to the genus that do not seem to possess this character in a marked degree. The spores are ochre or ochre brown. Often the gills are forked near the stem or anastomose, or they are connected by veins which them- selves anastomose in a reticulate fashion so that the meshes resemble the pores of certain species of the family Polyporacea'. The pileus may be viscid or dr\- in certain species, but the plant lacks a \iscid universal \eil. Tlie genus is closely related to Gomphiditi^., where the gills are often forked and easily separate from the pileus, but 166 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Gomphidiits possesses a viscid or glutinous universal veil. Peck in the Bull. N. Y. State Mus. Nat. Hist. 2: 29-33, describes five species. Paxillus involutus (Batsch.) Fr. Edible. — This plant is quite common in some places and is widely distributed. It occurs on the ground in grassy places, in the open, or in woods, and on decaying logs or stumps. The stem is central, or nearly so, when- growing on the ground, or eccentric when growing on wood, especially if growing from the side of a log or stump. The plants are 5-7 cm. high, the cap 3-7 cm. broad, and the stem 1-2 cm. in thickness. The plant occurs from August to October. The pileus is convex to expanded, and depressed in the center, in the young plant the margin is strongly inrolled, and as the pileus Figure 155. — Paxillus involutus. Cap and stem gray, olive-brown, reddish brown or tawny (natural size). Copyright 1900, expands it unrolls in a very pretty manner. The young plant is covered with a grayish, downy substance, and when the inrolled margin of the cap comes in contact with the gills, as it does, it presses the gills against this down, and the unrolling margin is thus marked quite prominently, sometimes with furrows where the pressure of the gills was applied. The color of the pileus varies greatly. In the case of plants collected at Ithaca and in North Carolina mountains the young plant when fresh is often olive umber, becoming reddish or tawny when older, the margin with a lighter shade. As Dr. Peck states, "it often presents a strange admixture of gray, ochraceous, ferruginous, and brown hues." The flesh is yellowish and changes o o JS a o U u 13 C If •So £ c o XI T3 U P c O ni W < OCHPH-SPOPI-I-) AGARICS. 1<">7 to reddish or brownish where bruised. The gills aredecurrent, when young arcuate, tiien ascending, and are more or less reticulated on the stem. They are grayish, then greenish yellow changing to brow n w here bruised. The spores are oval, 7-9 x 4-5 //. The stem is short, even, aiui n\ the same color as the cap. At Ithaca, iN. V., the plant is sometimes abundant in late autumn in grassy places near or in groves. The Figure 155 is from plants (No. 2508 C. U. herbarium) growing in such a place in the suburbs of Ithaca. At Blowing Rock, N. C, the plant is often very abun- dant along the roadsides on the ground during August and Sep- tember. Paxiiius rhodoxanthus (Schw.) — This species was first described by de Schweinitz as Agiiikiis rliodoxaiitbus, p. 83 No. 640, Synopsis fun- gorum Carolina' superioris, in Schriften der Naturforschenden Gesell- schaft 1: ig 131, 1822. It was described under his third section of Agjiiciis under the sub-genus Gymiiopiis, in which are mainly spe- cies now distributed in Clitocybe and Hygrophoms. He remarks on the elegant appearance of the plant and the fact that it so nearly resembles Boletus siibtomentosus as to deceive one. The resemblance to Boli'tiis siibtoineiifosiis as one looks upon the pileus when the plant is growing on the ground is certainly striking, because of the reddish yellow, ochraceous rufus or chestnut brown color of the cap together with the minute tomentum covering the surface. The sug- gestion is aided also by the color of the gills, which one is apt to get a glimpse of from above without being aware that the fruiting sur- face has gills instead of tubes. But as soon as the plant is picked and we look at the under surface, all suggestion of a Boletus vanishes, unless one looks carefully at the venation of the surface of the gills and the spaces between them. The plant grows on the ground in woods. At Blowing Rock, N. C, where it is not uncommon, I ha\e always found it along the mountain roads on the banks. It is v 10 cm. high, the cap from 3-8 cm. broad, and the stem 6-10 mm. in thickness. The pileus is con\e.\, then expanded, plane or convex, and when mature more or less top-shaped because it is so thick at the middle. In age the surface of the cap often becomes cracked into small areas, showing the yellow flesh in the cracks. The flesh is yellowish and the surface is dry. The gills are not very distant, they are stout, chrome yellow to lemon yellow, and strongly decurrent. A few of them are forked toward the base, and the surface and the space between them is marked by anastomosing veins forming a reticulum suggestive of the hymenium of the Polvpot\Ked\ This character is 168 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. not evident without the use of a hand lens. The surface of the gills as well as the edges is provided with clavate cystidia which are filled with a yellow pigment, giving to the gills the bright yellow color so characteristic. These cystidia extend above the basidia, and the ends are rounded so that sometimes they appear capitate. The yellow color is not confined to the cystidia, for the sub-hymenium is also colored in a similar way. The spores are yellowish, oblong to elliptical or spindle-shaped, and measure 8-12 x 3-5 //. The stem is the same color as the pileus, but paler, and more yellow at the base. It is marked with numerous minute dots of a darker color than the ground color, formed of numerous small erect tufts of mycelium. Figure 156 is from plants (No. 3977 C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. As stated above, the plant was first described by de Schweinitz as Agariciis rhodoxan- ihus in 1822. in 1834 (Synop. fung. Am. Bor. p. 151, 1834) he listed it under the genus Gomplius Fries (Syst. Mycolog. 319, 1821). Since Fries changed Gomphus to Gomphidius (Epicrisis, 319, 1836- 1838) the species has usually been written Gomphidius rhodoxjnthus Schweinitz. The species lacks one very important characteristic of the genus Gomphidius, namely, the slimy veil which envelopes the entire plant. Its relationship seems rather to be with the genus Paxillus, though the gills do not readily separate from the pileus, one of the characters ascribed to this genus, and possessed by certain species of Gomphidius in even a better degree, (in Paxillus involu- tus the gills do not separate so readily as they do in certain species of Gomphidius.) Berkeley (Decades N. A. Fungi, 1 16) has described a plant from Ohio under the name Paxillus flavidus. It has been suggested by some (see Peck, 29th Report, p. 36 ; Lloyd, Mycolog. Notes, where he writes it as Flammula rhodoxaiithus !) that Paxillus flavidus Berk., is identical with Agaricus rhodoxanthus Schw. Paxillus rhodoxanthus seems also to be very near if not identical with Clitocybe pelletieri Lev. (Gillet, Hymenomycetes 1: 170), and Schroeter (Cohn's Krypt, Flora Schlesien, 3, i: 516, 1889) trans- fers this species to Paxillus as Paxillus pelletieri. He is followed by Hennings. who, under the same section of the genus, lists P. flavidus Berk., from N. A. The figure of Clitocybe pelletieri in Gillet Hyme- nomycetes, etc., resembles our plant very closely, and Saccardo (Syll. Fung. S: 192) says that it has the aspect of Boletus subtomento- sus, a remark similar to the one made by de Schweinitz in the original description of Agaricus rhodoxanthus. Flammula paradoxa Kalch. (Fung. Hung. Tab. XVII, Fig. i) seems to be the same plant, as UCllRli-SHOkHD ACjAklCS. Hilt well as /•". fjDiiiiii Fr., with which F'atouillard (Tab. Anal. N, 354) places F. pji\nioXii and Clitocybe pelleiieri. Paxillus atro=tomcntosus (Batsch) Fr. — This plant is not very com- mon. It is utten ot quite larjie size, 6-1 5 cm. high, and the cap 5-10 cm. broad, the stem very short or sometimes long, from 1-2.5 ^^• in thickness. The plant is quite easily recognized by the stout and black hairy stem, and the dark brown or blackish, irregular and sometimes lateral cap, with the margin incurved. It grows on wood, logs, stumps, etc., during late summer and autumn. The pileus is convex, expanded, sometimes somewhat depressed. Fru'rk 157. — Paxillus atro-tomentosus, form hirsutus. Cap and stem brownish or blackish (natural size, .small specimens, they are often larger). Copyright i()00. lateral, irregular, or sometimes with the stem nearly in the center, brownish or blackish, dry, sometimes with a brownish or blackish tomentiim on the surface. The margin is inrolled and later incurved. The flesh is white, and the plant is tough. The gills are adnate, often decurrent on the stem, and easily separable from the pileus, forked at the base and sometimes reticulate, forming pores. Spores yellow- ish, o\al, 4-6 X 3-4 //. Stevenson says that the gills do not form pores like those of P. involutus, but Fig. 157 (No. 3362 C. U. her- barium) from plants collected at Ithaca, shows them well. There is, 17U STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. as it seems, some variation in this respect. The stem is solid, tough and elastic, curved or straight, covered with a dense black tomen- tum, sometimes with violet shades. On drying the plant becomes quite hard, and the gills blackish olive. Paxillus panuoides Fr. — This species was collected during August, 1900, on a side-walk and on a log at Ithaca. The specimens collected were sessile and the pileus lateral, somewhat broadened at the free end, or petaloid. The entire plant is pale or dull yellow, the surface of the pileus fibrous and somewhat uneven but not scaly. The plants are 2-12 cm. long by 1-8 cm. broad, often many crowded together in an imbricated manner. The gills are pale yellow, and the spores are of the same color when caught on white paper, and they measure 4-5 x 3-4 //, the size given for European specimens of this species. The gills are forked, somewhat anastomosing at the base, and sinuous in outline, though not markedly corrugated as in the next form. From descriptions of the European specimens the plants are sometimes larger than these here described, and it is very variable in form and often imbricated as in the following species, Paxillus corrugatus Atkinson — This very interesting species was collected at Ithaca, N. Y., on decaying wood, August 4, 1899. The pileus is lateral, shelving, the stem being entirely absent in the specimens found. The pileus is 2-5 cm. broad, narrowed down in an irregular wedge form to the sessile base, convex, then expanded, the margin incurved (involute). The color of the cap is yellow, maize yellow to canary yellow, with a reddish brown tinge near the base. It is nearly smooth, or very slightly tomentose. The flesh is pale yellow, spongy. The gills are orange yellow, 2-3 mm. broad, not crowded, regularly forked several times, thin, blunt, very wavy and crenulate, easily separating from the hymenophore when fresh ; the entire breadth of the gills is fluted, giving a corrugated appear- ance to the side. The spores in these specimens are faintly yellow, minute, oblong, broadly elliptical, short, sometimes nearly oval, 3 x 1.5-2 /(. The basidia are also very minute. The spores are olive yellow on white paper. The plant has a characteristic and disagreeable odor. This odor persists in the dried plant for several months. Figure 1 58 is from the plants (No. 3332 C. U. herbarium) collected as noted above on decaying hemlock logs in woods. A side and under view is shown in the figure, and the larger figure is the under- view, from a photograph made a little more than twice natural size, in order to show clearly the character of the gills. The two smaller plants are natural size. When dry the plant is quite hard. Pi. A IK 4S, Kict Ri: 158. — Faxillus toiiugatus. Cap niai/e yellow U) orange yellow, reddish brown near the base ; gills orange yellow . Two lower plants natural size ; upper one 2 1/2 times natural size. Copyright 1900. r „— - _ --_;J> ■■-V 1 \ j \ ■ 1 JiANKLIN 1 Plate 49. Fig. i.— Boletus felleus. Fig. 2.— B. edulis. Copyright 1900. CHAPTER IX. THE TUBE-BEARING FUNGI. POLYPORACEAE. The plants belonging to this family are characterized especially by a honeycombed truiting surface, that is, the under surface of the plants possesses numerous tnbes or pores which stand close together side by side, and except in a very few forms these tubes are joined by their sides to each other. In Fisfii/iim the tubes are free from each other though standing closely side by side. In Meruliiis dis- tinct tubes are not present, but the surface is more or less irregu- larly pitted, the pits being separated from each other by folds which anastomose, forming a network. These pits correspond to shallow tubes. The plants vary greatly in consistency, some are very fleshy and soft and putrify readily. Others are soft when young and become firmer as they age, and some are quite hard and woody. Many of the latter are perennial and live for several or many years, adding a new layer in growth each year. The larger number of the species grow on wood, but some grow on the ground; especially in the genus Boletus, which has many species, the majority grow on the ground. Some of the plants have a cap and stem, in others the stem is ab- sent and the cap attached to the tree or log, etc., forms a shelf, or the plant ma\- be thin and spread over the surface of the wood in a thin patch. In the genus Dd\ij/i\i the tubes become more or less elongated horizontally and thus approach the form of the gills, while in some species the tubes are more or less toothed or split and approach the spine-bearing fungi at least in appearance of the fruit-bearing sur- face. Only a few of the genera and species will be described. The following key is not complete, but may aid in separating some of the larger plants : Tubes or pores free from each other, though stand- ing closely side by side, l-htulitui. Tubes or pores not free, joined side by side . . . i. I — Plants soft and fleshy, soon decaying, 2. Plants soft when young, becoming firm, some woody or corky, stipitate, shelving, or spread over the wood, Polyponts. 171 172 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Tubes or pores shallow, formed by a network of folds or wrinkles, plants thin, sometimes spread over the wood, and somewhat gelatinous, . . Merulius. 2— Mass (stratum) of tubes easily separating from the cap when peeled off, cap not with coarse scales, tubes in some species in radiating lines, . . . .Boletus. Stratum of tubes separating, but not easily, cap with coarse, prominent scales, Strobilomyces. Stratum of tubes separating, but not easily, tubes arranged in distinct radiating lines. In one species {B. porosus) the tubes do not separate from the cap, Boldimis. This last genus is apt to be confused with certain species of Bo- letus which have a distinct radiate arrangement of the tubes. It is questionable whether it is clearly distinguished from the genus Boletus. BOLETUS Dill. Of the few genera in the Polyporacctv which are fleshy and pu- trescent. Boletus contains by far the largest number of species. The entire plant is soft and fleshy, and decays soon after maturity. The stratum of tubes on the under side of the cap is easily peeled off and separates as shown in the portion of a cap near the right hand side of Fig. 164. In the genus Poly poms the stratum of tubes cannot thus be separated. In the genera Strobilomyces and Boletiuus, two other fleshy genera of this family, the separation is said to be more diffi- cult than in Boletus, but it has many times seemed to me a "dis- tinction without a difference." The larger number of the species of Boletus grow on the ground. Some change color when bruised or cut, so that it is important to note this character when the plant is fresh, and the taste should be noted as well. Boletus edulis Bull. Edible. ^Ag. bulbosus Schaeff. Tab. 134, 1763. Boletus bulbosns (Schaeff.) Schroeter. Cohn's Krypt, Flora. Schles- ien, p. 499, 1889]. — This plant, which, as its name implies, is edible, grows in open woods or their borders, in groves and in open places, on the ground. It occurs in warm, wet weather from July to Sep- tember. It is one of the largest of the Boleti, and varys from 5-12 cm. high, the cap from 8-25 cm. broad, and the stem 2-4 cm. in thickness. The pileus is convex to expanded, smooth, firm, quite hard when young and becoming soft in age. The color varies greatly, from p zr c •o - 3 I ft (D — o • C_ JT (-^ /v W OTB P — >4 ID 1 -I (TO rt (i 2 ^ c 2. S crq ' o £L 3 O c G 4) O E 0) t« o o « ^ CI. o o D -SI 3 C is o .SP U O PS riBH-i;LAkiN(i riNfii. 173 buff to dull reddish, to leddish-brovvii, tavviiy-brown, often yellowish over a portion of the cap, usually paler on the margin. Tlu' tlesh is white or tin^jed with yellow, sometimes reddish undt-r the- cuticle. The tubes are white when youn^i and the mouths are closed (stuffed), the lower surface of the tubes is convex from the margin of the cap to the stem, and depressed around the stem, sometimes separating from the stem. Wliile the tubes are white when young, they become greenish or greenish-yellow; or entirely yellow when mature. The spores whrii caught on paper are greenish-yellow, or yellow. They are oblong to fusiform, 12-15 /' ' thickness. The pileus is convex becoming nearly plane, firm, and in age soft, smooth, the color varying from pale yellow to various shades of brown to chestnut. The tlesh is white, and where wounded often changes to a pink color, but not always. The tubes are adnate, long, the under surface convex and with a depression around the stem. The tubes are at first white, but become tlesh color or tinged with tlesh color, and the mouths are angular. The stem is stout, tapering upward, sometimes enlarged at the base, usually reticulated at the upper end, and sometimes with the reticulations o\-er the entire sur- face (Fig. 161). The color is paler than that of the cap. The spores are oblong to spindle-shaped, tlesh color in mass, and single ones measure 12-1S \ 4-t; //. 174 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. The general appearance of the plant is somewhat like that of the Boh'tns c'diilis, and beginners should be cautioned not to confuse the two species. It is known by its bitter taste and the flesh-colored tubes, while the taste of the B. ediilis is sweet, and the tubes are greenish-yellow, or yellowish or light ochre. Plate 49 represents three specimens in color. Boletus scaber Fr. Edible.— This species is named the rough-stemmed boletus, in allusion to the rough appearance given to the stem from numerous dark brown or reddish dots or scales. This is a character- istic feature, and aids one greatly in determining the species, since the color of the cap varies much. The cap is sometimes whitish, orange red, brown, or smoky in color. The plant is 6-15 cm. high, the cap 3-7 cm. broad, and the stem 8-12 mm. in thickness. The pileus is rounded, becoming convex, smooth, or nearly so, sometimes scaly, and the flesh is soft and white, sometimes turning slightly to a reddish or dark color where bruised. The tubes are small, long, the surface formed by their free ends is convex in out- line, and the tubes are depressed aroimd the stem. They are first white, becoming darker, and somewhat brownish. The stem is solid, tapering somewhat upward, and roughened as described above. The plant is one of the common species of the genus Boletus. It occurs in the woods on the ground or in groves or borders of woods in grassy places. Writers differ as to the excellence of this species for food ; some consider it excellent, while others regard it as less agreeable than some other species. It is, at any rate safe, and Peck considers it "first class." Boletus retipes B. & C. — This species was first collected in North Carolina by Curtis, and described by Berkeley, it has since been reported from Ohio, Wisconsin, and New England (Peck, Boleti of the U. S.) Peck reported it from New York in the 23d Report, N. Y. State Mus., p. 132. Later he recognized the New York plant as a new species which he called B. ornatipes (29th Report, N. Y. State Mus., p. 67). I collected the species in the mountains of North Carolina, at Blowing Rock, in August, 1888. During the latter part of August and in September, 1899, I had an opportunit}' of seeing quite a large number of specimens in the same locality, for it is not uncommon there, and two specimens were photographed and are represented here in Fig. 162. The original description published in Grevillea 1 : 36, should be modified, especially in regard to the size of the plant, its habit, and the pulverulent condition of the pileus. The plants are 6-15 cm. high, the cap 5-10 cm. broad, and the stem 0.5-1.5 cm. in thickness. Platk 52, Fu;l:ke 161. — Boletus felleus. Cap light brown, lubes riesh color, stem in this specimen entirely reticulate (natural size, often larger). Copyright 1000. TlBH-BHARINr, l-l'NGI. 175 The pileus is conwx, thick, sott uiilI somewhat spongy, especially ill hir^e plants. The cap is dry and sometimes, especially when young, it is powdery; at other times, and in a majority of cases according to my observations, it is not powdery, it is smooth or miiuitfly tonu'iUose, sometimes the surface cracked into small patches, Jbici kp: iOj. — Boletus rctipes. Ca|) yellowish brown, to olive-brown or nearly black, stem yellow, beautifully reticulate, tubes yellow (natural size). Copyright i<)00. but usually even. The color \aries greatly between yellowish brown to olive brown, fuliginous or nearly black. The lubes are yellow, adnate, the tube surface plane or conve.x. The spores are yellowish or ochraceous, varying somewhat in tint in different spec- imens. The stem is vellow, vellow also within, and beautifullv retic- 176 STUDIES OF A.WERICAN FUNGI. ulate, usually to the base, but sometimes only toward the apex. It is usually more strongly reticulate over the upper half. The stem is erect or ascending. The plant grows in woods, in leaf mould or in grassy places. It is usually single, that is, so far as my observations have gone at Blowing Rock. Berkeley and Curtis report it as cespitose. I have never seen it cespitose, never more than two specimens growing near each other. Boletus ornatipes Pk., does not seem to be essentially different from B. retipes. Peck says (Boleti U.S., p. 126) that " the tufted mode of growth, the pulverulent pileus and paler spores separate this spe- cies" (retipes) "from the preceding one " (ornatipes). Inasmuch as 1 have never found B. retipes tufted, and the fact that the pileus is not always pulverulent (the majority of specimens I collected were not), and since the tint of the spores varies as it does in some other species, the evidence is strong that the two names represent two different hab- its of the same species. The tufted habit of the plants collected by Curtis, or at least described by Berkeley, would seem to be a rather unusual condition for this species, and this would account for the smaller size given to the plants in the original description, where the pileus does not exceed 5 cm. in diameter, and the stem is only 5 cm. long, and 6-12 mm. in thickness. Plants which normally occur singly do on some occasions occur tufted, and then the habit as well as the size of the plant is often changed. A good illustration of this 1 found in the case of Boletus edulis during my stay in the North Carolina mountains. The plant usually occurs singly and more or less scattered. 1 found one case where there were 6-8 plants in a tuft, the caps were smaller and the stems in this case considerably longer than in normal specimens. A plant which agrees with the North Carolina specimens 1 have collected at Ithaca, and so I judge that B. retipes occurs in New York. Boletus chromapes Frost. — This is a pretty boletus, and has been reported from New England and from New York State. During the summer of 1899 it was quite common in the Blue Ridge mountains, North Carolina. The plant grows on the ground in woods. It is 6-10 cm. high, the cap 5-10 cm. in diameter, and the stem is 8-12 mm. in thickness. It is known by the yellowish stem covered with reddish glandular dots. The pileus is convex to nearly expanded, pale red, rose pink to vinaceous pink in color, and sometimes slightly tomentose. The flesh is white, and does not change when cut or bruised. The tube surface is convex, and the tubes are attached slightly to the stem. 2. "■ n < rt c ~ _ r. C y r. ■ ft # r. — ■ t; — r. - C — r. V! rr E 5 p_ — N — rt ;3 o S c is o o o -3 ^ I ^ I S TUBE-BEARING FL'NGI. 177 or free. They are wliite, then flesh color, aiul in a*ze become brown. The stem is even, or it tapers sli^ihtly upward, straigiit or ascending, whitish or \'ellow above, or below, sometimes yellowish the entire length. The flesh is also yellowish, especially at the base. The entire surface is marked with reddish or pinkish dots. Figure i6^ is from plants (No. 4085 C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, diiring September, 1899, Boletus vermiculosus Pk. — This species was named B. vcrmiciilosiis because it is somttinit-s \ery "wormy." This is not always the case, however, li grows in woods on the ground, in the Eastern United States. It is from 6-12 cm. high, the cap from 7-12 cm. broad, and the stem 12 cm. in thickness. The pileus is thick, convex, firm, smooth, and \aries in color from brown to yellowish brown, or drab gray to buff, and is minutely tomentose. The flesh quickly changes to blue where wounded, and the bruised portion, sometimes, changing to yellowish. The tubes are yellowish, with reddish-brown mouths, the tube surface being rounded, free or nearly so, and the tubes changing to blue where wounded. The stem is paler than the pileus, often dotted with short, small, dark tufts below, and above near the tubes abruptly paler, and sometimes the two colors separated by a brownish line. The stem is not reticulated. Figure 164 is from a photograph of plants (No. 41 32 C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. Boletus obsonium (Paul.) Fr. — This species was not uncommon in the woods at Blowing Rock, N. C, during the latter part of August and during September, 1899. It grows on the ground, the plants usually appearing singly. It is from 10 15 cm. high, tlu- cap 813 cm. broad, and the stem 1-2 cm. in tliickness, considerably broader at the base than at the apex. The pileus is convex to expanded, vinaceous cinnamon, to pinkish vinaceous or hazel m color. It is soft, slightly tomentose, and when old the surface frequently cracks into fine patches showing the pink flesh beneath. The thin margin extends slightly beyond the tubes, so that it is sterile. The flesh does not change color on exposure to the air. The tubes are plane, adnate, very slightly depressed around the stem or nearly free, yellowish white when young, becoming dark olive green in age from the color of the spores. The tube mouths are small and rotund. The spores caught on white paper are dark olive green. The\' are t-lliptical usuall)^ with rounded ends, 12-15 x 4-5 i-t. The stem is white wht-n young, with a tinge of yellow- ochre, and pale flesh color below. It is marked with somewhat par- 178 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. allel elevated lines, or rugte, below, where it is enlarged and nearly bulbous. In age it becomes flesh color the entire length and is more plainly striate rugose with a yellowish tinge at the base. The stem tapers gradually and strongly from the base to the apex, so that it often appears long conic. The plant is often badly eaten by snails, so that it is sometimes difficult to obtain perfect specimens. Figure 165 is from a photo- graph of plants (No. 4092 C. U. herbarium) from Blowing Rock, N. C. Boletus americanus Pk. — This species occurs in woods and open places, growing on the ground in wet weather, it occurs singly or clustered, sometimes two or three joined by their bases, but usually more scattered, it is usually found under or near pine trees. The plant is 3-6 cm. high, the cap 2-7 cm. broad, and the stem is 4-8 mm. in thickness. It is very slimy in wet weather, the cap is yellow, streaked or spotted with faint red, and the stem is co\'ered with num- erous brown or reddish brown dots. The pileus is rounded, then convex, becoming nearly expanded and sometimes with an umbo. It is soft, very slimy or viscid when moist, yellow. When young the surface gluten is often mixed with loose threads, more abundant on the margin, and continuous with the veil, which can only be seen in the very young stage. As the pileus expands the margin is sometimes scaly from remnants of the veil and of loose hairs on the surface. The cap loses its bright color as it ages, and is then sometimes streaked or spotted with red. The tube surface is nearly plane, and the tubes join squarely against the stem. The tubes are rather large, angular, yellowish, becoming dull ochraceous. The stem is nearly equal, yellow, and covered with numerous brownish or reddish brown glandular dots. No ring is present. This species grows in the same situations as the B. granulaUts, sometimes both species are common over the same area. Figure 166 is from plants (No. 3991 C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, September, 1899. The species is closely related to B.flavidiis Fr., and according to some it is identical with it. Boletus granulatus L. Edible.