Full text of "The mushroom book. A popular guide to the identification and study of our commoner fungi, with special emphasis on the edible varieties"

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THE MUSHROOM BOOK

Amanitopsis parcivolvata, Pk.
See page 55.

THE MUSHROOM

BOOK. A POPULAR GUIDE TO
THE IDENTIFICATION AND STUDY
OF OUR COMMONER FUNGI, WITH
SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE EDIBLE
VARIETIES

NINA L. MARSHALL

WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR
AND BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHED
FROM NATURE BY J. A. & H. C. ANDERSON

GARDEN CITY NEW YORK

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY

1923

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES

AT
THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.

THE
ROOM

MUSH-
BOOK

COHRINUS COMATUS

Courtesy of Agricultural Experiment Station, Corne>
See page 90

PREFACE

THE author of this book
makes no claim to the discovery
of the facts presented. The ma-
terial has all been drawn from
monographs written by men
who have made specialties of
the different divisions of fungi.
A list of works consulted is
given at the close of this book.
The plates are reproductions of
photographs made by Mr. J. A.
Anderson, and coloured by Miss
H. C. Anderson. They are as
true to nature as it is possible to
make them with the best meth-
ods of reproduction now known,
and by them alone an acquaint-
ance with many species may be
acquired.

Many of the cuts have been
redrawn by the author from vari-
ous reliable sources, and many
have been drawn directly from
nature. With a few exceptions,
the line drawings of sections
were made from the specimens
photographed. It has been the
aim of the author to write a book
simple enough to serve as a
source of knowledge for the
many who, though busy with
other pursuits, yet take an in-
terest in science and wish to
obtain information about the
fungi, either for the sake of
using them as food, or for the

vii

Coprinus comatus

Courtesy of Agricultural Experiment Station,
University.

See page 90

Preface

pleasure which an acquaintance with their habits and home life
may give. A great effort has been made not to sacrifice accuracy
in this attempt.

The number of species of the fungi is so great that to de-
scribe them all would necessitate a book of huge dimensions, so
that it has seemed best simply to give a general idea of the
characteristics upon which the larger groups, the classes, orders,
and genera, are based, by describing some of the species in each.
Seven genera of the Spore-sac Fungi are illustrated with ten
species, and thirty-five genera of the Basidiomycetes with
seventy-three species, making a total of eighty-three species
represented by photographs in colour and half-tone.

In addition a number of species are given in rough pen
drawings, with sufficient accuracy for identification, and many
species have been described without illustration.

An effort has been made to describe the species in terms
intelligible to the average reader without constant reference to
an unabridged dictionary, and, whenever possible, the terms have
been illustrated by line cuts.

Although the technical names necessarily used are a serious
hindrance to the popularization of the study of fungi, it has
seemed best, in most cases, to give only the Latin form of the
names of species, since, by so doing, there will be less danger
of confusing harmless species with those which are harmful ; and,
also, if their Latin names are adhered to, one will find it much
simpler to consult the scattered literature on this subject, as this
nomenclature is used by all naturalists of whatever nationality.

That the pronunciation of names may be rendered as simple
as possible, each vowel has been marked long or short. These
vowel-marks are not necessarily indicative of the true syllabic
quantity, but are rather diacritical points denoting the popular
pronunciation by the English system. Each word has been
divided into syllables according to the accepted rules, and an
accent has been placed on the syllables to be accented.

The author is under deep obligations to Professor Lucien M,
Underwood, of Columbia University, for aid and encouragement
in the work of this book, and for his cheerful willingness at all
times to assist in the search for material and in the work of
revising proof.

Preface

Thanks are also due to Professor Charles H. Peck, the New
York State Botanist, for his kind assistance in identifying many
of the specimens illustrated.

A list of books consulted has been placed at the end of the
book, for the benefit of those who may wish to pursue the study
further.

Coprinus comatus.

Courtesy of Agricultural Experiment Station. Cornell University'
Sae pape 90

CONTENTS

PAGE

CHAPTER I : THE HOMES AND HABITS OF FUNGI . . i
CHAPTER II : THE RELATION OF FUNGI TO OTHER PLANTS 5
CHAPTER III : FROM SPORE TO MUSHROOM . . .11

CHAPTER IV: THE KEY 15

What a key is, and why a name is desirable . 15
How a key for fungi is made, and why it is

desirable i^

The Key . . . . . . . 17

CHAPTER V : FUNGI WITH GILLS 46

I. WHITE-SPORED SERIES

Genus Amanita .46

Death Cup; Poison Amanita. .' . 48

Fly Amanita 49

Orange Amanita 50

Comparison of Three Yellow Amanitas . . 52

Genus Cantharellus 53

Cantharellus floccosus 53

Genus Amanitopsis 53

The Sheathed Amanitopsis .... 54
Amanitopsis parcivolvata . . . -55

Genus Mycena 55

Mycena haematopoda 55

Genus Lentinus 56

Scaly Lentinus .56

Genus Pleurotus .57

Oyster Mushroom 57

Pleurotus sapidus . . . . . ^8

Elm Pleurotus ...... 58

Jenus Hygrophorus 59

Chanterelle Hygrophorus .... 59

Contents

Vermilion Hygrophorus . . 60

Ivory Hygrophorus . . .. . .61

Genus A r mil I aria . . . . . .61

Honey-coloured Armillaria . . . .61

Genus Lepiota ....... 63

Parasol Mushroom; Tall Lepiota ... 63
Smooth Lepiota ...... 64

Lepiota Friesii 6s

Genus Marasmius ...... 6s

Fairy-ring Mushroom ..... 66

Genus Collybia 66

Collybia familia . . . . . -67

Genus Panus . 67

Genus Trogia . .... 67

Genus Schi^ophylluin . . . . . . 67

Genus Omphalia ....... 68

Genus Russula 68

Emetic Russula .... .68

Green Russula; Verdette .... 69
Variable Russula . . . . . -70

Genus Clitocybe 70

Clitocybe laccata . . . . . . 70

Clitocybe virens . . . . . 7'

Genus Tricholoma ...... 72

Masked Tricholoma ..... 72

Craterellus cantharellus . . . . -73

2. BROWN-SPORED SERIES

Genus Agaricus

Comparison of Eight Agarici ....

Common Mushroom

Rodman's Mushroom

Agaricus abruptus

Genus Hypholoma .....

Perplexing Hypholoma .....

Comparison of Six Hypholomas .

Uncertain Hypholoma ....

Hypholoma sublateritium ....
Genus Stropharia ...

xii

Contents

PACK

Genus Psathyra ... 82

Genus Psilocybe 82

Genus Pilosace 82

Genus Deconica 82

Genus Chitonia 83

). RUSTY-SPORED SERIES

Genus Pholiola 83

Fat Pholiota 83

Early Pholiota 84

Pholiota aggericola 84

Genus Cortinarius 85

Cortinarius alboviolaceus .... 86

4. PINK-SPORED SERIES

Genus Pluteus 87

Fawn-coloured Pluteus 87

Genus Entoloma

Genus Eccilia 88

Genus Volvaria 88

Genus Clitopilus 88

5. BLACK-SPORED SERIES

Genus Coprinus 89

Ink Caps . .... 89

Shaggy-mane; Horsetail; Maned Agaric . 90

Inky Coprinus 9 1

Glistening Coprinus 9 1

Genus Gomphidius 9 2

Genus Psathyrella 9 2

Genus Pan&olus 9 a

6. FUNGI WITH MILKY JUICE

Genus Lactarius 9 2

Peppery Lactarius 9 2

Lactarius ligniotus 93

CHAPTER VI : FUNGI WITH TEETH HYDNACE^ . . 94

Genus Hydnum 95

Spreading Hydnum 95

White Hydnum 95

xiii

Content*

PAC

Hydnum imbricatum 9

Bear's-head Hydnum 9

Medusa's Head 9

Hedgehog Hydnum ..... 9

Coral Hydnum 9

CHAPTER VII : FAIRY CLUBS AND CORAL FUNGI CLA-

VARIACE> 9

Genus Physalacria 9

Genus Pistillaria 9

Genus Typhula 9

Genus Sparassis 9

Genus Pterula 9

Genus Lachnocladium 9

Genus Clavaria 9

Pale Yellow Clavaria 9

Golden Clavaria 10

Red-tipped Clavaria 10

Crested Clavaria 10

Pistil Clavaria ; Large Club . . . . 101

Clavaria fellea . . . . . 101

Clavaria formosa 101

CHAPTER VIII : FUNGI WITH PORES BOLETACE/E ; POLY-

PORACE/ . . . . . .IO2

Boletacece 102

Genus Fistulina 102

Genus Boletinus 105

Painted Boletinus 103

Genus Boletus 104

Boletus glabellus 104

Boletus bicolor 105

Boletus cyanescens 105

Boletus pallidus 105

Boletus mutabilis 105

Boletus speciosus 105

Golden-flesh Boletus 106

Boletus radicans 106

Boletus Peckii 106

Boletus calopus 106

xiv

Contents

PACK

Purple Boletus 107

Boletus Satanus 107

Bitter Boletus 107

Boletus scaber . . . . . .108

Orange-cap Boletus 108

Chestnut Boletus 108

Boletus eximius 108

Edible Boletus 109

Boletus subtomentosus 109

Boletus Americanus 109

Polyporacece 109

Genus Merulius no

Genus Polyporus no

Polyporus applanatus . . . , , 1 10

Polyporus fomentarius 1 10

Polyporus conchatus . . . . .in

Polyporus velutinus in

Polyporus pergamenus 1 1 1

Polyporus perennis . . . . .ill

Polyporus sulphureus . . . . . in

Polyporus squamosus 112

Polyporus lucidus 112

Polyporus arcularius 112

Polyporus versicolor 112

Polyporus circinatus 113

Genus Trametes 113

Genus Lenities 113

Lenzites betulina 113

Lenzites separia 114

Genus Dcedalea 114

Daedalea unicolor . . . . .114

Daedalea confragosa 114

Daedalea quercina 114

Genus Favolus . . . . , . .115

CHAPTER IX: GELATINOUS AND OTHER PUNCH . .116

Jew's Ear, or Judas's Ear 116

Tremellodon 116

Guepina . . 116

Contents

PACK

CHAPTER X: OFFENSIVE FUNGI ORDER PHALLALES . . 117

Genus Phallus 117

Stinkhorns 117

Phallus impudicus 1 19

Genus Dictyophora 120

Dictyophora Ravenelii 120

Dictyophora duplicata 120

Mutinus caninus 120

Family Clathracece 121

Latticed Clathrus 121

Clathrus columnatus 121

Anthurus borealis 121

Simblum rubescens 122

CHAPTER XI : PUFFBALLS 123

Order Ly coper dales 123

Genus Ly coper don 124

Pear-shaped Puff ball 125

Pinkish Puffball 125

Genus Calvalia 126

Brain-shaped Calvatia 126

Giant Puffball 127

Cup-shaped Puffball 128

Genus Bovista 128

Genus Bovistella 129

Bovistella Ohiensis 129

Genus Geaster 129

Earth-stars 129

The Smallest Earth-star . . . .130
Water-measuring Earth-star . . . .130

Genus Calostoma 131

Calostoma lutescens 132

Calostoma Ravenelii 132

Calostoma cinnabarinum . . . .132

Order Nidulariales 133

Genus Sphcerobolus 133

Genus Nidularia 133

Genus Cyathus 133

Genus Crucibulum 133

xvi

Contents

PAGE

Order Sclerodermatales 133

Genus Scleroderma 133

Scleroderma vulgare 134

CHAPTER XII : SPORE-SAC FUNGI ASCOMYCETES . . 135

Order Tuber ales TruJJles 135

Order Hypocreales 136

Genus Xylaria 136

Order Sphceriales 136

Order Females Cup-fungi 137

Peziza odorata 137

Golden Peziza 138

Order Helvellales 138

Family Geoglossacece Earth Tongues . . .138

Genus Spathularia 138

Velvety Spathularia 138

Spathularia clavata 139

Genus Geoglossum 139

Geoglossum hirsutum 139

Geoglossum glabrum 139

Genus Vibrissea 139

Vibrissea truncorum 139

Vibrissea circinans 140

Genus Mitrula 140

Irregular Mitrula 140

Family Helvellacea Morels 140

Genus Gyromitra 141

Gyromitra esculenta 141

Genus Morchella 141

Genus Helvella 142

Helvella elastica 142

Helvella lacunosa 143

CHAPTER XIII : SLIME FUNGI MYXOMYCETES . . .144

CHAPTER XIV : FUNGI FOR THE HERBARIUM . . .145

Collector's notes 145

Collector's outfit 147

Care of specimens 147

Collecting spores 147

The search for a name 149

xvii

Contents

PAGE

The preparation of rough-dried plants for the herbarium 149

Mounting 149

Sections . . . . . . . .150

Poisoning herbarium specimens 1 50

CHAPTER XV: FUNGI FOR THE TABLE . . . .151

Cautions for the inexperienced 151

The food value of fungi 152

To keep mushrooms temporarily . . . .153
To prepare the edible agarics for cooking . . .153

To cook agarics 153

Mushrooms stewed 153

To prepare russulas 1 54

To prepare fungi with milky juice . . . .154

Lactarius deliciosus 154

Lactarius volemus -154

To prepare amanitas . . . . . .154

To prepare chanterelles 1 54

To fry chanterelles . . . . . . . 1 54

To prepare cop rini ink caps 154

To prepare boleti 1 54

To prepare Hydnum repandum . . . 1 54

To prepare morels 1 54

To prepare beefsteak fungus 155

For salad -155

Minced . 155

To prepare gyromitras 155

To prepare woody pore-bearing fungi Polyporae. . 155
To prepare clavarias and branched hydnums . .155
To cook clavarias . . . . . . .155

To prepare and cook puffballs 155

SOME USEFUL BOOKS ON MUSHROOMS . . .157

LIST OF POISONOUS OR SUSPECTED MUSHROOMS . .159
LIST OF EDIBLE MUSHROOMS ...... 161

ABBREVIATIONS OF NAMES OF BOTANISTS WITH EXPLANATIONS 165
INDEX AND GLOSSARY 167

xvm

LIST OF PLATES

I. Amanitopsis parcivolvata, Pk. (seep. 55) Frontispiece

FACING PACE

II. Death Cup; Poison Amanita (Amanita phalloides, Fr.) 46

III. Orange Amanita (Amanita Qesarea, Scop.), edible . 47

IV. Fly Amanita (Amanita muscaria, L.), poisonous . 50
V. Sheathed Amanitopsis (Amanitopsis vaginata, Roze),

edible . 51

VI. Strangled Amanitopsis (Amanitopsis strangulata, Fr.

Roze), edible 54

VII. Helmet Mycena (Mycena galericulata, Scop.), edible 55

VIII. Scaly Lentinus (Lentinus lepideus, Fr.), edible . 58

IX. Grainy Lepiota (Lepiota granosa, Morg.), . . 59
X. Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus, Fr.), edible

(see p. 57) 62

XI. Golden-flesh Boletus (Boletus chrysenteron, Fr.)

(see p. 106) 63

Vermilion Hygrophorus (Hygrophorus miniatus, Fr.),

edible 63

Chantarelle Hygrophorus (Hygrophorus cantharellus,

Schw.), edible (see p. 59) . . . . 63

XII. Smooth Lepiota (Lepiota naucinoides, Pk.), edible 66
Parasol Mushroom (Lepiota procera, Scop.), edible

(see p. 63) .66

XIII. Spotted Collybia (Collybia maculata, A. and S.) . 66
Broad-gilled Collybia (Collybia platyphylla, Fr.) . 66

XIV. Collybia familia, Pk. (edible) 66

Clitocybe laccata, Scop., edible (see p. 70) .66

XV. Deceiving Clitocybe (Clitocybe illudens, Schw.) . 67

xix

List of Plates

PIATE FACING PAGE

XVI. Fat Pholiota (Pholiota adiposa, Fr.), edible (see

9-83) 70

Honey-coloured Armillaria (Armillaria mellea,

Vahl.), edible 70

XVII. Lepiota Friesii, Lasch . . . . .71
Cortinarius alboviolaceus, Fr. (see p. 86) . .71
XVIII. Emetic Russula (Russula emetica, Schaeff.),

(dangerous) 74

XIX. Pholiota aggericola, Peck (see p. 84) ... 74

Craterellus cantharellus, Schw. (edible) . . 74

XX. Clitocybe virens, Scop, (edible) .... 75
XXI. Field Mushroom (Agaricus campestris, L.), edible

(uncultivated) 75

XXII. Rodman's Mushroom (Agaricus Rodmani, Pk.),

young 78

Rodman's Mushroom (mature) . . . . 78

XXIII. Agaricus abruptus, Pk. (edible) 79

XXIV. Masked Tricholoma (Tricholoma personatum,

Fr.; var. bulbosum, Pk.), edible ... 82

XXV. Agaricus campestris, L., edible (see p. 76) . . 82

Agaricus abruptus, Pk. (edible) ... 82
'XXVI. Perplexing Hypholoma (Hypholoma perplexum,

Pk.), harmless 82

XXVII. Uncertain Hypholoma (Hypholoma incertum,

Pk.), edible 83

XXVIII. Brick Top (Hypholoma sublateritium, Schaeff.),

edible 86

XXIX. Ivory Hygrophorus (Hygrophorus eburneus, Fr.),

edible (see p. 61) 87

Early Pholiota (Pholiota praecox, Pers.), edible . 87

XXX. Dog Cortinarius (Cortinarius caninus, Fr.) . . 90

XXXI. Mycena haematopoda, Pers. (see p. 55) .90

Lactarius ligniotus, Fr. . . . , . .90

List of Plates
PLATE FACING PAGE

XXXII. Zoned Cortinarius (Cortinarius armillatus, A.

and S., Fr.) 91

XXXIII. Golden Clavaria (Clavaria aurea, Schaeff.),

edible 91

XXXIV. Fawn-coloured Pluteus (Pluteus cervinus,

Schaeff.)* edible ..... 94
XXXV. Inky Coprinus (Coprinus atramentarius, Fr.;

var. silvestris, Pk.), edible (see p. 91) . 95
XXXVI. Inky Coprinus (Coprinus atramentarius, Fr.),

edible 102

XXXVII. Peppery Lactarius (Lactarius piperatus, Scop.),

edible 103

XXXVIII. Bear's-head (Hydnum caput-ursi, Fr.), edible . 106
XXXIX. Cone-like Boletus (Strobilomyces strobilaceus,

Berk.) 106

XL. Little Tongue Clavaria (Clavaria ligula, Fr.) . 107
XLI. Bitter Boletus (Boletus felleus, Bull. ; var. obesus,

Pk.) 107

XLI I. Clavaria formosa, Pers., edible . . .no
XLI 1 1. Painted Boletinus (Boletinus pictus, Pk.), edible 1 1 1
Spreading Hydnum (Hydnum repandum, L.),

edible (see p. 95) 1 1 1

XLIV. Scabrous-stemmed Boletus (Boletus scaber, Fr.;

var. niveus, Gill.) . . . . .114
XLV. Tinder-wood Polyporus (Elfmgia fomentaria, L.,
Fomes fomentarius, Gill., Polyporus fomen-

tarius, Fr.) 115

XLVI. Polyporus versicolor, Fr. . . . .118

Polyporus circinatus, Fr. (see p. 113) . .118

XLVI I. Lenzites betulina, Fr. . . . . .119

XLVI 1 1. Daedalea quercina, L., Pers 112

XLIX. Phallus impudicus, L 122

L. Jew's Ear (Hirneola auricula-Judae), L., Berk. . 123
xxi

List of Plates

PIATE FACING PAGE

LI. Xylaria (see p. 136) 123

LI I. Calostoma Ravenelli, Berk., Mass. . . .123
Calostoma lutescens, Schw., Burnap . . .123

Calostoma cinnabarinum, Desv 123

Spathularia velutipes, C. and F. (see p. 138) . . 123
LI II. Pear-shaped Puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforme,

Schaeff.), edible 126

LIV. Brain Puffball (Calvatia craniformis, Schw.),

edible 127

LV. Bovistella Ohiensis (Ellis and Morgan), edible (see

P- 129) .... 134

Cup-shaped Calvatia (Calvatia cyathiformis, Bosc.),

edible . . . . . . . .134

LV I. Least Earth-star (Geaster minimus, Schw.) . . 135
Water-measuring Earth-star (Geaster hygrometri-

cus, Pers.) .135

Bird's Nest (Cyathus vernicosus, D. C.) (see p. 133) 135
LVII. Cordyceps capitala (Holmsk., Lk.), parasitic on

Elaphomyces 138

Lycogola epidendron (see p. 144) . . . .138
Floccose Chanterelle (Cantharellus floccosus,