— This species is one of the very com- mon and widely distributed ones. It grows in woods and open places on the ground. Like B. americanus, it is usually found under or near pines. It occurs during the summer and autumn, sometimes appearing very late in the season. The plants are 3-6 cm. high, the cap is 4-10 cm. broad, and the stem is 8-12 mm. in thickness. The plants usually are clustered, though not often very crowded. > 1-1 K On o c K Oi 0_ C O cr in O n n ' O N w C2 «< w O 0 O T- 7^ d5' o 5 o re EL fT 3> re J t TUBE-BEARING FUNGI. IT'.i r: C •X V 3 n n' »5 3 The pileus is u)iive.\ to lu-aily expanded, flat very viscid and reddish brown, paler and yellow- ish when it is dry, but very variable in cohtr, pink, red, \'ellow, tawn>', and brown shades, Tiie tli-sli is pale \' el low. The tubes are joined squarely to the stem, short, yellowish, and the edges of the tubes, that is, at the open end (often ^ called the mouth), are ^• dotted or granulated. ^ The stem is dotted in the same way above. The spores in mass are pale >-ellow ; singly they are spindle-shaped. The species is edible, though some say it should be regarded with sus- picion. Peck has tried it, and 1 have eaten it, but the viscid character of the plant did not make it a relish for me. There are several species closely related to the granulated Boletus. B. hrrcipi's Pk., is one, chiefly distinguished by the short stem, which entirely lacks the gland- ular dots, it grows in sandv soil, in pine groves and in woods. Boletus punctipes Pk. — This species has been re- ported from New York State b\- Peck. During When moist it is cr n C. o c c 180 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. September, 1899, 1 found it quite common in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, at an elevation of between 4000 and 5000 feet. It grows on the ground in mixed woods. The plants are 5-8 cm. high, the caps 5-7 cm. broad, and the stem 6-10 mm. in thickness. The pileus is convex, sometimes becoming nearly plane, and it is quite thick in the center, more so than the granulated boletus, while the margin is thin, and when young with a minute gray powder. The margin often becomes upturned when old ; the cap is viscid when i FicuRE 167.- Boletus punclipes. Cap viscid when moist, reddish brown, pink, yellow, tawny, etc., tubes yellowish, stem dark punctate (natural size). Copyright igco. moist, dull yellow. The tubes are short, their lower surface plane, and they are set squarely against the stem. They are small, the mouths rounded, brownish, then dull ochraceous, and dotted with glandules. The stem is rather long, proportionately more so than in the granulated boletus, it distinctly tapers upwards, is "rhubarb yellow," and dotted with glandules. This character of the stem sug- gested the name of the species. The spores are 8-10 X4-5 /<. Figure 167 is from plants (No. 4067 C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C. It is closely related to B. orjiiiilatus and by some is considered the same. TUBE-BBARING FlNfil. isi o: Boletus Iiiteiis I inn. ( B. siih/iitriis PU. ) Tliis species is widely dis- tributed in tuiDpt- aiul America, and grows in sandy soil, in pint- or mixed woods or groves. The plants are 5-8 cm. high, the cap 3-12 cm. in diameter, and the stem 6 10 mm. in thickness. The general color is dull brown or ytl- lowish brown, and the plants are slim\' in moist weatluT, the stem and tubes more or less dotted with dark points. These characters vary greatly under different c 0 n d i- tions, and the fact has led to some confusion in the discrimination of species. The pileus is convex, becoming nearly plane, viscid or glutinous when moist, dull yellowish to reddish b r 0 w n, some- times with the color ir- regularly distributed in streaks. The flesh is whitish or dull yellowish. The tube surface is plane or convex, the tubes set 7=" squarely against the stem ^z. (adnate), while the tubes ^ ^ are small, with small, °' nea r 1 y rounded, or slightl\- angular mouths. The color of the tubes is yellowish or ochre col- ored, becoming darker in age, and sometimes nearly brown or quite dark. The stem is pale yellowish, reddish or brownish, and more or less covered with glandular dots, which when dry give a black dotted appearance to the stem. In the case of descriptions of B. Iiitciis the stem is said to be dotted only above the annulus, while the description of B. siibliitciis gives the stem as dotted both above and below the annulus. 3 ts — 2. c re o 5 '±C. r. < M En' 3 Q. — E.' - r- - c - 3 ft 2. - 2. E o 3. ^ o c, O vT 182 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. The spores are yellowish brown or some shade of this color in mass, lighter yellowish brown under the microscope, fusiform or nearly so, and 7-10 X 2-4 /'. The annulus is very variable, sometimes col- lapsing as a narrow ring around the stem as in Fig. 168, from plants'^collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, September, 1899 (B. sub- luteiis Pk.), and sometimes appearing as a broad, free collar, as in Fig. 169. The veil is more or less gelatinous, and in an early stage of the plant may cover the stem as a sheath. The lower part of the stem is sometimes covered at maturity with the sheathing por- tion of the veil, the upper part only appearing as a ring. In this way, the lower part of the stem being covered, the glandular dots are not evident, while the stem is seen to be dotted above the annulus. But in many cases the veil slips off from the lower portion of the stem at an early stage, and then in its slimy condition collapses around the upper part of the stem, leaving the stem uncovered and showing the dots both above and below the ring (j5. s lib! a tens). An examination of the figures of the European plant shows that the veil often slips off from the lower portion of the stem in B.luteus, especially in the figures given by Krombholtz, T, 33. In some of these figures the veil forms a broad, free collar, and the stem is then dotted both above and below as is well shown in the figures. In other figures where the lower part of the veil remains as a sheath over the lower part of the stem , the dots are hidden. I have three spec- imens of the B.lntcHS of Europe from Dr. Bresadola, collected at Tren- to, Austria-Hungary : one of them has the veil sheathing the lower part of the stem, and the stem only shows the dots above the an- nulus; a second specimen has the annulus in the form of a collapsed ring near the upper end of the stem, and the stem dotted both above and below the annulus; in the third specimen the annulus is in the form of a broad, free collar, and the stem dotted both above and be- low. The plants shown in Fig. 169 (No. 4124, C. U. herbarium) were collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. They were found in open woods under Kalmia where the sun had an op- portunity to dry out the annulus before it became collapsed or agglut- inated against the stem, and the broad, free collar was formed. My notes on these specimens read as follows: "The pileus is convex, then expanded, rather thick at the center, the margin thin, some- times sterile, incurved. In color it runs from ecru drab to hair-brown with streaks of the latter, and it is very viscid when moist. When dried the surface of the pileus is shining. The tubes are plane or concave, adnate, tawny-olive to walnut-brown. The tubes are ;^ <^ s 8 O 5s 2 I c c_ O c/1 ft S > C 3- 2 W 3 c o. S 5' "^ -• j£. c_ N ra TUBE-BEAF^INT, riNGI. 183 small, aiijiular, somewhat as in are granulated with reddish or nut brown, oblong to el- liptical, 8-10 .\ 2-3 //. r The stem is L"\lindrical, - even, olive x'ellow abo\'e, - and black dotted both -^ above and below the I annulus, 2. Bolctinus pictus l^U. — =• This very beautiful plant is quite common in damp pine woods. It is easil>' recognized by the red- dish cottony layer of mycelium threads which cover the entire plant when young, and form a veil which covers the gills at this time. As the plant expands the red- dish outer layer Is torn into scales of the same color, showing the yel- lowish, or pinkish, flesh beneath, and tlie tlesh often changes to pink or reddish where wounded. The tubes are first pale yellow, but become ^2 darker in age, often changing to pinkish, with a brown tinge where brused. The stem is solid, and is thus differ- ent from a closely related species, fi. cavipcs Kalchb. The stem is covered with a coat like that on the pileus and is similarly colored, though often paler. The spores are B. i:rii)iii/citiis, but smaller, and they brow nish dots. The spores are wal- " crq 5 =r zr ft E. o D. 21, oi 0) — n> re n 184 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. ochraceous, 15-18 x 6-8//. The plants are 5-8 cm. high, the caps 5-8 cm. broad, and the stems 6-12 mm. in thickness. Figure 170 is from plants collected in the Blue Ridge mountains, Blowing Rock, N. C, September, 1899. Boletinus porosus (Berk.) Pk. — This very interesting species is widely distributed in the Eastern United States. It resembles a Polvp- orus, though it is very soft like a Boletus, but quite tenacious. The plants are dull reddish-brown, viscid when moist, and shining. The cap is more or less irregular and the stem eccentric, the cap being sometimes more or less lobed. The plants are 4-6 cm. high, the cap 5-12 cm. broad, and the short stem 8-12 mm. in thickness. It occurs in damp ground in woods. The pileus is fleshy, thick at the middle, and thin at the margin. The tubes are arranged in prominently radiating rows, the partitions often running radiately in the form of lamellae, certain ones of them being more prominent than others as shown in Fig. 171. These branch and are connected by cross partitions of less prominence. This char- acter of the hymenium led Berkeley to place the plant in the genus Paxi/liis, with which it does not seem to be so closely related as with the genus Boletus. The stratum of tubes, though very soft, is very tenacious, and does not separate from the flesh of the pileus, thus resembling certain species of Polyponts. Figure 171 is from plants collected at Ithaca. Strobilorayces strobilaceus Berk. Edible. — This plant has a peculiar name, both the genus and the species referring to the cone-like ap- pearance of the cap with its coarse, crowded, dark brown scales, bearing a fancied resemblance to a pine cone. It is very easily dis- tinguished from other species of Boletus because of this character of the cap. The plant has a very wide distribution though it is not usually very common. The plant is 8-14 cm. high, the cap 5-10 cm. broad, and the stem 1-2 cm. in thickness. The pileus is hemispherical to convex, shaggy from numerous large blackish, coarse, hairy, projecting scales. The margin of the cap is fringed with scales and fragments of the veil which covers the tubes in the young plants. The flesh is whitish, but soon changes to red- dish color, and later to black where wounded or cut. The tubes are adnate, whitish, becoming brown and blackish in the older plants. The mouths of the tubes are large and angular, and change color where bruised, as does the flesh of the cap. The stem is even, or sometimes tapers upward, often grooved near the apex, very tomen- tose or scaly with soft scales of the same color as the cap. The spores are in mass dark brown, nearly globose, roughened, and X s It o s 3 7.' c c ■ ,. > \ n n- (fa" ' .^#- o o / • 5 o o C w U in 0) 'J i- -a rt o ^ -2 — C a! r- u S 0) -a o 1) - U O ni 22 C/] 1> ^ .2 TUBE-BEARING FUNGI. 185 FiniRK 173. — Strobilomyces strobilaceus. Sections of plants. Copyright 1900. 10-12 // lonp. Figs. 172-174 are from plants collected at Ithaca, N. Y. Another European plant, S. floccopns Vahl, is said by Peck to occur in the United States, but it is much more rare. The only dif- Fir.URE 174. — Strobilomyces strobilaceus. Under view. Copyright 1900. ference in the two noted by Peck in the case of the American plants is that the tubes are depressed around the stem in 5. floccoptis. ISO STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. FISTULINA Bull. in the genus Fistulina the tubes, or pores, are crowded together, but stand separately, that is, they are not connected together, or grown together into a stratum as in Boletus and other genera of the family Polyporacem. When the plant is young the tubes are very short, but they elongate with age. Fistulina hepatica Fr. Edible. — This is one of the largest of the species in the genus and is the most widely distributed and common one. It is of a dark red color, very soft and juicy. It has usually a short stem which expands out into the broad and thick cap. When young the upper side of the cap is marked by minute elevations of a different color, which suggest the papillae on the tongue ; in age the tubes on the under surface have also some such suggestive ap- pearance. The form, as it stands outward in a shelving fashion from stumps or trees, together with the color and surface characters, has suggested several common names, as beef tongue, beef-steak fun- gus, oak or chestnut tongue. The plant is 10-20 cm. long, and 8-15 cm. broad, the stem very short and thick, sometimes almost wanting, and again quite long. 1 have seen some specimens growing from a hollow log in which the stems were 12-15 cm. long. The piieus is very thick, 2 cm. or more in thickness, fleshy, soft, very juicy, and in wet weather very clammy and somewhat sticky to the touch. When mature there are lines of color of different shades extending out radially on the upper surface, and in making a longi- tudinal section of the cap there are quite prominent, alternating, dark and light red lines present in the flesh. The tubes, short at first, become 2-3 mm. long, they are yellowish or tinged with flesh color, becoming soiled in age. The spores are elliptical, yellowish, and 5-6 yu long. The plant occurs on dead trunks or stumps of oak, chestnut, etc., in wet weather from June to September. I have usually found it on chestnut. The beef-steak fungus is highly recommended by some, while others are not pleased with it as an article of food. It has an acid flavor which is disagreeable to some, but this is more marked in young specimens and in those not well cooked. When it is sliced thin and well broiled or fried, the acid taste is not marked. Fistulina pallida B. & Rav. {Fistulina finna Pk.)— This rare and interesting species was collected by Mrs. A. M. Hadley, near Man- chester, New Hampshire, October, 1898, and was described by Dr. Peck in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 26: 70, 1899, as ^RAMaiN 1 feoOT n ? J^ATMBUN Q Plate 59. Fig. i. — Fistulina hepatica. Copyright 1900. Fig. 2 — F. pallida. ^■■H ■ ^M ^■■H H ^^^^^^1 ■ ^Hj ^^^^^^H ^^^^K ' '-/^''^^^^^^^l ^^1 I^^^^^P^^I ^^^^1 ^^^^^^^^^^1 ^^^^^B ' '"-' .''v'l^S^^^^^^H H^H ^^^^^Ci >jB 1 ^ [|H ^^^H ^ «p 1 I^^^^^^H ^ M P 1^1 J^ ^^^^B h' ^ 1 U f^ ^^^^■f' '^^^^^H ^^^^^^v ^^^^^^^1 ta m V ] ri.AiE 6o, FidURE 175. — Fistulina pallida. Cap wood-brown to fawn or clay color, tubes and lower part of the stem whitish (natural size). Copyright 1900. TUBE-BHAkING l-L'NGI. 1^7 Fistiiliiij finiij. But two plants were then founJ, and these were connected at the base. During August and September it was quite common in a small woods near Ithaca, N. \ ., and was first collected growing from the roots of a dead oak stump, August 4 (No. 3227 C. U. herbarium), and afterward during October. During Septt-m- bt-r 1 collected it at Blowing Rock, N. C, in the Blue Ridge moun- tains, at an elevation nt nearl\' 5000 feet, growing from the roots of a dead white oak tree. It was collected during September, 1899, by Mr. Frank Rathbun at Auburn, N. V. it was collected by Ravenel in the mountains of South Carolina, around a white oak stump by Peters in Alabama, and was first described by Berkeley in 1872, in Grev. I: 71, Notices of N. A. F. No. 173. Growing from roots or wood underneath the surface of the ground, the plant has an erect stem, the length of the stem depending on the depth at w hich the root is buried, just as in tlie case of Polyponis riiiiicatiis, which has a similar habitat. The plants are 5-12 cm. high, the cap is 3-7 cm, broad, and the stem 6-8 mm. in thickness. The pileus is wood brown to fawn, clay color or isabelline color. It is nt-arl\- semi-circular to reniform in outline, and the margin broadly crenate, or sometimes lobed. The stem is attached at the con- cave margin, where the cap is auriculate and has a prominent boss or elevation, and bent at right angles with a characteristic cur\e. The pileus is firm, tle.xible, tough and fibrous, flesh white. The surface is covered with a fine and dense tomentum. The pileus is 5-8 mm. thick at the base, thinning out toward the margin. The tubes are whitish, 2-3 mm. long and 5-6 in the space of a millimeter. They are very slender, tubular, the mouth somewhat enlarged, the margin of the tubes pale cream color and minutely mealy or furfuraceous, with numerous irregular, roughened threads. The tubes often stand somewhat separated, areas being undeveloped or younger, so that the surface of the under side is not regular. The tubes are not so crowded as is usual in the Fisfti/ifu bcpaticj. The)- are not decurrent, but end abruptly near the stem. The spores are subglobose, 31/ in diameter. The stem tapers downward, is w hitish below, and near the pileus the color changes rather abruptly to the same tint as the pileus. The stem is sometimes branched, and two or three caps present, or the caps themselves may be joined, as well as the stems, so that occasionally very irregular forms are dexeloped, but tliere is always the peculiar character of the attachment of the stem to the side of the cap. Figure 175 is from plants (No. 3676, C. U. herbarium) collected 188 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. at Blowing Rock, N. C, September, 1899. Figures on the colored plate represent this plant. Polyporus frondosus Fr. Edible. — This plant occurs in both Europe and America, and while not very common seems to be widely dis- tributed. It grows about old stumps or dead trees, from roots, often arising from the roots below the surface of the ground, and also is found on logs. The plant represents a section of the genus Polyporus, in which the body, both the stem and the cap, are very much branched. In this species the stem is stout at the base, but it branches into numerous smaller trunks, which continue to branch until finally the branches terminate in the expanded and leaf-like caps as shown in Figs. 176, 177. The plants appear usually during late summer and in the autumn. This species is often found about oak stumps. Some of the specimens are very large, and weigh 10 to 20 pounds, and the mass is sometimes 30 to 60 cm. (1-2 feet) in diameter. The plant, when young and growing, is quite soft and tender, though it is quite firm, it never becomes very hard, as many of the other species of this family. When mature, insects begin to attack it, and not being tough it soon succumbs to the ravages of insects and decay, as do a number of the softer species of the Polyporacece. The caps are very irregular in shape, curved, repand, radiately furrowed, sometimes zoned ; gray, or hair-brown, in color, with a perceptibly hairy surface, the hairs running in lines on the surface. Sometimes they are quite broad and not so numerous as in Plate 61, and in other plants they are narrow and more numerous, as in Plate 62. The tubes are more or less irregular, whitish, with a yellowish tinge when old. From the under side of the cap they extend down on the stem. When the spores are mature they are sometimes so numerous that they cover the lower caps and the grass for quite a distance around as if with a white powder. This species is edible, and because of the large size which it often attains, the few plants which are usually found make up in quantity what they lack in numbers. Since the plant is quite firm it will keep several days after being picked, in a cool place, and will serve for several meals. A specimen which 1 gathered was divided between two families, and was served at several meals on successive days. When stewed the plant has for me a rather objectionable taste, but the stewing makes the substance more tender, and when this is followed by broiling or frying the objectionable taste is removed and it is quite palatable. The plants represented in Plates 61 and 62 were collected at Ithaca. T "'I T r. CN n o_ _ ^ - c S o — vr a ■ .-; o a re W ^1 fr 75 « o O IJ • o •afr ^% '. o o o u _3 O 60 3 a; T3 TUBE-BEARIN(] l-L'NCil. lS!t Tluic aiL- scwral species which arc related to the frondose polyp- orus which occur in this country as well as in turope. Polyporus intybaceus Fr., is of about the same size, and the branching, and form of the caps is much the same, but it is of a yellowish brown or red- dish brown color. It grows on logs, stumps, etc., and is probably edible. It is not so common at Ithaca as the frondose polyporus. Polyporus umbellatus Fr. — This species is also related to the fron- dose polyporus, hut is very distinct. It is more erect, the branching FiGiRE 178. — Polyporus umbellatus. Caps hair-browii (natural size, often much larger). Copyright 1900. more open, and the caps at the ends of the branches are more or less circular and umbilicate. The branches are long, cylindrical and united near the base. The spreading habit of the branching, nr the form of the caps, suggests an umlvl or umbrella, and hence the spe- cific name iimbi'lLitHS. The tufts occur from 12-20 cm. in diameter, and the individual caps are from 1-4 cm. in diameter. It grows from underground roots and about stumps during summer. It is probably edible, but I have 190 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. never tried it. Figure 178 is from a plant (No. 1930, C. U. lierba- rium) collected in Cascadilla woods, Ithaca. Polyporus sulphureus (Bull.) Fr. Edible. {Boletus candicinus Schaeff. T. 131, 132: Po/r/)o/7/.s- t-c7m^/<://///5 Schroeter, Cohn's Krypt. Flora, Schlesien, p. 471, 1899).— The sulphur polyporus is so-called because of the bright sulphur color of the entire plant, it is one of the widely distributed species, and grows on dead oak, birch, and other trunks, and is also often found growing from wounds or knot- holes of living trees of the oak, apple, walnut, etc. The mycelium enters at wounds where limbs are broken off, and grows for years in the heart wood, disorganizing it and causing it to decay. In time the mycelium has spread over a considerable area, from which nutriment enough is supplied for the formation of the fruiting condition. The caps then appear from an open wound when such an exit is present. The color of the plant is quite constant, but varies of course in shades of yellow to some extent. In form, however, it varies greatly. The caps are usually clustered and imbricated, that is, they overlap. They may all arise separately from the wood, and yet be overlap- ping, though oftener several of them are closely joined or united at the base, so that the mass of caps arises from a common outgrowth from the wood as shown in Fig. 179. The individual caps are flat- tened, elongate, and more or less fan-shaped. When mature there are radiating furrows and ridges which often increase the fan-like appearance of the upper surface of the cap. Sometimes also there are more or less marked concentric furrows. The caps may be con- vex, or the margin may be more or less upturned so that the central portion is depressed. When young the margin is thick and blunt and of course lighter in color, but as the plant matures the edge is usually thinner. In some forms of the plant the caps are so closely united as to form a large rounded or tubercular mass, only the blunt tips of the individual caps being free. This is well represented in Fig. 180, from a photograph of a large specimen growing from a wound in a butter- nut tree in Central New York. The plant was 30 cm. in diameter. The plants represented in Plate 63 grew on an oak stump. The tree was affected by the fungus while it was alive, and the heart wood became so weakened that the tree broke, and later the fruit form of the fungus appeared from the dead stump. The tubes are small, and the walls thin and delicate, and are sometimes much torn, lacerated, and irregular. When the mycelium has grown in the interior of a log for a number of years it tends to grow in sheets along the line of the medullary rays of the wood or Plate 63, Fic.irf. 179. — Polypoius sulpluireus, on oak stump. Entirely sulphur-yellow ( 16 natural size). Copyright 1900. Plate 65, Figure 181. — Polyporus brumalis. Cap and stem brown, tubes white. Lower three plants natural size, upper one enlarged twice natural size. Copy- right 1900. TL'BE-BEARING Fl'NGI. I!»l across in concentric la}c'rs corresponding to the summer wooJ. Also as the wood becomes more decomposed, cracks and rifts appear along these same lines. I In mycelium then grows in abundance in these rifts and forms broad and extensive sheets which resemble somewhat chamois skin and is called " punk." Similar punk is sometimes formed in conifers from the mycelium of Fames pinicola. Po/iporus sii/phinrns has long been known as an edible fungus, but from its rather firm and fibrous texture it requires a different preparation from the fleshy fungi to prepare it for the table, and this may be one reason why it is not employed more frequently as an article of food. It is common enough during the summer and espe- ciall\- during the autumn to provide this kind of food in considerable quantities. Polyporus brumalis (Pers.) Fr. — This pretty plant is found at all sea- sons of the year, and from its frequency during the winter was named bnwmlis, from bniuia, which means winter. It grows on sticks and branches, or on trunks. It usually occurs singly, sometimes two or three close together, The plants are 3-6 cm. high, the cap 2-6 cm. in diameter, and the stem is 3-6 mm. in thickness. The cap is convex, then plane, and sometimes depressed at the center or umbilicate. When young it is somewhat fleshy and pliant, then it becomes tough, coriaceous, and hard when dry. During wet weather it becomes pliant again. Being hard and firm, and tough, it preserves long after mature, so that it may be found at any season of the year. The cap is smoky in color, varying in shade, some- times very dark, almost black, and other specimens being quite light in color. The surface is hair\' and the margin is often fimbriate with coarse hairs. The stem is lighter, hairy or strigose. The tubes are first white, then become yellowish. The tubes are \er\- regular in arrangement. Figure 181 represents well this species, three plants being grouped rather closely on the same stick ; two show the under surface and one gives a side view. The upper portion of the plate represents two of the plants enlarged, the three lower ones being natural size. The plant is very common and widely distributed over the world. Those illustrated in the plate were collected at Ithaca. This species is too tough for food. Many of the thin and pliant species of Polyporus are separated by some into the genus Polysiictus. The species are \-ery numerous, as well as some of the indi\iduals of certain species. They grow on wood or on the ground, some have a central stem, and others are shelving, while some are spread out on the surface of the wood. One 19-2 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. very pretty species is the Polystictus perennis Fr. This grows on the ground and has a central stem. The plant is 2-3 cm. high, and the cap 1-4 cm. broad. The pileus is thin, pliant when fresh and some- what brittle when dry. It is minutely velvety on the upper surface, reddish brown or cinnamon in color, expanded or umbilicate to nearly funnel-shaped. The surface is marked beautifully by radiations and fine concentric zones. The stem is also velvety. The tubes are minute, the walls thin and acute, and the mouths angular and at last more or less torn. The margin of the cap is finely fimbriate, but in old specimens these hairs are apt to become rubbed off. The left hand plant in Fig. 182 is Po/yporus perennis. Polystictus cinnamomeus (Jacq.) Sacc, (R ohlectans Berk. Hook. Jour. p. 51, 1845, Dec. N. A. F. No. 35: P. splendciis Pk., 26th Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 26) is a closely related species with the Figure 182. — Left-hand plant Polystictus perennis; right-hand three plants Polystictus cinnamomeus. All natural size. Copyright 1900. same habit, color, and often is found growing side by side with P. perennis. The margin of the cap is deeply and beautifully lacerate, as shown in the three other plants in Fig. 182. Polystictus connatus Schw., grows in similar situations and one sometimes fmds all three of these plants near each other on the ground by roadsides. P. con- natus has much larger pores than either of the other two, and it is a somewhat larger plant. Figure 182 is from a photograph of plants collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. Polystictus versicolor (L.) Fr., is a very common plant growing on trunks and branches. It is more or less shelving, with a leaf-like pileus, marked by concentric bands of different colors, P. hirsutus Fr., is a somewhat thicker and more spongy plant, whitish or gray- ish in color, with the upper surface tomentose with coarse hairs. P. cinnabarinus (Jacq.) Fr., is shelving, spongy, pliant, rather thick, cinnabar colored. It grows on dead logs and branches. It is some- 0) N -a O a ^ o ^ o 3 ^ *^ O ri U o a. V3 vO -1 TL;iiB-l;HAlt'l\(i l-L N(j|. 