Schw.), edible (see p. 53) . . . .138

Mutinus caninus, Huds. (see p. 120) . . .138

LVII I. Golden Peziza (Peziza aurantia, Pers.), edible. . 139

LIX. Peziza odorata, Pk., edible (see p. 137) . . .139

LX. Flesh - coloured Puffball (Lycoperdon subincar-

natum, Pk.), edible (see p. 125) . . . 142
Young Pear-shaped Puffball (Lycoperdon pyri-
forme, Schaeff.), edible (see p. 125). . . 142
Hard-skinned Puffball (Scleroderma vulgare, Fr.) . 142
LXI. Slippery Leotia (Leotia lubrica), edible . . . 143
Jelly-like Tremellodon (Tremellodon gelatinosum) . 143
xxii

List of Plates
PLATE FACING PACK

LXII. Helvella elastica, Bull. (seep. 142) . . .146

Helvella lacunosa, Holm, (see p. 143) . . .146

Mitrula vitellina, Sacc., var. irregularis, Pk. . .146

LXII I. Delicious Morel (Morchella deliciosa, Fr.), edible . 150

Polyporus arcularius, Batsch, Fr. (seep. 112) . 150

LXIV. Bristly Panus (Panus strigosus, B. and C.) (see

p. 67) 151

XXlll

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT

PAO

Coprinus comatus, Fr. (old) i

Coprinus comatus, Fr. (mature) . . . . . . v

Coprinus comatus, Fr. (young) viii

Puffball 4, 25

Corollas and honey, attractive to insects .... 5

Ingenious stamens 5

Pistil of violet 6

Seed-box of iris 6

Pistil of St. Johns wort ....... 6

Seed-box of sacred bean ....... 6

Winged seed of the silver fir 6

Fern with spores (Polypodium vulgare) .... 6

Grass spikelet 7

Liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) ..... 7
Bean seed to show embryo ...... 7

Indian pipe .7

Moss (Dicranum scoparium) (natural size) ... 8
White mould on dead fly ....... 8

Spores borne in delicate membranous sacs . . . . 9, 17

Bread mould 9

Spores borne on little spicules . . . . . $ 17

Spores as simple cells . . . , . . .11
Spores divided into several cells . . . ... 1 1

Mycelial threads . . . . . . . . n

Mushroom buttons . . . . . . n
Young mushroom . ....... n

Puffball .... v .... If

xxv

List of Illustrations in Text

PACK

Mushroom to show veil .12

Mushroom to show cap, ring, gills, and stem . . .12
Mushroom to show veil on stem and cap . . .12

Section across gill (magnified) 12

A small portion of section of gill (highly magnified) . . 13

Corn smut 13, 22

Leaf rust on Hepatica triloba 13,22

Pouch-fungus, section to show spores in hollow rind . 14

Section to show gills 14

Section of a Boletus, to show pores . . . . 14, 102

Clavaria with spores on spines 14

Section of Hydnum, to show teeth 14

Section of stroma with perithecia (magnified) . . .18

Perithecium (highly magnified) 18

Outer surface of truffle 1 8

Section of truffle 18

Fleshy cup-like fungi 19, 20

Club-shaped fungus 19,21

Conic, convex, and pitted fungus .... 19-21

Fungus with gyrose furrows 19, 20

Saddle-shaped fungus 19, 20

Fungus with spore surface flat, running down the sides . 2 1
Fungus with gills ....... 22, 30

Fungus with pores ....... 23, 42

Fungus with spines 23

Calostoma 23, 29

Geaster ......... 23, 28

Nidularia 23, 24

Clathrus cancellatus . . . . . 24, 26, 121
Simblum rubescens . . . . 24, 26, 122

Anthurus borealis 24, 26, 121

Mutinus 27

Phallus impudicus 24, 27, 1 19

xxvi

List of Illustrations in Text
PAGE

Embryo plant of Mutinus caninus . . . .24, 120

Scleroderma vulgare 25

Section of Scleroderma vulgare 25, 134

Mutinus caninus, young plant; embryo plant . . .120

Bovista 28, 128

Section of Bovista (diagrammatic) . . . . 28, 128

Calvatia 28, 126

Section of Calvatia 28, 126

Geaster 28

Lycoperdon 29

Section of Lycoperdon (diagrammatic) . . . 29,124

Bovistella 29

Section of Bovistella 29, 129

Clavaria 30

Section of Hydnum 30

Cap of Hydnum imbricatum . . . . . 30, 96
Cap with striations on the margin . . . .30, 40, 50

Bracket fungus ..'. . .31

Resupinate fungus 31

Boletus Satanus .31

Polyporus quercina 31

Pleurotus, stem central ....... 32

Pleurotus, stem eccentric ....... 32

Pleurotus, stem wanting 32

Gills toothed, Lentinus 32

Lamellae entire 33

Stem eccentric 33

Lamellae simple 33

Fungus with volva and annulus 34

Volva, but no annulus 34

Annulus, but no volva 34

Lamellae free from stem ...... 34, 39

Annulus movable . . , 34

xxvii

List of Illustrations in Text

PACK

Lamellae united with stem 34

Lamellae decurrent 35, 37, 39, 40

Lamellae adnate .35. 37. 39

Lamellae sinuate 35

Volva wanting; annulus wanting 35

Lamellae in shallow folds 36

Volva present; annulus wanting 37

Volva none; annulus none 37

Annulus arachnoid 38

Lamellae adnate 38

Veil remaining on stem as annulus 39

Volva none 39

Veil attached to margin of pileus 39

Lamellae deliquescent 40

Spores fusiform 40

Spores globose . . . . . . . . .40

Hydnum with central stem . . . . . .41

Branched Hydnum .41

Lamellae labyrinthine, woody 43

Lamellae radial, woody 43

Pores long-hexagonal 43

Pores in the form of tubes, stem lateral . . . . 44

Pores in the form of tubes, stem central .... 44

Section of young Amanita in wrapper .... 47

Young Amanita in wrapper 47

Young Amanita in ruptured wrapper .... 47

Section of Amanita muscaria ...... 47

Cap striate, and free from warts 50

Section of Amanita Caesarea 50

Young plant of Amanita Caesarea 50

Section of Cantharellus floccosus 53

Section of Amanitopsis vaginata ..... 54

Section of Amanitopsis parci volvata 55

xxviii

List of Illustrations in Text
PACK

Section of Lentinus lepideus 56

Section of Pleurotus ostreatus 57

Section of Pleurotus sapidus ...... 58

Section of Pleurotus ulmarius 59

Section of Hygrophorus miniatus . 60

Section of Hygrophorus eburneus ..... 61

Section of Armillaria mellea ...... 62

Section of Lepiota procera 63

Section of Lepiota naucinoides , ..... 64

Section of Collybia familia ....... 67

Section of Russula emetica 68

Section of Russula virescens 69

Section of Clitocybe laccata 71

Section of Tricholoma personatum (var. bulbosum) . . 72

Section of Craterellus cantharellus 73

Section of Agaricus Rodmani 76

Section of Agaricus abruptus 77

Section of Hypholoma perplexum 79

Section of Hypholoma incertum 80

Section of Hypholoma sublateritium . . . . .81

Section of Pholiota adiposa 83

Section of Pholiota praecox ...... 84

Section of Cortinarius violaceus ...... 86

Section of Pluteus cervinus 87

Section of Lactarius piperatus 93

Section of Hydnum repandum 95

Section of Hydnum caput-ursi 96

Boletus Satanus 107

Under surface of Lenzites betulina . . . . . 113

Favolus areolarius 115

Section of young phallus 119

Mutinus bambusinus 120

)Lycoperdon 124

xxix

List of Illustrations in Text

few

Section of Lycoperdon (diagrammatic) . . 124

Asci and paraphyses 135

Section of truffle to show position of asci . . . . 135

Truffle, ascoma 135

Fungus growing on caterpillar 135

Section of Peziza odorata to show two layers . . . 137

Gyromitra esculenta 141

Morchella esculenta 141

Section of Morchella deliciosa 141

Helvella * 142

Helvetia lacunosa (diagrammatic) 143

XXX

THE MUSHROOM BOOK

CHAPTER I : THE HOMES AND HABITS
OF FUNGI

FOR centuries epicures have used certain fungi for food.
The Greeks and Romans esteemed them highly, and gave a great
deal of consideration to favourable times and places for gathering
them, and to choice methods of preparing them for the table.
Juvenal tells us of one old Roman enthusiast who was so carried
away by his love for them as to exclaim, "Keep your corn, O
Libya, unyoke your oxen, provided only you send us mush-
rooms ! " Horace says that mushrooms which grow in the fields
are the best, and that one can have but little faith in other kinds.
Mushroom eaters of the present day would perhaps not agree
with him, for they find edible species in every imaginable place
where fungi grow, and are constantly adding to their list new
varieties which they esteem delicious.

Although for centuries it has been known that some fungi
contain most virulent poisons, still, through ignorance of those
points which distinguish the poisonous from the edible, frequent
cases of poisoning occur in all classes of society. The mistakes
resulting in death have been frequent enough to inspire the timid
with an overpowering dread of all fungi, while the damp and
grewsome places in which many fungi flourish have caused them
to be despised by others. The following lines from Shelley very
aptly express the general sentiment :

" And plants, at whose names the verse feels loath,
Fill'd the place with a monstrous undergrowth,
Prickly and pulpous, and blistering and blue,
Livid, and starr'd with a lurid dew.

The Homes and Habits of Fungi

" And agarics and fungi, with mildew and mould,
Started like mist from the wet ground cold ;
Pale, fleshy, as if the decaying dead
With a spirit of growth had been animated."

SHELLEY: " The Sensitive Plant."

To many people the only growths known as fungi are toad-
Itools and mushrooms. They give the name mushrooms to the
species known to them as edible, and regard all other similar
growths as toadstools, things uncanny or poisonous.

" The grisly todestool grown there mought I see,
And loathed paddocks [toads] lording on the same."

SPENSER'S "Faerie Queene."

This distinction has no scientific basis, and in fact most of
the species called toadstools are edible. Fungi are not always
the grewsome things of Shelley and Spenser. In their ranks are
many which delight the eye with their colouring and the sym-
metry of their forms. They are the grotesques of nature; nests,
hoofs, cups, umbrellas, shells, and clubs are represented, together
with spheres, hemispheres, cones, and many other geomet-
rical figures. The mildew on the linen, the mould on food,
the rusts and smuts which blight our fields of grain, and the dry
rot which crumbles our lumber to dust and which causes old
wood in dark places to glow with a weird, pale, flickering light,
are all forms of one group or another of these plants which prey
upon living or dead organic matter. In ordinary observation,
only the simpler and more noticeable fungi are taken into account,
but they are in reality met with in almost every situation imagin-
able. They are found in damp cellars and in rooms shut off
from the light ; in fact, some form of fungus will be found in
every place and on everything which is not exposed to a circula-
tion of fresh air.

In woods and open fields the attractive forms are found. In
shady woods the beautiful white "bear's head " hangs on stately
tree trunks, and the "destroying angels" gleam white in the
shadows on the ground. Shelving brackets, green or red or
brown, encircle old stumps, or stand out stiff and white from
the crumbling trunks of fallen moss-grown monarchs of the
forest, while wood-brown toadstools huddle in groups among

The Homes and Habits of Fungi

the fallen leaves. On the outskirts of the wood, green and red
Russulas vie with the flowers in the brilliancy of their colouring.
Pink or violet Clavarias, dainty corals, border the wood path, and
golden Clavarias lighten up the sombre wood tints with their
yellow branches. In dry pastures and along wood roads, puff-
balls, large and small, send up their puffs of brown smoke, to the
delight of every passing child who strikes them with a wand.
On lawns and hillsides the Oreades cause fairy rings to grow.
The fairy rings are circles, or parts of circles, of impoverished grass
of a lighter colour and less luxuriant growth than that of the grass
immediately surrounding the circle. Before the existence of fairy
folk came to be doubted, it was firmly believed that these fairy
rings were the dancing grounds of the fairies.

" The nimble elves

That do by moonshine green sour ringlets make
Whereof the ewe bites not ; whose pastime 'tis
To make these midnight mushrooms."

Rev. GERARD SMITH.

The rings on the commons increase in size until sometimes
two or more rings intersect to form a labyrinth of green network.
Rings appear year after year in the same place, and then disap-
pear, to reappear after an interval of a few seasons. As long as
the fairies existed in the imaginations of the people, it was easy to
account for these strange happenings the fairies danced in the
moonshine, and the grass was worn down under their feet. If
they were displeased and left the neighbourhood, the rings disap-
peared too. As this fancy was given up, other solutions of the
mystery were sought. Some believed that the ring was caused
by a thunder-bolt entering the ground at this spot, and still others
were confident that it was caused by moles. The true solution
is not hard to find, to one familiar with the habit of growth of the
fungus plant. One fungus plant growing alone upon the lawn
will soon exhaust the soil directly beneath it of all true fungus
food. Of all the spores which fall from the parent plant only
those will grow which fall without this impoverished spot, and
so a ring of toadstools is formed. Again, only those spores
which fall outside the ring will find good fungus food, and so
the ring widens always outward, forming a perfect circle, unless
something on one side or other interferes with its travels. The

The Homes and Habits of Fungi

decaying ring of fungi temporarily stimulates the grass around it,
so that its rich colour stands out in circles or arcs of circles against
the less highly nourished grass. Such rings are conspicuous on
the lawns of the White House at Washington, and are often to
be seen well defined on distant hillsides.

Brackets and mushrooms and puffballs grow in warm, moist
places where they find decaying wood and leaves to feed upon.
Old tree trunks and fallen logs, rich leaf mould, and cattle pastures
are their favourite haunts.

The reason for their choice of place is invariably connected
with the question of food, for fungi can thrive only where they
can obtain organic matter, as they have lost the power which all
green plants have of feeding on inorganic or mineral matter. All
plants must have food with which to form plant flesh. Green
plants by means of their leaf green the only agent in the world
which has the power to turn lifeless mineral matter into living
matter take the element carbon from the air, and hydrogen gas
and oxygen gas from water, and with their green granules, by some
mysterious process, make of the elements hydrogen, oxygen, and
carbon, compounds of wood and starch and sugar. Fungus plants
have none of this leaf green and must therefore feed on material
which has been manufactured by green plants.

To define fungi simply, so as to include all the varieties, would
be a difficult task ; but in general it may be said that they are
plants which have no leaf green and which do not grow from true
seeds, but from dustlike bodies resembling in appearance the yel-
low pollen of roses or lilies.

The fungi have no flowers and produce no
seeds. They produce spores instead, fine dust-like
particles, which are borne in special places on the
mature plant, whether a mould or mildew, a toad-
stool, puffball, or bracket. The cap of a mush-
room placed right side up on a piece of paper under
an inverted glass will print with its spores a pic-
p ffb 1 * ure ^ ^ e ra diating leaves or gills beneath. A

slight blow on a puffball in the pasture will cause
a puff of smoke-like dust to rise from it really millions of spores
that have ripened inside the puffball and are now ready to grow
into new puffball plants when they fall on favourable soil.

CHAPTER II : THE RELATION OF FUNGI
TO OTHER PLANTS

A CLASSIFICATION or orderly arrangement of material collected
for study is indispensable to true pleasure and profit. The nature
student must classify both his specimens and the knowledge he

may obtain about them ; for, as Spen-
cer has said, "When a man's knowl-
edge is not in order, the more of it
he has the greater will be his confu-
sion of thought." As he compares his
specimens he sees interesting grada-
tions of resemblance, and becomes fas-
cinated with the pleasure of tracing
their relationships and the gradual evo-
lution of higher forms from lower.

Every lover of nature who haunts
the fields and woods acquires a rich
store of facts about plant life, and with-
out, perhaps, recognising that he does
so, distinguishes two great groups of plants those which have
attractive flowers, and those which have no flowers at all. His
flowerless plants bear no seeds, but quan-
tities of fine, dust-like particles which rise
in the air as he brushes his stick over their
green leaves. As the powers of observa-
tion develop, he distinguishes the ferns
and Christmas greens among flowerless
plants, and perhaps soon recognises that
the soft green moss bank, too, is composed of small plants,
and that the green mats, the liverworts, on stones and moist
banks and logs, are plants also. His only reason, perhaps, for
calling them plants is that they grow and are green. He may

Corollas and honey, at-
tractive to insects

Ingenious stamens

The Relation of Fungi to Other Plants

Pistil of Pistil of

Seed-box of

learn with the microscope that the pond scums which he had
thought disgusting frog-spittle are in truth tangles of exquisite
plants, made up of chains of slender, transpar-
ent cells finer than silken threads, each cell
containing many tiny green par-
TV uifl tides ^ lea ^ reen> or cnlor -

fi) III P n yN the cause of the

W till colour of all green plants.

At first the most conspicu-
ous plants attract the attention,
and afterwards, in succession,

violet St. Johns- ., , , ,

^ those less and less conspicuous.
They, in reality, present them-
selves in great natural groups, readily distinguished
by well-marked characteristics.

It will be seen, as these
pass in review, that they are
conspicuous according as
they are complex. The gorgeous flow-
ering plants have complicated methods
of reproduction
corollas and
honey, attrac-
tive to insects ;
ingenious sta-
mens, pistils, seed-boxes, and seeds.
The humble grasses, with their close
relatives, dispense with
gay colours and the as-
sistance of insects, and
trust to the breezes to carry
their pollen to its goal.
The pines and their allies
are a step nearer simplic-
ity, and do not enclose
Winged seed their seeds in a seed-box
Sll ~ at all, but provide them
with wings for dissemi-
nation, and leave them exposed to the
wind.

(6]

Seed-box of sacred bean

of the
ver fir

Fern with

spores (Polypo-
vulgare)

The Relation of Fungi to Other Plants

Liverwort (Marchantia
polymorphd)

The ferns and Christmas greens (Lycopodiums) have no
flowers, and therefore no true seeds. They have a distinct stem,
which grows from the apex and is strength-
ened by woody fibres, which may readily be
seen by breaking the stem across. The
woody fibres so strengthen the tissues of
these plants that they are able to stand erect
and make a conspicuous appearance not pos-
sible to the
small moss-
es and liv-
erworts ,
which are

spore-bearing plants with no
woody fibre.

The plants of all these

Grass spikelet g u P s re ~

semble each

other in descending degrees, so that they may
be classed in groups under groups. Similar
specimens may form groups of species.
Species may form larger groups, or genera.
Genera with common characteristics may
form families ; and groups of families, orders ;
and orders, classes ; while classes unite to
form branches, or phylae.

A botanist relies for the classification of

his specimens

mainly upon the

similarity of those

parts of the plant

which produce

the seeds or

spores rather than

upon those parts the roots and leaves and
stems which have the work of the plant
household to do. He finds that the seed
and spore producing parts are

Bean seed open to show embryo

Indian pipe

more con-
stant in their forms and habits than the leaves and stems and
roots, which are more exposed, and which are constantly

The Relation of Fungi to Other Plants

Moss (Dicranum scoparium) (natural size)

being forced to a change of form which will better suit their
changed surroundings.

The novice sees nothing in the brown, or even in the highly

coloured, fungi to war-
rant his calling them
plants. They are to him
"just toadstools ;" for
green colouring matter
his first criterion for
plants is not there, and,
moreover, there is noth-
ing in their shape which
suggests to him the
plants with which he is
familiar. The snow-
white Indian pipe lacks
the green of most plants,
but that does not rule it
for him out of the plant
world ; for although it
is colourless, and depends upon other plants for food, still it
has a flower form and produces a seed-box with well-devel-
oped seeds. Fungi, however, to any but the close student
must seem quite unrelated to all normal plant forms. But the
botanist, by a study of their structure, finds
that they all grow from microscopic, dust-
like particles, which differ from true seeds in
consisting of but one or a few cells, and in
having no embryo plant in them as true
seeds have. He recognises their position in
the kingdom of living things, and classes
them as spore-bearing plants, lower than
the group of mosses, those dainty plants
which delight every one with their graceful-
ness, and which bear their spores in tiny cap-
sules or boxes set up on slender stems. By studying their life
history he decides that they are degenerate members of the low-
est group the algae and that they have fostered the habit of
feeding on material constructed by green plants, instead of con-
structing food material for themselves, and have, in consequence,

White mould on dead
fly

The Relation of Fungi to Other Plants

lost their power of constructing such food, and also their green
granules by which this work of construction may be carried on.
The life history and structure of fungi
has been studied so minutely that one is Spore cases
able to arrange them in three well-
marked classes:

The first class, the algal-like fungi
(Phy corny cetes), includes bread moulds
and several of those fungi which cause
diseases of plants and animals the
downy mildew on the grape, the potato
rot, the common white mould which
fastens dead flies to the walls or window
panes in the autumn, and the fungus
which grows on salmon

Threads

Bread mould (mag-
nified)

ous
fied)

and causes them to die in great numbers. The
plant of these fungi is cobwebby, sometimes
growing within the cells of the plant substance on
which it lives, and sometimes growing both
within and on the surface. A freshly moulded
piece of moist bread shows the bread covered with
exquisitely fine transparent threads, which con-
stitute the plant. Later, spore cases containing
tiny black spores will be seen, which give a del-
Spores borne in del- icate gray tint to the plant at first, but later form
icate membran- a black, repulsive mass as their numbers increase.
\sacs (magm- These plants are regarded as descendants of de-
generate algae, which lost their power of inde-
pendent existence through stealing their food
instead of making it for themselves.

The second class, the spore-sac fungi,
produce their spores in delicate membranous
sacs. The spore-sac fungi vary greatly in
size, habit, and structure. Most of them
are inconspicuous members of the plant
world, as the yeast plant, by which our
bread is raised ; the fungus which causes
the peach leaves to curl and the black knots
to appear on cherry and plum trees.

The third class is made up of all fungi which bear their

Spores borne on little
spicules (magnified)

The Relation of Fungi to Other Plants

spores on little spicules standing up on large cells. This con-
tains most of the conspicuous fungi one will care about knowing.
To understand the group one must understand the method by
which a spore grows to be a fungus plant, and to be able to
distinguish the different members of the group one must know
on just what portions of the spore receptacle the spores are
borne.

CHAPTER III : FROM SPORE TO MUSHROOM

its

o O

(3)

THE way in which a spore grows into a fungus plant is very
simple :

(1) The spore is a single cell, and when it is in a warm,
moist place it swells.

(2) The cell absorbs food through
cell wall and divides into two cells.

Each new cell absorbs food and

divides until long chains of cells are
formed, looking to the unaided eye like
threads. Each thread is a hypha, and a
tangle of threads is a mycelium.
(4) In the soil the mycelium nour-
ishes itself on decaying vegetable
matter, and grows ; then, at certain
points, the threads mat together to
form little balls the size of pin-
heads (a).

(b) The pinheads grow to the size
of bird-shot.

(5) If the ball
is to become a

stemmed toadstool, a minute stem ap-
pears on the button. The stem and
button increase in size. The button is
lifted above the soil and expands into a
mushroom.

(6) If the button is to become a puff-
ball, no stem appears on the button ; but

From Spore to Mushroom

Puffball

Gills

Stem

it grows, and comes out of the ground a round puffball. (See
Plate opposite p. 124.)

If one wishes to learn to distinguish the members of the
mushroom or toadstool family, either
for the pleasure he may derive from
knowing them, or from a desire to
distinguish the edible from the poison-
ous, he must
be f a m i 1 i a r
with the typi-
cal parts of the
fungus plant,
and m ust
know the names of these parts.

The edible mushroom of the market
(Agaricus campestris)
serves well for study,

Veil l-f^*XBffil as it shows some of

the characteristics
which all the toad-
stools, mushrooms, brackets, and puffballs
have in common.

(i) This mushroom is in shape some-
thing like a parasol.

(2) The handle is the stem, or stipe.

(3) The open top is the cap, or pileus.

(4) Under
the cap, radi-
ating from

the stalk to Ri ng ..

Spores on , ,

slender processes trie CUgC OI

the cap, are

thin P^tes-the gills, or lamellae.

(5) When the mushroom is in
.short ceiis the button stage, the gills are not

visible, for they are covered with
a thin sheet of mycelial threads,
called the veil. (See coloured plate
of Agaricus campestris.)
(6) As the button grows the veil stretches, and finally breaks,

Club-shaped bodies

Section across gill (magnified)

Prom Spore to Mushroom

A small portion of section of gill
(highly magnified)

feaving a ragged edge to the cap, and a ring or annulus of veil

around the stem. The gills of the Agaricus are not fastened to

the stem, but are rounded off at

the end near the stem, while

others, between the long ones,

extend from the edge of the cap

only far enough toward the stem

to fill up the angles formed by

the long gills.

The surface of the gills is the

fruiting portion of the mushroom.

It is here that the spores are

formed.

The structure of the fungus

plant up to this point has been

similar throughout. A loose tangle

of threads underground formed the myce-
lium the food provider. A more closely
matted tangle above ground formed the
stem and cap and veil, and even the central
part of the gill the fruiting parts of the
plant.

On the surface of the gill a difference
in structure is found, which will be clearly
understood from a picture of a thin section
cut across a gill.

(i) The central portion of the gill is
made by loosely tangled mycelium threads
(tr) draping themselves in thin plates from
the surface of
the cap.

(2) Just outside of this loose
mycelium, on either side, are layers
of short cells (c), which bear club-
shaped bodies standing out over
both surfaces of the gills (b).

(3) Each club bears two slen-
der processes (sf) at the free end,
and each process bears a spore

Corn smut

Leaf rust on Hepatica triloba

From Spore to Mushroom

Section to show gills

Section of a Boletus,
to show pores

All corn smuts, wheat smuts, leaf rusts, toadstools, puff-
balls, and brackets bear their spores on club-like cells, and for

this reason are put in one group, called
Basidiomycetes.

The fact that corn smuts and leaf
rusts feed on living
plants, while toad-
stools, brackets,
and puffballs feed
on dead plants,

Pouch-fungus section, to show
spores in hollow rind

to two groups ;
the smuts and rusts forming the lower group,

and the others the higher group. It is the
higher Basidiomycetes which we wish to con-
sider, as this group includes most of the con-
spicuous fungi, most of the edi-
ble, and those fungi which are
dangerous because of their re-
semblance to edible species.

Remembering that toadstools, puffballs, and
brackets all start from spores ; that all have the

tangled thread - like
plants, seeking the
dark ; that they all
have the spore recep-
tacle in the light, and
bear their spores on club-like cells,
one can readily understand their be-
ing put in one group.

With a few exceptions not
necessary for us to consider, all the
higher fungi naturally divide into
two groups pouch-fungi (Gasteromycetes), which conceal their
spores in a definite rind, or peridium, as the puffballs do ;
and membrane fungi (Hymenomycetes), now called Agari-
cales, which bear their spores exposed on the surface of gills,
pores, spines, or teeth, as the garden mushrooms, the Boleti,
the Clavarias, and the Hydnums.

Clavaria with
spores on spines

Section of Hydnum, to show teeth

CHAPTER IV: THE KEY

WHAT A KEY IS, AND WHY A NAME IS DESIRABLE

A KEY in the study of botany is a guide by which a student
may trace a specimen until he finds a name for it. Having found
a name, he may learn from books or from friends what is known
of its habits of growth, of its value as a food or drug, whether
it is harmful or harmless, whether it is to be protected or
whether war is to be waged against it. He may learn whether
it has figured in history or the myths, and how the poets and
artists viewed it, and may perhaps learn to see it with their
eyes. He may watch similar specimens as they grow, and may
add the results of his observations to the facts already recorded
about his specimen.

HOW A KEY FOR FUNGI IS MADE, AND WHY IT IS DESIRABLE

In the first place, only such plants are considered as grow
from spores and have no leaf-green. (The spore characteristic is
one the amateur must decide upon either by seeing the spores
or by inferring their existence from the fact that seeds do not
appear.) There are some thirty-five thousand species of fungi
known to botanists, so that it would be impossible to find a
name for a specimen if one had to read at random until the right
description for his specimen was found ; but since all of these
plants may be put in one or another of three groups, on account
of certain points of resemblance which they have in common,
and since these three groups may each in turn be divided and
subdivided, one may, by selecting groups rather than individual
specimens, find a short path to the name desired. The three
primary groups, called classes, are made as follows :

The first contains many mould-like fungi which resemble
one another in microscopic characters.

The second contains other mould-like fungi and many coi*

The Key

spicuous fungi which bear their spores in transparent sacs (see
first page of Key).

The third contains all fungi which bear their spores on en-
larged cells called basidia (see first page of Key).

To even partially understand the inconspicuous fungi is a
task impossible to one who is not familiar with the use of a com-
pound microscope. To acquire a knowledge sufficiently accu-
rate to identify nearly all of the conspicuous fungi is within the
power of any intelligent person, for the two groups or classes
containing the conspicuous species may be divided, on account
of easily distinguished characters, into groups called orders.
The orders may be divided into groups called families, and the
families into groups called genera (singular genus), and the
genera into individual specimens called species; and all these
groups may be arranged in such a way that the series of selec-
tions may be quickly made. Such an arrangement of groups is
called a key.

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CHAPTER V: FUNGI WITH GILLS

GENUS AMANITA

(Also called Venenarius.)

THE fungi with gills all have this characteristic in common
that they bear their spores on radiating plates or lamellae. Their
family name, Agaricacece, is derived from a typical member of the
family, Agaricus campestris. The family is the largest and most
widely distributed of all the families, and contains some five
thousand described species, which are placed in groups or genera,
more or less large, based on such characters as the colour of the
spores; the position and shape of the lamellae; the colour and
texture, as well as the shape, odour, taste, and appendages of the
cap and stem.

The colour of the spores is one of the most important char-
acteristics, as the decision as to whether the plant is wholesome
or not often rests upon it. The colour may be determined by
placing the cap, with spore surface down, on a sheet of white or
black paper, and leaving it for a time under an inverted glass, so
as to cut off all drafts which may blow the spores away. A print
of the radiating gills will then be made in the colour of the spores
white, pink, rusty brown, or black.

For external characters of the stem, one must be careful to
get the entire stem from the ground ; for a most important char-
acteristic, the volva, if present, will be found at the base. The
volva may be membranous and attached to the base, excepting
at the rim, or membranous and loose, or present only in the form
of rings of scales at the base, with perhaps traces on the surface
qf the cap.

The surface of the stem may be smooth or rusty or mealy
white. It may or may not have near the cap a ring of the
membrane which covered the gills of the young plant.

The character of the lamellae and the internal characters of
the stem may best be determined by cutting the cap and stem
from top to base with a sharp knife, for then it may be seen
whether the gills are free from the stem or attached to it, or

DEATH CUP. DESTROYING ANGEL

(Atttaniia phalloides^ Fries)
Reduced. Nat. size: Cap, 3^ inches: stem. 7!^ inch'

z g

White-spored Series

Veil

whether they grow down on the stem ; and whether the stem is
hollow, solid, or filled with web-like mycelium, and whether it is
fleshy or has a tough and hard rind. The lamellae may be of
different or of equal lengths, and their edges may be entire or
toothed or thin or blunt.

To know a genus of the gill-bearing fungi, one must know
the cap, gills, stem, and habit of growth which characterise that
genus.

A very young plant of the genus Amanita is enveloped in a
membranous wrapper. The relation of the young plant to the
wrapper will readily be understood by cutting
a young plant through its length.

As the plant grows, the wrapper is ruptured,
a part is left at the base
to form a cup or sheath,
or a part maybe carried
up on the cap, to ap-
pear in small patches.

The cap is, as a
rule, regular and
broadly convex. It may be almost
flat when mature. The stem has a
conspicuous collar and the gills are
free from the stem.
No less than twelve species of Amanita are dangerous or
suspected. Some are the most poison- Patches
ous of fungi, while others are most
highly esteemed for the table. Since Free
the most dan-
gerous species
belong to this
genus, it would
be better for the
amateur not to
eat of specimens
which have stalks
with a swollen base surrounded by a cup-
like or scaly envelope, especially if the gills are white. In gath-
ering all white-gilled species, care should be taken to get

X-man'-l-t*
47

Wrapper.

Section of young plant in
wrapper

Young plant in
wrapper

Cap

Stem

..Volra

Wrapper raptured

A. muscaria (See Plate III.)

Fungi with Gills

below the base of the stalk ; for it often happens that the bulb
is broken off and left behind, and thus the principal charac-
teristic lost which would mark it as a specimen not to be
eaten.

Death Cup; Poison Amanita (Poisonous)

Amanita phalloides (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 46)

Cap or Pileus White or greenish or greyish brown; smooth,
no striations; width, 3-5 inches.

Stem or Stipe Ring present. Abruptly bulbous at the base ;
bulb margined by the wrapper remains. White in white-
cap forms, tinged with a paler shade than the cap in brown-
cap forms. Pithy when young, hollow when old. 3-6
inches long.

Veil White in white-cap forms, tinged with brown in brown-
cap forms.

Gills or Lamella White, free from the stem, rounded at the
stem end, rather broad.

Spores Globose and white.

Flesh White.

Ti 'me July to October.

Habitat Woods, groves, open places, and pastures.

The poisonous principle of the death cup is known as phal-
lin, one of the tox-albumins, the poisons found in rattlesnakes
and other venomous animals, and the poisons which produce
death in cholera and diphtheria.

The phallin acts directly upon the blood corpuscles, dissolv-
ing these, so that the serum of the blood escapes from the blood-
vessels into the alimentary canal and drains the whole system of
its vitality. There is no known antidote by which the effects of
phallin may be counteracted. If one has eaten of the Amanita
phalloides, the only chance of saving life is to remove the undi-
gested parts from the alimentary canal by stomach-pump and
oil purgatives ; then, if the amount of phallin absorbed into the
system is not too great, the remainder may wear itself out on
the blood and the patient may recover.

The amount of the fungus which is necessary to produce
death is small; some think that even the handling of poisonous
specimens and the breathing in of their spores may be somewhat
injurious.

White-spored Series

Fly Amanita (Poisonous) '

Amanita muscaria (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 50)

Cap or Pileus Orange red to pale yellow or almost white. The
young plants are brighter, and fade from the margin inward
as the plant matures. Floccose scales, the wrapper remains,
are scattered on the cap. The margin is often striate. 3-6
inches broad.

Stem or Stipe White or slightly tinged with yellow. Pithy or
hollow. Base not broad and abrupt, but ovate, covered
with the scaly margins of the wrapper. 4-6 inches long.

Veil and Ring or Annulus The veil covers the gills of the young
plant, and later is seen as a collar-like ring on the stem.

Gills or Lamellae White or slightly tinged with yellow. Various
in length ; short ones terminating in length with almost
vertical abruptness.

Spores White, broadly elliptical.

Flesh White, tinged with yellow under the epidermis.

Habitat Along roadsides, on borders of fields, in groves of conif-
erous trees. It prefers poor soil, gravelly or scanty. It
grows singly, not in groups.

Time June until freezing weather.

Young Plant This is at first egg-like, then dumb-bell shaped.
As the parts within expand, the wrapper breaks up into
scales, so that the convex, unexpanded cap is densely covered
with more or less concentric fragments of the wrapper, and
the bulbous stem is covered with rings of f ringy scales. As
the stem expands, these scales are left on the bulbous base,
while the fragments on the cap are more widely separated
by the growth of the cap.

The fly amanita is a very conspicuous and handsome species.
There are conflicting statements concerning the properties of
this fungus; some claim that it is edible, and yet it is known
to have caused much sickness and many deaths. It caused
the death of the Czar Alexis of Russia, and of the Count de
Vecchi in Washington. It is said that it is cooked and eaten
by the Russians, and still it is on record that several French
soldiers ate of it in Russia and became very ill.

The Siberians steep dried specimens of the fly amanita in
whortleberry juice, and thus make a drink which produces an
intoxication similar to that produced by the "haschisch" and
"majoon" of the East.

Mtis-ca'-rf-&
3 49

Fungi with Gills

There is something about it particularly attractive to flies,
and yet for them to sip its juices means death, as may be seen
by the circle of dead flies lying on the ground under the shadow
of its cap.

The chief poison of this fungus is an alkaloid called musca-
rine, which paralyzes the nerves controlling the action of the
heart. Injections of atropine in doses of from one one-hundredth
to one-fiftieth of a grain are employed as an antidote for this
poison. In addition, the most powerful emetics are used.

Cap striate, and free from
warts

Orange Amanita (Edible)

Amanita Ccesarea (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 47)

Cap or Pikus Smooth, glabrous, and free from warts or scales.
Red or orange, fading to yellow on the margin or all
over the cap. Margin distinctly striate. When fully ex-
panded, nearly flat. When moist,
sticky; 2^ to 5 inches.
Stem Yellow. When young, fibrous
or cottony within, later hollow;
3-5 inches.

Wrapper or Volva White and mem-
branous, loosely sheathing the
base of the stem.
Veil Covers the gills of the young plant. Remains are seen
on the stem only, where it hangs down
like a white ruffle.

Gills or Lamella Rounded at the stem end and
not attached to the stem. Yellow, an

exception to the
rule that the col-
pur of the gills
in mature plants
resembles the
colour of the
spores.

Young Plant When
young, the cap

and stem are contained in a wrap-
per not unlike a hen's egg in
shape, size, and colour. As the

cap and stem within develop, the wrapper ruptures in its
upper part, the stem elongates, and the cap is carried up,

C'-si-re-a

Section of A. Caesarea

() Smooth cap (c) Hollow stem
(*) Free gills (r) Ruffle-like ring

Young plant

Sheathed Amanitopsis (edible).

(Amanitopsis vaginata, Roze),

Cap, 2-4 inches; stem, 3-5 inches

White-spored Series

while the remains of the wrapper are left at the base of
the stem, an open sac.

Spores White, elliptical.

Flesh White stained with yellow under the separable epidermis
and next the line of attachment of the gills.

Taste Mild and pleasant.

Habitat Thin woods, preferably pine woods and sandy soil.
Abundant in southern Europe, common in the Southern
States, and occasionally found in New York and Massa-
chusetts.

Ztme]u\y, August, September.

The Amanita Ccesarea is one of the handsomest species.
The Greeks and Romans esteemed it as an article of food. The
names, "Food of the gods," "Cibus Deorum," " Imperial mush-
room," "Caesar's mushroom," and " Kaiserling," suggest the
esteem in which it was held.

Fungi with Gills

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GENUS CANTHARELLUS

The members of the genus Cantharellus differ from all other
gill-bearing fungi in that the gills are in the form of shallow folds
growing down the stem. The folds are generally narrow and
forked or branching. The name Cantharellus, meaning little
cup or goblet, refers to the shape of the fungus, some of the
species being so deeply depressed that a cup not unlike a tall
goblet results.

Cantharellus floccosus (Edible)

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 138)

Cap or Pileus Funnel form or trumpet
shaped, depressed even into the
stem. The surface of the depression
is woolly or scaly. The scales some-
times persist and sometimes dis-
appear. Reddish yellow, fading to
yellow.

GUIs or Lamella Blunt, narrow, close;
forked branched so as to appear as a
network. Yellow to yellow brown.

Stem or Stipe Short, smooth, or hairy.
Sometimes extending like a root
among fallen leaves.

Spores White.

Flesh White, thin.

Time July to September.

Habitat In groups in woods. The
specimen pictured was found grow-
ing in moss by a stream among
laurels and rhododendrons. Section of c. floccosus

GENUS AMANITOPSIS

The genus Amanitopsis has white spores, the gills free from
the stem, and at the base of the stem a volva, the remains of the
wrapper which enclosed the young plant. There is no annulus
or ring on the stem, a feature which separates the genus Amani-
topsis from the genus Amanita. This ring is easily lost, however.
Amanitopsis is dangerous to beginners, because an Amanita may
so easily be mistaken for it.

Fungi with Gills

The Sheathed Amanitopsis (Edible)

Amanitopsis vaginata (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 51)

Cap or Pileus Variable in colour, ranging from white to reddish
brown. Thin, fragile, smooth ; or, when young, with a few
fragments of the wrapper adhering to its surface. Margin

distinctly and
deeply striated.
2-4 inches broad.

Stem or Stipe Hol-
low or stuffed ;
smooth, or
sprinkled with
minute mealy
particles or woolly
scales. Not bul-
bous at the base.
3-5 inches long.

Spores White.

Ring or Annulus
None.

Wrapper or Volvo.
Soft, flabby,
white, adhering
slightly to the
base.

Gills or Lamella Free
from the stem.
White or whitish,
close, irregular.

Flesh White, or
s ometimes
stained under the
easily separating
skin.

Section of A. vaginata Time June to Oc-

tober.

Habitat In woods or open places, in damp vegetable mould,
widely distributed. Specimen pictured was found growing
in mountains of New Jersey.

A. vaginata, var. alba, has the whole plant white.
A. vaginata, var. fulva, has the cap tawny yellow.
A. vaginata, var. livida, has the cap leaden brown, and gills
and stem tinged with smoky brown.