193 times placed in the yenus Tijnutes under the same specific name. Polystictus perKamenus Fi., is another common one growing on wood of various trees. It is thin and vers- pliant when fresh, somewhat tomentose above when young, with taint bands, and the tubes are often violet or purple color, and the\' soon become deeply torn and lacerate so that they resemble the teeth of certain of the hedgehog fungi. Polyporus lucidus (Leys.) Fr. \_Fomcs liiciJiis (Leys.) Fr.] — This species is a very striking one because of the l^right red or chest- nut color, the hard and brittle crust over the surface of the cap, which has usually the appearance of having been varnished, it grows on trunks, logs, stumps, etc., in woods or groves. The cap is 5-20 cm. in diameter, and the stem is 5-20 cm. long and 1-2 cm. in thickness. The stem is attached to one side of the pileus so that the pileus is lateral, though the stem is more or less ascending. The cap is first yellowish when young, then it becomes blood red, then chestnut color. The stem is the same color, and the tubes are not so bright in color, being a dull brown. The substance of the plant is quite woody and tough when mature. When dry it is soon attacked and eaten by certain insects, which are fond of a number of fungi, so that they are difficult to preser\'e in good condition in her- baria without great care. The surface of the pileus is quite uneven, wrinkled, and coarsel)- grooved, the margin sometimes crenate, especially in large speci- mens. Figure 18^ represents the plant growing on a large hemlock spruce stump in the woods. The surface character of the caps and the general form can be seen. This photograph was taken near Ithaca, N. V. Polyporus applanatus (Pers.) Fr. [Foiiii'S appljiutiis (Pers.) Wallr.] — This plant is also one of the verv common woody PolyporJcea\ It grows on dead trunks, etc., and sometimes is found grow- ing from the wounds of living trees, it is \'er\' hard and woodw It has a hard crust, much harder than that of the Polypmiis /iicUiis. The surface is more or less marked by concentric zones which mark off the different years' growth, for this plant is perennial. At cer- tain seasons of the year the upper surface is covered with a powdery substance of a reddish brown color, made up of numerous colored spores or conidia which are developed on the upper surface of this plant in addition to the smaller spores developed in the tubes on the under surface. The plant varies in size from ^-20 cm. or more in diameter, and I -10 cm. ill thickness, according to the rapiditx- of growth and the age 194 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. of the fungus. The fruiting surface is white, and the tubes are very minute. They scarcely can be seen with the'lunaided eye. Bruises of the tubes turn brown, and certain "artists" often collect these plants and sketch with a pointed instrument on the tube surface. For other peculiarities of this plant seepage 15. The age of the plant can usually be told by counting the number of the broader zones on the upper surface, or by making a section through the plant and counting the number of tube strata on the lower surface of the cap at its base. Polyporus leucophxus Mont., is said to differ from this species in being more strongly zonate, and in the crust being whitish instead of reddish brown. Polyporus fomentarius (L.) Fr. [Fonh'S fomciitariiis (L.) Fr.,] is hoof-shaped, smoky in color, or gray, and of various shades of dull brown. It is strongly zoned and sulcate, marking off each year's growth. The margin is thick and blunt, and the tube surface con- cave, the tubes having quite large mouths so that they can be readily seen, the color when mature being reddish brown. Sections of the plant show that the tubes are very long, the different years' growth not being marked off so distinctly as in P. applanatiis and Icucophivus. The plant grows on birch, beech, maple, etc. The inner portion was once used as tinder. Polyporus pinicola (Swartz.) Fr. [Fomes piukola (Swartz.) Fr.] occurs on dead pine, spruce, balsam, hemlock spruce, and other conifers. The cap is about the width of the F. applanatiis, but it is stouter, and does not have the same hard crust. The young growth at the margin, which is very thick, is whitish yellow, while the old zones are red- dish. The tubes are yellowish, and sections show that they are in strata corresponding to the years' growth. Polyporus igniarius (L.) Fr. \_Fomes igniarius (L.) Fr.] is a black species, more or less trian- gular, or sometimes hoof-shaped. The yearly zones are smaller, become much cracked, and the tubes are dark brown. One of these plants which 1 found on a birch tree in the Adirondacks was over 8q years old. CHAPTER X. HEDGEHOG FUNGI: HYDNACEAE. Tlie plants hclonginji to this family vary greatly in size, form, and consistency. Some of them are very large, some quite small, >(ime are fleshy in consistency, some are woody, corky ; some mem- branaceous ; and if we include plants formerly classed here, some are gelatinous, though there is a tendency in recent years on the part of some to place the gelatinous ones among the trembling fungi. The special character which marks the members of this family is the pecu- liarity of the fruiting surface, just as a number of the other fami- lies are distinguished by some peculiarity of the fruiting surface. In the Hviinaci'iv it covers the surface of numerous processes in the form of spines, teeth, warts, coarse granules, or folds which are inter- rupted at short intervals. These spines or teeth always are directed toward the earth when the plant is in the position in which it grew. In this way the members of the family can be distinguished from cer- tain members of the club fungi belonging to the family C/avariaa'cr, for in the latter the branches or free parts of the plant are erect. In form the Hwlimcciv are shelving, growing on trees ; or growing on the ground they often have a central or eccentric stem, and a more or less circular cap ; some of them are rounded masses, grow- ing from trees, with very long spines extending downward ; others have ascending branches from which the spines depend ; and still others form thin sheets which are spread over the surface of logs and sticks, the spines hanging down from the surface, or roughened with granules or warts, or interrupted folds. In one genus there is no fruit body, but the spines themselves extend downward from the rotten wood, the genus Mucwnella. This is only distinguished, so far as its family position is concerned, from such a species as CLn\iria iiiiirUii by the fact that the plant grows downward from the wood, while in C. lunciJj it grows erect. HYDNUM Linn. The only species of the H\\i)iaci\v described here are in the genus HvJninii. In this genus the fruiting surface is on spine, or awl- shaped processes, which are either simple, or in some cases the tips are more or less branched. The plants grow on the ground or on 196 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. wood. The species vary greatly in form. Some are provided with a more or less regular cap and a stem, while others are shelving or bracket shaped, and still others are spread out over the surface of the wood (resupinate). Hydnum coralloides Scop. Edible. — Among the very beautiful species of the genus Hydniim is the coral one, Hydnum coralloides. It grows in woods forming large, beautiful, pure white tufts on rotten logs, branches, etc. The appearance of one of these tufts is shown in Figure 184. — Hydnum coralloides. Entirely white (natural size). Copyright 1900. Fig. 184. There is a common stem which arises from the wood, and this branches successively into long, ascending, graceful shoots. The spines are scattered over the entire under side of these branches and hang down for 3-6 mm. They are not clustered at the ends of the branches, as in the bear's head hydnum, and the species can be easily distinguished by giving attention to the form of the branching and the distribution of the spines on the under side of the branches. Figure 184 represents a plant collected at Ithaca, and it is natural 0) 3 2 -5 X as O < 2- llLlJtiLlK )(j I UN(j1. r.'T size. They ^rovv, however, inucli laijier tli.iii this specimen. The species is vviJc-ls' Jistrihuted, aiui nut uncnmtnoii. It is e.xcellent for food . Hydnum caput=ursi Hi . Edible. — Tiiis plant is also a beautiful one. It is more cuninion than the coral hwinum so far as my observation ooes. It is known by the popular name of " bear's head hs'dnum " in allusion to the tzroups of spines at the ends of the branches. It FuiiRE i86. - Hydnum crinaccus. Entirely white (natural >ize, often larger). occurs in woods with a similar habit of growing on trunks, branches, etc. This plant also arises from the wood with a single stout stem, which then branches successively, the ends of the branches having groups of long pendant spines appearing like numerous heads. Sometimes the spines on the top of the group are twisted or curled in a peculiar way. l.argr tufts are sometimes formed, varying from i2-2O0r more centimeters in diameter. Figure 185 is from a plant collected at Ithaca. 198 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Hydnum caput=niedusx Bull. Edible.— The medusa's head hydnum is a rarer species than either of the above in this country. It forms a large, tubercular mass which does not branch like the coral hydnum or the bear's head, but more like the Satyr's beard hydnum, though the character of the spines will easily separate it from the latter. The spines cover a large part of this large tubercle, and hang down- ward. The plant is known by the additional character, that, on the upper part of the tubercle, the spines are twisted and interwoven in a peculiar fashion. Hydnum erinaceus Bull. Edible. — This plant is sometimes called " Satyr's beard." It grows on dead trunks in the woods or groves, and is often found growing from wounds in living trees. It forms a large, tubercular mass which does not branch. The spines are very long and straight and hang downward in straight, parallel lines from the sides of the mass. The spines are from 1-2 cm. or more long. Figure 186 represents one of the plants, showing the long spines. Hydnum repandum L. Edible. — This plant is not uncommon, and it is widely distributed. It grows usually in woods, on the ground. It varies greatly in size, from very small specimens, 1-2 cm. high to others 10-12 cm. high. The cap is 2-18 cm. broad, and the stem 6-12 mm. in thickness. It is entirely white or the cap varies to buff, dull yellow reddish or dull brown. It is very brittle, and must be handled with the utmost care if one wishes to preserve the specimen intact. The pileus is more or less irregular, the stem being generally eccentric, so that the pileus is produced more on one side than on the other, sometimes entirely lateral at the end of the stem. The margin is more or less wavy or repand. The spines are white, straight, and very brittle. The stem is even or clavate. Figure 187 is from plants collected at Ithaca during August, 1899, and represents one of the large specimens of the species. In one plant the pileus is entirely lateral on the end of the long clavate stem, and is somewhat reni- form, the stem being attached at the sinus. In the other plant the stem is attached nearer the center. This species is considered one of the best mushrooms for the table. Hydnum imbricatum L. Edible. — This is a very variable species both in size and in the surface characters of the pileus. It occurs in woods, groves, or in open places under trees. The plants are 3-7 cm. high, and the pileus varies from 5-15 cm. broad, the stem from .5-2.5 cm. in thickness. The pileus is convex and nearly expanded, fleshy, thinner at the margin, regular or very irregular. The color is gray- ish in the younger and smaller plants to umber or quite dark in the ■^ Plate 68, Figure 1S7. — Hydnum repandum. Cap whitish or yellowish, or pale yellowish brown ; spines whitish or yellowish (natural size, often smaller). Copyright 1900. a. o ^ 9. ^ o O -fi s r. ^ Cm ai oi u ' — ' o 3 "^ 13 a: CO :>0 HEDGEHOG FUNGI. i;i:i larger and older ones. Tlie surface is cracked and turn into triangu- lar scales, showing the whitish color of the tlesh between the scales. The scales are small in the younger plants and larger in the older ones. Figure 189 is from plants collected at Ithaca, and the pileus in these specimens is irregular. The species is edible, but bitter to the taste. Figure 189. — Hydnum imbricatuni. Caps brownish, spines whitish (natural size, often larger). Hydnum putidum Atkinson. — This plant grows on the ground in woods, and was collected in the Blue Ridge mountains at Blowing Rock, N. C, at an elevation of about 4000 feet. It is remarkable for its peculiar odor, resembling, when fresh, that of an Ethiopian ; for its tough, zonate pileus with a prominent white edge, and the stout irregular stem, resembling the stem of Hvifiiiini vcltitinum. The plants are 8-12 cm. high, the cap 8-12 cm. broad, and the stem 2-4 cm. in thickness. The plants grow singly, or sometimes a few close together, and then two or more may be conjoined. Thf pileus is first umbilicate or depressed, becoming depressed or infundibuliform, irregular, eccentric, the margin repand, and some- times lobed, and lobes appearing at times on the upper surface of the cap. The surface is first tomentose or pubescent, becoming smooth, with prominent concentric zones probably marked off by periodical growth ; the color is first white, so that the edge is white, becoming cream color to buff, and in age dull brown and sometimes blackish brown in the center of the old plants. The pubescence disappears from the old portions of the cap, so that it is smooth. The pubes- cence or tomentum is more prominent on the intermediate zones. The margin is rather thick, somewhat acute or blunt, the upper por- '2W STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. tion of the flesh is spongy and the middle portion tough and coria- ceous, and darker in color. The pileus is somewhat pliant when moist or wet, and firm when dry, the dark inner stratum hard. The spines are first white or cream color, in age changing through salmon color, or directly into grayish or grayish brown. The spines when mature are long, slender, crowded, and decurrent on the upper part of the stem. The spores are white, globose, echinulate, 3-4 /<. The stem is stout and irregular, very closely resembling the stem of Hydnmn velutinum, with a thick, spongy, outer layer and a central hard core. The odor, which resembles that of a perspiring darkey, before the plant is dry, disappears after drying, and then the plant has the same agreeable odor presented by several different species of Hydnum. The odor suggests H. graveolens, but the characters of the stem and surface of the pileus separate it from that species, while the tough and pliant character of the cap separates it from H. fragile. Figure 188 is from plants (No. 4334, C U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. CHAPTER XI. CORAL FUNGI: CLAVARIACEAE. This family is a very characteristic one, and very interesting from the large number of beautiful species in one genus, the genus Clavaria. The plants all are more or less erect, or at least stand out from the substratum, that is, the substance on which they are grow- ing. The fruiting surface covers the entire upper part of the plant, all but the bases of the stems. Some of the branched species of the TlielephoracciV resemble the branched species of the Clavariacccc, but in the former there is a more or less well defined upper portion on the tips of the branches which is flat, or truncate, and sterile, that is, lacks the fruiting surface. Some of the species are simple, elongate and clavate bodies. Some stand singly, others are clustered, or others are joined by their bases, and others still are very much branched. All of the species are said to be edible, that is, they are not poisonous. A few are rather tough, but they are mostly the small species which would not be thought of for food. The spores are borne on club-shaped basidia, as in the common mushrooms. 0) g O V 2 - :2 s is'? o CORAL FUNGI. -^"1 CLAVARIA Vaill. The j^enus Clavaria is one ot the most common ones in the family, and is one of the most attractive from the variety and beauty of sev- eral of the species. All of the plants are more or less erect, and at least stand out from the substratum on which they grow. They are either long and simple and more or less club-shaped, as the name implies, or they are branched, some but a few times, while others are very profusel)- branched. The plants \ary in color, some are white, some yellow, some red, and some are red-tipped, while others are brownish in color. Clavaria formosa Pers. Edible. — This is one of the handsomest of the genus. It is found in difterent parts of the world, and has been collected in New England and in the Carolinas in this country. It is usually from 15-20 cm. high, and because of the great number ui branches is often broader in extent. There is a stout stem from 2-4 Figure 191. — Clavaria botrytes. Branches red tipped (natural size). cm. in diameter, deep in the ground. This branches into a few stout trunks, which then rapidly branch into slender and longer branches, 202 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. terminating into numerous tips. The entire plant is very brittle, and great care is necessary to prevent its breaking, both before dry- ing and afterward. When the plant is young and is just pushing out of the ground, the branches, especially the tips, are bright colored, red, pink, or orange, the color usually brighter when young in the younger plants. As the plant becomes older the color fades out, until at maturity the pink or red color has in many cases disappeared, and then the entire plant is of a light yellowish, or of a cream buff color. The spores are in mass light yellow, and the spores on the surface of the plant probably give the color to the plant at this stage. The spores are long, oval or oblong, 10-15 -^ 2.5-3//, and are minutely spiny. Figure 190 is from a plant (No. 4343, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, in September, 1899. The plant is very common in the mountain woods of North Carolina. Specimens of this Cla- varia were several times prepared for table use dur- ing my stay in the mount- ains, but the flavor was not an agreeable one, pos- sibly due to the fact that it needs some special preparation and season- ing. Clavaria botrytes Pers. Edible. — This plant is much smaller than C. formosa, but has much the same general habit and color, especially when C. formosa is young. The plant has a stout stem which soon FiGURK 192. — Clavaria pistillaris. Dull whitish, reddish (natural size). tan or CORAL FUNGI. 2(13 (.lissoKes into numerous braiiLhcs, whicli art- red tipped. Thf spores are white, and in this way it may be distinguished from C. Jormosa, or from CLrcaria juiwi (Schaeff.), which has yellow or ochre spores, and which has also much the same habit as C bottytcs, and is nearer in size. Clavaria pistillaris Linn. Edible. — This plant is a characteristic one because ot us usually large size and simple form. It is merely a club-shaped body, growing from the ground. It has a wide range, both in Europe and North America, but does not seem to be common, though I have found it more common in the mountain woods of North Carolina than in New York. The plant is 5-20 cm. high, and 1-3 cm. thick at the upper end. It is smooth, though often irregularly grooved and furrowed, due probably to unequal tensions in growth. The apex in typical specimens is rounded and blunt. It is dull white ^ Figure 193. — Clavaria nmcida. \\ liitc (natural size). Copyright 1900. or tan color or rufescent. The tlesh is white, and very spongy, espec- ially in age, when it is apt to be irregularly tistulose. Figure 192 is from plants collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. There is what seems to be an abnormal form of this species figured by Schaeffer, Table 290, which Fries separated as a distinct species and placed in the genus Cratcrelliis, one of the Tliclcplioraciw, and called b}' liini Cratcrelliis pistillaris. This plant has been found at Ithaca, and the only difference between this and the Clavaria pistil- laris L., seems to be in the fact that in Cratcrelliis pistillaris the end is truncate or in some specimens more or less concave. The spores seem to be the same, and the color and general habit of the two plants are the same. It is probably only a form of Clavaria pistillaris. Clavaria mucida Pers. — This is one of the smallest species of the genus Clavaria. It grows on rotten wood, and appears throughout 2U4 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. the year. It is usually simple and clavate, but sometimes branched. The plant is white, or yellowish, or sometimes rose color, and meas- ures from 0.5 to 2 cm. in height, though 1 have usually found it from 0.5-1 cm. in height. It is soft and watery. Figure 193 is from plants (No. 4998, C. U. herbarium) collected at Ithaca in October, 1899. CHAPTER XII. THE TREMBLING FUNGI: TREMELLINEAE. These fungi are called the trembling fungi because of their gelat- inous consistency. The colors vary from white, yellow, orange, reddish, brownish, etc., and the form is various, often very irregu- lar, leaf-like, or strongly folded and uneven. They are when fresh usually very soft, clammy to the touch, and yielding like a mass of gelatine. They usually grow on wood, but some species grow on the ground, and some are parasitic. The fruit surface usually covers the entire outer surface of the plant, but in some it is confined to one side of the plant. The basidia are peculiar to the order, are deeply seated in the substance of the plant, rounded or globose, and divided into four cells in a cruciate manner. From each one of these cells of the basidium a long slender process (sterigma) grows out to the surface of the plant and bears the spore. A few species only are treated of here. TREMELLA Dill. In this genus the plants are gelatinous or cartilaginous. The form of the plant is usu- ally very much con- torted, fold-like or leaf- like, and very much branched. The fruit- ing surface extends over the entire upper surface of the plant. Figure 194. — Tremella mycetophila, on Collybia dryophila (natural size). TREMBLING FUNGI. •J(i') Tremella lutestens Pi-rs. — Tliis plant is entirely yellow, and (Kcurs on branches. It is 2-5 cm. in diameter, and is strongly folded, some- what like the tolds of a brain (gyrose). It is very soft and inclined to be watery and tluid, and is of a bright yellow color, spread out on the surface of rotten wood. It is of world-wide distribution, and appears from mid- to ate summer autumn. Tremella myce' tophila Pk. — riiis plant is interesting from the fact that it is parasitic on a mushroom, Collybia dryophihi. It grows on the stem or on the top of the cap of the Collvbia, and it is white, or yellow- ish, very much con- torted (gyrose-pli- cate), nearly rounded, and 8-16 mm. in diameter. Figure 194 repre- sents this Tremella growing on the Col- lybia dryopbil a, from plants collected at Free vi lie woods near Ithaca. Tremella frondosa Fr. — This is said to be the largest spe- cies of the genus. It grows on rotten wood. It occurs in Europe, has been collected in New York State, and the Fig. 195 is from a plant (No. 4339, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, in September, 1899. The plant figured here was 10 cm. long and about 8 cm. high. It is very much twisted and con- torted, leaf-like, and the middle and base all united. It is of a 3 2. O 75- S- n o 5 p < o 5' n n o (T- 22. n' n 206 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. pinkish yellow color, one plant being vinaceous pink and another cream buff in color. When young the leaf-like lobes do not show well, but as it expands they become very prominent. Several other species of Tremella are probably more common than the ones illustrated here. .One of the commonest of the Tre- mellinece probably is the Exidla glandulosa, which in dry weather appears as a black incrustation on dead limbs, but during rains it swells up into a large, black, very soft, gelatinous mass, it is com- monly found on fallen limbs of oak, and occurs from autumn until late spring. It is sometimes called " witch's butter." Fkutrk ig6. — Tremella fuciformis. Entirely white {natural size). Copyright 190c. Tremella fuciformis Berk.— This is a very beautiful white tremella growing in woods on leaf mold close to the ground. It forms a large white tubercular mass resting on the ground, from the upper surface of which numerous stout, short, white processes arise which branch a few times in a dichotomous manner. The masses are lo-i 5 cm. in diam- eter, and nearly or quite as high. The flesh is very soft, and the parts are more or less hollow. The basidia are like those of the genus, globose, sunk in the substance of the plant, and terminate with four long, slender, sterigmata which rise to the surface and bear the spores. The spores are white, nearly ovoid, but inequilateral and somewhat reniform, continuous, 7-9 x 5-6 /v. TRH.MBLING FUNGI. li"7 Figure 196 is trom a plant colk-LtrJ in a \v^«' 3 u o u r^ a CHAPTER XIV. PUFF-BALLS: LYCOPERDACEAE. This is not tiic place tor a discussion ot the ditterent genera of the puff-balls, etc., but it might be well to say that in recent years the old genus Lvcopc}\1nii has been divided into several genera. The giant puff-ball, and the L. cvatliifoimc, where the wall or peridium ruptures irregularly, have been placed in a genus called Calvatia ; certain other species which are nearly globose, and in which the wall is of a paper)' texture at maturity, are placed in the genus Bcrcista ; others which have several openings over the upper surface instead of one, in the genus Mvcoiastnuii. There is one genus belonging to the same family as the lycoperdons, the species of which are very interesting on account of the peculiar way in which the wall is rup- tured. This is the genus Gcastcr, that is, "earth star." The wall, or peridium, is quite thick in the members of this genus, and when it matures it separates into several layers which need not all be dis- cussed here. A thick outer portion which separates from a thinner inner portion further splits radially into several star-like divisions, which spread outward and gi\e to the plant the form of a star. Since the plants lie on the earth the name earth star was applied to them. This opens out in dry weather, even curving around under the plant, so that the plant is raised above the ground. Then in wet weather it closes up again. The inner portion of the wall opens at the apex in \ arious ways, in the different species, so that the spores may escape. LYCOPERDON Tourn. To this genus belong most of the " puft-balls," as the>' are com- monly called, or, as they are denominated in the South, " Dexil'ssnuff box." All, or a large portion, of the interior of the plant at matur- ity breaks down into a powdery substance, which with the numer- ous spores is very light, and w hen the plant is squeezed or pressed, clouds of this dust burst out at the opening through the wall. The wall of the plant is termed the pcriJiiim. In this genus the wall is quite thin, and at maturity opens differentl\- in different species, hi several species it opens irregularis-, the entire wall becoming ver)- brittle and cracking up into bits, as in the giant puff-ball. In the 209 210 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. remaining species it opens by a distinct perforation at the apex, and the remainder of the wall is more or less pliant and membranous. All of the puff-balls are said to be edible, at least are harmless, if eaten when the flesh is white. They should not be eaten when the flesh is dark, or is changing from the white color. Lycoperdon giganteum Batsch. Edible. — This, the giant puff-ball, is the largest species of the genus. Sometimes it reaches immense proportions, two to three or even four feet, but these large sizes are rare. It is usually 20 to 40 cm. (8-16 in.) in diameter. It grows on the ground in grassy places during late summer and in the autumn. It is a large rounded mass, resting on the ground, and near or at the center of the under side, it is attached to the cords of mycelium in the ground, it is white in color until it is ripe, that is, when the spores are mature, and it should be gathered for food before it is thus ripe. When it is maturing it becomes yellowish, then dusky or smoky in color. The flesh, which is white when young, changes to greenish yellow and finally brownish, with usually an olivaceous tinge, as the spores ripen. The plant is so large that it may be sliced, and should be sliced before broiling. A single specimen often forms enough for a meal for a large family, and some of the larger ones would serve for sev- eral meals. Lycoperdon cyathiforme Bosc. Edible. — This is called the beaker- shaped puff-ball because the base of the plant, after the spores have all been scattered, resembles to some extent a beaker, or a broad cup with a stout, stem-like base. These old sterile bases of the plant are often found in the fields long after the spores have disappeared. The plants are somewhat pear-shaped, rounded above, and tapering below to the stout base. They are 7-15 cm. in diameter, and white when young. At maturity the spore mass is purplish, and by this color as well as by the sterile base the plant is easily recognized. Of course these characters cannot be recognized in the young and growing plant at the time it is wanted for food, but the white color of the interior of the plant would be a sufficient guarantee that it was edible, granted of course that it was a member of the puff-ball family. Sometimes, long before the spores mature, the outer portion of the plant changes from white to pinkish, or brownish colors. At maturity the wall, or peridium, breaks into brittle fragments, which disappear and the purplish mass of the spores is exposed. The plant grows in grassy places or even in cultivated fields. Lycoperdon gemmalum Batsch. Edible.— This puff-ball is widely dis- tributed throughout the world and is very common. It grows in the I'l IF-HALLS. •_'I 1 ft woods, or in open places on the ground, usually. It is known from its >.haracteristic top shape, the more or less erect scales on the upper surtace intermingled with smaller ones, the larger ones falling away and leaving circular scars over the surface, which gives .it a reticu- late appearance. The plants are white, becoming dark gray or gray- ish brown w hen mature. They vary in size fri)ni 3-7 cm. high to 2-5 cm. broad. They are more or less top- shaped, and the stem, which is stout, is sometimes longer than the rounded portion, which is the fruiting part. The outer part of the wall (outer peridium) wlien quite young sepa- rates into warts or scales of varying size, large ones arranged quite reg- ularl\- with smaller ones between. | These warts are well shown in the § two plants at the left in Fig. igg, and ^ the third plant from the left shows ^ the reticulations formed of numerous =■ r. scars on the inner peridium where ^ the larger scales have fallen away, i: The plant at the extreme right is " mature, and the inner peridium has '^ ruptured at the ape.x to permit the 7 escape of the spores. The spore J mass, together with brownish threads c, which are intermingled, are greenish Z yellow with an olive tinge, then they | become pale brown. The spores are 2 rounded, 3.5-4.5 // in diameter, ^- smooth or minutely warted. ^ Another small puff-ball every- where common in woods is the Lyco- pi'iihm pyrijoinw, so called because of its pear shape. It grows on very rotten wood or on decaying logs in woods or groves, or in open places where there is rotting wood. It is somewhat smaller than the gem-bearing lycoperdon, is almost sessile, sometimes many crowded very close together, and especially is it characterized by prominent root-like white strands of mwelium which are attached to the base r. crs o o •Jl-J STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. where the plant enters the rotten wood. While these small species of puff-balls are not injurious to eat, they do not seem to possess an agreeable flavor. There are quite a number of species in this country which cannot be enumerated here. Related to the puff-balls, and properly classed with them, are the species of SclcroJenna. This name is given to the genus because of the hard peridium, the wall being much firmer and harder than in Lycoperdon. There are two species which are not uncommon, Sclero- derma vulgare and S. verriicosiim. They grow on the ground or on very rotten wood, and are sessile, often showing the root-like white strands attached to their base. They vary in size from 2-6 cm. and the outer wall is cracked into numerous coarse areas, or warts, giving the plant a verrucose appearance, from which one of the species gets its specific name. Calostoma cinnabarina Desv. — This is a remarkably beautiful plant with a general distribution in the Eastern United States, it has often been referred to in this country under the genus name Mitremyces, and sometimes has been confused with a rarer and different species, Calostoma liitescens (Schw.) Burnap. It grows in damp woods, usually along the banks of streams and along mountain roads, it is remarkable for the brilliant vermilion color of the inner surface of the outer layer of the wall {exoperidiiim), which is exposed by splitting into radial strips that curl and twist themselves off, and by the ver- milion color of the edges of the teeth at the apex of the inner wall {endoperidiuin). The plant is 2-8 cm. high, and 1-2 cm. in diam- eter. When mature the base or stem, which is formed of reticulated and anastomosing cords, elongates and lifts the rounded or oval fruit- ing portion to some distance above the surface of the ground, when the gelatinous volva ruptures and falls to the ground or partly clings to the stem, exposing the peridium, the outer portion of which then splits in the manner described. When the plant is first seen above the ground it appears as a glo- . bose or rounded body, and in wet weather has a very thick gelatin- ous layer surrounding it. This is the volva and is formed by the gelatinization of the outer layer of threads which compose it. This gelatinous layer is thick and also viscid, and when the plants are placed on paper to dry, it glues them firmly to the sheet. When the outer layer of the peridium splits, it does so by splitting from the base toward the apex, or from the apex toward the base. Of the large number of specimens which 1 have seen at Blowing Rock, N. C, the split more often begins at the apex, or at least, when the slit is com- plete, the strips usually stand out loosely in a radiate manner, the 7i o o E. o s. ft N f» STINK-IIORN ITVfil. '21:1 tips beinii tree. At this stage tiir plant is a very beautiful object with the crown of vermiHon strips radiating outward from the base ot [\\c triiit hodv at the top of the stem, aiui the- inner peridium rest- ing in the center and terminated by the four to seven teeth with ver- milion edges. At this time also the light yellow spore mass is oozing (Hit from between the teeth. The spores are oblong to elliptical, marked with very tine points, and measure i5-i(S x 8-10 //. Figure 200 is from plants collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, in September, 1899. The Mytrcmvci'S lutescens reported in my list of "Some Fungi of Blowing Rock, N. C," in Jour. Flisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 9: 95-107, 1892, is this Calostoiihi riiniaharina. CHAPTER XV. THE STINK-HORN FUNGI: PHALLOIDEAE Fries. Most of the stink-horn fungi are characterized by a very offensive odor. Some of them at maturity are in shape not unlike that of a horn, and the \ulgar name is applied because of this form and the odor. The plants grow in the ground, or in decaying organic matter lying on the ground. The spawn or mycelium is in the form of rope- like strands which are usually much branched and matted together. From these cords the fruit form arises. During its period of growth and up to the maturity of the spores, the fruit body is oval, that is, egg form, and because of this form and the quite large size of these bodies they are often called "eggs." The outer portion of the egg forms the volva. It is always thick, and has an outer thin coat or membrane, and an inner membrane, while between the two is a thick layer of gelatinous substance, so that the wall of the volva is often 3-6 mm. in thickness, and is very soft. The outline of the volva can be seen in Fig. 204, which shows sections of three eggs in differ- ent stages. Inside of the volva is the short stem {nrt-pfchh') which is in the middle portion, and covering the upper portion and sides of this short stem is the pileus ; the fruit-bearing portion, which is divided into small chambers, lies on the outside of the pileus. In the figure there can be seen cross lines extending through this part from the pileus to the wall of the volva. These represent ridges or crests which anastomose over the pileus, forming reticulations. The stem or receptacle is hollow through the center, and this hollow opens 214 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. out at the end so that there is a rounded perforation through the upper portion of the pileus. The spores are borne on club-shaped basidia within the chambers of the fruit-bearing portion {gleba), and at maturity of the spores the stem or receptacle begins to elongate. This pushes the gleba and the upper part of the receptacle through the apex of the volva, leav- ing this as a cup-shaped body at the base, much as in certain species of Amanita, while the gleba is borne aloft on the much elongated stem. During this elongation of the receptacle a large part of the substance of the gleba dissolves into a thick liquid containing the spores. This runs off and is washed off by the rains, leaving the inner surface of the gleba exposed, and showing certain characters peculiar to the various genera. Among the stink-horns are a number of genera which are very interesting from the peculiarities of development ; and some of which are very beautiful and curious objects, although they do possess offensive odors. In some of the genera, the upper part of the plant expands into leaf-like — or petal-like, bodies, which are highly colored and resemble flowers. They are sometimes called " fungus flowers." DICTYOPHORA Desvaux. Dictyophora means "net bearer," and as one can see from Fig., 201 it is not an inappropriate name. The stem or receptacle, as one can see from the illustrations of the two species treated of here, pos- sesses a very coarse mesh, so that not only the surface but the sub- stance within is reticulated, pitted and irregularly perforated. In the genus Dictyophora an outer layer of the receptacle or stem is sep- arated as it elongates, breaks away from the lower part of the stem, is carried aloft, and hangs as a beautiful veil. This veil is very con- spicuous in some species and less so in others. Dictyophora duplicata (Bosc.) Ed. Fischer. — This species is illus- trated in Fig. 20I, made from plants collected at Ithaca. The plants are from 15-22 cm. high, the cap about 5 cm. in diameter, and the stem 2-3 cm. in thickness. According to Burt (Bot. Gaz. 22: 387, 1896) it is a common species in the Eastern United States. The cap is more or less bell-shaped and the sculptured surface is marked in a beautiful manner with the reticulations. Platk 73, ?"u;i RE 201.— Dictyophora duplicata. White (natural sire). Copyright Kjoo. Plate 74, Figure 202. — Dictyophora ravenelii. Mature plants, showing volva at base; elongated receptacle, cap at the top, and veil surrounding the receptacle under the cap (natural size). Copyright 1900. ST1NK-U( )U\ 1"IN(]1. •21.'. Dictyophora ravenclii (B. & C) Burt. — Tlii^ plant also has a wide distrilnition in the Eastern United States. The stem is more slender than in the other species, D. Jiipliiiitii, the pile- US more nearly conic, and the sur- face ot the pileus is nierel)' gran- ular or minutely wrinkled after the disappearance of the gleba. and does not present the strong reticu- lating ridges and crests which that species shows. The plants are from lo to 1 8 cm. high. It grows in woods and fields about rotting wood, and in sawdust. F"iGURE 203. — Dictyophora ravenelii. Egg stage, caps just l)ursting through the volva (natural size). Copyright 1900. The \eil is \-er\' thin and delicate, form- FuaiRK 204. — Uictyophora ra\enelii. Sections uf eggs, and >l)o\ving curds of mycelium (natural size). Copyright iqoo. •216 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. ing simply a' membrane, and does not possess the coarse meshes present in the veil of D. duplkata. The Figs. 203, 204 represent the different stages in the elongation of the receptacle of this plant, and the rupture of the volva. This elongation takes place quite rapidly. While photographing the plant as it was bursting through the volva, 1 had considerable difficulty in getting a picture, since the stem elongated so rapidly that the plant would show that it had moved perceptibly, and the picture would be blurred. In a woods near Ithaca a large number of these plants have appeared from year to year in a pile of sawdust. One of the most vile smelling plants of this family is the Ithvphalliis impudicus. CHAPTER XVI. MORELS, CUP-FUNGI, HELVELLAS, ETC.: DISCOMY- CETES. The remaining fungi to be considered belong to a very different group of plants than do the mushrooms, puff-balls, etc. Neverthe- less, because of the size of several of the species and the fact that several of them are excellent for food, some attention will be given to a few. The entire group is sometimes spoken of as Discomycetes or ciip-fungi, because many of the plants belonging here are shaped something like a disk, or like a cup. The principal way in which they differ from the mushrooms, the puff-balls, etc., is found in the manner in which the spores are borne. In the mushrooms, etc., the spores, we recollect, are borne on the end of a club-shaped body, usually four spores on one of these, in this group, however, the spores are borne inside of club-shaped bodies, called sacs or asci (singular, ascus). These sacs, or asci, are grouped together, lying side by side, forming the fruiting surface or hymenium, much as the basidia form the fruiting surface in the mushrooms. In the case of the cup or disk forms, the upper side of the disk, or the upper and inner surface of the cup, is covered with these sacs, standing side by side, so that the free ends of tht- sacs form the outer surface. In the case of the morel the entire outer surface of the upper portion of the plant, that where there are so many pits, is covered with similar sacs. Since so few of the genera and species of the morels and cup- fungi will be treated of here, I shall not attempt to compare the genera or even to give the characters by which the genera are known. In Plate 75, Ficurk 205.— Morchella esculenta (natural size). Copyright 1900. .MORELS, CUP-FUNGI. HRL\ HLl.AS, FTC. 'JIT most cases the illustrations will serve this purpose so tar as it is desir- able to accomplish it in such a work- as the present. Certain of the species will then be described and illustrated. MORCHELLA Dill. The morels are all edible and the\' are usuall)- easy to recognize. The plant consists of two distinct, prominent parts, the cap and the stem. The cap varies in form from rounded, ovate, conic or cylin- drical, or bell-shaped, but it is always marked by rather broad pits, covering the entire outer surface, which are separated from each other by ridges forming a netwurk'. The color of the plants does not differ to any perceptible extent in our species. The cap is usually buff or light ochre yellow, becoming darker with age and in drying. The stem in all our species is usually quite stout, though it varies to some extent in some of the different species, in proportion to the thickness of the cap. The stem is marked in some of the species by large wrinkles or folds extending irregularly but with considerable uniformity o\er the surface. The surface is furtlier minutely roughened by whitish or grayish elevations, giving it a granular appearance. Sometimes these granules are quite evenly distributed over the surface, and in some species they are more or less separated into small areas by narrow lines. The morels appear early in the season, during May and June. They grow usually in damp situations, and are more abundant dur- ing rainy weather. Three species are illustrated here. Morchella esculenta Pers. Edible. — The name of this species, the esculent morel, indicates that it has been long known as an edible plant, especially since the man who named it lived a centur>- ago. The plant is from 5-15 cm. high, the stem is 1-3 cm. in thickness, and the cap is broader than the stem. The cap is somewhat longer than broad, and is more or less o\al or rounded in outline. The arrangement of the pits on the surface of the cap is regarded by some as being characteristic of certain species, in this species the pits are irregularly arranged, so that they do not form rows, and so that the ridges separating them do not run longitudinally from the base toward the apex of the cap, but run quite irregularly. This arrangement can be seen in Fig. 205, which is from a photograph of this species. The stem is hollow. Morchella conica Pers. Edible. — This species is very closely related to the preceding one, and is considered by some to be only a form of the Morcbcllii esculenta. The size is about the same, the only differ- ence being in the somewhat longer cap and especiall\- in the arrange- •JIS STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. ment of the pits. These are arranged more or less in distinct rows, so that the ridges separating them run longitudinally and parallel from the base of the cap to the apex, with connecting ridges extend- Figure 206. — Morchella conica (natural size). Copyright 1900. ing across between the pits. The cap is also more or less conic, but not necessarily so. Figure 206 illustrates this species. The plant shown here is branched, and this should not be taken to be a char- acter of the species, for it is not, this form being rather rare. * Plate 76, Figure 207 — Moichella crassipes (natural size). Copyright 1900. .Wl^kHLS, ClI^-riNXjl, llhL\ liLl.AS, LH. Morchella crassipes (\riit.) Pt-rs. Edible. — This species differs from the two preceding in the fact that the stem is nearly equal in width with the cap. Figure 207 illustrates a handsome speci- men which was 17 cm. high. The granular surface and the folds of the stem show \-er\' distinct!)- and beautifully. Collected at Ithaca. Morchella deliciosa F r. Edible, has the cap cylindrical or nearly so. It is longer than the stem, and is usually two to three times as long as it is broad. The plant is smaller than the preceding, though large ones may equal in size small ones of those two. The plant is from 4-8 cm. high. Morchella semilibera UC, and M. bispora Sor., [Kr/)j bohi'mua (Kromb.) Schroet.J occur in this country, and are interesting from the fact that the cap is bell-shaped, the lower margin being free from the stem. In the latter species there are only two spores in an ascus. HELVELLA L. The helvellas are pretty and attractive plants than the morels, usually. They have a cap and stem, the cap being very irregular in shape, often somewhat lobed or saddle-shaped. It is smooth, or nearly so, at least it is not marked by the large pits present in the cap of the morel, and this is one ot the priiKipal distinguishing features of the helvellas as compared with the morels. In one species the thin cap has its lower margin free from the stem. This is H el veil a crispa Fr., and it has a white or whitish cap, and a deeply furrowed stem. It occurs in woods during the summer and autumn, and is known as the white helvella. Thev are smaller F'iGt KE J08. — Helvella lacunosa (natural size). Copyright 1900. •Jl'O STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Another species which has a wide range is the Helvella lacunosa, so called because of the deep longitudinal grooves in the stem. The cap is thin, but differs from the H. crispa in that the lower margin is connected with the stem. This species is illustrated in Fig. 208 from plants collected at Blowing Rock, N. C, during September, 1899. The genus Gyromvtra is very closely related to Hclvclla, and is only distinguished by the fact that the cap is marked by prominent folds and convolutions, resembling somewhat the convolutions of the brain, its name means tw/t'o/wAv/az/). The Gyromytra esculenta Fr,, is from 5-10 cm. high, and the cap from 5-7 cm. broad. While this species has long been reported as an edible one, and has been employed in many instances as food with no evil results, there are known cases where it has acted as a poison. In many cases where poisoning has resulted the plants were quite old and probably in the incipient stages of decay. However, it is claimed that a poisonous principle, called hclvcUic acid, has been isolated by a certain chemist, which acts as a violent poison. This principle is very soluble in hot water, and when care is used to drain o ff first water in which they have been cooked, squeezing the water well from the plants, they are pro- nounced harm- less. The safer way would be to avoid such sus- picious species. Spathularia velu= tipes Cooke & Far 1 0 w. — This species represents another interest- ing genus of the Discoiiivct'tt's. 1 1 is in the form of a "spatula," and from this shape of the plant the genus takes its name. There are several species known in this country, and this one is quite FicuRK 209.— Spathularia velutipes (natural size). Copyright igco. MORHLS, crp-(rN(ii, iii:i,\i:i.i.AS, htc '.•i\ CDininon. Tlic stem fxtends tlu- luUw length of the plant, runninji ripht throutili the cap, or perhaps it would be better to say that the cap or truitin^ portion tonus two narrow blades or winys on opposite sides of the upper part of the stem. These winii-iiUe ex- pansions of the cap on the opposite sides of the stem give the spathu- late form to the plant. Figure 209 is from plants collected in tlie woods near Ithaca. FlGURK. 210. — Leotia luhrica (natural .size). Copyright 1900. Leotia lubrica Pers. — The genus Lt'otid is quite readily recognized by its form, and because the plants are usually slimy. This species is called lubrica because of the slippery character of the entire plant. It is dull yellowish or olive yellow in color. The cap, as can be seen from the figure (210), is irregularly rounded, and broader than the stem. The plant is illustrated natural size from specimens collected near Ithaca. THE TRUE CUP-FUNGI. By far the larger number of the D/.sro;;nr^/t'5 are cup-shaped, and are popularly called "cup-fungi." They vary from plants of very minute size, so small tliat they can be just seen with the eye, or some of the larger ones are several inches in breadth. They grow on tiie ground, on leaves, wood, etc. The variety of form and color is great. They may be sessile, that is, the cup rests immediatel\' on the ground or wood, or leaves, or they may possess a siiort, or rather long stalk. The only species illustrated here has a comparatively long stalk, and the cap is deep cup-shaped, almost like a beaker. This plant is technically known as Sarcoscyplia fioccosj. It is repre- STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. sented here natural size (Fig. 211). The stem is slender, and the rim of the cup is beset with long, strigose hairs. The inner surface of the cup is lined with the'Sacs (asci) and sterile threads (par aphy s es), spoken of on a former page, when treating of the fruiting character of the morels and cup-fungi, hi this plant the color of the inside of the cup is very beautiful, being a bright red. Another spe- cies, Sarcoscypha coccinia, the scarlet sarcoscypha, is a larger plant which appears in very early spring, soon after the frost is out of the ground. It grows on rotting logs and wood in the woods or in groves. The inside of the cup in this species is a rich scarlet, and from this rich color the species takes its name. Figure 211. — Sarcoscypha floccosa (natural size). Copyright 1900. CHAPTER XVII. COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF THE FLESHY FUNGI. In the collection of the higher fungi it is of the utmost importance that certain precautions be employed in obtaining all parts of the plant, and furthermore that care be exercised in handling, in order not to remove or efface delicate characters. Not only is it important for the beginner, but in many instances an " expert " may not be able to determine a specimen which may have lost what undoubtedly seem, to some, trivial marks. The suggestions given here should enable one to collect specimens in such a way as to protect these characters while fresh, to make notes of the important evanescent characters and to dry and preserve them properly for future study. For collect- ing a number of specimens under a variety of conditions the follow- ing list of " apparatus " is recommended : COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION, ETC. '2-2'i Oiif or two uhlony ur rettan^iiilar liaiui baskets, capacity from 8-12 quarts. Or a rectani^ular zinc cast- with a closely fitting top (not the ordi- nary botanical collecting case). Halt a dozen or so tall pasteboard boxes, or tins, 3 x 3, or 4 x 4, x 5 inches deep, to hold certain species in an upright position. A quantity of tissue paper cut 8 x 10 or 6 x 8 incht-s. Smaller quantity of waxed tissue paper for wrapping viscid or sticky plants. TrovN'el ; a stout knife ; memorandum pad and pencil. Coilcctinji:. — During thf proper season, and when rains are abun- dant, tlif mushrooms are to be found in open fields, waste places, groves and woods. They are usually more abundant in the forests. EspecialK' in dry weather are specimens more numerous in rather damp woods, along ravines or streams. In collecting specimens which grow on the ground the trowel should be used to dig up the plant carefulh', to be sure that no important part of the plant is left in the ground. After one has become familiar with the habit of the different kinds the trowel will not be necessary in all cases. For example, most species of Riissii/ci, Lirfariiis, Tricholoma, Boletus, etc.