Vag-fa-a'-ta Ffilv'-i LXv'-l-da

STRANGLED AMANITOPSIS (EDIBLE)

(Jmanitopsis strangulata, (Fr.). Roze)

Cap greyish brown; wrapper fragments dark brown. See Genus, o. 53

HELMET MYCENA (EDIBLE)

(Mycena galericulata, Scop.)
Cap greyish; gills white; stems firm, hollow, hairy at the base. See p. 55

White-spored Series

Amanitopsis parciVOlvata (SEE FRONTWPBCI)

Cap or Fileus Convex, then expanded ; smooth, free from warts.

Colour brilliant orange red over

the whole cap; not yellow on

the margin, not fading with

age. Uniform in colour in

young and old specimens.

Margin with striations deep and long.
Gills or Lamella Lemon yellow, free from

stem, and rounded at the outer extremity.
Stem Slightly tapering toward the cap ; hol-
low. Clear lemon yellow, covered with

meal-like particles.

Ring or VeilNone'm old or young specimens.
Volva Present; not large and loose. White;

clinging closely to the stem in the form

of scales.
Spores White.
Flesh Unpleasant raw odour. White, stained

with orange red immediately under the

skin.
Habitat Mixed woods. New Jersey, North

Carolina.
Time July.

The caps of the specimens found Section of A.
in North Carolina varied in colour from parciroivata (reduced)
almost white to white with a red centre, and from orange or
shades of orange to brilliant red.

GENUS MYCENA

The members of this genus have white spores ; no volva nor
annulus ; lamellae thin, with acute edges ; gills with a little bay
cut out near the stem, sinuate, and the stem with a cartilaginous
rind. Cap membranous and striate on the margin that is, with
depressed parallel lines.

Mycena haematopoda (SEE PLATE FACING PACE 90)

Cap or PiUus Bell-shaped ; reddish brown, deeper shade on

margin.
Gills or Lamella Paler tint of colour of cap ; adnate.

Pir'-c^-vSl-va'-tS My-ce'-na Hem'-a-top'-8-dI

Fungi with Gills

Stem or Stipe Colour of cap ; hollow ; a mere tube, with thin
walls. When cut quickly, it changes to a deep red brown
and exudes a purple juice. Flexible, fragile.

Spores White.

Ring or Annulus None.

Time September.

Habitat Decayed wood in forest.

GENUS LENTINUS

The genus Lentinus has white spores, no annulus, and no
volva. The stem is central or lateral, and the lamellae are nor-
mally toothed on their margins. The species are leathery, fleshy,
and tough ; will stand drying, and revive when moist.

Lentinus lepideus is one cause of the decay of telegraph poles,
railroad ties, and bridges.

Scaly Lentinus (Edible r,?)

Lentinus lepideus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 58)

Section of
L. lepideus

Cap or Pileus Fleshy, firm, convex or
expanded. Creamy white, spotted
with dark brown appressed scales.
3-5 inches.

Gills or Lamella Rather broad, not
crowded; growing down the stem.
White edges, irregularly toothed.

Stem or Stipe Whitish. Sometimes ec-

Len-tl'-nus

Lp-M'-*--

White-spored Scries

centric, straight, or curved; firm, solid, equal, or tapering at

the base. 2-4 inches long.
Ring or Annulus None.
Spores White.

j%ol White.

Time June to August.

Habitat On wood ; common on railroad ties.

GENUS PLEUROTUS

In the genus Pleurotus the stem is attached to the cap at
some point to one side of the centre. The stem may be on the
very margin of the cap, or may be wanting altogether. The
three species to be mentioned all grow on dead wood either on
dead trees or on dead branches of living trees.

The name Pleurotus comes from a Greek word meaning
side, and has reference to the position of the stem.

Oyster Mushroom (Edible)

Pleurotus ostreatus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 62)

Cap or Pileus Fleshy, convex, smooth, and moist. White,

or tinted with ash colour or brown. Three to five inches.
Gills or Lamella White, or tinted with ash ; broad ; growing down

the stem, and

branching again

and again at the

base.
Stem or Stipe Short

or wanting.
Spores White, ob-

long.

Flesh White, tough. Section of P. ostreatus

Time September.

Habitat On dead wood. The specimens pictured were found

growing on a dead forest tree at Lake Placid. The largest

shells measured four inches across.

Plu-r5'-tfis Os-tre-a'-ttis

Fungi with Gills

Pleurotus sapidus (Edible)

(Lilac-tinged spores, only, distinguish from P. ostreatus.)

Cap or Pileus Convex or depressed, smooth, often irregular.

White, yellowish, ashy grey, dull lilac, or even brownish ;

overlapping each other. 2-5 inches broad.
Gills or Lamella Whitish, rather distant, growing down the

stem, branching and connecting again at stem end.

Section of P. sapidus

Stem or Stipe Stems more or less united at the base, eccentric or

lateral, smooth, whitish. 1-2 inches long.
Spores Lilac, oblong.
Time June to November.
Flesh White, tough.
Habitat -In clusters, often from a common stem, growing on

decayed wood.

Elm Pleurotus (Edible)

Pleurotus ulmarius

Cap or Pileus Convex or nearly flat, firm, smooth. White,

tinted at the centre with reddish yellow or brownish yellow.
2-5 inches broad.
Gills or Lamella Broad, not crowded, notched at the stem end,

growing down the stem. White, turning yellow with age.
Stem or Stipe United to the cap one side of the centre. Usually

curved ; solid, smooth, or downy. White or whitish. 2-4

inches long.

SSp'-l-dtts Ul-ma'-rf-iis

White-pored Serits

Section of P. ulmarius

Flesh White, not tender, agreeable flavour.
Spores White, globose.
Time September to November.

Habitat Conspicuous on dead parts of standing elms. Large and
white. Sometimes found on other than elm trees.

GENUS HYGROPHORUS

The members of this genus may be recognized by their moist
caps and by the waxy nature of their gills, which usually grow
downward on the stem (decurrent), and are not very closely
placed side by side. No species is known to be dangerous.

Chantarelle hygrophorus (Edible)

Hygrophorusjcantbarellus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 63)

Cap or Pileus Thin, convex at first, but later depressed. Cov-
ered with minute scales. Moist, bright red, becoming orange
or yellow. Y*-\ inch broad.

Hf-roph'-d-rtis

Fungi with Gills

Gills or Lamella Distant, somewhat arched, growing downward

on the stem (decurrent). Yellow, sometimes tinged with

vermilion. Unequal.
Stem or Stipe Smooth, not truly solid, sometimes hollow.

Coloured like the cap, whitish within. 2-4 inches long.
Ring or Annulus None.
Spores White.

Flesh Disagreeable in flavour.
Habitat Swamps and damp, shaded places ; in fields or woods.

Common. The specimen photographed was found in

dense mixed woods, Lake Placid.

Var. H. rosea has the cap expanded and the margin wavy.
Var. H. flaw has the cap and stem pale yellow, the gills
arched and strongly decurrent.

Var. H. flampes has the cap and stem red or reddish.
Var. H. flamceps has the cap yellow and the stem reddish.

Vermilion Hygrophorus (Edible)

Hygroploms miniatus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 63)

Cap or Pileus Thin, fragile at first, convex, becoming nearly
flat. Smooth or minutely scaly. Often depressed. Red,
fading to yellow or orange. 1-2 inches broad.
Gills or Lamella Distant. Usually yellow, sometimes tinged

with red. Notched at the
stem enc *> or growing down
t ^ le stem > or fastened to the
stem by the entire width of
the inner extremity of the gill.
Stem or Stipe Slender, smooth.
Coloured like the cap. Solid
when young, hollow when
old. 1-2 inches long.
Ring or Annulus None.
Spores White, elliptical.
Flesh Tender, and of agreeable

flavour.

Time June to September.
Habitat Adapts itself to varying
conditions. Singly, in groups,
or in clusters, in bogs or on

<*ry hillocks. The specimen photographed was found in
woods, among fallen leaves and decayed wood, Lake Placid.

Section of H. miniatus

Fliv'-I-pes

Flav'-i-cSps
60

White-spored Series

Ivory Hygrophorus (Edible)

Hygrophorus eburneus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 87)

Cap or Pileus White;

1-3 inches, thin,

fleshy, viscid.
Stem or Stipe White,

unequal, long,

slender, stuffed,

or hollow; viscid.
Gills or Lamella

White, waxy,

unequal, distant,

growing down

the stem (decur-

rent), thick and

firm.
Volva and Annulus

Wanting.
Spores White.
Flesh Odour and

taste grateful.
Time September.
Habitat The speci-
men photographed was found growing among moss and fallen

leaves in dense wood, Lake Placid.

GENUS ARMILLARIA

The members of this genus have white spores, and the gills
attached by the inner extremity to the stem. The stem has a
collar, but no wrapper at the base. The name is derived from the
Latin armilla, a bracelet, referring to the ring upon the stem.

Honey-coloured Armillaria (Edible)

Armillaria mellea (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 70)

Cap or Pileus Colour from almost white to dark reddish brown.
Young plants have numerous minute tufts or scales of
brownish or blackish hairs. Margins sometimes striated.
1-6 inches broad.

Section of H. eburneus

Eb-tir'-ne'-fis

Xr'-mH-la'-rM

" 61

MCNS4

Fungi with Gills

Stem or Stipe Usually reddish brown, paler above than below.
Uniform in thickness, narrowed or slightly thickened at the
base. Firm externally; soft and spongy, or hollow

within. i-6 inches long.
Ring or Annulus Cottony to
membranous, sometimes
lacking in old plants.
Gills or Lamella Simply
joined to the stem or run-
ning down it. White or
whitish ; sometimes va-
riegated with reddish-
brown spots.
Spores White, elliptical.
Flesh White or whitish.
Section of A. meilea Taste unpleasant or acrid.

Quality inferior.
Habitat Common in woods or in cleared land, on the ground or

on decayed wood. Solitary or clustered.
Time Abundant in September. Found in June.

Var. obscura has cap covered with numerous small, blackish
scales.

Van flaw has cap yellow or reddish yellow.

Var. glabra has cap smooth.

Var. radicata has tapering stem which penetrates the earth
deeply.

Var. bulbosa has bulbous base.

Var. exannulata has cap smooth, margin even, stem tapering,
annulus slight and evanescent, or wholly wanting.

The Armillaria meilea has a disagreeable taste when raw, but
when cooked it is thought by some to be very good. Dr. Peck says
he does not know of any unwholesome species for which it may
be mistaken. The Armillaria meilea has the habit, very unusual
for a member of the group of Agaracales, of producing from its my-
celial threads tuber-like masses of fungal substances from which
the fruiting caps arise. The fungal masses of the Armillaria,
the so-called sclerotia, are ribbon or string like, and may be
found between the wood and bark of cone-bearing trees. These
sclerotia send out cylindrical branches, called rhizomorphs,
which may penetrate the soil and attack the roots of other trees,
and so continue their work of destruction in the forest.

6b-scu'-ra Gla'-bra Bfil-bo'-sa

Flav'-i Rad-l-ca'-ta Ex-an'-nfi-la'-ti

Oyster Mushroom (edible).
(Pleurotus ostreatus, Fn)
(Large shells, 4 inches or more across.) Reduced. See page 57.

Golden-flesh Boletus. (Boletus chrysenteron, 1-r.). Reduced. See page

Vermilion Hygrophorus (edible). (1 lygrophorus miniatus, Fr.). See pa-r fii-

Chanterelle Ih'grophorus (edible.) (Hygrophorus cantharellus, Schw.)

Slightly reduced. See rase 59.

White-spored Series

It is to the luminosity of these mycelial threads, which per-
meate the decaying wood, that the weird phosphorescent light in
dense woods is due.

GENUS LEPIOTA (SEE PLATE FAC.NG PAGE 64)

The members of this genus have the gills free from the stem,
and have no wrapper remains at the base of the stem. In some
species the cap or pileus has the surface scaly, owing to the rup-
ture of the fibres which compose it. It is this feature which has
suggested the name Lepiota, from the Latin word lepis a scale.
There are about thirty
species represented
in the United States,
of which a few are
commonly eaten.
Some are dangerous.

Parasol Mushroom;
Tall Lepiota (Edi-
ble but danger-
ous to beginners)

Lepiota procera
(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 66)

Cap or Pileus Convex, like

an open umbrella.

Thin, umbonate, cov-
ered with closely

pressed scales. 3-5

inches broad.

Stem or Stipe Long, hol-
low, or with cottony

pith; bulbous at the

base; usually covered

with closely pressed

scales. 5-10 inches

long.
Veil or Ring Thick and

firm; often movable on

the stem.

L*p-l-c?-tt

Section of L. procera
Pr6$'-*-ri

Fungi with Gills

Gills or Lamella Closely placed, side by side. Whitish, or
tinged with yellow. The inner extremity remote from the
stem.

Spores White, elliptical.

Flesh White, soft, and dry.

Time July to September.

Habitat Thin woods, pastures, and by roadsides.

Dangerous to beginners because of its resemblance to Amanita.

The specific name, Procera, from the Latin procera (tall),
refers to the length of the stem.

There is no poisonous species for which it can be mistaken
if one bears in mind that it has a long stem with bulbous base,
a brownish, spotted cap with dark apex, and a broad basin about
the insertion of the stem.

Smooth Lepiota

Lepiota naucinoides (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 66)

Cap or Pileus Smooth, white;

rarely the central part of

the cap is tinged with a

smoky hue. 2-4 inches broad.
Stem or Stipe Coloured like the

cap; thickened at the base.

Hollow or webby. 2-3 inches

long.

Veil or Annulus White. Exter-
nal edge generally thicker

than the inner; often movable

on the stem.
Gills or Lamella White when

young; when old, pinkish or

smoky brown. Rounded at

the inner extremity and not

attached to the stem. Nar-
rower toward the stem than

in the middle.

Spores White, sub-elliptical.
Flesh Thick, white, and tender.
Time August November.
Dangerous to beginners because of

its resemblance to Amanita.

Section of L. naucinoides

The smooth lepiota resembles the chalk agaric (Agaricus
eretaceous), which has brown spores, and the meadow mush-

White-spored Series

room (Agaricus campestris), which has darker gills, a persistent
collar, and a stem tapering at the base. No harm can come from
confusing these for edible purposes. Great care should be taken
to be sure that a specimen thought to be a smooth lepiota has no
volva or wrapper at the base, for the absence of a volva is the
most marked difference between it and the poisonous vernal
amanita (Amanita verna). The gills of the smooth lepiota turn
a dingy brown or pink, and those of the vernal amanita remain
white ; and the cap of the smooth lepiota has not the moist
smoothness and the brilliant whiteness of the vernal amanita.

Lepiota Friesii (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 71)

Cap or Pileus Rather thin, convex, or nearly plain, with soft,
tawny fibres forming small patches over the surface. 1-4
inches wide.

Stem or Stipe Tapering toward the cap, slightly bulbous at the
base. The lower part of the stem coloured like the cap, and
with similar fibrils. Hollow. Powdery white above the
ring. 2-5 inches long.

Ring or Annulus Present and pendulous.

Gills or Lamella Narrow, crowded, free from stem ; white ; some
forked.

Flesh Soft, white, with a slight odour when bruised.

Ring or Annulus Well developed, drooping. White above, and

tawny or scaly below.
Habitat Soft, loose soil in bushy places.
Time July to September.

GENUS MARASMIUS

The genus Marasmius belongs to the white-spored series.
The plants are small, and wither and shrivel in dry weather, to
revive a^ain when wet. The gills are thin, and have acute,
edges. M. peronatus and M. urens are poisonous or suspected.

The generic name comes from the same Greek word as the
word marasmus, the name applied to a disease from which the
patient wastes away without any apparent cause. The signifi-
cance of the name will be apparent to one who watches the
fleshy little plant shrink away when the sun shines.

Fre'-sM Mi.r

Fungi with Gills

Fairy-ring Mushroom (Edible)

Marasmius oreades

Cap or Pt'kus Fleshy, tough, smooth, convex, or nearly plane,
often with the centre higher than the space between it and
the rim. Reddish ; fading, as it ages or dries, to pale yellow
or buff. 1-2 inches broad.

Gills or Lamella Broad and wide apart, creamy or yellowish,
rounded at the stem end, unequal.

Stem or Stipe Whitish, slender, tough, solid, coated with dense
woolly hairs. 1-2% inches long.

Ring or Annulus None.

Spores White.

Flesh Thin, white, tough.

Time May to October.

Habitat In circles or groups.

Dangerous fungi somewhat resembling the M. oreades, and
found in company with it, may be distinguished by their dark-
coloured spores.

GENUS COLLYBIA

The members of this genus have white spores, and the
lamellae with thin edges attached to the stem by their inner ex-
tremity. The stem has a cartilaginous rind ; that is, it is hard and
of a tough texture. The genus contains fifty-four American
species, some of which are regarded as edible, while others are
regarded as deleterious. The velvet-stemmed collybia, or Col-
lybia veltttipas, is edible, and remarkable for its habit of growing
long after the frosts of winter have come. It is easily recognised
by its yellowish and viscid cap, and its habit of growing in tufts,
and developing on the stem a dense coat of velvety hairs. The
rooted collybia, Collybia radicata, may be recognised by the char-
acter of its stem, as the lower part is like a slender tap root, gener-
ally penetrating the earth to a depth equal to the length of the
stem above the surface.

O-re'-S-des CM-l^b'-l-*

SMOOTH LEPIOTA (EDIBLE)

(Lep:ota nancintiiries. Peck)

Nat. size : Cap diam., z 1 /? inches; stem length, 4^2 inches.

PARASOL MUSHROOM. TALL LEPIOTA (EDIBLE)

(Lepiota procera^ Scop.)

Nat. Size : Cap Diam., 3^ inches; stem length, 4% inches
See page 63

SPOTTED COLLYBIA (EDIBLE, Mel.)

(Cottybia maculata, A. & S.)
Cap and stem white with rusty spots ; gills white. See Genus, p. 66

BSOAD-GILLED COLLYBIA (EDIBLE, Mel.)

(Collybia, platyphylla, Fr.)
Surface of cap brownish, fibrillose ; gills white. See Genus, p. 66

Collybia fantilia, Peck. Reduced (Edible)

WAXY CLITOCYBE (EDIBLE)

(.Clifocyte laccata. Scop.)
Cap, J-2 inches; stem, 1-3 inches. See page 70

DECEIVING CLITOCYBE (POISONOUS)

(Clitocybf illudent. Schw.)
Dull orange; phosphorescent. See Genus, p. 70

White-spored Series

Collybia familia (Edible)

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 66)

Cap or Pileus Greyish, with centre darker. Smooth margin,
often cracked. Slightly striate.

Gills or Lamella Slightly greyish, soft, un-
equal, free, not crowded.

Stem or Stipe Greyish, hollow. Lower
part covered with white woolly sub-
stance.

Sports White.

Flesh Greenish grey.

Time September. Section of C. familia

Habitat The specimen photographed was

found growing upon a prostrate evergreen tree near Lake
Placid.

GENUS PAN US (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 151)

The members of this genus are leathery plants, with the
stems lateral or wanting. The gills are simple, not forked, and
the spores are white. Panus stypticus is common on rotten
wood, and gives out a weird, phosphorescent light.

The species of the genus Panus so much resemble species
of the genus Lcntinus, which do not have toothed margins, that
Panus zndLentinus are considered by some as one genus, with

the name Lentinus. Some species of Panus are dangerous.

GENUS TROGIA

But one American species is reported; this is small and
leathery, brownish in colour, with the spore-bearing surface
white. The lamellae are obtuse on their edges, and are not hairy.
The spores are white. This plant is common on fallen branches
of the alder.

GENUS SCH1ZOPHYLLUM

The members of this genus have white spores and a leathery
pileus, with the lamellae hairy and grooved, or split. Schiqo-
phyllum commune is common on twigs or branches. It varies
from % to 2 inches across, appearing as fluted shells on the
bark.

Fa-mll'-T-i Pi'-ntts Trdg'-f-i SkKz-S-phyl'-ltim CQm-mu'-ne

Fungi with Gills

GENUS OMPHALIA

The members of this genus have white spores, and the gills
growing down on the stem. They have a hard, tough rind to the
stem, which distinguishes them from the genus Cltiocybe, which
has fleshy stems. Omphalia umbellifera is a small species, with
a cap about an inch broad. It is the common mushroom on the
top of Mount Marcy, the highest mountain in the State of New
York.

GENUS RUSSULE

The genus Russula may usually be recognised by its brittle
character, added to its fleshy stem and the fact that the lamellae
are usually joined to the stem. Bright clear reds and purplish
hues prevail, but several species exhibit a green colour, or an
approach to green. The spores are white or yellowish, and the
flesh never exudes a milky or coloured juice. Six species are dan-
gerous.

Emetic Russula (Dangerous)

Russula emeiica (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 74)

Cap or PtfeusR.osy tint to rich red. Flesh thin. The margin

furrowed with parallel
lines. Skin separable,
somewhat viscid. Cap
diameter of specimen
photographed, 3%
inches.

Gills or Lamella White.
Usually uniform, occa-
sionally unequal ;
broad and brittle.

Stem or Stipe Rosy. Swol-
len near the base.
Specimen photo-
graphed, 2> inches

Section of R. emetica

Spores White.

Flesh White, unless just under the skin, where it may be pink.
Very fragile. Peppery to the taste.

6m-pha'-H-5 Um-bgl-ll'-fg-rS Rfis'-sfi-li fi-mft'-I-cS

White-spored Series

Taste Acrid and biting.
Time July to November.

Habitat In damp meadows, in woods, in grassy places, under
pine trees and firs.

Green Russula; Verdette (Edible)

Russula virescens

Cap or Pileus Greyish green. At first globose, then expanded ;
convex or depressed at the centre. Firm and dry. Not
viscid, but adorned with flaky greenish or yellowish
patches, produced by the cracking of the skin. 2-4 inches
broad. Margin marked with impressed lines.

Section of R. virescens

Gills or Lamella White. Moderately close ; free, or nearly so ;

narrow as they approach the stem. Some forked, others

not.
Stem or Stipe Shorter than the diameter of the cap. Smooth,

white, and solid, or somewhat softer within. 1-2 inches

long.

Spores White, rough, nearly globose.
Flesh White mild in taste.

Fungi with Gills

Time July and August.

Habitat Grassy grounds, groves, and open woods.

No milky nor coloured juice, no coloured circular zones.

Variable Russula (Edible)

Russula heterophylla

Cap or Pileus Variable in colour. Greenish or pinkish grey, but
fleshy, firm ; slightly convex, then depressed ; smooth, and
polished, the very thin skin disappearing. Margin thin,
smooth, or with slightly depressed lines closely placed.

Stem or Stipe Solid, firm, smooth, shining white, the apex oc-
casionally dilated in the form of a cup.

Annulus or Volva None.

Gills or Lamella Narrow, crowded, forked ; white ; of different
lengths.

Spores White.

Flesh White ; mild in taste.

Habitat Woods. Common.

Time]u\y to October.

The specific name refers to the difference in the lengths of
the gills.

GENUS CLITOCYBE

The members of the genus Clitocybe have the spores white,
no volva or annulus, the gills with thin edges not notched on
the edge near the stem, and generally decurrent.

ClitOCybe laCCata (Edible) (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 66)
Must not be confused with the poisonous C. illudens.

Cap or Pileus When moist, pale red, buff red, or flesh red;
when dry, greyish to pale yellowish brown. Surface cov-
ered with tiny tufts of hair. Convex when young, flattened
with wavy margin when old ; often depressed. %-2 inches
broad.

Gills or Lamella Broad, distant, unequal. Flesh colour. Slightly
decurrent.

Veil and Annulus None.

Stem or Stipe Slender, stiff, fibrous, stuffed, or hollow. Colour
like cap. Often twisted. 1-3 inches long.

Spores White, rough, globose.

Flesh Thin, pale flesh colour, leathery, tasteless.

H*t'r-6-ph?l'-la. Cll-tS^y'-be LSc-ca'-t*

Fat Pholiota, (edible).
Pholiota adiposa, Fr.) Cap, 2-4 inches broad. See page 83

Honey-coloured Armillaria (edible).

(Armillaria mellea, Vahl).
Cap, 1-6 inches; stem, 1-6 inches. See page 61.

Lepiota Friesii, Lasch. (edible).
Cap, 1-4 inches; stem, 2-5 inches.
See page 65.

Cortinarius alboviolaceus, Fr.
Cap, 2J4 inches; stem, 3 inches. See page 86.

White-spored Series

Sections of C. laccata

Time Spring to autumn.

Habitat Wood, swamps, or open fields, naked ground, mossy
or grassy places.

Var. amethystina has cap darker, gills amethyst, quite
decurrent.

Var. pallidifolia, gills paler than laccata.

Var. striatula, plants small, gills showing as lines through
the thin cap.

ClitOCybe virens (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 75)

Cap or Pileus Fleshy, convex, expanded, obtuse. Pale greenish

blue.

Gills or Lamella White, crowded, thin, slightly decurrent.
Stem or Stipe White, with occasional rusty spots ; stiff, solid.

Sometimes two stems are found growing together at the base.
Spores White.
/%^ White.
Time Autumn.
Habitat The specimen photographed was found growing in

mixed woods in Pennsylvania.

Am-*-th?s'-tf-na PU-H-dMo'-lM StrUt'-t-l* W-rens

Fungi with Gills

GENUS TRICHOLOMA

The members of genus Tricholoma have white spores, and
no collar on the stem. The gills are attached to the stem, and
are notched on the edge at or near the stem.

Masked Tricholoma (Edible)

Tricholoma personatum (var. bulbosum) (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 82)

Cap or Pileus Variable in colour; pale lilac, with yellowish tint;
brighter in young specimens ; sometimes whitish or pale
greyish. Thick, fleshy, convex when young, with margin

rolled in, and
slight bloom or
mealiness on
the surface.
When mature,
smooth ; mar-
gin wavy or
turned upward.
Gills or Lamella
Faint lilac col-
our, with tint
of violet. Nar-
row, unequal,
free, close, and
rounded at the
stem end.

Stem Faint lilac
tint. Surface
rather fibrous ;
short, stout,
solid, bulbous.
Spores S o r d i d

Section of T. personatum (var. lulbosunf) white ellinti-i

cal.

Flesh Firm.

Habitat Thin woods, open grassy places.
Time September to freezing weather.

Pr-son-a'-ttim

Brown-spored Series

Craterellus cantharellus (Edible)

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 74)

or Pileus Margin wavy. Yellow or pinkish
yellow. Fleshy, firm, convex, then centrally
depressed.

Gills or Lamella Blunt, running down the stem,
forking many times.

Stem Solid, yellow, and smooth.

Spores Yellowish.

Flesh White, slightly stained in places. Taste
slightly peppery ; no odour.

Time Summer and autumn.

Habitat Specimen photographed was found grow-
ing in moss and earth on an old wood road in Section of c.
mixed woods, New Jersey. cantharellus

Craterellus is at present classified as one of the family
Thelephoracece. For convenience we have placed it under
" Fungi with Gills." It is interesting, as it forms a connecting
link between fam. Thelephoracex and fam. Agaricacece.

GENUS AGARICUS

The genus Agaricus includes all brown-spored species which
have free gills and a stem with a collar. The distinctive features
of several edible species may be quite satisfactorily seen by refer-
ence to the table with parallel columns.

Mushroom-growing is becoming quite an important industry
in this country ; both professional horticulturists and amateurs
successfully engage in it. It is not a difficult matter to raise the
common mushroom, as the conditions necessary are easily ob-
tained. Mushrooms will grow almost anywhere out of doors,
and also in cellars, caves, and tunnels where a uniform and mod-
erate temperature of from 50 to 60 Fahr. can be maintained. The
part of a cellar devoted to mushrooms must be darkened some-
what, must have a dry floor, and must be protected from wet
overhead and from winds. These conditions are common in cel-
lars which are rather dark, but sufficiently well ventilated not to
be musty. The bed for the mushrooms is prepared in a manner

Cra'-ter-el'-ltis Thel-e-pho-ra'-je-ae X-g&r'-I-ciis

Fungi with Gills

similar to that employed in making a hot-bed, care being taken
that the conditions are such that too great heat is not generated.
Any one desiring to experiment will find it helpful to have the
"Farmers' Bulletin," No. 53, "How to Grow Mushrooms,"
which may be obtained from the United States Department of
Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

Pholiota agger icola^ Peck

Reduced slightly
See page 84

Craterellus cantharellus, Schw.
(Edible.) Reduced slightly

Brown-spored Series

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Fungi with Gills'

Common Mushroom (Edible)

Agaricus campestris (SEE PLATES FACING PAGE 82)

Cap or Pileus Silky, or with fine fibres. The young plants
"buttons" are hemispherical or almost globose. The
mature plants are convex or nearly flat. White, or tinged
with dingy browns. Skin separable. Margin extending
beyond the gills.

Gills or Lamella Delicate pink, then dark brown, covered by a
veil in young plants. Crowded, rounded at the inner ex-
tremity. Not attached to stem

Stem or Stipe White, smooth ; stuffed ; that is, softer within than
without. Shorter than the diameter of the cap.

Ring or Annulus Delicate, often disappearing with age.

Flesh White. Much esteemed.

Spores Brownish, elliptical.

Time Late summer and autumn.

Habitat In pastures, lawns, and open places.

Agaricus campestris is the mushroom ordinarily seen in the
markets, either fresh from the growers or preserved in cans.

Rodman's Mushroom (Edible)

Agaricus Rodmani (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 78)

Sections of A. Rodmani

Cfcn-ps'-trfs R6d-m*n'-I

Brown-spored Series

Cap or Pileus Creamy, with brownish spots. Firm, surface dry.

Mature specimens frequently have the surface or the cap

broken into large, brownish scales. 3^ inches broad.
Gills or Lamella Whitish, then pink, becoming dark brown.

Narrow, close, unequal.

Stem or Stipe Fleshy, solid, short, thick. 2 inches long.
Ring or Annulus Double.
Spores Brown.
Flesh Firm, whito, assuming a pinkish or salmon tint. When

cut, agreeable nutty flavour.
Time May to July.
Habitat Grassy grounds, crevices of unused pavements. The

specimen photo-

graphed was

found growing in

a cluster between

broken stone in

the gutter of a

village street in

New Jersey.

Agaricus ab-
ruptus (Edible)

(SEE PLATE FACING P. 79)
Cap or Pileus Creamy

white, dry, and

silky. Irregular

in shape when

young. Yellow

when bruised.
Gills or Lamellae

Slightly pinkish

when the veil

first breaks;

deeper pink in

mature speci-
mens, becoming

brownish. Soft,

free from the

stem, crowded,

unequal.
Stem or Stipe Creamy

white, deeper

cream, or brown-
ish near the base.

Hollow, stiff,

brittle, sometimes Section of A. abmptut

Xb-rtip'-tSs
77

Fungi with Gills

splitting lengthwise. Abruptly bulbous at the base,

tapering toward cap. 3 inches long.
Spores Brown.
Veil and Annulus Frail, part adhering to the margin of the cap,

part forming a ring on the stem.
Flesh White, solid. Decided taste of pistachio-nut
Time September.
Habitat The specimen photographed grew by the trail along

Lake Placid.

GENUS HYPHOLOMA

This genus has brown spores, and no volva at the base of
the stem. The veil remains as a fringe attached to the margin
of the pileus, but is not always apparent in old specimens ; no
portion remains as a ring on the stem. The gills are attached or
grown fast to the stem at their inner extremity. In this respect,
and also in having the stem destitute of a collar, the genus differs
from the genus Agaricus.

Perplexing Hypholoma (Edible)

lexum (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 82)

Cap or Pileus Convex or nearly plane, smooth, sometimes

slightly umbonate. Reddish or brownish-red, fading to yel-

low on the margins. One to three inches broad.
Stem or Stipe Firm and hollow, slightly covered with fine

threads. Whitish or yellowish to rusty red or red brown.

2-3 inches long.
Veil or Ring Veil remains attached to the margin. No ring on

the stem.
Gills or Lamella Thin, crowded, slightly rounded at the stem

end. At first pale yellow, then tinged with green or purplish

brown.

Spores Purplish brown, elliptical.
Flesh Mild, not clearly bitter, white.
Time Autumn to freezing weather.
Habitat Grows in clusters, sometimes singly, on stumps, in the

woods or in the open.

Six allied species of Hypholoma may be readily distinguished
by reference to the table.

RODMAN'S MUSHROOM, YOUNG (EDIBLE)
(Agaricus Rodmani^ Peck. Reduced)

RODMAN'S MUSHROOM, MATURE (EDIBLE)

(Agaricus Rodmani, Peck)
Nat. size : Cap diam., 3^ inches ; stem length, 2 inches

Brown-spored Series

Section of H. perplexum

I TASTE MILD OR NOT CLEARLY BITTER

H. epixanthus
Cray-gllled Mush-
room

H. capnoides

H. perplexum

Perplexing: Mush-
room

GY//.T Yellow, be-
coming grey ;
neither green nor
purplish.

Gills Grey to purple-
brown.

Gills Yellow, green,
or purple brown.

Cap Yellow or
slightly tawny on
disk only.

Cap Yellow or
slightly tawny on
the disk only.

Cap Brick red, yel-
low on the margin.

Taste Mild.

Taste Mild or not

clearly bitter.

Regarded as edible.

'-pl-xiln'-thiis CXp-noi'-des

Fungi with Gills

II TASTE BITTER

H. eleeodes

H. fasciculare
Tufted Yellow Mush-
room

H. sublateritium
Brick-red Mush-
room

Gills Green to olive.

Gills Yellow to
green.

Gills Whitish to
sooty olive.

Cap Brick red.

Cap Yellow tinged
with tawny.

Cap Brick red.

Stem Hollow, rusty.

Stem Hollow, yel-
low.

Stem S olid or 1
stuffed.

Flesh -Yellow.

Flesh Yellow.

Flesh Whitish.

Taste Bitter.

Reputed poisonous.

Formerly reputed poi-
sonous; now consid-
ered edible by some.

Uncertain Hypholoma (Edible)

Hypholoma incertum (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 83)
(Same as H. appendiculatum)

Cap or Pileus Thin,
and adorned
with the frag-
ments of the
woolly white veil.
Opaque when
dry, transparent
when moist.
Ovate at first,
then broadly
spreading. 1-2^
inches wide.

Gills or Lamella
Thin, narrow,
close ; fastened to
the stem at their
inner extremity.
White at first,
then purplish
brown.

fel'-se-o'-des

fragile, whitish. Margin often wavy

Fasc'-Ic-fi-la'-r*

Section of H. incertum
Sito-la-ler-I'-shl-iim In-cgr'-ttim

Brown-spored Series

Stem or Stipe Hollow, white, and slender. 1-3 inches long.

Spores Purplish brown, elliptical.

Flesh Tender.

Time Throughout a moist season.

HabitatIn clusters, in lawns, gardens, thin woods, and pastures.

Brick Top (Edible)

Hypholoma sublateritium (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 86)

Cap or Pileus Brick red, with pale yellowish border. Surface
covered with fine silky fibres. Fleshy, firm, moist. 2^-4
inches broad.

Stem or Stipe Creamy when young, lower part slightly tinged

with red.
Hollow or
stuffed. Silky
fibres on the
surface. 2>-
4 inches long.

Gills or Lamella
Creamy
when young,
olive when
old. Attached
to stem at
inner extrem-
ity. Rather
n arrow,
crowded, un-
equal.

Ring or Annulus
None. Rem-
nants of veil
often seen on
edge of cap.

Spores Brown.

Flesh Creamy,
firm, bitter.

Time Septem-
ber.

Habitat The
s p eci me n
photo-
graphed
grew in clus-
ters on a
mossy stump

Section of H. sublateritium in the Open.

Fungi with Gills

GENUS STROPHARIA

There are about seven species of this genus in America. The
spores are brown, there is no volva, the stem has a collar, and
the lamellae are united with the stem. They have no special
economic importance. Two species are dangerous.

GENUS PSATHYRA

Two American species are reported for this genus. The
spores are dark brown, there is no volva, the veil is inconspicu-
ous or wanting, and the lamellae attached to the stem or notched
at the inner extremity. The margin of the cap in the young
plant and mature plant is always sh aight.

GENUS PSILOCYBE

Eleven American species are reported for this genus. The
spores are dark brown. There is no volva, the veil is incon-
spicuous or wanting, and the lamellae are attached to the stem
or notched at the inner extremity. In the young plant the cap
curves in at the margin.

GENUS PILOSACE

This genus has but one American species recorded. The
spores are dark brown. There is no volva, and the veil is incon-
spicuous or wanting. The lamellae are free from the stem.

GENUS DECONICA

But one American species is reported. This has dark brown
spores, and the lamellae growing down on the stem. The veil
is inconspicuous or wanting, and there is no volva.

Str6ph-i'-rf-i Psa-thy'-rit PsM5-#'-be

e De-cfin'-l-ci

Agancus campestri, L. (edible).
Reduced. See page 76.

Agaricus abruptus, Pk. (edible).
Reduced. Stem, 3 inches. See page 77.

Perplexing Hypholoma (edible).
(Hypholoma perplexum, Pk.)-
Cap, 1-3 inches; ^tem, 2-3 inches.

Rusty-spored Series

GENUS CH1TONIA

One American species is reported in this genus, Clarheinde
plana, from Nebraska. The spores are brown, and the stem has
a volva at the base, but no ring. .

GENUS PHOLIOTA

The members of this genus have rusty spores, and an annulus
on the stem. There are about twenty known species, and
some of these are edible.

Fat Pholiota (Edible)

Pholiota adipOSa($EE PLATE FACING PAGE 70)

Cap orPileus Showy, deep yellow,
with little scales of reddish
brown. Fleshy, firm. At first
hemispherical, then convex.
Sticky when moist, shiny when
dry. 2-4 inches broad.

Stem or Stipe Stem yellow, gener-
ally rusty at the base. Equal in
diameter, or slightly thickened
at the base. Stuffed or solid. Sectin of P. adiposa

Tough. Two to four inches.

Gills or Lamella Yellowish, becoming rusty ; close, and at-
tached to the stem.

King or Annulus Slightly radiating, woolly.

Spores Rusty brown.

Time September to November.

Habitat In tufts, on stumps or dead trunks of trees.

Pholiota limonella, lemon-yellow pholiota, has a smaller,
thinner, and more expanded cap, of a lighter yellow, with white
gills.

CM-to'-nl-a Pho-H-o'-ta Ad-t-p6'-sl

Fungi with Gills

Early Pholiota Edible

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 87)
Pholiota prcecox

Section of P. praecox

Cap or PileusCre&my white,
smooth, not shining. Very
thin skin. 1-2 inches.

Stem or Stipe Creamy white,
rather scaly. Skin peels
readily. Stuffed or hollow.
1-5 inches long.

Gills or Lamella Creamy white
when young, brown when
mature. Soft, close, un-
equal, notched at the inner
extremity, and attached to
the stem.

Veil and Ring Stretched like a
drumhead from stem to mar-
gin of cap. Variable in
manner of parting. It some-
times separates from cap
margin, and forms a distinct
ring about the stem ; again,
but little remains on the
stem, and much on the rim
of the cap.

Spores Rusty brown.

Flesh White, solid though soft,
moist. Taste slightly bitter.

Time May to July.

Habitat Grassy ground. The
specimen pictured grew
about the roots of a poplar
tree in New Jersey.

Pholiota aggericola

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 74)

Cap or Pileus Brown, shining when moist. Margin in older
specimens finely and closely impressed with parallel lines.
Cap diameter of specimen photographed, 2 inches.

Gills or Lamella Pale brownish when young, darker brown

Pre'.cox

Ag-ggr-fc'-o-li

Rusty-spore d Series

mature. Attached to stem when young, free when

when

older.

Veil Pale brown, colour of stem.
Stem or Stipe

Pale orown-

ish, darker at

base. Softer

texture with-
in than with-
out. Stem

length of

specimen

p h o t o -

graphed, 2

inches.
Spores R u s ty

brown.
Flesh Pale

brownish;

brittle. No

taste or

marked

odour.
Time October.

Section of P. aggericola

Habitat Specimen photographed grew among grass and leaves
in a New Jersey garden.

GENUS CORTINARIUS

This genus contains many species which are distinguished
by the rusty yellow colour of their spores and by the webby
character of the veil. It is of the utmost importance in identify-
ing species of Cortinarius to know the colour of the gills of the
young plant, as the gills of the old plants are almost uniform in
colour, owing to their being dusted with the rusty yellow spores.
In addition, one should carefully note the colour of the young
plant compared with the old; the surface, whether sticky or dry,
smooth or hairy ; the taste ; and the markings left on the stem by
the retreating veil. All species have their gills attached to the
stem, and some have them notched at the stem end. They may
be looked for along the borders of woods and groves in hilly
regions, during the latter part of the summer.

Cor-tf-na'-rf-fis

Fungi with Gills

albOViolaCGUS (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 71)

Cap or Pileus Lavender, paler in the centre. Surface with rusty

spots. 2j4 inches broad.
Gills or Lamella Crowded, unequal, attached to the stem.

C. violaceus

Stem or Stipe Pale lavender, assuming a deeper shade when cut
or bruised. Spongy in the centre, swollen toward the base.
3 inches long.