^ are not deeply seated in the soil, and careful hand-picking will in most cases secure specimens properly, especially if one does not object to digging in the soil with the fingers. But in the case of most species of Aruiinita, certain species of L-piofa, CoIlyNa, etc., a trowel is necessary to get up the base of the plant in such a way as to pre- serve essential characters. Even then it is possible, if the ground is not too hard, to dig them out with the fingers, or with a stout knife, but 1 have often found specimens which could only be taken up with a trowel or spade. Species growing on sticks or leaves are easily collected by taking a portion of the substratum on which they grow. Specimens on the larger limbs or trunks or stumps can sometimes be " picked," but until one is accustomed to certain individualities of the plant it is well to employ the knife and to cut off a portion of the wood if nec- essary, to avoid cutting off the base of the stem. It is necessary also to handU' the specimens w ith the greatest care to avoid leaving finger marks where the surface of the stem or cap is covered with a soft and delicate outer coat, especially if one wishes to photograph the plant, since rubbed or marked places spoil the plant for this purpose. Also a little careless handling will remo\'e such important characters as a frail annulus or \ol\a, which often are absolutely necessary to recognize the species. •J24 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Having collected the specimens, they should be properly placed in the basket or collecting case. Those which are quite firm, and not long and slender, can be wrapped with tissue paper (waxed tissue paper if they are viscid or sticky), and placed directly in the basket, with some note or number to indicate habitat or other peculiarity which it is desirable to make at the time of collection. The smaller, more slender and fragile, specimens can be wrapped in tissue paper (a cluster of several individuals can be frequently rolled up together) made in the form of a narrow funnel and the ends then twisted. The shape of the paper enables one to wrap them in such a way as to protect certain delicate characters on the stem or cap. These can then be stood upright in the small pasteboard boxes which should occupy a portion of the basket. A number of such wrappers can be placed in a single box, unless the specimens are of considerable size and numerous. In these boxes they are prevented from being crushed by the jostling of the larger specimens in the basket. These boxes have the additional advantage of preserving certain specimens entire and upright if one wishes later to photograph them. Field Notes. — The field notes which may be taken upon the collec- tion will depend on circumstances, if one goes to the sorting room soon after the collection is made, so that notes can be made there before the more delicate specimens dry, few notes will answer in the field, and usually one is so busy collecting or hunting for specimens there is not much inclination to make extended notes in the field. But it is quite important to note the habitat a.nd cnvirunmcnt, i. e., the place where they grow, the kind and character of the soil, in open field, roadside, grove, woods, on ground, leaves, sticks, stumps, trunks, rotting wood, or on living tree, etc. It is very important also that different kinds be kept separate. The student will recog- nize the importance of this and other suggestions much more than the new "fungus hunter." Sorting Room. — When one returns from a collecting trip it is best to take the plants as soon as possible to a room where they can be assorted. An hour or so delay usually does not matter, but the sooner they are attended to the better. Sometimes when they are carefully placed in the basket, as described above, they may be kept over night without injury, but this will depend on the hinds in the collection. Coprini are apt to diliquesce, certain other specimens, especially in warm weather, are apt to be so infested with larvse that they will be ruined by morning, when immediate drying might save them. Other thin and delicate ones, especially in dry weather, will dry out so completely that one loses the opportunity of taking COLLECTION AND PRHSHRN'ATION, KTC. -J-J') notes on tlu- tiesh specimen. Specimens to he photographed should be attended to at once, unless it is too latt- in the day, when they should be set aside- in an upright ptjsition, and if necessary under a bcll-iar, until the following day. As far as possible good specimens should be selected for the photograph, representing different stages of development, and one to show the fruiting surface. Sometimes it will be necessary to make more than one photograph to obtain all the stages. Also on different days one is apt to obtain a specimen representing an im- portant stage in development not represented before. The plants should be arranged close together to economize space, but not usually touching nor too crowded. They should be placed in their natural position as far as possible, and means for support, if used, should be hidden behind the plant. They should be so arranged as to show individual as well as specific character and should be photographed if possible natural size, or at least not on a plate smaller than 5 x 7 inches unless the plants are small ; while larger ones are better on 6x8 or larger. Some very small ones it may be necessary to enlarge in order to show the character of the fruiting surface, and even large specimens can sometimes have a portion of the hymenium enlarged to good advantage if it is desirable to show the characters clearly. The background should be selected to bring out the char- acters strongly, and in the exposure and developing it is often neces- sary to disregard the effect of the background in order to bring out the detail of texture on the plant itself. The background should be renewed as often as necessary to have it uniform and neat. There is much more that might be said under this head, but there is not space here. To Obtain Spore Prints. — In many cases it is desirable to obtain spores in a mass on paper in order to know the exact tint of color produced by the species. Often the color of the spores can be satis- factorily determined by an examination of them under the micro- scope. One cannot always depend on the color of the lamelhe since a number of the species possess colored cystidia or spines in the hymenium which disguise the color of the spores. The best way to determine the color of the spores in mass is to catch them as they fall from the fruiting surface on paper. For the ordinary purpose of study and reference in the herbarium the spores caught on unprepared paper, which later may be placed in the packet with the specimen, will answer. This method has the advantage of saving time, and also the danger of injury to the spores from some of the tlxati\es on prepared paper is avoided. If for pur- 226 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. poses of illustration one wishes pretty spore prints, perfect caps must be cut from the stem and placed fruiting surface downward on paper prepared with some gum arabic or similar preparation spread over it, while the paper is still moist with the fixative, and then the specimen must be covered with a bell-jar or other receiver to prevent even the slightest draft of air, otherwise the spores will float around more or less. The spores may be caught on a thin, absorbent paper, and the paper then be floated on the fixative in a shallow vessel until it soaks through and comes in contact with the spores. 1 have sometimes used white of egg as a fixative. These pieces of paper can then be cut out and either glued to card- boards, or onto the herbarium sheet. Sorting the Plants. — This should be done as soon as possible after collection. A large table in the sorting room is convenient, upon which the specimens may be spread, or grouped rather, by species, the individuals of a species together, on sheets of paper. Surplus dirt, or wood, leaves, etc., can be removed. A few of the specimens can be turned so that spores can be caught on the papers, if only one or a few specimens of a given species have been found, and it is desirable not to cut off the cap from the stem, the plant can be sup- ported in an upright position, a small piece of paper slit at one side can be slipped around the stem underneath the cap, on which the spores will fall. Sometimes it will be necessary to cover the plant with a bell-jar in order to prevent it from drying before the spores are shed. Experience with different species will suggest the treat- ment necessary. Taking Notes on the Specimens. — Very few probably realize the desir- ability of making notes of certain characters while the plants are fresh, for future reference, or for use by those to whom the plants may be sent for determination. It is some trouble to do this, and when the different kinds are plentiful the temptation is strong to neg- lect it. When one has available books for determination of the spe- cies, as many as possible should be studied and determined while fresh. But it is not always possible to satisfactorily determine all. Some may be too difficult for ready recognition, others may not be described in the books at hand, or poorly so, and further the number of kinds may be too great for determination before they will spoil. On these as well as on some of the interesting ones recognized, it is important to make a record of certain characters. These notes should be kept either with the specimen, or a number should be given the specimen and the notes kept separately with the corresponding number. COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION, ETC. JJT MHMORANDA. No. . Localit)-, bate. Name of collector. Weather. Habitat. — It on ground, low or high, wet or dry, kind ot soil ; on fallen leaves, twigs, branches, logs, stumps, roots, whether dead or living, kind of tree ; in open fields, pastures, etc., woods, groves, etc., mixed woods or evergreen, oak, chestnut, etc. Plants. — Whether solitary, clustered, tufted, whether rooting or not, taste, odor, color when bruised or cut, and if a change in color takes place after exposure to the air. Cap. — Whether dry, moist, watery in appearance (hygrophanus), slimy, viscid, glutinous ; color when young, when old ; whether with fine bloom, powder ; kind of scales and arrangement, whether tree from the cuticle and easily rubbed off. Shape of cap. Margin of Cap. — Whether straight or incurved when young, whether striate or not when moist. Stem. — Whether slimy, viscid, glutinous, kind of scales if not smooth, whether striate, dotted, granular, color ; when there are several specimens test one to see if it is easily broken out from the cap, also to see if it is fibrous, or fleshy, or cartilaginous (firm on the outside, partly snapping and partly tough). Shape of the stem. Gills or Tubes. — Color when young, old, color when bruised, and if color changes, whether soft, wax\', brittle, or tough ; sharp or blunt, plane or serrate edge. Milk. — Color if present, changing after exposure, taste. Veil. — (Inner \eil.) Whether present or not, character, whether arachnoid, and if so whether free from cuticle of pileus or attached only to the edge ; whether fragile, persistent, disappearing, slimy, etc., movable, etc. Ring. — Present or absent, fragile, or persistent, whether mo\able, viscid, etc. Volva. — Present or absent, persistent or disappearing, whether it splits at apex or is circumsissle, or all crumbly and granular or floccose, whether the part on the pileus forms warts, and then the kind, distribution, shape, persistence, etc. Spores. — Color when caught on white paper. To the close observer additional points of interest u ill often be noted. To Dry the Specimens. — Frequently the smaller specimens will dry well when left in the room, especiall\- in dry weather, or better if 228 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. they are placed where there is a draft of air. Some dry them in the sun. But often the sun is not shining, and the weather may be rainy or the air very humid, when it is impossible to dry the specimens properly except by artificial heat. The latter method is better for the larger specimens at all times. During the autumn when radia- tors are heated the fungi dry well when placed on or over them. One of the best places which 1 have utilized is the brick work around a boiler connected with a mountain hotel. Two other methods are, however, capable of wider application. ist. — A tin oven about 2x2 feet, and two or several feet high, with one side hinged as a door, and with several movable shelves of perforated tin, or of wire netting ; a vent at the top, and perforations around the sides at the bottom to admit air. The object being to pro- vide for a constant current of air from below upwards between the specimens. This may be heated, if not too large, with a lamp, though an oil stove or gas jet or heater is better. The specimens are placed on the shelves with the accompanying notes or numbers. The height of this box can be extended where the number of speci- mens is great. 2d. — A very successful method which 1 employed at a summer resort at Blowing Rock, N. C, in the mountains of North Carolina, during September, 1899, was as follows : An old cook stove was set up in an unoccupied cottage, with two wire screens from 3x4 feet, one above the other, the lower one about one foot above the top of the stove. Large numbers can be dried on these frames. Care of course must be taken that the plants are not burned, in all cases the plants must be so placed that air will circulate under and around them, otherwise they are apt to blacken. When the plants are dry they are very brittle and must be handled carefully. When removed from the drier many kinds soon absorb enough moisture to become pliant so that they are not easily broken. Others remain brittle. They may be put away in small boxes ; or pressed out nearly flat, not so as to critsJi the gills, and then put in paper packets. The plants which do not absorb sufficient moisture from the air, so that they are pliant enough to press, can be placed in small boxes or on paper in a large box with peat moss in the bottom, and the box then closed tightly until they absorb enough moisture to become flexible. The plants must not get wet, and they should be examined every half hour or so, for some become limp much sooner than others, if the plants get too moist the gills crush together when pressed, and otherwise they do not make such good specimens. When the specimens are dried and placed in the herba- SBLtCTK_)N AM) Pkl.l'AkATION OF WISHROOMS. -J-Jit riuiii iht\- must he protected tioin insects. Some are already infested with insects which the process of drying does not kill. They must be either poisoiu-J with corrosive sublimatr in alcohol, or fumigated with carbon disulphide, and if the latter it must be repeated one or two times at an interval of a muntli to catch those which were in the egg state the first time. When placed in the herbarium or in a box for storage, naphtha balls can be placed with them to keep out insects, but it should be understood that the naphtha balls will not kill or drive away insects already in the specimens. Where there are enough duplicates, some specimens preserved in 75 per cent, alcohol, under the same number, are of value for the study of structural characters. CHAPTER XVIII SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF MUSHROOMS FOR THE TABLE. In the selection of mushrooms to eat, great caution should be em- ployed by those who are not reasonably familiar with the means of determination of the species, or those who have not an intimate acquaintance with certain forms. Rarely should the beginner be encouraged to eat them upon his own determination. It is best at first to consult some one who knows, or to send first specimens away for determination, though in many cases a careful comparison of the plant w ith the figures and descriptions given in this book will enable a novice to recognize it. In taking up a species for the first time it would be well to experiment cautiously. No Certain Rule to Distinguish the Poisonous from the Edible. — There is no Certain test, like the "silver spoon test," which will enable one to tell the poisonous mushroom from the edible ones. Nor is the presence of the so-called " death cup " a sure sign that the fungus is poisonous, for the Amanita cirsaira has this cup. For the beginner, however, there are certain general rules, which, if carefully followed, will enable him to avoid the poisonous ones, while at the same time necessarily excluding many edible ones. 1st. — Reject all fungi which have begun to decay, or which are ni- fested with lar\:i'. 2d. — Reject all fungi when in the button stage, since the characters are not yet shown which enable one to distinguish the genera and species. Buttons in pasture lands which are at the surface ■2B{) STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. of the ground and not deep-seated in the soil, would very likeh- not belong to any of the very poisonous kinds. 3d. —Reject all fungi which have a cup or sac-like envelope at the base of the stem, or which have a scaly or closely fitting layer at the base of the stem, and rather loose warts on the pileus, especially if the gills are white. Amanita Ccvsarea has a sac-like envelope at the base of the stem, and yellow gills as well as a yellow cap, and is edible. Amanita nibcsccns has remnants of a scaly envelope on the base of the stem and loose warts on the cap, and the flesh where wounded becomes reddish. It is edible. (See plate 19.) 4th. — Reject all fungi with a milky juice unless the juice is reddish. Several species with copious white milk, sweet or mild to the taste, are edible (see Lactarius vo/emus and cormgis). 5th. — Reject very brittle fungi with gills nearly all of equal length, where the flesh of the cap is thin, especially those with bright caps. 6th. — Reject all Boleti in which the flesh changes color where bruised or cut, or those in which the tubes have reddish mouths, also those the taste of which is bitter. Stwbilomyccs strobilaceus changes color when cut, and is edible. 7th. — Reject fungi which have a cobwebby veil or ring when young, and those with slimy caps and clay-colored spores. in addition, proceed cautiously in all cases, and make it a point to become very familiar with a few species first, and gradually extend the range of species, rather than attempt the first season to eat a large number of different kinds. All puff-balls are edible so long as they are white inside, though some are better than others. All coral-like or club fungi are edible. To Clean and Prepare the Specimens. — The mushrooms having been collected, all tough stems, the parts to which earth clings, should be removed. After the specimens are selected, if there is danger that some of them may be infected with larv^, it is well to cut off the stem close to the cap, for if the insects are in the stem and have not yet reached the cap they may thus be cast away. Some recom- mend that the tubes of all Boleti be removed, since they are apt to make a slimy mass in cooking. Where the plants are small they may be cooked entire. Large ones should be quartered, or cut, or sliced, according to the size and form of the plant, or method of cooking. CHAPTER XIX. RECIPES FOR COOKING MUSHROOMS. By MRS. SARAH TYSON RORER. As varieties of mushrooms difftr in analysis, texture and densit\' of flesh, different methods of cooking give best results. For instance, the CoprJHus luicaceiis, being very delicate, is easily destroyed by over-cooking; a dry, quick pan or the "mushroom bells" retain the best flavor ; while the more dense /i^Jiiciis campestri<, requires long, slow cooking to bring out the flavor, and to be tender and digest- ible. Simplicity of seasoning, however, must be observed, or the mushroom fla\'or will be destroyed. If the mushroom itself has an objectionable flavor, better let it alone than to add mustard or lemon juice to overcome it. Mushrooms, like many of the more succulent vegetables, are largely water, and readily part with their juices on application of salt or heat ; hence it becomes necessary to put the mushroom over the fire usually without the addition of water, or the juices will be so diluted that they will lack flavor. They ha\-e much better flavor cooked without peeling, with the exception of puff-balls, which should always be pared. As they lose their flavor by soak- ing, wash them quickly, a few at a time ; take the mushroom in the left hand and with the right hand wash the top or pileus, using either a very soft brush or a piece of flannel ; shake them well and put them into a colander to dry. AGARICUS.* The wild or unculti\ated Agjriciis iwiipi'stris, whicli is usually- picked in open fields, will cook in less time than those grown in caves and sold in our markets during the winter and spring. Cut the stems close to the gills ; these may be put aside and used for flavor- ing sauces or soups. Wash the mushrooms carefull\', keeping the gills down ; throw them into a colander until drained. Stewed. — To each pound, allow two ounces of butter. Put the butter into a saucepan, and when melted, nut brown, throw in the mushrooms either whole or cut into slices ; sprinkle over a teaspoon- ful of salt; cover the saucepan closely to keep in the flavor, and * The recipes for Agaricus are intended for the se\ er.il species of this genus (Psalliota). 231 ■2:]-2 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. cook very slowly for twenty minutes, or until they are tender. Moisten a rounding tablespoonful of flour in a little cold milk ; when perfectly smooth, add sufficient milk to make one gill ; stir this into the mushrooms, add a salt-spoon of white pepper, stir carefully until boiling, and serve at once. This makes a fairly thick sauce. Less tlour is required when they are to be served as a sauce over chicken, steak, or made dishes. Broiled. — Cut the stems close to the gills ; wash the mushrooms and dry them with a soft piece of cheesecloth ; put them on the broiler gills up. Put a piece of butter, the size of a marrowfat pea, in the center of each ; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Put the broiler over the fire skin side down ; in this way, the butter will melt and sort of baste the mushrooms. Have ready squares of neatly toasted bread ; and, as soon as the mushrooms are hot on the skin side, turn them quickly and broil about two minutes on the gill side. Five minutes will be sufficient for the entire cooking. Dish on toast and serve at once. Panned on Cream Toast. — Cut the stem close to the gills ; wash and dry as directed for broiling. Put them into a pan, and pour over a very little melted butter, having gill sides up ; dust with salt and pepper, run into a hot oven for twenty minutes. While these are panning, toast sufficient bread to hold them nicely ; put it onto a hot platter, and just as the mushrooms are done, cover the bread with hot milk, being careful not to have too much or the bread will be pasty and soft. Dish the mushrooms on the toast, putting the skin side up, pour over the juices from the pan, and serve at once. These are exceedingly good served on buttered toast without the milk, and will always take the place of broiled mushrooms. In the Chafing Dish. — Wash, dry the mushrooms, and cut them into slices. To each pound allow two ounces of butter. Put the butter in the chafing dish, when hot put in the mushrooms, sprinkle over a teaspoonful of salt, cover the dish, and cook slowly for five min- utes, stirring the mushrooms frequently; then add one gill of milk. Cover the dish again, cook for three minutes longer, add the beaten yolks of two eggs, a dash of pepper, and serve at once. These must not be boiled after the eggs are added ; but the yolk of egg is by far the most convenient form of thickening when mushrooms are cooked in the chafing dish. Under the Glass Cover or '• Bell " with Cream. — With a small biscuit cutter, cut rounds from slices of bread ; they should be about two and a half inches in diameter, and about a half inch in thickness. Cut the stems close to the gills from fresh mushrooms ; wash and RHCIPHS FOR COOKING .MUSHROtJ.WS. '^33 wipe the nuisliiooms. Put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan ; when hot, throw in the mushrooms, skin side down ; cook just a moment, and sprinkle thcin witli salt and pepper. Arrange the rounds ot bread, which have been slightly toasted, in the bottom of your " bell " dish ; heap the mushrooms on these ; put a little piece of butter in the center ; cover over the bell, which is either of glass, china, or silver ; stand them in a baking pan, and then in the oven for twenty minutes. While these are cooking, mix a tablespoonful of butter and one of tlour in a saucepan, add a half pint of milk, or you may add a gill of milk and a gill of chicken stock ; stir until boiling, add a half teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper. When the mush- rooms have been in the oven the allotted time, bring them out; lift the cover, pour over quickly a little of this sauce, cover again, and send them at once to the table. Another Method. — Wash and dry the mushrooms ; arrange them at once on the " bell plate." The usual plates will hold six good sized ones. Dust with pepper and salt ; put in the center of the pile a teaspoonful of butter ; pour over six tablespoonfuls of cream or milk ; cover with the bell ; stand the dish in a baking pan, and then in a hot oven for twenty minutes. These are arranged for individual bells. Where one large bell is used, the mushrooms must be dished on toast before they are served. The object in covering with the bell is to retain every particle of the flavor. The bell is then lifted at the table, that the eater may get full aroma and flavor from the mushroom. Puree. — Wash carefully a half pound of mushrooms ; chop them fine, put them into a saucepan with a tablespoonful of butter, and, if you have it, a cup of chicken stock ; if not, a cup of water. Cover the vessel and cook slowly for thirty minutes. In a double boiler, put one pint of milk. Rub together one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour ; add it to the milk ; stir and cook until thick ; add the mushrooms, and press the whole through a sieve ; season to taste with salt and pepper only. Cream of Mushroom Soup. — This will be made precisely the same as in the preceding recipe, save that one quart of milk will be used in- stead of a pint with the same amount of thickening, and the mush- rooms will not be pressed through a sieve. 234 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. COPRINUS COMATUS and COPRINUS ATRAMEN- TARIUS. As these varieties usually grow together and are sort of compan- ion mushrooms, recipes given for one will answer for the cooking of the other. Being soft and juicy, they must be handled with care, and are much better cooked with dry heat. Remove the stems, and wash them carefully ; throw them into a colander until dry ; arrange them in a baking pan ; dot here and there with bits of butter, allow- ing a tablespoonful to each half pound of mushrooms ; dust with salt and pepper, run them into a very hot oven, and bake for thirty min- utes ; dish in a heated vegetable dish, pouring over the sauce from the pan. The C. micacciis may also be cooked after the same fashion — after dishing the mushrooms boil down the liquor. Stewed. — Wash and dry them ; put them into a large, flat pan, allowing a tablespoonful of butter to each half pound of mushrooms ; sprinkle at once with salt and pepper ; cover the pan, and stew for fifteen minutes. Moisten a tablespoonful of flour in a little cold milk ; when smooth, add a half cup of cream, if you have it; if not, a half cup of milk. Push the mushrooms to one side ; turn in this mixture, and stir until boiling. Do not stir the mushrooms or they will fall apart and become unsightly. Dish them ; pour over the sauce, and serve at once. Or they may be served on toast, the dish garnished with triangular pieces of toast. COPRINUS MICACEUS. Wash and dry the mushrooms ; put them into a deep saucepan with a tablespoonful of butter to each quart ; stand over a quick fire, sort of tossing the saucepan. Do not stir, or you will break the mushrooms. As soon as they have reached the boiling point, push them to the back part of the stove for five minutes ; serve on toast. These will be exceedingly dark, are very palatable, and perhaps are the most easily digested of all the varieties. LEPIOTA. These mushrooms, having very thin flesh and deep gills, must be quickly cooked to be good. Remove the stem, take the mushrooms in your hand, gill side down, and with a soft rag wash carefully the top, removing all the little brown scales. Put them into a baking pan, or on a broiler. Melt a little butter, allow it to settle, take the clear, oily part frnm tlu- tcip anJ baste li<:htly the mushrooms, gill sides up ; dust witli salt and pepper. Place the serving dish to heat. Put the mushrooms over a quick fire, skins side down, for just a moment ; then turn and boil an instant in the gill side, und serve at once on the heated plate. In tliis way L'piota pivcciii is most delicious of all mushrooms ; but if cooked in moist heat, it becomes soft, but tough and unpalat- able ; if baked too long, it becomes dry and leathery. It must be cooked quickly and eaten at once. All the edible forms may be cooked after this recipe. These are perhaps the best of all mushrooms for drying, in this condition they are easily kept, and add so much to an ordinary meat sauce. OYSTER MUSHROOiMS Pleurotus). Wash and dry the mushrooms ; cut them into strips crosswise of the gills, trimming oft all the woody portion near the stem side. Throw the mushrooms into a saucepan, allowing a tablespoonful of butter to each pint ; sprinkle over a half teaspoonful of salt ; cover, and cook slowly for twenty minutes. Moisten a tablespoonful of tlour in a half cup of milk ; when perfectly smooth, add another half cup ; turn this into the mushroom mixture ; bring to boiling point, add just a grating of nutmeg, a few drops of onion juice, and a dash of pepper. Serve as you would stewed oysters. To make this into a la poulette, add the yolks of two eggs just as you take the mixture from the tire, and serve on toast. Mock Oysters. — Trim the soft gill portion of the Pleurotus ostrcatus into the shape of an oyster ; dust with salt and pepper ; dip in beaten egg, then in bread crumbs, and fry in smoking hot fat as you would an oyster, and serve at once. This is, perhaps, the best method of cooking this variety. RUSSULA. While in this group we have a number of varieties, they ma\' all be cooked after one recipe. The stems will be remo\'ed, the mush- rooms carefully washed, always holding the gill side down in the water, drained in a colander ; and while they apparently do not con- tain less water than other mushrooms, the flesh is rather dense, and they do not so quickly melt upon being exposed to heat. They are nice broiled or baked, or may be chopped fine and served with may- onnaise dressing, stuffed into peeled tomatoes, or with mayonnaise 236 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. dressing on lettuce leaves, or mixed with cress and served with French dressing, as salads. The "green" or Riisstila virescens may be peeled, cut into thin slices, mixed with the leaves of water-cress which have been picked carefully from the stems, covered with French dressing, and served on slices of tomato, it is well to peel all mushrooms if they are to be served raw. To bake, follow recipes given for baking campestris. In this way they are exceedingly nice over the ordinary broiled steak. One of the nicest ways, however, of preparing them for steak is to wash, dry and put them, gills up, in a baking pan, having a goodly quantity ; pour over just a little melted butter ; dust with salt and pepper, and put them into the oven for fifteen minutes. While you are broiling the steak, put the plate upon which it is to be served over hot water to heat ; put on it a tablespoonful of butter, a little salt, pepper, and some finely chopped parsley. Take the mushrooms from the oven, put some in the bottom of the plate, dish the steak on top, covering the remaining quantity over the steak. Add two table- spoonfuls of stock or water to the pan in which they were baked ; allow this to boil, scraping all the material from the pan ; baste this over the steak, and serve at once. Affaricus campestris and many other varieties may also be used in this same way. LACTARII. Remove the stems, and wash the mushrooms. Put them into a saucepan, allowing a tablespoonful of butter and a half teaspoonful of salt to each pint. Add four tablespoonfuls of stock to the given quantity ; cover the saucepan, and cook sloidy three-quarters of an hour. At the end of this time you will have a rich, brown sauce to which you may add a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, and, if you like, a tablespoonful of sherry. Serve in a vegetable dish. Lactarius deliciosus Stewed. — Wash the mushrooms ; cut them into slices ; put them into a saucepan, allowing a half pint of stock to each pint of mushrooms ; add a half teaspoonful of salt ; cover and stew slowly for three-quarters of an hour. Put a tablespoonful of butter in another saucepan, mix with it a tablespoonful of flour ; add the mushrooms, stir until they have reached the boiling point ; add a teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet, a dash of pepper, and serve it at once in a heated vegetable dish. A nice combination for a steak sauce is made by using a dozen good sized Lactarius deliciosus with four "beefsteak" mushrooms, using then the first recipe. RECIPES I'OR CooKINC] .\\lSHk(JO,V\S. S-il BEEFSTEAK SMOTHERED WITH MUSHROOMS. Wash a dozen good sized mushrooms, cither LuLirii or Agar it i, also wash and remove the pores from half a dozen good sized " beet- steak " mushrooms, cutting them into slices. Put all these into a baking pan, sprinkle over a half teaspoonful of salt, add a tablespoon- ful ot butter, and bake in a moderate own tlirec-quarters of an hour. Broil the steak until it is nearly done ; then put it into the pan with the mushrooms, allowing some of the mushrooms to remain under the steak, and cover with the remaining portion ; return it to the oven for ten minutes ; dish, and ser\e at once. BOLETI. These are more palatable baked or fried. Wash the caps and remove the pores. Dip the caps in beaten egg, then in bread crumbs, and fry them in smoking hot fat ; oil is preferable to butter ; even suet would make a drier try than butter or lard. Ser\e at once as you would egg plant. Baked. — Wash and remove the pores ; put the mushrooms into a baking pan ; baste them with melted butter, dust with salt and pep- per, and bake in a moderately quick oven three-quarters of an hour ; dish in a vegetable dish. Put into the pan in which they were baked, a tablespoonful of butter. Mix carefully with a tablespoonful of flour and add a half pint of stock, a half teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet or browning, the same of salt, and a dash of pepper ; pour this over the mushrooms, and serve. In Fritter Batter. — Beat the yolk of one egg slightly, and add a half cup of milk ; stir into this two-thirds of a cup of flour ; stir in the well beaten white of the egg and a teaspoonful of olive oil. Wash and remove the pores from the boleti. Have ready a good sized shal- low pan, the bottom covered with smoking hot oil ; dip the mush- rooms, one at a time, into this batter, drain for a moment, and drop them into the hot fat. When brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Drain on soft paper and serve at once. B()ieii in Brown Sance. — Wash and dry the boleti; remove the pores ; cut them into small pieces. To each pound allow a table- spoonful of butter. Put the butter into a saucepan with the mush- rooms; add a half teaspoonful of salt; cover the pan, and stew slowly for twenty minutes ; then dust over a tablespoonful of flour ; add a half cup of good beef stock ; cook slowly for ten minutes longer, and serve. J38 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. HYDNUM. As these mushrooms are slightly bitter, they must be washed, dried, and thrown into a little boiling water, to boil for just a moment ; drain, and throw away this water, add a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and a half cup of milk or stock ; cover the pan, and cook slowly for twenty minutes. As the milk scorches easily, cook over a very slow fire, or in a double boiler. Pour the mixture over slices of toast, and serve at once. A table- spoonful or two of sherry may be added just as they are removed from the fire. CLAVARIA. Wash, separating the bunches, and chop or cut them rather fine, measure, and to each quart allow a half pint of Supreme sauce. Throw the clavaria into a saucepan, cover, and allow it to stew gently for fifteen minutes while you make the sauce. Put a tablespoonful of butter and one of flour in the saucepan ; mix, and add a half pint of milk or chicken stock ; or you may add half of one and half of the other ; stir until boiling ; take from the fire, add a half teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper, and the yolks of two eggs. Take the clavaria from the fire, and when cool stir it into the sauce. Turn into baking dish, sprinkle the top with crumbs, and brown in a quick oven. Do not cook too long as it will become watery. Pickled Clavaria. — Wash the clavaria thoroughly without breaking it apart ; put into a steamer ; stand the steamer over a kettle of boil- ing water, and steam rapidly, that is, keep the water boiling hard for fifteen minutes. Take from the fire, and cool. Put over the fire sufficient vinegar to cover the given quantity ; to each quart, allow two bay leaves, six cloves, a teaspoonful of whole mustard, and a dozen peppercorns, that is, whole peppers. Put the clavaria into glass jars. Bring the vinegar to boiling point, and pour it over ; seal and put aside. This may be served alone as any other pickle, or on lettuce leaves with French dressing as a salad. Escalloped Clavaria. — Wash, separate and cut the clavaria as in first recipe. To each quart allow a half pint of chicken stock, a teaspoon- ful of salt, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Put a layer of bread crumbs in the bottom of the dish, then a layer of chopped clavaria, and so continue until you have the dish filled. Pour over the stock, which you have seasoned with salt and pepper ; dot bits of butter RHCH^HS \'L)U COOKING .\\l SHROUMS. 'I'V.^ here and there o\er the top, .ind bake in a moderate oven thirty minutes. This recipe is excellent for the young or button Hypholmna, except that the time of baUing must be fort\'-tlv'e minutes. PUFF-BALLS. To be eatable, the putt-balls must be perfectly white to the very center. Pare off the skin ; cut them into slices ; dust with salt and pepper. Have ready in a large, shallow pan a sufficient quantity of hot oil to cover the bottom. Throw in the slices and, when brown on one side, turn anil brown on the other ; serve at once on a heated dish. A la Poulette. — Pare the puff-balls ; cut them into slices and then into dice ; put them into a saucepan, allowing a tablespoonful of but- ter to each pint of blocks. Cover the saucepan ; stew gently for fifteen minutes ; lift the lid ; sprinkle over a teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper. Beat the yolks of three eggs until light ; add a half cup of cream and a half cup of milk ; pour this into the hot mix- ture, and shake until smoking hot. Do not allow them to boil. Serve in a heated vegetable dish, with blocks of toast over the top. Puff=Ball Omelet.— Pare and cut into blocks sufficient puff-balls to make a pint. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan ; add the puff-balls, cover and cook for ten minutes. Beat six eggs with- out separating, until thoroughly mixed, but not too light ; add the cooked puff-balls, a level teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper. Put a tablespoonful of butter into your omelet pan ; when hot, turn in the egg mixture; shake over the hot fire until the bottom has thoroughly set, then with a limber knife lift the edge, allowing the soft portion to run underneath ; continue this operation until the omelet is cooked thorough ; fold and turn onto a heated dish. Ser\-e at once. Other delicate mushrooms may be used in this same manner. PuffBalls with Agaricus Campestris, — As the Aojiiciis cjmpt-sfns has a rather strong flavor and the puff-balls are mild, both are better for being mixed in the cooking. Take equal quantities of Agaricus cam- pestris and puff-balls ; pare and cut the puff-balls into blocks ; to each half pound allow a tablespoonful of butter. Put the butter in a saucepan, add the mushrooms, sprinkle over the salt (allowing a half teaspoonful always to each pint); cover the saucepan and stew slowly for twenty minutes. Moisten a tablespoonful of flour in a half cup of milk, add it to the mixture, stir and cook for just a moment, add a dash of pepper, and ser\e in a heated dish. :>4U STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. This recipe may be changed by omitting the flour and adding the yolks of a couple of eggs ; milk is preferable to stock, for all the white or light-colored varieties. MORCHELLA. Select twelve large-sized morels ; cut off the stalks, and throw them into a saucepan of warm water ; let them stand for fifteen min- utes ; then take them on a skimmer one by one, and drain carefully. Chop fine sufficient cold boiled tongue or chicken to make one cupful ; mix this with an equal quantity of bread crumbs, and season with just a suspicion of onion juice, not more than ten drops, and a dash of pepper. Fill this into the mushrooms, arrange them neatly in a baking pan, put in a half cup of stock and a tablespoonful of butter, bake in a moderate oven thirty minutes, basting frequently. When done, dish neatly. Boil down the sauce that is in the pan until it is just sufficient to baste them on the dish ; serve at once. A Second Method. — Select large sized morels ; cut off the stalk ; wash well through several waters. Put into a frying pan a little butter, allowing about a tablespoonful to each dozen mushrooms. When hot, throw in the mushrooms, and toss until they are thor- oughly cooked ; then add a half pint of milk or stock ; cover the vessel, and cook slowly twenty minutes; dust with salt and pepper, and serve in a vegetable dish. This method gives an exceedingly palatable and very sightly dish if garnished with sweet Spanish pep- pers that have been boiled until tender. Another Method. — Remove the stems, and wash the morels as directed in the preceding recipe. Make a stuffing of bread crumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and sufficient melted butter to just moisten. Place them in a baking pan ; add a little stock and butter ; bake for thirty minutes. When done, dish. Into the pan in which they were cooked, turn a cupful of strained toma- toes ; boil rapidly for fifteen minutes until slightly thickened ; pour this over the mushrooms ; garnish the dish with triangular pieces of toasted bread, and serve. GENERAL RECIPES. In the following recipes one may use Agaricus campestris, silvi- cola, arvensis, or Pleurotiis ostrcatiis, or sapidus, or Coprinus comatus, or any kindred mushrooms. The Aocinais campestris. however, are to be preferred. To Serve with a Boiled Leg of Mutton, wash well the mushrooms and RECIPES FOR COOKING MUSHROOMS. -^41 dry them ; dip each into tlour, beiny careful not to get too miicli on the gill side. In a saucepan have a little hot butter or oil ; drop these in, skin side down ; dust them lightly with salt and pepper. After they have browned on this side, turn them quickly and brown the gills ; add a half pint of good stock ; let them simmer gently for fifteen minutes. Take them up witli a skimmer, and dish them on a plat- ter around the mutton. Boil the sauce down until it is the proper consistency; pour it over, and serve at once. These- are also good to serw with roasted beef. Mushroom Sauce for Game. — Wash well one pound of fresh mush- rooms ; dry, and chop them very fine. Put them into a saucepan with one and a half tablespoonfuls of butter ; cover, and cook slowly for eight minutes ; then add a half cup of fresh rubbed bread crumbs, a half teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoon of white pepper ; cover and cook again for five minutes ; stir, add a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and, if you like, two tablespoonfuls of sherry ; turn into a sauce-boat. A Nice Way to Serve with Fricassee of Chicken. — Wash and dry the mushrooms ; sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Put some oil or butter in a shallow pan ; when hot, throw in the mushrooms, skin side down ; cover the pan, put in the oven for fifteen minutes ; baste them once during the baking. Lift them carefully and put them on a heated dish. Add to the fat in the pan two tablespoonfuls of finely chopped mushrooms, a half cup of good stock ; boil carefully for five minutes. Have ready rounds of bread toasted ; dish the mushrooms on these ; put on top a good sized piece of carefully boiled marrow ; season the sauce with salt, and strain it over. Use these as a gar- nish around the edge of the plate, or you may simply dish and serve them for breakfast, or as second course at lunch. Oysters and Mushrooms. — Wash and remove the stems from a half pound of fresh mushrooms ; chop them fine; put them into a sauce- pan with a tablespoonful of butter, a half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper ; cover closely, and cook over a slow fire for ten minutes. Have ready, washed and drained, twenty-five good sized fat oysters ; throw them perfectly dry into this mushroom mi.xture. Pull the saucepan over a bright fire; boil, stirring carefulK, for about five minutes. Serve on squares of carefully toasted bread. Tomatoes Stuffed with Mushrooms. — Wash perfectly smooth solid tomatoes ; cut a slice from the stem end, and remo\e carefully the seeds and core. To each tomato allow three good sized mushrooms ; wash, dry, chop them fine, and stuff them into the tomatoes ; put a half saltspoon of salt on the top of each and a dusting of pepper. Into a 1>42 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. bowl put one cup of soft bread crumbs ; season it with a half tea- spoonful of salt and a dash of pepper ; pour over a tablespoonful of melted butter ; heap this over the top of the tomato, forming a sort of pyramid, packing in the mushrooms ; stand the tomatoes in a bak- ing pan and bake in a moderate oven one hour. Serve at once, lift ing them carefully to prevent breaking. Or, the mushrooms may be chopped fine, put with a tablespoon ful of butter into a saucepan and cooked for five minutes before they are stuffed into the tomatoes ; then the bread crumbs packed over the top, and the whole baked for twenty minutes. Each recipe will give you a different flavor. CHAPTER XX. CHEMISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY OF MUSHROOMS. By J. F. CLARK. Regarding the chemical composition of mushrooms, we have in the past been limited largely to the work of European chemists. Recently, however, some very careful analyses of American mush- rooms have been made. The results of these investigations, while in general accord with the work already done in Europe, have em- phasized the fact that mushrooms are of very variable composition. That different species should vary greatly was of course to be ex- pected, but we now know that different specimens of the same species grown under different conditions may be markedly different in chem- ical composition. The chief factors causing this variation are the composition, the moisture content, and the temperature of the soil in which they grow, together with the maturity of the plant. The tem- perature, humidity, and movement of the atmosphere and other local conditions have a further influence on the amount of water present. The following table, showing the amounts of the more important constituents in a number of edible American species, has been com- piled chiefly from a paper by L. B. Mendel (Amer. Jour. Phy. I : 225-238). This article is one of the most recent and most valuable contributions to this important study, and anyone wishing to look into the methods of research, or desiring more detailed information than is here given, is referred to the original paper. CHEMISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY OF .MUSHROO.MS. J4:; = O •I. r-, 'V. — '^ rt '^ ■6_ o o r, C o o cr c 3 a> 'J-> C^ r. 3 o v. W i-t- I'D ■^ a. o ^ T- (/5 0) V. v. X — CO o 1> l> (A n c n o ■a r, O 3 C C/l li > -n i —1 li :,' ^ 2 H -I 5 C C -( r. > rr r- - I li J- It IC. In - 1 I :. li ic - 1 if ■4- iC m P' ■:■ ' 2 ? r- H rr -n n) ~ 1 - \^ ASH. > 244 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Water. — Like all growing plants, the mushroom contains a very large proportion of water. The actual amount present varies greatly in different species. In the above table it will be seen that Polyponis sii/phiiiriis, with over 70 per cent, of water, has the least of any species mentioned, while the species of Copriniis and Agaricus have usually fully 90 per cent, water. The amount of water present, however, varies greatly in the same species at different seasons and in different localities, and with variations in the moisture content of soil and atmosphere, also with the age and rapidity of development of the individual plant. Total Nitrogen. — The proportion of nitrogen in the dry matter of different species varies from 2 per cent, to 6 per cent. This com- paratively high nitrogen content was formerly taken to indicate an unusual richness in proteid substances, which in turn led to very erroneous ideas regarding the nutritive value of these plants. The nitrogenous substances will be more fully discussed later, when we consider their nutritive value. Ether Extract. — This consists of a variety of fatty substances solu- ble in ether. It varies greatly in quality and quantity in different species. The amount is usually from 4 per cent, to 8 per cent, of the total dry matter. It includes, besides various other substances, several free fatty acids and their glycerides, the acids of a low melt- ing point being most abundant. These fatty substances occur in the stem, but are much more abundant in the cap, especially in the fruit- ing portion. Just what nutritive value these fatty matters may have has never been determined. Carbohydrates.— The largest part of the dry matter of the mush- rooms is made up of various carbohydrates, including cellulose or fungocellulose, glycogen, mycoinuline, trehalose, mannite, glucose, and other related substances. The cellulose is present in larger pro- portion in the stem than in the cap, and in the upper part of the cap than in the fruiting surface. This is doubtless related to the sus- taining and protective functions of the stem and the upper part of the cap. Starch, so common as a reserve food in the higher plants, does not occur in the mushrooms. As is the case with the fats, no determination of the nutritive value of these substances has been made, but it may be assumed that the soluble cabohydrates of the mushrooms do not differ greatly from similar compounds in other plants. Ash.— The ash of mushrooms varies greatly. Polyporus officinalis gives but 1.08 per cent, of ash in dry matter, Pleuwtus ulmarius gives 12.6 per cent., and Clitopiliis pmnulus gives 15 per cent. The aver- CHH.WISlkV AM) T()XI(:c)L(J(J^ ()|- Ml'SHIt'OO.WS. -^15 age of twelve edible species ^ave 7 per cent, ash in the stem and 8.96 per cent, in the cap. In regard to the constituents of the ash, potassium is by far the most abundant — the oxide averaging about 50 per cent, of the total ash. Phosphoric acid stands next to potassium in abundance and importance, constituting, on an average, about one-third of the entire ash. Oxides of manganese and iron are always present ; the former averaging about 3 per cent, and the latter 5 per cent, to 2 per cent, of the ash. Sodium, calcium, and chlorine are usually present in small and \arying quantities. Sulphuric acid occurs in the ash of all fungi, and is remarkable for the great variation in quantity present in different species ; e. g., ash of Hclvclla cscnU'iita contains 1.58 per cent. H2 SO4 while that of Airariciis campc'itris contains the relatively enormous amount of 24.29 per cent. Any discussion of the bare composition of a food is necessarily incomplete without a consideration of the nutritive value of the various constituents. This is especially desirable in the case of the mush- rooms, for while they are frequently overestimated and occasionally ridiculously overpraised by their friends, they are quite generally distrusted and sometimes held in veritable abhorrence by those who are ignorant of their many excellent qualities. On the one hand, we are told that " gastronomically and chemically considered the flesh of the mushroom has been proven to be almost identical with meat, and possesses the same nourishing properties. ' ' We frequently hear them referred to as " vegetable beefsteak," " manna of the poor," and other equally extravagant and misleading terms. On the other hand, we see vast quantities of the most delicious food rotting in the fields and woods because they are regarded by the vast majority of the people as " toad-stools" and as such particularly repulsive and poisonous. Foods may be divided into three classes according to the func- tions they perform : (i?) To form the material of the body and repair its wastes. (/O To supply energy for muscular exertion and for the mainte- nance of the body heat. ((■) Relishes. The formation of the body material and the repair of its wastes is the function of the proteids of foods. It has been found b\' care- ful experiment that a man at moderately hard muscular exertion requires .28 lb. of digestible proteids daily. The chief sources of our proteid foods are meats, tlsh, beans, etc. It has been as a proteid food that mushrooms have been most strongly recommended. Refer- 246 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. ring to Table 1, it will be seen that nitrogen constituted 5.79 per cent. of the total dry substance of Coprinuscomatus. This high nitrogen content, which is common to the mushrooms in general, was formerly taken to indicate a very unusual richness in proteid materials. It is now known, however, that there were several sources of error in this assumption. Much of the nitrogen is present in the form of non-proteid sub- stances of a very low food value. Another and very considerable portion enters into the composition of a substance closely related to cellulose. A third source of error was the assumption that all the proteid material was digestible. It is now known that a very con- siderable portion is not digestible and hence not available as food. Thus, notwithstanding the 5.79 per cent, of nitrogen in Copriniis comatus, we fmd but .82 per cent, in the form of actually available (i. e., digestible) proteids, or approximately one-seventh of what was formerly supposed to be present. The digestibility of the proteids varies very greatly with the spe- cies. Morner found the common field mushroom, Agariciis campes- tris, to have a larger amount of proteids available than any other species studied by him. Unfortunately, the digestibility of the American plant has not been tested. There is great need for further work along this line. Enough has been done, however, to demon- strate that mushrooms are no longer to be regarded as a food of the proteid class. The energy for the muscular exertion and heat is most economi- cally derived from the foods in which the carbohydrates and fats predominate. The common way of comparing foods of the first two classes scientifically is to compare their heat-giving powers. The unit of measurement is termed a calorie. It represents the amount of heat required to raise a kilogram of water 1° Centigrade. (This is approximately the heat required to raise one pound of water 4° Fahr- enheit.) A man at moderately hard muscular labor requires daily enough food to give about 3500 calories or heat-units. The major part of this food may be most economically derived from the foods of the second class, any deficiency in the .28 lb. of digestible protein being made up by the addition of some food rich in this substance. in the following table the value of ten pounds of several food sub- stances of the three classes has been worked out. Especial atten- tion is called to the column headed ' ' proteids ' ' and to the last column where the number of heat-units which may be purchased for one cent at current market rates has been worked out. CHE.MISTRV AND TOXICOLOGY Ol- MUSHROOMS. •ji: • • •*4 0 (/I > as -^ n' 00 c* — 0 "0 o n —t o O o v. IT) ^ 2 3 o r. o 5 -n — *^ r- -^ Ct -o ^— ' 1^ r^ r^ o . r^ ^,. 