Veil Filmy, stretching from stem to the margin of the cap in
young plant.

Spores Rusty brown.

s: * c

IVORY HYGROPHORUS (EDIBLE)
(tfygropkortts e&urneus. Fries)
Reduced. Cap diam. I inch; stem length, 2% inches
See page 6l

EARLY PHQLIQTA (EDIBLE)

IPkoliota jrtrcox, Pers.)
Reduced. Nat. size: Cap, 1-2 inches; stem, 1-5 Inches

Pink-spored Series

Flesh Tinged with violet

Time Autumn.

Habitat Thick, damp woods.

C. violaceus differs from c. alboviolaceus in having the cap
dark violet and usually covered with fibres.

GENUS PLUTEUS

The members of the genus Pluteus are fleshy fungi with
pink spores, and gills free from the stem. They have no volva or
wrapper about the young plant, and no ring or annulus on the
stem. Eleven species are known from the United States, of
which Pluteus cervinus, the fawn-coloured mushroom, is the
commonest.

The generic name Pluteus means all that is joined together
to make a cover for besiegers at their work, that they may be
screened from the missiles of the enemy. The arrangement of
the caps in the group pictured is suggestive of the meaning.

Fawn-coloured Pluteus (Edible)

Pluteus cervinus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 94)

Cap or Pileus Light

brown or fawn

coloured,

streaked with

lines of darker

brown. Sur-
face dry and

shining. Skin

thin and papery.

3> inches

broad.
Gills or Lamella

Almost white

when young,

flesh colour

when mature.

Broad, unequal

in length, free

from the stem.
Stem or Stipe

Creamy white, P. cervinus

Fungi with Gills

streaked with pale brown. Brittle, pithy in the centre when

mature. 3-6 inches long.

Spores Pink, with suggestions of yellow; salmon colour.
Flesh White, tasteless.
Time Early in the season, May.
Habitat Mixed woods, on and around old stumps. New Jersey.

GENUS ENTOLOMA

The members of this genus have pink spores, and the
lamellae attached to the stem, or with a notch near the junction
of gill and stem. The stem is fleshy, and not tough and hard as
in Leptonia and Nolanea, genera with pink spores and adnate
or sinuate lamellae. There are some twelve species in this genus,
none of which have any economic interest, while at least four are
dangerous.

GENUS ECCILIA

The members of the genus Eccilia have neither volva nor
annulus. The gills grow downward on the stem, the spores are
pink, and the stems have a hard, tough rind, not fleshy as in
Clitopilus. There are three species known in America.

GENUS YOLVARIA

The members of the genus Volvaria are fleshy fungi, soon
becoming putrescent. The spores are salmon colour. A volva
is present, but no annulus. Distinguished from Amanitopsis by
having salmon-coloured spores instead of white.

GENUS CLITOPILUS

The members of this group have neither volva nor annu-
lus. The gills grow downward on the stem, the spores are
pink, and the stem is fleshy, without a hard and tough rind as
in Eccilia. There are fourteen American species, of which at
least two species are edible.

n-tS-16'-mi N6-li'-n-4 fec^Il'-l-i

Lp-to-nI-4 V61-va'-!Ml CH-t8-plMtts

Black-spored Series

GENUS COPRINUS
Ink Caps (Edible)

The genus Coprinus may be readily recognised from the
fact that the spore-bearing plates dissolve to an inky fluid soon
after the spores mature.

An amateur mushroom hunter may feel perfectly safe in col-
lecting ink caps for his table, as all the species large enough to
tempt the collector are not only edible, but are generally conceded
to be of the best.

Their general appearance is such that even the most un-
trained observer should not mistake them for species of other
groups.

The oblong or nearly cylindrical cap, which does not expand
until ready to dissolve in inky drops, is too striking a character-
istic to permit of any one making a mistake in identifying it as
a specimen safe to eat.

These plants literally grow up in a night and perish in a
day, as their period of growth is spent underground, and it is
not until all the parts of the fruiting portions of the plants are
fully developed that they push themselves above ground. Then
they push and crowd from the ground in such numbers, where
but a few hours before no evidence of them was seen, that each
one is compressed from its cylindrical form to that of a many-
sided prism, so that there would be no chance for the expansion
of those within the group if it were not that those on the outer
rim so rapidly expand and dissolve away.

Specimens to be eaten should be gathered in the young
stage and should be cooked promptly; for though not poisonous
in the black stage, they are surely not attractive.

Shelley must have had the ink caps in mind when he wrote
of the fungi in the garden of "The Sensitive Plant":

1 Their mass rotted off them flake by flake,
Till the thick stalk stuck like a murderer's stake,
Where rags of loose flesh yet tremble on high,
Infecting th winds that wander by."

Co-pri'-ntis
89

Fungi with Gills

Shaggy-mane; Horsetail; Maned Agaric
(Edible)

Coprinus COmatuS (SEE PAGES iii, v, viii)

Cap or Pileus Cylindrical or barrel-shaped ; becoming bell-shaped
or expanded, with split margins, when old. Colour of the
buttons or young plants dark ; but that of the older forms
white, flecked with dark patches or scales. Surface shaggy.
i YZ-J inches long before expansion.

Stem or Stipe White, smooth, hollow. 3-4 inches long.

Ring or Annulus Slightly adherent, or movable in the young
plant ; later lying on the ground at the base of the stem,
or wholly disappearing.

Gills or Lamella Crowded. White, then tinged with pink ;
finally black, and dripping an inky fluid.

Spores Black, elliptical.

Flesh Fragile, tender, digestible, with nutty flavour.

Time Autumn.

Habitat Loose, rich earth. By roadsides, in pastures, and in
dumping grounds.

If one study the specimens of the shaggy-mane from the
time it pushes its little brown head above the ground until, as a
tall black umbrella, it melts away into inky blackness, he will
find much that is beautiful and interesting.

A little brown button may be cut with a sharp knife through-
out its length to show the unexpanded gills lying close to the
part which is afterwards to become the stem.

An older button cut in the same way will show the gills
separated from the stem and the outer cover of the cap at the
lower end of the gills joined to the stem. A still older specimen
will show the connection of the outer cover broken loose from
the base of the gill and the torn part still remaining on the stem
as a temporary collar.

The outer layer of brown threads which covers the button
will be found to break as the threads within expand, and to re-
main in the older specimens on the surface as patches of brown
threads. Underlying these are broken white threads which in a
younger stage, unbroken, formed a white cover under the brown.
It is these loosely hanging threads which give the shaggy ap-
pearance to the cap of the mature plants and which have
suggested the names of shaggy-mane, horsetails, and comatus
(comatus, in Latin, meaning hairy).

Co-ma' -tus

Mycena haematopoda, Pers.

See' page 55.

fc a

ZONED CORTINARIUS

(Cortinarius armillalus, A. & S., Fr.)

Cap cinnamon-brown; gills paler than cap; stem light brown with fibrous zones of red. See Genus, p. 85

Black-spored Series

Inky Coprinus (Edible)

Coprinus atramentarius

Cap or Pileus Cylindrical at first, broadening by degrees until it
is cone-shaped. Colour greyish or greyish brown, with sug-
gestions of lead colour. Smooth or with a few obscure
scales on the disk. Often suffused with bloom. The mar-
gin sometimes notched or lobed. Deliquescing. 1-3 inches
in diameter.

Stem or Stipe Slender, smooth, whitish, hollow; 2-4 inches.

Ring or Annulus A slight vestige of one may be seen to extend
around the stem near the base as an irregular zigzag ele-
vated line of threads.

Gills or Lamella Crowded. At first whitish and flpcculose on
the edges, then black, moist, dropping away in inky fluid.

Spores Black, elliptical.

Flesh White, quickly deliquescing.

Time Autumn.

Habitat Rich soil, waste places, woods.

The form growing in the woods is much more beautiful and
is known as C. atramentarius, var. silvestris. See plate facing
page 95;

Glistening Coprinus (Edible)

Coprinus micaceus

Cap or Pileus Ovate, then bell-shaped. Striations radiating
from near the centre of the disk to the margin. Glistening
mica-like scales cover undisturbed young specimens. 1-2
inches broad. Colour tan, light buff, or tawny yellow.

Stem or Stipe Slender, smooth, fragile, white, hollow. 1-3 inches
long.

Ring or Annulus Rarely seen except in very young specimens.

Gills or Lamellae Not as crowded as in the ink cap and shaggy-
mane. Colour white, then tinged with pinkish or purplish
brown, finally black.

Spores Brown, elliptical.

Flesh A nutty flavour when raw. In wet weather it melts to
an inky fluid. In dry weather it may dry with all parts
well preserved.

Time Common during spring and early autumn.

The glistening coprinus is small and beautiful, and grows in
clusters on decaying woods, stumps, or buried roots.

Xt'-riUmen-ta'-rf-fls Ml-ca'-ye-iis

Fungi with Gills

GENUS GOMPHIDIUS

This genus has black spores. The lamellae are waxy, and
grow downward on the stem.

GENUS PSATHYRELLA

The members of this genus are fleshy fungi, with black

spores. They have no annulus, and the lamellae are not waxy

or decurrent. The cap is striate, and the stem has a hard,
tough rind.

GENUS PAN&OLUS

There are six or more species of this genus in America.
They have black ovoid spores, a cap smooth and not striate, a
fleshy stem. Some species are very dangerous.

GENUS LACTARIUS

A milky or coloured juice exuding from the broken gills of a
fungus marks it as a Ladarius. The species are mostly stout
and fleshy, the cap resembling an inverted cone; the gills are
more or less decurrent, and the stem short and stout. Many of
the species have a hot, acrid taste, and some have zones of colour
on the surface of the cap. The spores are white or yellow. The
juice exuded may be white or orange or blue. No less than eight
species are dangerous.

Peppery Lactarius (Dangerous)

Ladarius piperatus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 103)

Cap or Pileus Creamy white, fleshy, firm, depressed in the cen-
tre. Dry, never viscid, and uncommonly broad. 3-8 inches
in diameter.

Gills or Lamella Creamy white, narrow, crowded, unequal,
forked, decurrent. Exuding a milky juice when bruised.
Milk white.

Stem or Stipe Creamy white, short, thick, solid, rounded at and
slightly tapering toward the base. One to two inches.

Gton-phld'-Ms Sa-thy-rifl'-ia

LJtc-ta-rf-us PJp^r-a'-ttis

Fungi with Milky Juice

L. pioeratu*

Veil and Annulus None.

Spores White.

Flesh Slightly paler than the surface of the cap. Taste very pep-
pery. Odour quite aromatic.

Time Summer.

Habitat Specimen pictured was found in mixed woods, among
dried leaves and sticks, in New Jersey.

Lactarius ligniotus

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 90)

Cap or Pileus Fleshy ; brown velvety surface ; convex to plane;
brittle.

Gills or Lamella Attached to the stem, distant, unequal. Snow
white to yellowish white. Milk mild and white.

Stem and Stipe The upper part the same colour as the cap surface,
base lighter ; hollow.

Ring or Annulus None.

Spores White.

Flesh Taste pleasant. Broken flesh reddish white, then yellow-
ish.

Time September.

Habitat Common among mosses under fir trees. The specimen
pictured was found growing in mixed woods at Lake Placid.

Llg-nK-o'-ttis
93

CHAPTER VI: FUNGI WITH TEETH
HYDNACE/E

THE fungi with teeth are so called because, instead of bear-
ing their spores on the surface of gills and pores, they bear
them on the surface of awl-shaped teeth, which project down-
ward. The genera of the family Hydnacece are distinguished
by the size, shape, and attachment of the teeth. Plants with
teeth only, and no basal membrane, make the genus Mucronella.
Plants with flattened, leaf-like teeth attached to a leathery mem-
brane, growing on wood, either in the form of a cap, or simply
spreading over the host, make the genus Irpex. Plants with
thick, blunt, irregular spines make the genus Radulum. Fleshy
or membranous plants with caps and flattened teeth, growing on
the ground, make the genus Sistotrema. Plants which spread
over their host, closely attached to its surface, and have simple,
bristle-like teeth, make the genus Pycnodon. Plants growing
in a manner similar to those of the genus Pycnodon, but having
low-crested wrinkles instead of bristles, make the genus
Phlebia ; while those with smooth hemispherical warts make
the genus Grandinia, and those with crested papillose warts
make the genus Odontium. The typical genus Hydnum has the
teeth cylindrical, so that a cross section would appear circular.
This is the only large genus, and in it are found several impor-
tant edible species. These may be put in two groups, one con-
taining the species with a cap and central stem, and one the
species growing in branched masses with no distinct cap. These
are commonly known as Hedgehog Mushrooms.

fr'-p&c Sfa-to-tre'-mS Phlgb-l'-S

MS-cro-nfl'-li RM'-fi-lfim Pyc'-n8-dfin Grita-di'-nlUi

S-dfint'-J-fim H^d'-nfim

5 f

3 O

Genus Hydautn

GENUS HYDNUM
Spreading Hydnum (Edible)

Hydnum repandum (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE in)

Cap or Pileus Fleshy, fragile, moist, smooth or somewhat
scaly in mature specimens. Variable in colour ; light red,
pale buff, or rusty yellow. Convex, plane, or deeply con-
cave by the stem becoming
hollow. Margins often wavy.
1-4 inches broad.

Teeth or Aculei Pointed, whitish,
easily detached, leaving little
cavities in the fleshy cap.

Stem or Stipe Stem solid in young
specimens, hollow in older
specimens. Surface rather
rough ; often eccentric. 1-3
inches long.

./r/^Watery, lighter colour than
cap.

Spores Whitish.

Time July to October.

Habitat Woods and open places.
Singly or in clusters. The speci-
men pictured was found in
North Carolina in February.

Section of H. repandum

Hydnum rufescens (edible) is redder than the typical form,
is smaller and more regular.

White Hydnum (Edible)

Hydnum albidum

Cap or Pileus White, fleshy. 1-2 inches broad.

Teeth or Aculei White, short.

Stem or Stipe White, solid, short. 1-2 inches long.

Flesh White.

Time]une to August.

Habitat Thin, wet woods.

Re.pin'-dfim

Ru-feV-sns
95

Xl.bf.dfim

Fungi with Teeth Hydnaceae

Hydnum imbricatum

Cap or Pileus Brownish, as if
scorched. Surface cracked in
irregular scales. 6-7 inches
wide.

Teeth Bluish grey.

Stem or Stipe Short and thick, with

H. imbricatum ... 1$*** & kS '

Flesh Whitish.

Time Late summer.
ffabitatDry woods.

Bear's-head Hydnum (Edible)

Hydnum caput-ursi (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 106)
Plant White, fleshy.

Branches and Teeth Short branches covered with awl-shaped
teeth of varying length, pointed toward the ground.

Section of H. caput-ursi

FUsk White when young, creamy when old.

ffa&itatQn prostrate or standing tree trunks of decaying de-
ciduous trees. Erect, if on the upper side; ascending or
pendulous or both, if on the side of the trunk.

The bear's-head hydnum is very variable in form. The

Im-brf-ca'-ttim Ci'-pttt-tir'-sl

Genus Hydnum

essential character is a solid, fleshy body with short protecting
branches bearing numerous simple or branched teeth, which
may vary in length from one-sixth of an inch to two inches,

Medusa's Head (Edible)

Hydnum caput-medusce

Hydnum caput-medusce has knob-like branches, with short,
distorted teeth above, and long, uniform ones below. At first it
is white, but later changes to a smoky or ash colour. The change
in colour from white to an ashy tint distinguishes it from H.
caput-ursi, which changes to creamy white.

Hedgehog Hydnum (Edible)

Hydnum echinaceus

The hedgehog hydnum is white at first, and then creamy.
The branches are knob-like, and bear numerous straight, equal
teeth about two inches long.

Coral Hydnum (Edible)

Hydnum coralloides

Plant Pure white, becoming creamy with age.

Branches and Teeth Numerous, spreading, angular or flattened.
Terminal branches often curved upwards, terminating in a
crowded mass of spines. Teeth, %-*/$ of an inch long.

Stem Short, dividing into branches almost from the base.

Flesh Tender, white, with agreeable taste.

Time July to October.

Habitat Qn. prostrate trees in mountainous or hilly country.

When a mere child, Elias Fries was so attracted by this beau-
tiful coral-like fungus, which grew in his native forests in Sweden,
that he was led to take up the study of fungi, and later became
one of the most prominent students in that branch of botany,
and laid the foundation for the study of the Basidiomycetes.

Ca'-pfit-me-du'-sae Ech-I-na'^g-tis CSr-ai-loi'-des

7 97

CHAPTER VII: FAIRY CLUBS AND CORAL
FUNGI CLAVARIACE^

THE fairy clubs and coral fungi belong to the family Clava-
riacece. They are fleshy fungi of upright growth, which hava
their spore-bearing surface exposed on the apices of branching
or simple club-like forms. Many are extremely beautiful, re-
sembling corals of exquisite shades of pink, violet, yellow, or
white.

The seven genera are distinguished by the colour of the
spores, by their habit of growth whether simple or branched,
and, if branching, by the form of the branches ; whether club-
like or thread-like, flat or round, cartilaginous or leathery. Many
of the members of this family are edible, and none are known to
be unwholesome, so that it will be safe for a beginner to try any
of them.

GENUS PHYSALACRIA

Plant small, simple, hollow, and enlarged at the apex.

GENUS PISTILLAR1A

Plants conspicuous, club-shaped or thread-like, with two
spicules to each spore-bearing cell.

GENUS TYPHULA

Plants conspicuous, club-shaped or thread-like, with four
spicules to each spore-bearing cell.

Cliv'-ar'-J-a'-9g-a Phys-a-la'-crf-a Pfe-tlUa'-rf-i T^ph'-u-l*

Genus Clavaria

GENUS SPARASSIS

Plants conspicuous, with the branches strongly flattened or
leaf-like.

Sparassis crispa somewhat resembles a yellow cauliflower,
and often forms masses as large as one's hand. It is considered
an excellent fungus for the table.

GENUS PTERULA

The members of this genus are mostly slender, thread-like
forms, cartilaginous when moist, and horny when dry.

GENUS LACHNOCLADIUM

The members of this genus are leathery plants covered with
hairs.

GENUS CLAVARIA

The genus Clavaria is the largest genus in the family Cla-va-
riacece. Many of the species are edible, and so easily recognised
that the beginner may venture without hesitation to eat any of
the branching forms. The club-like forms might be mistaken
for certain club-shaped forms of the sac-fungi unless an examina-
tion of the spores were made. The Clavarias would have the
spores on little spicules, as in the garden mushroom, whereas
the forms for which they might be mistaken would have them
in membranous sacs.

In collecting species of Clavaria, notes should be taken as
to the character of the apices of the branches, the colour of
the branches, the colour of the spores, the taste, and the place
of growth.

Pale Yellow Clavaria (Edible)

Clavaria flaw

Plant White and pale yellow. 2-5 inches high ; the mass of
branches 2-5 inches wide.

Spa-ras'-sls Crfs'-p* TSr'-ti-la Lak-nS-cla'-df-um Clay-ar-l-a" Flav'-i

Fairy Clubs and Coral Fungi Clavariaceae

Branches Round, not flattened; smooth, crowded, and nearly
parallel, pointing upward. Whitish or yellowish, with pale
yellow tips. Branchlets terminating in from one to three
blunt, tooth-like points.

Stem Short, thick, white.

Spores Yellowish.

Flesh White, tender.

Time July to September.

JSfetfta*- Thin woods and open places.

Golden Clavaria (Dangerous)

Clavaria aurea (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 91)

The 'plant is from three to four inches high, with the
branches of a uniform deep golden yellow, and often longitudi-
nally wrinkled. The stem is stout, but thinner than the Clavaria
flaw, which it somewhat resembles.

Red-tipped Clavaria (Edible)

Clavaria botrytes

Plant From 2-5 inches high, whitish or yellow or pinkish, with

the tips of the branches red.
Branches Sometimes longitudinally wrinkled, repeatedly

branched.

Stem Short, thick, fleshy, whitish.
Time July to September.
Habitat Thin woods and open places.

Crested Clavaria (Edible)

Clavaria cristata

Plant Small, not more than 2-2^ inches high. White or
whitish, often faintly tinged with dull pink, or creamy yel-
low, or smoky tints.

Branches Widened and flattened above, and deeply cut into
several finger-like points, which may turn blackish brown
when old.

Stem Slender, spongy within.

Spores White.

Habitat Woods and open places, especially in cool, shady, moist
places.