1"^- •~> (-, -t *— *■ X a , ;/- P 'X • C/l V • • >w "^ I I —' -. — . — — — > ^ . . f ^ / •_^ ^ 1 .^. ^^ X. A w- — 1 ^ 'f. f ^ w' '- :,""> y. y. r. -^ '-^ ' . - 1 — l^K rr — - -- X ■^ "— ^"1 -^ 'S >; ~ ~- x il H 0 1 o _^ > i:. — — ~ -: — -• - 1 - 1 ~. ^ I _■ '/ i' — — — m '/' 1 1. IC 11 '~ li "" '^ _ ^ t ^ ' * r ^ I 1 ^ — —~ • ' ^ 1 r 1 o 3> ~^ -- w» x '^ — • ^ I 1 ^ '" wC j- ™" ■**■ "^ ^ ' -- - 1 — / -' '-'- = r ni' / 1 - c 9 H •■ > 2 r •248 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. The mushrooms have been valued at 25 cents per pound, which is probably considerably below the average market price for a good article. It should also be remarked that the amounts given in this table are the digestible and hence available constituents of the foods. The only exception to this is in the case of the fats and carbohy- drates of the mushrooms, no digestion experiments having been reported on these constituents. In the absence of data we have assumed that they were entirely digested. The beef and beans are typical animal and vegetable foods of the proteid class. A glance at the table will show how markedly they differ from the mushrooms. The latter are nearest the cabbage in composition and nutritive value. The similarity between the cab- bage and the Agaric us campestris here analyzed is very striking. The potato is somewhat poorer in fat, but very much richer than the mushroom in carbohydrates. The figures in the last column will vary of course with fluctua- tions in the market price, but such variation will not interfere at any time with the demonstration that purchased mushrooms are not a poor man's food. Here we find that one cent invested in cabbage at i>4 cts. per pound, gives 93 calorics of nutrition, while the same amount invested in Agariciis campestris — the common mushroom of our markets — would give but 5.3 calories, although they are almost identical so far as nutritive value is concerned. The same sum invested in wheat flour, with its high carbohydrate and good proteid content, v/ould yield 658 calories or one-sixth the amount necessary to sustain a man at work for one day. The amount of mushrooms necessary for the same result is a matter of simple com- putation. Mushrooms, however, have a distinct and very great value as a food of the third class, that is, as condiments or food accessories, and their value as such is beyond the computation of the chemist or the physiologist, and doubtless varies with different individuals. They are among the most appetizing of table delicacies and add greatly to the palatability of many foods when cooked with them. It is surely as unfair to decry the mushroom on account of its low nutritive value, as it is wrong to attribute to it qualities which are nothing short of absurd in view of its composition. In some respects its place as a food is not unlike that of the oyster, celery, berries, and other delicacies. Worked out on the basis of nutritive value alone they would all be condemned ; the oyster for instance presents a showing but little better than the mushroom, and vastly inferior, so far as economy is concerned, to the common potato. This, too, for oysters CHE.MISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY OF .MISHROO.MS. -ilM purcliased by the quart. Tlic nutritive value of one cent's worth of oysters " on the half shell " would he interesting! The question of the toxicology of the higher fungi is one of very great theoretical and practical interest. But on account of the great difficulties in the way of such investigations comparatively little has yet been accomplished. A few toxic compounds belonging chiefly to the class termed alkaloids have, however, been definitely isolated. Choline. — This alkaloid is of wide occurrence in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. It has been isolated from AiihDiitj miiscariii, A. pjntlicriim, Bo/etus liiridis, and Hclvclhi cscitlenta. It is not very toxic, but on uniting with oxygen it passes over to muscarine. According to Kobert the substance formed from choline on the decay of the mushrooms containing it is not muscarine, but a very closely related alkaloid, iwiiriii. This transformation of a comparatively harmless alkaloid to an extremely deadly one simply by the partial decay of the plant in which the former is normally found, emphasizes very much the wisdom of rejecting for table use all specimens which are not entirely fresh. This advice applies to all kinds of mush- rooms, and to worm-eaten and otherwise injured, as well as decayed ones. Neurin is almost identical in its physiological effects with muscarine, which is described below. Muscarine. — This is the most important because the most danger- ous alkaloid found in the mushrooms. It is most abundant in Anni- nita miisc\Tria, it is also found in considerable quantity in Aiujiiitj pantberiihi, and to a lesser, but still very dangerous extent in Bo/t'tim liiriiiis and Riissitla cmetica. It is quite probably identical with bul- bosine, isolated from Amanita p/ial/ouies by Boudier, Muscarine is an extremely violent poison, .003 to .005 of a gram (.06 grain) being a very dangerous dose for a man. Like other constituents of mush- rooms, tlie amount of muscarine present varies very greatl>' with varying conditions of soil and climate. This, indeed, may account for the fact that Bolctiis liiridis is regarded as an edible mushroom in certain parts of Europe, the environment being such that little or no muscarine is developed. According to Kobert, Amanita muscaria contains, besides choline and muscarine, a third alkaloid, pil;-atwpin. This alkaloid, like ordinary atropin, neutralizes to a greater or less extent the musca- rine. The amount of pilz-atropin present varies, as other constit- uents of mushrooms \ary, with varying conditions of soil, climate, etc., and it may be that in those localities where the Amanita muscaria is used for food the conditions are favorable for a large pro- duction of pilz-atropin which neutralizes the muscarine, thus making •250 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. the plant harmless. Be this as it may, Amanita muscaria, so deadly as ordinarily found, is undoubtedly used quite largely as food in parts of France and Russia, and it has been eaten repeatedly in certain localities in this country without harm. Fortunately muscarine has a very unpleasant taste. It is inter- esting in this connection to note that the Amanita muscaria is said to be used by the inhabitants of Northern Russia — particularly the Koraks — as a means of inducing intoxication. To overcome the extremely unpleasant taste of the plant they swallow pieces of the dried cap without chewing them, or boil them in water and drink the decoction with other substances which disguise the taste. The symptoms of poisoning with muscarine are not at once evi- dent, as is the case with several of the less virulent poisons. They usually appear in from one-half to two hours. For the symptoms in detail we shall quote from Mr. V. K. Chestnut, Dept. of Agr., Wash- ington (Circular No. 13, Div. of Bot.). "Vomiting and diarrh(jea almost always occur, with a pronounced flow of saliva, suppression of the urine, and various cerebral phenomena beginning with giddiness, loss of confidence in one's ability to make ordinary movements, and derangements of vision. This is succeeded by stupor, cold sweats, and a very marked weakening of the heart's action, in case of rapid recovery the stupor is short and usually marked with mild delirium, in fatal cases the stupor continues from one to two or three days, and death at last ensues from the gradual weakening and final stoppage of the heart's action." The treatment for poisoning by muscarine consists primarily in removing the unabsorbed portion of the mushroom from the alimen- tary canal and in counteracting the effect of muscarine on the heart. The action of this organ should be fortified at once by the subcuta- neous injection, by a physician, of atropine in doses of from one one-hundredth to one-fiftieth of a grain. The strongest emetics, such as sulphate of zinc or apomorphine, should be used, though in case of profound stupor even these may not produce the desired action. Freshly ignited charcoal or two grains of a one per cent, alkaline solution of permanganate of potash may then be administered, in order, in the case of the former substance, to absorb the poison, or, in the case of the latter, to decompose it. This should be followed by oils or oleaginous purgatives, and the intestines should be cleaned and washed out with an enema of warm water and turpentine. Experiments on animals poisoned by Amanita muscaria and with pure muscarine show very clearly that when the heart has nearly ceased to beat it may be stimulated to strong action almost instantly C1IH.^\ISII<'^ AM) l(J\ICe)U)GV Ol- WLMlkUO.MS. -'>1 b\' tlu- use of atropine. Its use as thus demonstrated has been the means of saving numerous lives. Wc have in this alkaloid an almost pcrtect physiological antidote for muscariiU', and therefore in such cases of poisoning its use should be pushed as heroically as the symp- toms of the case will warrant. The presence of phallin in Amjnita Diiistaria is possible, and its symptoms should be looked for in the red color of the blood serum discharged from the intestines. Phallin. -The exact chemical nature of this extremely toxic sub- stance is not certainly known, but it is generally conceded to be of an albuminous nature. That it is an extremely deadly poison is shown by the fact that .0015 grain per 2 lbs. weight of the animal is a fatal dose for cats and dogs. It is the active principle of the most deadly of all mushrooms, the Anhiiiitaplialloidcs, or death-cupfungus. We quote again from Mr. Chesnut's account of phallin and its treatment : " The fundamental injury is not due, as in the case of muscarine, to a paralysis of the nerves controlling the action of the heart, but to a direct effect on the blood corpuscles. These are quicl the margin. When the pileus is cut in halves the general outline ot the gills may be observed, in outline they may be broad, narrow, lanceolate, triangular, etc. In respect to their ends they are jtliiiuate when gradually narrrtwed to a sharp point, acuti' when they end in a sharp angle, and ohtuse when the ends are rounded. Again, the gills are iircuatc when they arch from the stem to the edge of the pileus, and Vititricosc when they are bellied out vertically toward the earth. Fir.KRF. 217. Clitocybe infundibuliformis, pileus fundibuliform, gills decurrent. P'icuRK 21S. Mycena galericulata, pileus conic to campanulate. gills decurrent by a tooth, stem fistulose. The terms given above are often used in descriptive works, but the most important feature to be noted in the section of the plant is the relation of the gills to the stem. This relation is represented by several distinct types which are sometimes used to limit genera or sub-genera, since the mode of attachment is usually constant in all species of a group. The principal relations of the gills to the stem are described as follows : ^Jnatr when they reach the stem and are set squarely against it (Fig. 220) ; iiirunriit when they run down the stem (Fig. 217); sinuate or cmarginatc when they have a notch or vertical curve at the posterior end (Fig. 219); and fiw when they 256 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. are rounded off without reaching the stem (Fig. 216). In all cases when the lamella? reach the stem and are only attached by the upper angle they are said to be adncxed. This term is often used in combination with others, as simiate-Jdncxcd (Fig. 221, small figure), or ascending adnexcd i¥\g. 221, larger plant). Sometimes the lamelte are adnate, adnexed, etc., and have a slight decurrent process or tooth as in Mycena galericulata (Fig. 218). In many plants the gills FiGrRE2i9. Figure 220. Figure 221. Figure 219. — Tiicholoma, gills sinuate, stipe solid. Figure 220. — Paneeolus papilionaceus, gills adnate. ' Figure 221. — Left-hand small plant, Hygiophorus, gills sinuate, adnexed. Right- hand plant Panaeolus retirugis, gills ascending adnexed ; veil appendiculate. separate very readily from the stem when the plants are handled. Sometimes merely the expansion of the pileus tears them away, so that it is necessary to use great caution, and often to examine plants in different stages of development to determine the real condition of the lamellce. In certain genera the gills have special characteristics which may be noted here. Usually the edge of the lamelte is acute or sharp like the blade of a knife, but in Canlliarellus and Trogiathe edges are very blunt or obtuse, hi extreme forms the lamelte are reduced to CHAkACIHkS CJl- .MUSHI-^OO.MS. mere veins or ridges. Again, tlic edge is generally oitire, i. e., not noticeably toothiJ, but in lAiitiniis it is ottni toothed or cut in various ways. In some other plants the edges are seniiLite, nrnii/a/e. eti.-. hi Sflii ;oph vi- lli ni ahh'uin. a small whitish plant very c 0 m m on o n d e a d sticks, the gills are split lengthwise along the edge with the halves revolute. i. e., rolled back. In Copriiius the gills and often a large part of the pileus melt at maturity into a dark, inky fluid. The hymenium. — The term hyDuiniim is applied to the spore-bearing tissue of many fungi. In the Agjricaccce the hymenium covers the entire surface of the gills and usually the portion of the pileus between the gills. It originates in the following man- ner : the threads form- ing the trama of the gills grow out from the lower side of the pileus and perpendicular to its under surface. As growth advances man\' branches of the threads turn outward toward either surface of the gill and finally terminate in club-shaped cells. ric.i RK 223. — Inocvbe repaiula (Hull.) Hres. (= Ento- _ 11 u ■ lonia repanduniHull.). /. trama of pileus ; j//, sub I hese CellS, therefore, hymenium; //, the hymenial layer; the long cells \\q side bv side perpen- FiciRK 222. — Section of portion of gill of Marasmius cohaerens. /, trama of gill ; s/i, subhymenium ; //, hymenium layer. The long, dark cells are brown cystidia, termed spicules by some to distinguish them from the colorless cystidia. The long cells bearing the oval spores are the basidia. with a drop of moisture at the ends are cystidia (sing, cystidium). dicular to the surface, 258 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. forming a pavement, as it were, over the entire surface of the gills. Some of them put out four little prongs, on each of which a spore is borne, while others simply remain as sterile cells (Figs. 222, 223). The spore-bearing cells are basidia ; the others are called paraphyscs. They resemble each other very much, except that the basidia bear four sterigmata and a spore on each. In a few species the number of sterigmata is reduced to two and in some low forms the number is variable. The layer just beneath the basidia is usually more or less modified, being often composed of small cells different from the rest of the trama. This is called the sub-hy7ncnial layer or stib-hymcnium (Fig. 223). Other cells called cystidia occur in the hymenia of various species distributed through nearly all the genera of the agarics. Cystidia are large, usually inflated, cells which project above the rest of the hymenium (Fig. 223). They originate either like the basidia, from the sub-hymenial cells (Fig 223), or from special hyph^e deeper down in the trama of the gill (Fig. 222). They are scattered over the entire surface of the hymenium, but become more numerous on the edge of the lamella. Their number is much smaller than that of the basidia, but in some species where they are colored they may greatly change the appearance of the gills. Cystidia often secrete moisture which collects in drops at their tips, a phenomenon common to all free fungous cells. The stem. — The stem is usually fixed to the center of the pileus, but it may be eccentric, i. e., fixed to one side of the center, or entirely lateral. When the stem is wanting the pileus is sessile. With regard to its interior the stem is solid, when it is evenly fleshy throughout (Fig. 219), or hoUoie when the interior is occupied by a cavity (Fig. 221). If the cavity is narrow and tubular the stem is fistulose (Fig. 218) ; and if the center is filled with a pithy sub- stance it is stuffed (Fig. 216). These terms apply only to the nat- ural condition of the stem, and not the condition brought about by larv.-e, which eat out the interior of the stem, causing it to be hollow or fistulose. The terms applicable to the consistency of the stem are difficult to define. In general, stems may be either fleshy or cartilaginous. The meaning of these terms can best be learned by careful study of specimens of each, but a few general characters can be given here. Fleshy, fibrous stems occur in the genera Clitocybe and Tricholoma, among the white-spored forms. Their consistency is like that of the pileus, namely, made up of fleshy, fibrous tissue. They are usually stout compared with the size of the plant, and when bent or broken CHARACTERS OF WISHROO.MS. '2M they seem to be more or less spon^iy or tough, til^roiis, so tliat they do not snap readily. Cartilaj^iinous stems have a consistency resem- bling that of cartilage. Their te.xture is always different from that of the pileus, w hicli is tleshy or membranous. In general such stems are rather slender, in many genera very thin, but tirm. When bent sufficiently they either snap suddenly, or break like a green straw, without separating. In regard to their external appearance some resemble fibrous stems, while others are smooth and polished as in Myccihi and Oniphiili.i. The veil — In the young stages of development the margin of the pileus lies in close contact with the stipe, the line of separation being indicated by a kind of furrow which runs around the \oung button mushroom. In many genera, as Collybia. Mrcenj, Omplialiii, etc., the pileus simply e.xpands without having its margin ever united to the stipe by any special structure, but in other forms, which include by far the greater number of genera of the Agiiricjica' and some Bolcti. the interval between the stem and pileus is bridged over by threads growing from the margin of the pileus and from the outer layers of the stem. These threads interlace to form a delicate mem- brane, known as the veil, which closes the gap between the stem and pileus and covers over the young hymenium. The veil remains firm for a time, but it is finally torn by the expanding pileus, and its remnants persist on the cap and stem in the form of various appendages, whose character depends on the charac- ter of the veil. In Cortiiiarius the veil is made up of delicate threads extending radially from the stem to the margin of the cap without forming a true membrane. From its resemblance to a spider's web such a veil is said to be JiJclnioiJ. At maturity mere traces of it can be found on the stem. In man\- genera the veil consists of a delicate membrane which tears away from the stem and hangs in flakes to the margin of the pileus. In these cases the veil is jpf\ti- diculatc (Fig. 221). Frequently it is so delicate that no trace of it remains on the mature plant. Where the veil is well developed it usually remains on the stem as a /■///;' or ainiitlus which becomes free and movable in species of Lcpiota (Fig. 215) and Copritiiis. or forms a hanging annular curtain in AvuiuitJ, or a thick, felty ring in Ai^jr- hKS. etc. In some plants (species of Lepiotj) the annulus is con- tinuous with the outer cortex of the stem, which then appears as if it were partialis- enclosed in a sheath, with the annulus forming a fringe on the upper end of the sheath, from which the apex of the stem projects. No reference is here made to the volvj, which encloses the entire >(;(l STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. _i) plant, and which is described in connection with the genera in which it occurs. The few typical characters described here will help the student to become familiar with terms applied to them. In nature, however, typical cases rarely exist, and it is often necessary to draw distinc- tion between differences so slight that it is almost impossible to describe them. Only by patient study and a thorough acquaintance with the characters of each genus can one hope to become familiar with the many mushrooms growing in our woods and fields. CHAPTER XXII ANALYTICAL KEYS. By the Author. CLASS FUNGL SUB-CLASS BASIDIOMYCETES.* Plants of large or medium size ; tlesliy, membranaceous, leathery, woody or gelatinous ; growing on the ground, on wood or decaying organic matter ; usually saprophytic, more rarely parasitic. Fruiting surface, or hymenium, formed of numerous crowded perpendicular basidia, the apex of the latter bearing two to six (usually four) basidiospores, or the basidiospores borne laterally ; in many cases cystidia intermingled with the basidia. Hymenium either free at the beginning, or enclosed either permanently or temporarily in a more or less perfect peridium or veil. Basidiospores continuous or rarely septate, globose, obovoid, ellipsoidal to oblong, smooth or roughened, hyaline or colored, borne singly at the apex of sterigmata. Order G aster omycetes. Plants membranaceous, leathery or fleshy, furnished with a peridium and gleba, the latter being sometimes supported on a receptacle. Hymenium on the surface of the gleba which is enclosed within the peridium up to the maturity of the spores or longer ; spores continuous, sphjeroid or ellipsoid, hyaline or colored. Puff-balls, etc. Order Hymeuomycetes. Hymenium at the beginning, borne on the free outer surface of the compound sporophore, or if at first enclosed by a pseudo-peridium or veil it soon becomes exposed before the maturity of the spores, mushrooms, etc. * The sub-class Ascomycetes includes the morels, helvellas, cup fungi, etc , and many microscopic forms, in which the spores are borne inside a club-shaped body, the ascus. Only a few of the genera are described in this book, and the technical diag- nosis will be omitted. See page 216. ANALYTICAL KEYS. -''I HYMENOMYCErES. Analytical Key of the Families. Plants not gelatinous ; basidia continuous i Plants gelatinous or sub-gelatinous, basidia forked, or di\ided longitudinally or transversely 4 1 — Hymenium uneven, i. e., in the form of radiating plates, or folds ; or a lioney-combed surface, or recticulate, warty, spiny, etc 2 H\nienium smooth (not as in R, though it may be con- solute and irregular, or ribbed or veined) 3 2 Hymenium usually on tiie under side, in the form of radi- ating plates, or strong folds. The genus Phlebia in the Hydnaceae has the hymenium on smooth, somewhat radiating veins which are interrupted and irregular. One exotic genus has the hymenium on numerous irregular obtuse lobes rRhacophyllus) Agaricaceae. 17 Hymenium usually below (or on the outer surface when the plant is spread over the substratum ), honey-combed, porous, tubulose, or reticulate ; in one genus with short, concentric plates PoI\poraceae. 171 Hvmenium usually below (or on the outer surface when the plant is spread over the substratum), warted, tuber- culate, or with stout, spinous processes ; or with inter- rupted vein-like folds in resupinate forms Hydnaceae. rgs 3— Plants somewhat corky or membranaceous, more or less expanded ; hymenium on the under surface (upper sur- face sterile), or on the outer or exposed surface when the plant is spread over the substratum (margin may then sometimes be free, but upper surface, i. e., that tow'ard the substratum, sterile). ( Minute slender spines are sometimes intermingled with the elements of the hymenium, and sliould not be mistaken fur the stouter spinous processes of the Hydnacea?). . Thclephoraceae. jo8 3 — Plants more or less fleshy, upright (never spread o\ er the surface of the substratum), simple or branched. Hvme- nium covering both sides and the upper surface. Clavariaceae. 200 4— Basidia forked or longitudinally divided ; or if continuous then globose, or bearing numerous spores; or if the plant is leathery, membranous, ortloccose, then basidia as described. Hymenium covering the entire free sur- face or confined to one portion ; smooth, gyrose, folded or lobed ; or hymenium lamellate, porous, reticulate or toothed forms which are gelatinous and pro\ided with continuous basidia may be sought here. Tremcliincae. 204 'Jli-i STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. FAMILY AGARICACEAE. Pileus more or less expanded, convex, bell-shaped ; stipe central or nearly so ; or the point of attachment lateral, when the stipe may be short or the pileus sessile rmd shelving. Fruiting surface usually on the under side and exposed toward the earth, lamellate, or prominently folded or veined. Lamella* or gills radiating from the point of attachment of the pileus with the stipe or with the sub- stratum in the sessile forms ; lamelkv simple or branched, rarely anastomosing behind, clothed externally on both surfaces with the basidia, each of which bears four spores (rarely two), cystidia often present. Kev to the North American genera. THE WHITE-SPORED AGARICS. (Sometimes there is a faint tinge of pink or lilac when the spores are in bulk, but the color is not seen under the microscope.) Plants soft, tleshy or nearly so, usually soon decaying ; dried plants do not revive well when moistened. ... i Plants tough, either fleshy or gelatinous, membranaceous, corky or woody, persistent, reviving when moistened. 13 1 — Gills acute on the edge 2 Edge of the gills obtuse, or gills fold-like, or vein-like, but prominent. 12 2— Trama of the pileus of interwoven threads, not vesiculose. 3 Trama of the pileus vesiculose, plants rigid but quite fragile 11 3 — Qills thin, not much broadened toward the pileus 4 Gills broadened toward the pileus, of waxy consistency. Hygrophorus. . no 4 — Stipe central or sub-central. (Some species of Pleurotus are sub-central, but the gills are not decurrent.) ... 5 Stipe on one side of the pileus, or none, rarely with the stipe sub-central. (Some species of Clitocybe are sub- central.) Pleurotus. .102 S — Stipe fleshy, pileus easily separating from the stipe, gills usually free 6 Stipe tleshy or fibrous and elastic, pileus confluent with the stipe and of the same texture 7 Stipe cartilaginous, pileus confluent with the stipe, but of a different texture 9 6— Volva and annulus present on the stipe Amanita. ... 52 Volva present, annulus wanting Amanitopsis. . . 74 Volva wanting, annulus present Lepiota. ... 77 7— Annulus and volva wanting 8 Annulus usually present (sometimes vague), volva want- ing, gills attached to the stipe Armillaria. 83 8— Gills sinuate Tricholoma. . 87 Gills decurrent, not sinuate Clitocybe. ... 89 9— Qills decurrent, pileus umbilicate Omphalia. . . 100 Gills not decurrent 10 A.NALVIICAL Kl.^ s. •_'•",:{ III Margin of pileiis at first iruolute, pileus tlat or nearly so, siiiiiewhat lleshy (some plants rather tough and tending t^uird the consistency of Marasmiiis. ) C()il\bia. (,( Margin of the pileus at first straight, pileus slightly bell- shaped, thin Mycena. yj Gills usually free, pileus deeply plicate so tliat tin- gills are split where they are attaciied to the pileus. pileus mem- branaceous, very tender but not diffluent Hiatula. 11 I'lants where bruised exuding a milky or colored juice. Lactarius. 114 Plants not exuding a juice where bruised Kussula. 125 12 (iills Jecurrent, dichotomous, edge blunt Cantharellus. 128 (Jills not decurrent, plants parasitic on other inu-^hroonis. Nyctalis. 13 —Edge of gills not split into two laminiv 14 Edge of gills split into two laminie and re\olute Schiz(tpti>lluni. 156 !■< Plants leathery, either fleshy, membranaceous, or gelat- inous 1; Plants corky or woody (placed by some in Polyporaceae. ) Lenzites. I.S— Stipe separate from the pileus (hymenophore), easily separating 16 Stipe continuous with hymenopiiore 17 16 Plants tough and flesiiy. membranaceous or leathery. . Marasmius. 1 50 Plants gelatinous and leathery Mcllomyces. 17— Edge of the gills acute i.s Edge of tlie gills obtuse 19 18 Edge of gills usually serrate Lentinus. . 1 54 Edge of gills entire Panus. ... 1 54 19 Gills dichotomous Xerotus. Gills fold-like, irregular Trogia. 157 There are only .1 few rare species of Hiatula. Nyctalis, Heliomvcesand Xero- tus in the United States. None are here described. THE OCHRE-SPORED AGARICS. (The spores are yellow ish brown or rusty brown.) Gills not separating readily from the pileus i Gills sometimes separating readily from the pileus, forked or anastomosing at the base, or connected with \ein- like reticulations Paxillus. 16s 1 —Universal veil not arachnoid (i. e., not cobwebby). ... 2 Lniversal veil arachnoid, distinct from the cuticle of the pileus, gills powdery from the spores Corlinarius. i^u 2— Stipe central . \ Stipe eccentric or none Crcpidotus. 15Q 3^Volva or annulus present on stipe. ... 4 Voiva and annulus w.anting. ... ; 4 -Stipe with an annulus I'holioia. 1 ;o Stipe with ,1 vol\a. Locellina t not reported in U. b.). . . 5 Gills free from the stem Pluieolus. Gills attached ... 6 ft (iills not dissolving nor becoming powdery. . 7 •264 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Gills dissolving into a gelatinous or powdery condition, not diftluent as in Coprinus Bolbitius. . . 163 7— Stipe flesiiy 8 Stipe cartilaginous or sub-cartilaginous 10 8 — Gills somewhat sinuate 9 Gills adnate or decurrent • ■ ■ Flammula. 156 9— Cuticle of the pileus silky or bearing fibrils Inocybe. 158 Cuticle of pileus smooth, viscid Hebeloma. 157 10— Gills decurrent Tubaria. . . 159 Gills not decurrent 1 1 II— Margin of pileus inflexed Naucoria. . . 153 Margin of pileus straight, from the first Galera. ... 155 No species of Pluteolus are here described. THE ROSY-SPORED AGARICS. (The spores are rose color, pink, flesh or salmon color). Stipe central 1 Stipe eccentric or none and pileus lateral Ciaudopus. 149 1— Pileus easily separating from the stipe, gills free 2 Pileus confluent with the stipe and of the same te.xture, gills attached, in some becoming almost free 3 2— Volva present and distinct, annulus wanting Volvaria. . . 140 Volva and annulus wanting Pluteus. 138 3 — Stipe fleshy to fibrous, margin of pileus at first incurved. 4 Stipe cartilaginous s 4 — Gills sinuate Entoloma. 143 Gills decurrent Clitopilus. 142 5— Gills not decurrent (or if so only by a minute tooth ), easily separating from the stipe 6 Gills decurrent, pileus umbilicate Eccilia. ... 148 6— Pileus slightly convex, margin at first incurved Leptonia. . . 147 Pileus bell-shaped, margin at first straight and pressed close against the stipe Nolanea. No species of Nolanea are described here. THE BROWN-SPORED AGARICS. (The spores are dark brown or purplish brown.) Pileus easily separating from the stem ; gills usually free, i Pileus continuous with the stem ; gills attached 2 I —Volva wanting, annulus present. (Psalliota Fr.) .... Agaricus. ... 18 Volva present, annulus wanting Chitonia. Volva and annulus wanting Pilosace. 2— Veil present 3 Veil wanting or obsolete 4 3— Annulus present, gills attached Stropharia. . . 31 Annulus wanting, veil remaining attached to margin of pileus Hypholoraa. . . 26 4— Stipe tenaceous, margin of pileus first incurved 5 Stipe fragile, margin of pileus at first straight Psathyra. ANAL^IIc:aL Kl;Ns. -Jti.') 6 (iills sub-triangularly decurrent. Dcconica. (Jills not decurrent. . . Psilocybc. But few species of Psatiivra, iJecniika, Clmonia and Pilosace are repurled from the United States. None are here described. THE BLACK-SPORED AGARICS. Pileus present to wliicli the gills are attached i Pileus wanting, gills attached to a disk at apex of stem from which they radiate Montagniles.- I — Gills more or less diliquescing, or pileus thin, membranous and splitting between the lamina' of the gills and becom- ing more or less plicate Coprinus. '2 Gills not diliquescing, etc i 2— Spores globose, ovoid ] Spores elongate, fusiform (in some species brown), plants with a slimy envelope Gomphidius. ^() 3— Pileus somewhat fleshv, not striate, projecting beyond the gills at the margin ; gills variegated in color from groups of dark spores on the surface 4 Pileus sdinewhat fleshy, margin striate, gills not variegated. Psathyrella. 4,s 4— Annuius wanting, but veil often present Panaeolus. , 4s Annulus wanting, veil appendiculate on margin of cap. Chamyloita. . 48 Annuius present Annelaria. (* One American species in Texas.) GLOSSARY OF THE MORE TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN THIS ^X'ORK. Abbreviations: cm. = centimeter (about 2 '2 cm. make i inch). mm. = millimeter (about 25 mm. make i inch). /' =^ one micron (loooA* = i mm.) Adnate, said of the gills when they are attached squarely, or broadly, to the stem. Adnexed, said of gills when they are attached only slightly or only by the upper angle to the stem. Anastomose, running together in a net-like manner. Annuius, the ring or collar around the stem formed from the inner or parliai \eil. Appendiculate, said of the veil when it clings in fragments to the margin of the pileus. Arachnoid, said of the veil when it is cobwebby, that is, formed of loose threads. Ascus, the club-shaped body which bears the spores inside (characteristic of the Ascomycetes). Basidium (pi. basidia) the club-shaped body which bears the spores in the Basid- iomycetes. These stand parallel, and together make up the entire or large part of the hymenium or fruiting surface which co\ers the gills, etc. Para- physes 'sterile cells) and sometimes cystidia (longer sterile cells) or spines are intermingled with the basidia. Bulbous, said of the enlarged lower end of the stem in some mushrooms. Circumsissle, splitting transversely across the middle, used to indicate one of the ways in which the volva ruptures. •26(3 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Cortina, a cobwebby veil. Cuticle, the skin-like layer on the outside of the pileus. Decurrent, said of the gills when they extend downward on the stem. Diffluent, said of gills when they dissolve into a fluid. Dimidiate, halved, said of a sessile pileus semi-circular in form and attached by the plane edge directly to the wood. Hchinulate, term applied to minute spinous processes, on the spores for example. Eccentric, said of a stem when it is attached to some other point than the center of the pileus. Fimbriate, in the form of a delicate fringe. Fistulose, becoming hollow. Floccose, term applied to indicate delicate and soft threads, cottony extensions from the surface of any part of the mushroom. Flocculose, minutely floccose. Fugacious, disappearing. Fuliginous (or fuligineus), dark brown, sooty or smoky. Fulvous, tawny, reddish yellow. Fusiform, spindle-shaped. Fusoid, like a spindle. Furfuraceous, with numerous minute scales. Gleba, the chambered tissue forming the hymenium (fruiting surface) in the puff- balls and their allies. Hygrophanus, appearing to be water soaked. Hymenium, the fruiting surface of the mushrooms and other fungi. Hymenomycetes, the subdivision of the Basidiomycetes in which the fruiting sur- face is exposed before the spores are ripe. Hymenophore, the portion of the fruit body which bears the hymenium. Hypha (pi. hyphae), a single mycelium thread. Imbricate, overlapping like the shingles on a roof. Involute, folded or rolled inward. Lamella (pi. lamelkp), the gills of the mushroom. Mycelium, the vegetative or growing portion of the mushrooms, and other fungi, made up of several or many threads. Ocreate, applied to the volva where it tits the lower part of the stem, as a stock- ing does the leg. Pectinate, like the teeth of a comb. Peridium, the wall of the puff-balls, etc. Pileus (pi. pilei), the cap of the mushroom. Plicate, plaited, or folded like a fan. Punctate, with minute points. Pulverulent, with a minute powdery substance. Repand, wavy. Resupinate, spread over the matrix, the fruiting surface external and the pileus next the wood. Revolute, rolled backward. Rugose, wrinkled. Rugulose, with minute wrinkles. Saprophytic, growing on dead organic matter. Sessile, where the pileus is attached directly to the matrix without any stem. Sinuate, said of the gills when they are notched at their junction with the stem. ANAI.VTICAl. Ki;^S. -''. Stipe, the stem. Sulcate, furrowed. Stjuamulose, \vitli mimitt- scaks. Squarrose, with prominent rellexed scales. Tomentose, with a dense, matted, iiairy or woolly surface. Trama, the interior portion of the gills or pileus. Umbo, with a prominent boss or elevation, in the center of the pileus. Umbilicate, with a minute abrupt depression in the center of the cap. Veil, a layer of threads extending from the margin of the cap to the stem (partial veil or marginal veil). A universal veil en\elopes the entire plant. Veins, elevated lines or folds running over the surface of the lamelkf in some species, and often connected so as to form reticulations. Ventricose, enlarged, or broadened at the middle, bellied. Vesiculose, full of small rounded vesicles, as the trama of the pileus ot a KuN>^uia. Volva, a wrapper or envelope, which in the young stage completely surrounds the plant, same as universal veil. At maturity of the plant it may be left in the form of a cup at the base of the stem, or broken up into fragments and distributed over the cap and base of the stem. INDEX OF GENERA, AND ILLUSTRATIONS. AKaricus, i8 26. arveiisis, 21, Mk- i^^- canipestris, 1-9, 18, figs. 1-7, 12. comtuliis, 24, fig. 24. cretaceus, 7(). diminuti\iis, 2^). echinatus, is8. fabaceus, 23. maritinuis, 142. placomyces, 25, pi. 4, i. fiK^- -'1 22, 23. rodmani, 20, tig. 17. silvaticus, 25. silvicola, 20, tigs. 19, 20. subrufescens, 23. Amanita, 52, atsaria, 70, pis. 18, 19, fig. 72. cothurnata, 66-69. P'- i7, figs. 68- 70. Iloccocephala, 62, tig. 6^ frostiana, 54, 55, 67, pi. i. mappa, s8. muscaria. ^.J-U- P's. 1, 12, 13, tigs. S2-=;4- pantherina, Cm). piialloides. 3. 14, 5S-61, 7^, pl- '4- tigs. S5-58. polypyramis, 74. rubescens, 71, 72, pis. 19, 20, figs. 71, 74. spreta, 69, 70, fig. 71- solitaria. 72-74. P's. 21, 22, tigs. 75. 76. strobiliformis, 73. velatipes, 63-66, pis. is, 16, tigs. 64-67. veriia, Cx), 61. 78, tigs. S9-61. virosa, 61, 62, fig. 62. Amanitopsis, 74. farinosa, 76, 77, tig. 78. Ii\ida, 7v nivalis, 76. spadicea, 75. vaginata, 74-76, pl. 23, fig. 77- voKata. 76. Arinillaria, 83. aurantia, 84-86, tig. 86. mellea, 83, 84, pl. 27, tig. 8;. Aiuuilaria hvvis, 78. Ascomycetes, 216. Basldiomvcetes, 260. Rlack-spored agarics, 32. Bolbitius, 163, variicolor, 164, tig. 1 S4. Roletimis, 172. pi^tus, 183, tig. 170. porosus, 184, pl. i7. tig. 171. Boletus, 172. americaiius, 178, tig. 166. brevipes, 179- bulbosus, 172. chromapes, 176, pl. 53, tig. 163. edulis, 172, 173, 176, pis. 4Q, 50, SI. figs. IS9, 160. felleus, 173, pl. 52, fig. 161. tlavidus, 178. graruilatus, 178. luteus, 181, 182.pl. s6. ligs. i<')8, ifx). obsdniuni, 177, pl. 55, tig. i6s. ornatipes, 174, 176. piinctipes, 179, fig. 167. retipes. 174-176, tig. 162. scaber, 174. subluteiis. 181. 182. subtomentosus, 167, 168. vermiculosus, 177, pl. 54, fig- '64- Bovista, 209. Calostoma, 212. cinnabarina, 212. 21',. pl. 72. fig. 200. lutescens. 212. Cahatia, 209. Canth.irellus, 128. auraiiliacus, 129, 130, pl. 57, lig>- 124, 125. cib.irius, 128, tig. 123. Chalymotta retirugis, 48. Clavaria, 201. botiytes, 202. fig. 191- formosa, 201. pl. 70, fig. 190. mucida, 203, fig- 19?- pistillaris, 203, fig- 192. Clavariaceip, 200. Coral fungi, 200. Clitocybe. 8<). Candida, 89, pis. 28. 29, figs. 90, 91. 2fi9 270 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. Clytocibe — continued. cyatiiiformis, 90. iliudens, go, fig. 92. infundibuiiformis, 90, fig. 217. laccata, 89. peiietieri, 168. Ciitopilus, 142. orcella, 145. prunulus, 142, pi. 40, fig- i35- Collybia, 91. dryophila, 204, fig. 194- longipes, 95. lachnophvUa, 132. platyphylla, 93. radicata, 92, fig. 93. spinulifera, 1 32. Coprinus, 32. atramentarius, 40-42, pi. 10. tigs. 39-42. comatus, 33-40, pi. 9, tigs. 31-58. micaceus, is, 42-44, fig?- 43, 44- Corticium, 208. Cortinarius, 161. cinnamomeus, 162, fig. isi- collinitus, 161. ochroleucus, 163, pis. 45, 46, figs. 152, 153. violaceus, 161. Craterellus, 208. cantharellus, 208. coriuicopioides, 208. pistillaris, 205. Crepidotus, 1 59. applanatus, 161. calolepis, 161. chimonophilus, 160. fuKotomentosus, 161. herbarum, 160. versutus, 160, fig. 150. Dsdalea anibigua, 16, 17, pi. 3, fig. 16. Dictvophora, 214. duplicata, 214, pi. 73, fig. 201. ravenelii, 215, 216, pi. 74, figs. 202- 204. Discomycetes, 216. Eccilia, 148. polita, 148, fig. 140. Eiitoloma, 143. grayanum, 144, 145, tig- i37- jubatum, 143, 144, fig. 136. Entoloma — continued. repandum, 143, figs. 223, 257. strictius, 145, 146, fig- 138. Exidia glandulosa, 206. Fistulina, 171, 186. firm a, 186. hepatica, 186, pi. sg- pallida, 186, 187, pis. 59, 60, fij 173- Flammula, 156. paradoxa, 168. polychroa, 156, 157, fig. 147- rhodoxantha, 168. sapinea, iS7- tammii, 169. Fomes, 193, 194. (jalera, 155. antipoda, 155. coprinoides, 155. flava, 155. lateritia, 155. tenera, 155. Geaster, 209. Gomphidius, 49. glutinuosus, 51. nigricans, 49-51, figs- 5°, Si- rhodoxanthus, 168. Gomphus, 168. Gyrocephalus, 207. • rufus, 207, fig. 197. Gyromytra esculenta, 220. Hebeloma, 1 57. crustinuUforme, 158, fig. 148. Hedgehog fungi, 195. Helvella, 219. crispa, 219. lacunosa, 220, fig. 208. HydnaceLt, 195. Hydnum, 195. caput-medus;!:', 198. caput-ursi, 197, pi. 67, fig, 185. erinaceus, 198, fig. 186. fragile, 200. graveolens, 200. imbricatum, 198, fig. 189. repandum, 198, pi. 68, fig. 187. putidum, 199, pi. 69, fig. 188. velutinum, 200. I.NDI.X K ) r.HNHPA. 11 \ Hygrophoriis, i lo. clirysodon, 1 1 1, li^. i f-- cocci neus, 1 14. conicus, 1 14. eburneus, m, pi. 54, tig- 1 ' >• fuliKineus. 1 1 5. I'lK- ' i4- liypollieius, 1 14. iniiii.'itiis, in, 114. pratensis, 1 1 ;. psittacinus, 1 14. Hymeiioclui'le, 208. Hymenomycetes, 261. Hvpholoma, 26. appendiculatiim, 27, 28, pi. 7, tigs. 26, 27. caiidolleaiiuni, 28. lachrymabundiim, 28-50, tig. 28. perplexum, 27. rugocephaluni, 50, pi. 8, tig. 20. sublateritium, 26, pi. 6, tig. 2s. Inocybe, 158. echinata, is8. repanda, 2^7, tig. 223. Itiiyphallus impudicus, 216. Lactarivis, 114. chelidnniuni, 124, pi. 35. chrysorrheus, 122, tig. 122. corrugis, 116, fig. ns. deliciosus, 123, pi. 3s. fuliginosus, 118. tig. 117. gerardii, 119. indigo, 125, pi. 35- lignyotus, 1 17, tig. 116. pergamenus, 121. piperatus, 120, fig. i ly. resimus, 121, tigs. 120, 121. tormiiiosus, 1 u), tig. 1 18. volemus, 121. Lentinus, 1 54. lecomtei, 135. lepideiis, T3S. stipticLis, 1 3S, 1 5^1. vulpinus, 1 54. pl. 5^. tigs. 128, i2(). Leotia lubrica, 221, tig. 210. Lepiota, 77. acutesquamosa, 81. americana, 80, 81, fig. 82. asperula, 82, 83, pl. 26, tig. 84. badhami, 81. cristata, 81, tig. 83. naucina, 13, 77-7Q, P'- ^4, tigs. 70, 80. naucinoides. 77. procera, 79, pl. 2^, tigs. 81. 2m. rachodes, 79. Leptonia, 147. asprella, 147, tig. 139. incana, 147. l.ycoperdacea-, 209. Lycoperdon, 209. cyathifonne, 207, pl. 71, tig. 198. gemmMtuin, 210, tig. it)<;. gigaiileum, 210. pyriforme, 211. Marasmius, 130. coharens, 132, 135, tigs. 127, 222. oreades, 131, tig. 126. rotula, 131. Meruliiis, 171, 172. Mitretnyces lutescens, 213. Morchella 217. bispora, 219. conica, 217, tig. 206. crassipes, 219, pl. 76, tig. 207. deliciosa, 219. esculenta, 217, pl. 7S, fig. 205. semilibera, 2H). Mucronella, 200. Mycena, 93. ' acicula, 97, 98, tig. 98. cyanothrix. 98, fig. 99. epipterygia, 96, 97, fig. c/). galericulata, 94, fiR- 218. ha^matopa, 98-100, fig. 100. polygr.imma, i)4. fig- 94- pra'longa, 94, 9S. pura, 9S, 9^'^ fig- 9S. succosa, 100. vulgaris, 97, fig. 97- IWycenastrum, 209. Naucoria, is3- semiorbicularis, is 3, i=;4. vernalis, 1S4. fig- '4^^- Ochre-spored agarics, 1 so. Omphalia, 100. campanella, 101, 254, tig. 214. epichysium, 101, fig. 101. P.mieolus, 45. fimicola, 48. papilionaceiis. 48, fig. 220. retirugis, 4S-48, pl. n. figs. 4S-48, 221. solidipes, 48. Paiius. 1 54- STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. P; I n us — continued. cyathiformis, 1 5,. rudis, 1 35. strigosus, 1 55. stipticus, 135, 136. Paxillus, 165. atro-tomentosus, 169, fig. 157. corrugatus, 170, pi. 48, fig. 158. tlavidus, 168. involutus, 166, 167, fig. iss- panuoides, 170. rhodoxanthus, 167. 168, pi. 47, fig. 156. Phalloidea?, 213. Pholiota, 150. adiposa, 151, is2, pi. 43, fig. 144. aurivella, 152. cerasina, 152. jolinsoniana, 153, pi. 44, fig. 145. marginata, 151, fig. 143. pnecox, 150, 151, pi. 42, fig. 142. squarrosa, 152. squarrosoides, iS2. subsquarrosa, 152. unicolor, 151. Pleurotus, 102. applicatus, loy, 110, fig. iii. corticatus, ic6, pi. 33, fig. 107. dryiniis, 105, 106, pi. 32, figs. 106, 107. ostreatus, 104, pi. 30, fig. 104. petaloides, 107-iog, figs. log, no. sapidus, 104, los, pi. 31, fig. 105. serotinus, log. sulphuroides, 107, fig. 108. ulmarius, 102-104, figs. 102, 103. Pluteus, 138. cervinus, 138, 139, fig. 132. tomentosulsus, 140, fig. 133. Polyporaccce, 171. Polyporus, 171, 188-194. applanatus, 193, fig. 1=;. borealis, 9, 10, figs. 9, 10. brumalis, 191, pi. 65, fig. 181. fomentarius, 194. frondosus, 188, pis. 61, 62, figs. 176. 177- igniarius, 194. intybaceus, 184. leucoph;eus, 194. lucidus, 193, pi. 66, fig. 183. sulphureus, 190, pis. 63, 64, figs. 179, 180. umbellatus, 189, fig. 178. Polystictus, 191. Polystictus — continued. cinnabarinus, 192. cinnamomeus, 192, fig. 182. connatus, 192. hirsutus, 192. oblectans, 192. perennis, 192, fig. 182. pergamenus, 105, 193. splendens, 192. xersicolor, 192. Psalliota, 18-26, 158. Psathyrella, 48. disseminata, 48, 49, fig. 49. Psilocybe fctniscii, 48. Purple-brown-spored agarics, 18. Rosy-spored agarics, 1 38. Russula, 125. adusta, 127, pi. 36. alutacea, 125, 126, pi. 36. emetica, 127, pi. 36. fragilis, 127. furcata, 127. lepida, 126, pi. 36. nigricans, 127. virescens, 126, pi. 36. Sarcoscypha floccosa, 221, 222, fig. 21 1. Schizophyllum, 136. alneum, 136, 137, fig. 130. commune, 136. Scleroderma, 212. verrucosum, 212. vulgare, 212. Spathularia velutipes, 220, fig. 209. Spinellus fusiger, 95. macrocarpus, 95. Stereum, 208. Strobilomyces, 184. floccopus, 185. strobilaceus, 184, pi. 58, figs. 172- 174. Stropharia, 31. a?rug!nosa, 32. semiglobata, 31, fig. 30. stercoraria, 32. ThelephoraceiP, 208. Trametes, 16, 193. ambigua, 16, 17. INDEX TO SPHCH^S. •i::i Trembling tuiigi, 204. Tremellineu', 204. Tremella, 204. fronJosa, 20t, tig. igs- fuciforinis, 206, fig. u/). lutescens, 20v mycetophila, 204, tig. 196. Tricholoma, 87. pecUii. 8;, 86. personatum, 87, tigs. 87, 88. sejunctum, 88, tig. 8(). Trogia, 157. crispa, 137, pl- J9, l"K- m- Tiibaria, 159. pellucida, 159, tig. i4(). Tube-bearing fungi, 171- Verpa bohemica, 210. Volvaria, 140. bombycina, 140, 141. tig. i }4. speciosa, 141, 142. White-spored agarics. i2. INDEX TO SPECIES. acicula ( Mycena ), 07. acutesquamosa (Lepiota), 81. adiposa (Pholiota), 151. adusta ( Russula), 127. ai-ruginosa (Stropharia), 32. alneum (Schizophyllum), 136. alutacea (Russula), 125. ambigua (Dsdalea), 16. ambigua (Trametes), 16. americana (Lepiota), 80. americanus (Boletus), 178. antipoda (Galera), i^s, applanatus (Crepidotus), 161. applanatus (Polyporus), 103. appendiculatum (Hypholoma), 27. applicatus ( Pleurotus),io<). arvensis (Agaricus), 20. asperula (Lepiota), 82. asprella (Leptonia), 147. atramentarius (Coprinus), 40. atro-tomentosus (Paxillus), 169. aurantia ( Armillaria ), 84. aurantiacus ( Cantharellus), 129. aurivelia (Pholiota) 152. badhami ( Lepiota), 81. bispora (Morchella), 219. bohemica (Verpa), 219. bombycina ( Volvaria), 140. botrytes (Clawiria), 202. brevipes (Boletus), 179. brumalis (Polvporus), 191. bulbosus (Boletus), 172. ca-saria (Amanita), 70. calolepis (Crepidotus), 161. campestris (Agaricus), 18. campanella (Omphalia), 101. Candida (Clitocybe ), 8(). candolleanum (Hypholoma). 28. cantharellus (Craterellus), 208. caput-medusa' (Hydnum), 198. caput-ursi (Hydnum), 197. caudicinus ( Polyporus), 190. cerasina (Pholiota), 152. cervinus (Pluteus), 138. chelidonium (Lactarius), 124. chimonophilus (Crepidotus), 160. chromapes (Boletus), 176. chrysodon ( Hygrophorus), iii. chrysorrheus (Lactarius), 122. cibarius (Cantharellus), 128. cinnabarina (Calostoma), 212. cinnabarinus (Polystictus), 192. cinnamomeus (Cortinarius), 162. cinnamomeus (Polystictus), 192. coccinea (Sarcoscypha), 222. coccineus (Hygrophorus), 112. coha-rens ( Marasmius), 1 32. coh::erens (Mycena), 132. collinitus (Cortinarius), i6i. comatus (Coprinus), 3 3- commune (Schizophyllum >, 1 ?C). comtulus (Agaricus). 24. conica ( Morchella), 217. conicus (Hvgrophorus), 114- connatus ( folvstictus), 192. coprinoides (Galera), I55' coralloides (Hydnum"). 196. cornucopioides (Craterellus), 208. corrugatus (Paxillus), 170. corrugis (Lactarius), 116. corticatus (Pleurotus), 106. cothurnata (.Amanita), 66. cretaceus ( Agaricus). 79- crassipes (Morchella), 219. crispa (Helvella), 219. crispa (Trogia), 137. cristata (Lepiota). 81. crustinuliforme (Hebeloma\ 158. cyanothrix (.Mycena), 98. cyathiforme (Lycoperdon). 209. 274 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. cyathiformis (Clitocybe), 90. cyathiformis (Panus), 135. deliciosa (Morchella), 219. deliciosus (Lactarius), 123. diminutivus (Agaricus) 26. disseminata (Psatliyreila), 48. drvinus (Pleurotus), 105. drvopiiila (Collybia), 204. duplicata (Dictyophora), 214. eburneus (Hygrophorus), in. echinata (Inocybe), 158. edulus (Boletus), 172. emetica (Russula), 127. epichysiuin (Omphalia), 101. epipterygia (Mycena), 96. erinaceus (Hydnum), 198. esculenta (Gyromytra), 220. esculenta (Morchella), 217. farinosa (Amanitopsis), 76. felleus (Boletus), 173. fimicola (Pan:tolus), 48. firma (Fistulina), 186. flava (Galera), 155. flavidus (Boletus), 178. flavidus (Paxillus), 168. floccocephala (Amanita), 62. floccopus (Strobilomyces), 18s. floccosa (Sarcoscypha), 221. fffiniscii (Psilocybe), 48. fomentarius (Polyporus),i94. formosa (Clavaria), 201. fragile (Hydnum), 200. fragilis (Russula), 127. frondosa (Tremella), 205. froiidosus (Polyporus), 188. frostiana (Amanita), 54. fuciformis (Tremella), 206. fuligineus (Hygrophorus), 113. fuliginosus (Lactarius), 118. fulvo-tomentosus (Crepidotus), 161. furcata (Russula), 127. fusiger (Spinellus), 95. galericulata (Mycena), 94. gemmatum (Lycoperdon), 210. gerardii (Lactarius), 119. giganteum (Lycoperdon), 210. glandulosa (Exidia), 206. glutinosus (Gomphidius), 51. granulatus (Boletus), 178. graveolens (Hydnum), 200. grayanum (Entoloma), 144. hasmatopa (Mycena), 98. hepatica (Fistulina), 186. herbarum (Crepidotus), 160. hirsutus (Polystictus), 192. hypothejus (Hygrophorus), 114. igniarius (Polyporus), 194. illudens (Clitocybe), 90. imbricatum (Hydnum), 198. impudicus (Ithyphallus), 216. incana (Leptonia), 147. indigo (Lactarius), 125. infundibuliformis (Clitocybe), 90. intybaceus (Polyporus), 189. involutus (Paxillus), 166. johnsoniana (Pholiota), 153. jubatum (Entoloma), 143. laccata (Clitocybe), 89. lachnophylla (Collybia), 132. lachrymabundum (Hypholoma), 28. lacunosa (Helvella), 220. Isdvls (Annularia), 78. lateritia (Galera), 155. lecomtei (Lentinus), 135. lepida (Russula), 126. lepideus (Lentinus), 135. lignyotus (Lactarius), 117- livida (Amanitopsis), 75. longipes (Collybia), 93. lubrica (Leotia), 221. lucidus (Polyporus), 193. leucophfeus (Polyporus), 194- lutescens (Calostoma), 212. lutescens ( Mitremyces), 213. lutescens (Tremella), 205. luteus (Boletus), 181. macrocarpus (Spinellus). 95. mappa ( Amanita), 58. marginata (Pholiota), 151. maritimus (Agaricus), 142. mellea ( Armillaria), 83. micaceus (Coprinus), 42. miniatus (Hygrophorus), 113. morgan! (Lepiota), 80. mucida (Clavaria), 203. muscaria (Amanita), 52. mycetophila (Tremella), 205. naucina (Lepiota), 77. nigricans (Gomphidius), 49. nigricans (Russula), 127. nivalis (Amanitopsis), 76. oblectans (Polystictus), 192. obsonium (Boletus), 177. ochroleucus (Cortinarius), 163. orcella (Clitopilus), 143. oreades (Marasmius), 131. ornatipes (Boletus), 174. ostreatus (Pleurotus), 104. pallida (Fistulina), 186. pantherina (Amanita), 69. panuoides (Paxillus), 170. papilionaceus ( Pancpolus), 48. paradoxa (Flammula), 168. peckii (Tricholoma), 85. INDI-.X TO SPKCIES. •J75 pelletieri (Clitocybe), i68. pelluciJa I Tiib;iria), isg. peremiis ( PolysticUis), K).-. pergamenus (l.actarius i, 121. perganieiius (PolysticUis), igj. perpleximi ( Hvplioloma), 27. persoiiatiini i Tricoloma ), 87. petaloides ( Pleurotus), 107. phalloiJes i Amanita ). 5=;. pictus (Boietiiuis), 183. pinicoia (Polyporus), ioaiity of its illustrntioiix, it is written ill ii style well ciilciilatid to win tin- iiRTcst tyro or the nio.sl ac(<)iii|>li.slH'(l student of tlie fiiiiKi These elear j>lioio(;ni)'li8 and tlie jilaiii deseriptioiis liialniil KiTiriu. "A Iniok of positive value is this Inrpe volume, show- iiiR fuiifii oi all varieties known to our meadows and woods. Professor .Atkinson i)oints out not only the need of more knowledfre eoneerniiiK this vast <|"iiantity of edil>le and delieious food, hut also the heHltlifiilness of >;oi:ip out to >:ather it. I'lnin and simple aoint, but till y show in a marvelous way the structure ami the sjKcitic difTereiices of mushrooms." — ^trs Anna /> Com- Stork. n/l/if (.'o'uell L'niTersity l^uri-au of Mature Sttnly. "'Studies of American I'lingi' is a jewel considprcd either from a .scientific or a j'ractical standpoint. Few books combine l)oth phases or the suliject as well ns this Ix'autifully illustrated volume does." — /. /*. Kobeits, Dim tor ColUgf o^ Agriculture. Cornell Vnhersity. "This is a fine work. You may send me another copy." — Mrs, I. M. Allerton. C/iiingo "The illustrations are a wonder, natura) size, natural looking. 1 wish you much success with your book."— C \. Kiiigeivity. A'eir Jersey. "I am ver>- greaify pleiused with the photocmphs, which in reproductioii have not suffered the loss of those characters which make tlic fleshy fuiipi sjveitically disv- tinct. Mr. W. H. \Vnlmsley w ho has U'cn iiiten-sii'r M.icmitlan. Uni-.ersity of Minnesota "The descriptive part of the text is much more than a running neconifiaiilmeiit of the illustnitions. Most of the descrliitions are from actual olwervations of the author, and are not mere copies of the stiiigv, tecliiiical duigiiosesof ordinarj- systematic works. It is certainly the liest collection yet published of illustrations of our species. "—Khoiiora . '•The whole work, touching as It doe.s, upon the scien- tific, practical and popular, will Ije of ihe greatest use to the greatest numlier. The text illustrations will aid the novice in iletermiiiing the more common edil.l.-and poiwdious varieties, and a study of the photographs will enable one to recognize many mushrooms during a trip to the woo-ls or fields. The »xiok op»-ns a realm hitherto too much neglected v\here delicious food can !« ha<1 for the trouble of collecting, tells how to avoid the poison- ous toadstools, and presents a field replete with Wuti- ful and wonderful objects for the lover of nature and nature stu>ty. It is quite the best fx)ok on miLshnjoms that has been published In A.mcT\c&."—.\rinneapolis Journal. "This hook on American mushrooms is a work of high economic value. It .supplies the most conci.se, complete and recent resume of mushroom poisoning that has yet been publishe- practical value to the book. Dr. Atkinson's fwok, however. Is not onlv for the man who collects mushnKjms for amusement. It is an authority on the subject of the toxicology and chemi.slry of mushrooms: and iiy means of its plioto-'raphs and de- scriptions of the fleadly .species, aiiv phvsician could at once verify any poisonous species t'hat had been eateu by mist&ta."— Medical News, Nevu York City New Vorh Botanical Gardan Library QK617.A8 gen Atkinson, George Fr/Sludies of American 3 5185 00063 8757 'MMS^ a||;|li|ii:f mmm\