Au'-r*-* B6-try'-tes Crfs-ta'-t4

109

Genus Clavaria

Pistil Clavaria; Large Club (Edible)

Clavaria pistillaris

Of the club-shaped clavarias, the pistil clavaria is the
largest. It is of a light yellow tinged with brown or red, and
with soft white flesh. In shape it resembles an Indian club,
being blunt and rounded at the summit, with a diameter of an
inch or less, and a height of five inches or less. It is found
during the summer in grassy open places or in thin woods.

Clavaria fellea

The clubs of this species are about one inch high, light yellow
tinged with brown or red, somewhat divided by pairs from
bottom to top into two forked branches. The stem is round and
solid, and the branches are crowded and nearly parallel, with
blunt tips, and of a uniform colour. The taste is bitter.

Clavaria formOSa (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE no)

The Clavaria formosa has a stout whitish stem, with erect
branches, dividing and subdividing repeatedly, golden to pink,
the branchlets obtuse. The specimen pictured grew on a fallen
tree in dense mixed woods.

Pls'-tn-la'-ris Fl'-le-i F6r-mo'-s4

YOI

CHAPTER VIII: FUNGI WITH PORES
BOLETACE^; POLYPORACE>E

THE fungi with pores naturally divide into two groups.
The perishable fleshy fungi with pores easily separating from
the cap and from each other make the family Boletacecz. The
perishable fleshy fungi, and the leathery, corky, membranous
or woody fungi, with pores permanently united to the cap and
to each other, make up the family Poly-
poracece. In each the spores are borne on
the linings of pores or tubes placed close
Section of a Boletus to g e t her > so that on the surface of the cap they
look much like large pin pricks on a stiff
cushion ; but in a sectional view, obtained by cutting the cap
from the upper surface to the lower, they look like tubes placed
side by side.

Among the fleshy forms the genus Fistulina has the stem
lateral and the tubes close together, but distinct from each other.
The genus Boletus has the tubes easily separable from the cap,
and the genera Boletinus and Strobilomyces have the tubes quite
firmly connected. A brief comparison of essential points is
given in the table.

1. Stem strictly lateral. Mouths of the tubes separated from

each other Genus FISTULINA

2. Stem central. Pores readily separating from the cap Genus BOLETUS

3. Stem central or eccentric ; fleshy. Pores in more or less

radiating rows Genus BOLETINUS

4. Stem central, tough. Pores uniform. Cap woody Genus STROBILOMYCES

GENUS FISTULINA

The genus Fistulina contains one notable species, Fistulina
hepatica, so called from its resemblance to a liver. In its early
stages it somewhat resembles a strawberry, and later it may

tfo-le'-ta'-??-* FIs-ta-ir-n5 B6-lg-ti'-nfis

P6'-ly-p6-ra'-9S-ae B6-le'-tfis Stro-bll-o'-my'-jes

102

PEPPERY LACTARIUS
(Lactariu! piperatvs, Scop. Nat. size). Cap, 3-12 inches

PEPPERY LACTARIUS
(T.actarius fiperatus^ Scop. Nat. size)

Genus Boletinus

have the appearance of a big red tongue protruding from a tree
trunk, so that the French call it langue de boeuf. It is often
called vegetable beefsteak, from the flesh-like fibre and colour of
the fresh specimens. When young, the upper side is velvety
and of a fine peach colour ; later it becomes liver red and loses
the velvety appearance ; the under surface is flesh coloured, and
is rough, much like the surface of a tongue, owing to the fact
that the tubes are free from one another.

GENUS BOLETINUS

The spore-bearing surface of the genus Boletinus is com-
posed of broad, radiating lamellae connected by numerous nar-
row partitions so as to form large angular pores. The tubes are
not easily separable from each other and from the portion on
which they are borne. They are yellowish in colour, and grow
downward somewhat on the stem. The genera may be distin-
guished by the following table:

1 . Stem hollow BOLETINUS CAVIPES

2. Stem solid, lateral, or eccentric BOLETINUS POROSUS

3. Stem solid, central. Cap pale yellow and silky BOLETINUS DECIPIENS

4. Stem solid, central. Cap red BOLETINUS PALUSTER

5. Stem solid, central. Cap with red scales BOLETINUS PICTUS

Painted Boletinus (Edible)

Boletinus pictus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE m)

Cap or Pileus Convex or nearly plane; at first covered with red
matted fibres, which soon divide into small scales, so as to
reveal the yellow colour of the cap beneath. 2-4 inches wide.

Tubes Pale yellow, or pale yellow tinged with brown. Not
easily separated from the cap.

Veil Webby, concealing the tubes of the young plant.

Stem or Stipe Solid, with scales and colour similar to those of the
cap. i %-"$ inches long.

Ring or Annulus. Webby; evident in some specimens.

Spores Pale yellow tinged with brown.

Flesh Yellowish, often assuming reddish tints when bruised.

Habitat Woods and mossy swamps.

Civ'-I-pes Po-ro'-sfis De-9lp'-l-ens Pa-l&s'-teV Pfc'-tfis

103

Fungi with Pores Boletaceae

GENUS BOLETUS

The species in the genus Boletus are numerous, and many
are extremely beautiful. They are distinguished from the other
pore-bearing fungi by the fact that their tubes are easily separable
from each other and from the portion on which they are borne.

They are to be looked for in the warmest part of the season,
and with a few exceptions will be found on the ground. As it
is difficult to dry specimens so that they will retain their size,
shape, and colour, careful notes should be taken of these points,
together with the colour of the spores, the colour of the tubes,
the colour of the flesh before and after being bruised, the char-
acter of the stem, the presence or absence of hairs and fibres on
the several parts of the plant. The genus Boletus contains many
edible species, and also many which are dangerous ; and as the
recognition of the different species is a difficult matter, even for
experts, the beginner should be especially cautious. In general
it will be well to avoid for edible purposes all Boleti which
change colour on exposure to the air or on being pressed; all
those which have red-mouthed tubes, or mouths of a deeper
colour than the rest of the tube ; and all those with a peppery or
acrid taste. Experiment cautiously with the other species.

A detailed description of the species is out of the question in
this book; for such the reader must refer to " Boleti of the United
States,"* or to " Fuhrer fur Pilzfreunde."f

Boletus glabelius

Cap Smoky yellow.

Flesh White, changing to blue when wounded.

Tubes Brownish yellow tinged with green, changing to blue

when wounded.
Stem Reddish at the base, pallid above, with a narrow reddish

circumscribing %one or line at the top.
Habitat Grassy ground.

Gla-beT-liis

* Bulletin, New York State Museum, No. 8, 1888. This can be obtained
at a small price of the State Librarian at Albany, New York. In it are described
one hundred and ten species.

f By Edmund Michael. A book in German, with sixty-eight coloured plates.

104

Genus Boletus

Boletus bicolor

Cap Dark red, fading when old; often marked with yellow; 2-4

inches.

Flesh Yellow, slowly changing to blue when wounded.
Tubes Bright yellow, changing to blue.
Stem Solid, red, generally yellow at the top; 1-3 inches.
Habitat Woods and open places. Common in Va. and Md.
One of the best edible species.

Boletus cyanescens

Cap Pale buff or greyish yellow. Covered with woolly scales,

two-fifths of an inch wide.

Flesh White, quickly changing to blue when wounded.
Tubes White, becoming yellowish, changing to blue when

bruised.
Stem Coloured like the cap. Swollen, stuffed, not covered with

a network.
Habitat Woods and open places.

Boletus pallidus

Cap Pallid or brownish white, sometimes tinged with red.
Flesh White.

Tubes Pale whitish yellow, changing to blue when wounded.
Stem Long and whitish, sometimes streaked with brown ;
smooth.

Boletus mutabilis

Cap Brown, becoming blackish ; smooth and shining ; or dry,
somewhat woolly.

Flesh Bright yellow, promptly changing to blue when wounded.

Tubes Yellow, changing to greenish yellow, and quickly be-
coming blue when wounded. Mouths large and angular.

Stem Stout, bright yellow within, covered with brown and
dotted scales.

Habitat Dense woods.

Boletus speciosus

Cap Red. 3-7 inches broad.

Flesh Pale or bright lemon yellow, changing to blue when
wounded.

BT-co-lSr y-Sn-es'-sens PM'-M-dtts Mu-tS'-bUIs Spe-tf-o'-stts

105

Fungi with Pores Boletaceae

Tubes Bright lemon yellow, becoming dingy yellow with age;

changing to green, then to blue, when wounded.
Stem Bright lemon yellow -without and within, sometimes reddish

at the base. 2-4 inches long.
Habitat Thin woods.

Golden-flesh Boletus

Boletus ckrysenteron (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 63)

Cap Yellowish brown, reddish brown, brick red, or olive tinted

with reddish chinks. One to three inches.
Flesb Yellow, red just under tie skin, often changing to blue

when wounded.

Tubes Greenish yellow, changing to blue when wounded.
Stem Red or pale yellow; 1-3 inches.
Habitat Woods or mossy banks, common.

Boletus radicans

C*/ Dry, somewhat woolly. Greenish grey, becoming pale yel-
low. Margin rolled under.

Flesh Pale yellow, instantly changing to dark blue when wounded.

Tubes Lemon yellow.

Stem Tapering downward and rooting. Woolly, with a reddish
bloom. Pale yellow, becoming dark with a touch.

Habitat Woods, Ohio.

Boletus Peckii

Cap Firm, dry. Red, fading to yellowish red or buff brown.
Tubes Yellow, changing to blue when wounded.
Stem Red; yellow at the top.
Habitat Woods.

Boletus calopus

Cap Olive tinted, somewhat woolly. 2-3 inches wide.
Flesh Pallid, slightly changing to blue when wounded.
Tubes Yellow.
Stem Covered with a network. Wholly scarlet, or at the apex

only. Longer than the diameter of the cap.
Habitat Woods.

Crfs-n'-tgr-da Ri'-dl-cXns P&k'-W Cai-5'-pfis

1 06

- 8

tu 18

CONE-LIKE BOLETUS (EDIBLE. Mel.)

(Not a true Boletus)

(Strobilomycrs strobilaceus. Berk.)

Purplish black; flesh white, changing to red when bruised. See p. IO2

BITTER BOLETUS (DANGEROUS)

(Boletus felleus, Bull.; var. obesus, Pk.). See p. 107

Cap, 3-8 inches; stem 2-4 inches

Genus Boletus

Purple Boletus

Boletus purpureus

Cap Dry, velvety. Purple red.

Flesh Changing to blue, and then to dark yellow m the young

plant.
Tubes Yellow or greenish yellow. Mouths minute, orange

tinged -with purple, changing to blue where wounded.
Stem Stout, with purple veins or dots. Apex sometimes covered

with a network. Yellow, reddish within.
Habitat Woods.

Boletus Satanus (Dangerous)

Cap Smooth, somewhat sticky.
Pale brown or whitish.
3-8 inches broad.

Flesh Whitish, becoming red-
dish or violet when
wounded. f^ery poison-
ous.

Tubes Yellow. Mouths bright-
red, becoming orange.

Stem Thick, swollen, marked
above with a red network.
2-3 inches long.

Habitat Woods.

B Satanus

Bitter Boletus (Suspected. Very Bitter)

Boletus felleus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 107)

Cap Smooth, pale yellowish, greyish brown, yellowish brown,

reddish brown, or chestnut. 3-8 inches broad.
Flesh White, changing to flesh colour when bruised. Taste

bitter.
Tubes White, becoming flesh colour. Mouths angular. Adnate

to the stem.
Stem Covered with network. Colour similar to the cap. 2-4

inches long.
Habitat Woods and open places.

Pfir-pu'-rg-us

Sa-ta'-nas
107

FeT-l-us

Fungi with Pores Boletacese

BoletUS SCaber (Edible) (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 114)

Cap Smooth, -viscid when moist, or minutely woolly, velvety, or
scaly. 1-5 inches wide. Colour ranges from nearly white
to almost black.

Tubes Free from the stem, white, long. Mouths minute.

Flesh White.

Stem. Long, ground colour whitish, roughened with blackish
brown or reddish dots or scales. 3-5 inches long.

Habitat Common in woods, swampy and open places.

Orange-cap Boletus

Boletus versipellis

Cap Orange red. 2-6 inches wide. Dry, minutely woolly,
then scaly or smooth. Margin edged with the remains of
the veil.

Flesh White or greyish.

Tubes Long. Mouths minute. Greyish-white.

Stem Solid ; white scaly wrinkles. Whitish colour. 3-5
inches long.

Habitat Woods and open places.

Chestnut Boletus (Edible)

Boletus castaneus

Cap Dry, minutely velvety. Cinnamon or reddish-brown. 1-3

inches broad.
Flesh White.

Tubes White, becoming yellow. Short, and free from the stem.
Stem Clothed and coloured like the cap. i-2> inches high.
Habitat Sandy soil at edges of woods. Common.

Boletus eximius

Cap Purplish-brown or chocolate colour, fading to smoky red

or pale chestnut. 3-10 inches broad.
Flesh Greyish or reddish white.
Tubes Resembling the cap in colour. Mouths minute.
Stem Stout, covered with a meal-like powder. Colour resembling

the cap, grey tinged with purple within. 2-4 inches long.
Habitat Woods.

Sci'-Wr Vr-sI-pl'-Hs Cis-ta'-ne-tis Ex-Im'-I-tis

1 08

Fungi with Pores Poly poraceae

Edible Boletus

Boletus edulis

Cap Convex or nearly plane; smooth, moist; compact, then

soft. Greyish red, brownish red, or tawny brown. 4-6

inches broad.

Flesh White or yellowish; reddish beneath the skin.
Tubes Convex, nearly free, long, minute, round. White, then

yellow and greenish.
Stem Short or long, straight or curving, sometimes bulbous,

stout, covered with network. Just beneath the sterp

whitish or brownish. 2-6 inches long.
Habitat Thin woods. I

Boletus subtomentosus

Cap Covered with soft -woolly hairs. Somewhat olive green,
uniform in colour under the skin, yellow chinks on the sur-
face.

Flesh White.

Tubes Yellow, with large angular mouths.

Stem Stout, rugged, with minute dots.

Habitat Common in woods.

Boletus Americanus

Cap Thin, soft, viscid, slightly woolly on the margin when
young. Yellow, becoming dingy with age; sometimes
streaked with bright red. 1-3 inches broad.

Flesh Pale yellow.

Tubes Not free from the stem. Large, angular. Pale yellow,
becoming tinged with brown.

Stem Slender. No annulus. Yellow, brownish towards the base,
marked with numerous brown or reddish-brown glandular
dots; yellow within. i^-2>^ inches long.

Habitat Woods, swamps.

POLYPORACE/E

The fungi with pores permanently united to the surrounding
tissue and to each other form a large and important group, the
Polyporacece. With but few exceptions they are leathery, corky,
membranous, or woody.

Nearly six hundred species have been reported from America.

fed'-u-lls Stib'-t6-mn-t6'-stis A-mgr'-l-ca'-ntis P6'-l?-p8-ra'-9-*

Fungi with Pores Polyporaceae

GENUS MERULIUS
Merulius lacrymans

The simplest of these Polyporacece is the dry-rot fungus,
Merulius lacrymans. The food-seeking portion consists of fine
white threads, mycelium, which penetrate the woodwork of
buildings, causing it to crumble to dust. The fruiting portion
consists of flat, irregular bodies whose under surface bears the
spores in shallow pits separated by narrow ridges. Water is
excreted from these flat disks, which, from the habit of dropping
like tears, has suggested the specific name lacrymans, from the
Latin lacrymare, to weep.

GENUS POLYPORUS

The genus Polyporus and the genus Trametes have the pores
closely packed and united to together. In Trametes the uniting
substance is the same as the substance of the cap, but in Poly-
porus the uniting substance is different from the substance of
the cap. The genus Polyporus in its widest sense is a large,
one, numbering some five hundred species, and containing every
texture from fleshy or pulpy to woody.

The fruiting portion is often seen in the form of brackets
shelving out from standing or fallen trees. The mycelium pene-
trates the wood, softening it, and causing it to crumble, so that
in the course of time the tree dies. The external evidence that
the tree has been attacked is the appearance of the fruiting por-
tion, which often attains a very great size.

Elfvingia (polyporus) megaloma

Polyporus megaloma is attractive to frequenters of the woods,
as its spore surface when fresh is soft and white, and furnishes
an attractive surface for stencil drawings.

Elfvingia (polyporus) fomentaria

The brackets of Elfvingia fomentaria resemble horses'
hoofs. They are employed in the manufacture of amadou, or

P6-lyp'-6-rfis Tra-me'-tes Mg-i-l6'-mi F6-ra6n-ta -rf-fis

Painted Boletinus (edib!e)

(Boletinus pictus, Pk.).
Cap, 2-4 inches; stem, 1^-3 inches.

Spreading Hydnum (edible).

(Hydnum repandum, L.).
Cap, 1-4 inches; stem, 1-3 inches.
See page 95.

Genus Polyporus

German tinder, which, in the form of sticks or fusees, commonly
known as punk, is used for lighting cigars and pipes in the
wind, or for touching off fireworks.

The fusees are made by beating the fungus substance until
it is flexible, and then dipping it into saltpetre,

Polyporus conchatus

Polyporus conchatus is a beautiful species found on the
under side of fallen trees, growing in such a manner that from
the spore-bearing surface the shells look like rosettes of shim-
mering golden-brown velvet.

Polyporus velutinus

Polyporus velutinus is common in the form of stiff ruffles
with white or creamy spore surface, and grey or tan-coloured
plush-like upper surface.

Polyporus pergamenus

Polyporus pergamenus has a somewhat bristle-like, tan-
coloured spore surface, and a velvety drab upper surface, often
tinged with green from a green alga which grows upon it.

Polyporus perennis

Polyporus perennis resembles a slender-stemmed goblet.

Polyporus sulphureus

Polyporus sulphureus is an edible fleshy form. It grows in
clusters, the stemless caps often five or six inches broad and
overlapping. The colour of the young cap is yellowish red or
pale orange, with the margin wavy, and of a beautiful yellow.
It is soft and juicy, and often when cut exudes a yellow
juice.

The plants may be found on the dead wood of trees
during showery weather from May to October. The mature
plants become dry and crumbling, and as they dry they lose

C6n-cha'-tfis Vl-u'-tt-nGs Pgr-gS-me'-nQs Pr-n'-nls Sfil-phu-r*-fis

III

Fungi with Pores Polyporaceae

their attractive colours. They exhibit phosphorescence in early
stages of decay. The tubes are minute and short and of a
bright sulphur colour. Only the young plants should be used
for food.

Polyporus squamosus

Polyporus squamosus is found often on decayed ash trees and
sometimes on others. The cap has a thick lateral dark stem and
is pale yellow tinged with brown, and covered with dark scales.
It is reported to have been found seven feet in circumference,
with a weight of forty-two pounds, and that it attained this
growth in the short time of four weeks.

Polyporus lucidus

Polyporus lucidus has a lateral stem which, with all but the
margin of the cap, is highly polished, as if varnished, and is in
colour a rich mahogany brown.

Polyporus arCUIarJUS (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 150)

Cap Dark brown, minutely scaly, depressed in the centre;
margin stiff, edge hairy, no flesh.

Tubes Dingy cream colour. Openings oblong, almost diamond-
shape, resembling the meshes of a net, drawn from stem to
the margin of the cap, the meshes smaller on the margin,
and simply marked out at the top of the stem.

Stem Dark brown, minutely scaly, mottled, with a ground
work of cream colour. Older stems are roughened at
the base with whitish hairs. Hollow.

Spores Creamy white.

Habitat The specimen pictured was found growing on decayed
branches of an oak tree in North Carolina.

Polyporus Versicolor* (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 118)

Polyporus -versicolor has a leathery cap, thin and rigid, plane,
depressed at the attached portion, velvety, shining with varie-
gated two-coloured zones. The pores are minute, round, with
acute and ragged edges. White, then yellowish. It is common
on decaying tree trunks and upon telegraph poles.

Squa-m5'-stis Lu'-9*-dfis Xr-cu-la'-rf-tis VSr-s*c'-6-16T

* Known also as Polystictus versicolor

112

Genus Lenzites

PolypOrUS CircinatUS (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 118)

Polyporus circinatus quite often has one cap within
another. The caps are thick, round, without zones, velvety, and
of a rusty-yellow colour. The lower surfaces of the caps, with
the stems are woody and corky, but the upper surfaces of the
caps are soft and woolly. The stem is swollen and covered
with yellow wool. The pores are decurrent, minute, and un-
broken, and of a dusky grey colour. This is a handsome species,
especially remarkable for its double cap. The stem is an inch
long and almost equally thick. The cap is three to four inches
wide, and the flesh is uniform in colour.

GENUS TRAMETES

Trametes pini is brown, and grows on pines and other cone-
bearing trees. Trametes cinnabarina is bright red, and common
on birch and cherry. Trametes suaveolens is white, and grows
on willows.

GENUS LENZITES
Lenzites betulina (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 119)

The Lenities betulina has a somewhat corky, leathery cap,
firm, and without zones,
woolly and pale; the mar-
gin of uniform colour; the
lamellae radial, somewhat
branching, and coming to-
gether again. Sordid white.
This fungus, in the form of
brackets, is found espe-
cially on birch trees, but it
is also found on various
other kinds. It is a wide-

, . , . ., Under surface of L. betulina

spread species, and is quite

variable. The lamellae are at first thick, corky, and sordid

white; then thinner, with acute edges.

s Pl'-nl Gfa'-nS-ba-ri'-nS Su*a-ve'-8-lgns Le"n-zl'-tes Be't-u-lf-nS
8 113

Fungi with Pores Polyporaceae

Lenzites separia

Leathery shells, with the upper surface marked with rough
zones of various shades of brown: the under surface with brown,
radiating, papery gills.

GENUS D/EDALEA

The genus Dcedalea has the spore-bearing surface in the
form of winding and labyrinthine lamellae, so that instead of
pores there are irregular branching slits on the under surface.
These fungi are normally sessile, woody, and hard.

Daedalea unicolor

Dcedalea unicolor is in form like a full leather ruffle with
scalloped edge, so full that the scallops overlap. The branching
slits are very minute, and the upper side is in zones of tan colour,
with a plush-like surface. The zones are often tinged with blue
or green from algae which grow upon them.

Daedalea confragosa

Dcedalea confragosa has a rough grey upper surface, and
grows from the centre in the form of depressed sessile caps.
The texture is firm and leathery.

quercina (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 122)

Dcedalea quercina is a woody or corky species, rugged, and
without zones on the surface. At first it is porous ; then, by
the breaking down of the walls of the pores, slits are formed,
with blunt partitions. It is common on oak trees.

Se-pl'-rf-I Dae-da'-lc-i C6n'-fri-gd'-s4

SCABROUS-STEMMED BOLETUS (EDIBLE)

(Boletus scaber, Fr. ; var. niveus, Gill.)
Cap white, 15 inches; stem, 3-5 inches. See p. 108

TINDERWOOD POLYPORUS

{Eljingia fomentaria, L.; Fames fomentarius, Gill.; Poly porus foment arius, Fr.i
Upper surface grey to brown; tube-surface concave. See p. 11(1

GENUS FAVOLUS

Genus Favolus

The genus Favolus has but few spe-
cies ; one is very common on beech and
hickory trees. Favolus alveolarius has a
lateral stem. The cap is depressed, and
has a smooth, creamy-white upper sur-
face, with long hexagonal pores running
down the short stem.

F. alveolarius

115

CHAPTER IX: GELATINOUS AND OTHER

FUNGI

Jew's Ear, or Judas's Ear (Edible)

Hirneola auricula- Judce (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 123)

THE Jew's ear is a gelatinous fungus which is so lobed and
folded as to resemble a human ear. It is this resemblance to an
ear which has suggested the names, Jew's ear and Judas's ear.
Its habit of growing on elder has given rise to the belief that
Judas Iscariot hanged himself on this tree. This fungus is prized
by the Chinese as an article of food, and is imported by them from
the South Sea Islands.

Its manner of bearing the spores on basidia places it in
Class III, Basidiomycetes, which contains fungi with gills, teeth,
and pores.

Tremellodon

Tremellodon is a clear fungus, which in colour resembles a
piece of water-soaked snow, but in form resembles a Hydnum,
as it has teeth-like projections on the under surface.

Guepinia

Guepina is a bright yellow fungus, about an inch high, in
form like little spatules or goblets. It is common in cracks of
logs and stumps.

mr-ne'-5-l* Au-rfc'-fi-li Tre-mSl'-16-d6n Guip-Kn'-i-i

CHAPTER X: OFFENSIVE FUNGI ORDER
PHALLALES

THE Phallales are all terrestrial fungi ; that is, they are found
growing on the ground, and not on logs and trees. They are in-
teresting, but too offensive to attract any but the most coura-
geous students.

They are more common in the South than in the North,
where they make themselves too conspicuous by their intoler-
able odour.

They are structurally different from the other pouch-fungi, the
puffballs, in that they do not retain their spores in the skin (pe-
ridium) until they are fully mature, but send them into the light,
exposed on a quickly deliquescing jelly-like mass, the gleba.

The order may conveniently be divided into two families:
( Receptacle latticed, sessile, or stalked.

FAMILY i. CLATHRACE/E ] Spore mass borne on the inner sur-
' face of the receptacle.
( Receptacle tubular or cylindric, with a

FAMILY II. PHALLACE^ -j Cap.

' Spore mass on the surface of the cap.

GENUS PHALLUS
Stinkhorns

The genus Phallus may be readily distinguished by the
cylindrical shape of the spore receptacles and the intolerable
odour. No one with his sense of smell developed would think of
eating the members of this group. The botanist and the artist,
however, have braved this lion on his own territory, and have
found much that is beautiful and interesting ; the artist having
the advantage in his task of portraying the handsome specimen,

FWl-la'-les ClSth-ra'- S e-ae Phil-la' -5?-* PhiU-liis

117

Offensive Fungi

in that he can inclose it in a sealed glass case and work in
comfort. The experience of the botanist must be realised to be
appreciated.

An overpowering fetid odour suddenly evident upon the
premises has many times filled with consternation the guests at
summer resorts, causing among them much speculation, with
suggestions of bad sewerage, and carelessness on the part of their
host, together with other comments equally disastrous to the
reputation of the place.

The distracted householder searches in vain for a solution of
the difficulty, and the odour disappears as mysteriously as it came.
If he is one of the initiated, however, he will search until he finds
the haunt of the offender, and will destroy all chance of a repeti-
tion of the nuisance for one summer, at least.

The mischief-maker is a handsome specimen, as its plate
shows. The white stem, bearing at its summit a mass of gela-
tinous green substance capped with a yellow-white ring, and
emitting its intolerable odour, has surely come into existence for a
purpose a purpose soon suggested as hundreds of flies wing
their way hither to sip the semi-fluid mass.

The botanist tells us that the spores of this plant are mixed
in the green fluid, and that they are carried away on the feet and
in the bodies of the flies to other places, where new colonies may
be started.

The plant has undoubtedly emerged from the ground for the
sole purpose of disseminating its spores, and all its parts have
been developed to accomplish this function in the most effectual
manner.

The banquet for the flies is prepared underground, and the
table, with its viands all ready, is pushed into the light, while the
invitation to the guests is wafted swiftly on the breeze.

One is curious to learn the mechanism by which so much is
accomplished in apparently so short a time, and finds in this
instance, as in all others where great things are accomplished
with ease, that many forces have been slowly at work to insure
everything being in readiness for the success of a final flourish.
A search underground shows the mycelial threads to have per-
meated the soil for many feet in every direction in search of
building material, and a glance at a vertical section of one of the
pink eggs which has pushed its way out of the soil will show

tit

Polyporus versicolor, F

Polypous circinatus, Fr.

Cap, 3-4 inches; stem, i inch.

See page 1 1 3.

Lenzites betulina, Fr.
See page 1 13

Genus Phallus

in outline the plan of what is to be. The pink "eggshell," or
peridium, is lined with a jelly-like substance, which has un-

doubtedly
served as a
safe packing

Pink,egg6hell
fiiture (jreen mass of Cap
del}/- like substance
Future stem

Compressed cells

Section of young phallus

to what is
within, a
protection
against
blows and
insect rav-
ages. Within
this coat, in
section, ap-
pears as two
dark -col-

oured saddle-bags that which later is to form the green mass on
the cap of the fully developed spore table. Between these dark
masses lies in section the future stem ; it is hollow, and bears on
its rim the spore-bearing cap. The walls of this cap consist of
flattened cells, which by extraordinary growth and expansion are
to force the stem through the eggshell and carry the banquet of
spores several inches into the light, leaving the torn wrapper
as a volva at its base, a natural "Jack-in-the-box."

Phallus impudicUS (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 122)

Cap or Pilfus Outer surface bearing the
spores in a jelly-like mass, gleba.
Conic-cam panulate. Outer surface
sculptured with reticulated ridges after
the green spore mass has disap-
peared.

Stem Hollow, tapering at each end ; upper
end joined with the cap by a recurved
border.

Veil Wanting.

Volva Pinkish.

Habitat Low ground.

fm-pud'Jt-cus

Reticulated
ridge*

P. irapudicu*

Offensive Fung!

GENUS DICTYOPHORA

The genus Dictyophora differs from the genus Phallus in
having a veil suspended from the apex of the stem, underneath
the pileus or cap.

Dictyophora Ravenelii

Stem Tapering at both ends.

Veil Short, not reaching below the cap.

Dictyophora duplicata

fW/ Voluminous, hanging for several inches below the cap.

It is thought that this delicate white network, which hangs
like a lace skirt below the cap, renders the fungus additionally
conspicuous after dark, thus attracting the night moths and other
night-flying insects.

MutinuS CaninUS (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 138)

Cap or Pileus Flesh coloured. The spore-bearing mass, oblong,
ovoid, or conical, occupying one-third to one-sixth the total
length of the stipe.

..Spore mass

Embryo
plant

Velva...

Volva

Young plant
M. caninus

Sulk

Volva

M. batnbusinus

Stem or Stipe Hollow, cylindrical, fusiform.
Habitat About buildings, in gardens and thickets.

R*'-Yn-T-H

Du-pll-ca'-t4
Mu-G'-ntts

120

Ca-m'-ntts
Bam-bu-si'-nfts

Family Clatbracei

FAMILY CLATHRACE/E

The members of the family Clathracece have a volva similar
to the volva of the Phallacece. The volva ruptures, and the
receptacle issues in a similar manner. The members of this
family have the spore receptacle latticed or branched instead of
tubular or cylindrical, and bear the spores on the inner surface
of the receptacle rather than on the outer surface.

Latticed Clathrus

Clathrus cancellatus

Receptacle not stalked. The
bars of the lattice-work are ob-
lique and transversely wrinkled.
The outer surface may be cinna-
bar red or white or yellowish.
The inner surface of the bars is
red.

Volra

C. cancellatus

Clathrus columnatus (Dangerous)

Receptacle not stalked, consisting of from 2-5 vertical col-
umns, separate below, but jointed at the apex. Columns cinna-
bar red, enclosing the spore mass. Odour very fetid.

I.... Arms

I Sulk

/ Volva

A. borealis

Lysurus borealis

Receptacle stalked, hollow, divided above*
into arms, which do not join at their apices, and
which bear the spore masses on their inner sur-
faces, enclosing the spore mass when young,
but later diverging.

Stem of receptacle white ; arms narrow
lance-shaped, with pale flesh-coloured backs,
traversed their entire length by a shallow
furrow.

Clath-ra'-c*-ae
Clath'-rtis

Can-9*fl-la'-ttis
C61-tim-na'-ttis

An-thu'-rfis

121

Offensive Fungi

Simblum rubescens

Receptacle stalked and globular, bars of the
lattice forming meshes of about equal diam-
eter either way. Red or flesh coloured, and
transversely wrinkled.

Slm'-blttm I

& rabescens

122

Dtedalea quercina, (L.) Pers.
Upper side. Reduced

Dtedalea guercina, (L.) Pers.
Lower side. Reduced

JEW'S EAR. JUDAS'S EAR (EDIBLE)
(Hirneola Auricula-Judo:, (L.) Berk.)

See cage 36

cx
S

Calostoma Ravenelii (Berk.) Mas-.

ialostoma lutescens (Schw.), Burnap

Calostoma cinnabarinum, Desv.

Spathularla velutipes, C. & F
Reduced. See pa^e l^

CHAPTER XI,: PUFFBALLS
ORDER LYCOPERDALES

THE pouch fungi include all fungi which have their spores
or seeds in closed chambers until maturity that is, until they are
fully ripe and ready to be scattered by winds or animals. Col-
lectively, the closed chambers are called the gleba, and this gleba
is surrounded by a definite rind (peridium), which, in different
puffballs, has various and characteristic ways of opening to per-
mit the spores to escape.

The different ways in which the rinds (peridia) open are
explained under the separate examples of the pouch fungi
puffballs, earth-stars, stinkhorns, birds' nests, and calostomas.

The Lycoperdales, known in different parts of the country as
smokeballs, devil's snuffboxes, puffballs, etc., have their spores
enclosed until maturity in closed chambers, surrounded by a con-
tinuous skin or peridium. They spend most of their lifetime
underground, getting their food from decaying vegetable matter,
and are for this reason called subterranean saprophytes. When
they are about ready to scatter their spores, they emerge from the
ground, and are then to be seen in pastures, and on fallen logs in
woods and along roadsides. Every country child has pinched
them to see the " smoke" rise, little knowing that he was doing
for the puffball just that for which it had come into existence
scattering its spores far and wide to grow into new plants.

The plants of the puffballs, the mycelial threads, form an
extensive network of white threads in the decaying vegetable
matter in which they grow ; then little balls appear on the white
threads, as in the Agaricales, with the difference that they in-
crease in size without forming gills and stem. The balls have
a fleshy interior, cheesy and white at first, but afterwards yel-
lowish or pinkish, gradually darkening until the whole or a part

Ly'-c6-pr-da'-les
123

Puffballs

of the fleshy interior becomes filled with dust-like spores, when
the rind of the ball breaks to let the spores escape.

Sometimes the wall breaks off in scales ; sometimes it is
punctured at the summit with one hole, sometimes with several,
and sometimes it splits and turns back to form a star on the
ground. Sometimes the balls contain elastic threads (capillitium),
which help to push out the spores, and sometimes they do not.
Sometimes there are threads massed at the base without spores
in them, so that they form a sterile base or sterile subgleba, and
sometimes the threads are massed to form a central column
(columella) in the interior of the ball. These characters, with
others, form the basis on which the puffballs are separated
into the genera Lycoperdon, Geaster, Cal-vatia, Bovtstella, Bovista,
and Calostoma.

GENUS LYCOPERDON

The Lycoperdons, or true puffballs, produce within the ball
vast numbers of dust-like spores mingled with elastic threads.
When the ball is compressed, the rind or peridium bursts at the
summit to form a single mouth, and the
elastic threads cause the spores to fly out in
puffs like smoke.

The spore-bearing part of the plant is
globe-shaped, obovoid, or top-shaped, and
at the base of the gleba no spores are pro-
duced ; the cells here are coarse and empty.
. The rind or peridium of the ball con-

Lycoperdon , ,

sists of two parts, the outer bark or outer
peridium being adorned with spines or scales or warts or gran-
ules. Sometimes the exterior coat may be peeled off, sometimes
it dries and falls away in fragments.
The inner coat is thin and papery, and
opens on the top with one opening.
At first the ball is fleshy within, the
microscope showing the flesh to con-
sist of a great number of simple or
branched threads and enlarged cells.
The enlarged cells bear usually four

Section of Lycoperdon
Ly'-co-peV-d8n (diagrammatic)

124

Genus Lycoperdon

spicules, on the tips of which are the spores. When the plant
is fully developed, the fleshy part becomes so filled with moisture
that water may be squeezed out as from a sponge. As the flesh
becomes moist, the colour changes from white, through yellow,
to olive. After the change in colour, the wet mass becomes dry
and powdery, a mass of globose spores and elastic threads or
capillitium.

The Lycoperdons are of small size, usually found in fields and
woods. A section made by cutting a ball from top to base will
show that the threads form a more or less well developed sterile
base or subgleba underneath the fertile gleba, or mass of threads
containing spores. Sometimes the sterile threads from the base
rise upward in the centre of the fertile mass and form a little
column, the columella. Usually the threads which bear the
spores are in two sets ; one set extending inward from the walls
of the rind, and another set extending outward from the central
columella.

Pear-shaped Puffball (Edible)

Lycoperdon pyriforms (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 126)

Peridium or Pouch Pear-shaped. Dingy white or brownish, with

mycelium of long, white, branching fibres. Diameter ^-i#

inches. Height 1-2 inches.
Bark or Outer Coat Thin ; of minute, often persistent, scales or

granules, or short, stout spinules. Whitish grey or brownish.
Inner Coat Smooth, papery, whitish grey or brownish, opening

by apical mouth.

Subgleba Small, white, quite compact, the cells minute.
Columella Present.

Spores Globose, even, greenish yellow to brownish olive.
Threads Branched, long, forming a dense tuft in the centre.
Time July to October.
Habitat On old timber or on the ground, in groups sometimes

several feet across in extent. The commonest of puffballs,

and found throughout the world.

Pinkish Puffball (Edible)

SUbtncarnatum (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 142)

Peridium or Pouch Globe-shaped, sessile, without a stem-like
base. Rarely over one inch in diameter.

Py'-rt-f6r'-m Sfib-In'-cir-na' -tfim

125

Poffballs

Bark or Outer Coat Pinkish brown, with minute short, stout spin-

ules, which fall away at maturity.
Inner Coat Ash coloured. Deeply pitted by the falling off of the

spinules of the outer coat, the pits not surrounded with

dotted lines.
Columella Present.
Subglcba Small but distinct.
Spores and Capillitium Spores round, minutely warted. Greenish

yellow, then brownish olive. Threads long, simple, and

transparent.

Time August to October.
Habitat Old trunks in woods.

GENUS CALVATIA

The Calvatias are puffballs of large size, all with thick cord-
like mycelium rooting from the base. They all eject their spores

through irregular openings in the upper

part of the peridium, and they all have

a dense

network of

branching

threads

(capillitium)

traversing

the tissues

of the spore-
bearing por-

t io n, the

gleba. These threads are elastic, and project the spores from
the rind or case as they twist and turn. The sterile portion, the
subgleba, is definitely limited and concave above.

Brain-shaped Calvatia (Edible)

Calvatia craniformis (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 127)

Ptridium or Pouch Very large, obovoid or top-shaped, depressed
above.

Bark or Outer Coat Smooth, very thin and fragile, easily peel-
ing off. Pallid or greyish, often with a reddish tinge ; often

:... Sterile base

Calvatia

Section of Calvatia

Cal-va'-shl-i

Cri-nlf-for'-mte

126

BRAIN PUFFBALL (EDIBLE)
(Calvatia craniformis, Schw.)

Genus Calvatia

wrinkling to resemble somewhat the surface of the brain,
whence its name craniformis.

Inner Coat Thin, ochreous to bright brown, velvety, extremely
fragile. The upper part breaks into fragments.

Subgleba Occupies half the peridium ; cup-shaped above, per-
sistent.

Sports Greenish yellow, then olivaceous. Globose, even, with
minute pedicel.

Threads Long.

Habitat On ground in woods.

Giant Puffball (Edible)

Calvatia maxima

Peridium or Pouch V try large, 8-15 inches in diameter, or larger.
Globose, depressed globose, or obovoid, with a thick cord-
like root.

Bark or Outer Coat Flocculous or nearly smooth, thin, and fragile.
White or greyish, becoming yellowish or brown; usually
remaining closely adherent to the inner coat.

Inner Coat Thin and fragile after maturity, breaking up into
fragments.

Subgleba Shallow or none.

Spores and Threads Greenish yellow, then brownish olive. Spores
globose, threads long and branched.

Time August to September.

Habitat Grassy places.

Calvatia maxima has been known as Lycoperdon giganteum,
and also as Lycoperdon maxima. It has been transferred from
the genus Lycoperdon to the genus Calvatia because it ruptures
the peridium irregularly to discharge its spores, instead of form-
ing a small hole at the apex, as other Lycoperdons do.

It is asserted on good authority that the giant puffball has
been found with a diameter of three feet and a weight of forty-
seven pounds. The giant puffball is considered by many as a
choice article of food when the flesh is white. It is said that
if the flesh of a growing puffball is cut or injured the wounds
will fill up with new tissue. It will be interesting for some one
to try this experiment.

In the days before matches came into use, the dry, spongy
threads were used as tinder to catch the sparks which flew from
the flint-stone when it was struck for fire, and the spore-dust
was used to stanch the flow of blood.

127

Puffballs

Cup-shaped Puffball (Dangerous)

Calvatia cyatbiformis (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 134)

Peridium Large, top-shaped.

Bark or Outer Coat Thin, adherent, smooth, and continuous,
easily peeling off.

Inner Coat Pale to dark purple, loosely woven, fragile at matur-
ity, breaking up into fragments from above downward.

Subgleba Short and thick, with cord-like root, persistent, cup-
shaped, occupying l A-Yz the peridium.

Spores and Threads Violet to dark purple. Spores globose and
warted, threads long.

Time August to October.

Habitat On the ground in meadows and pastures.

The old name was Lycoperdon cyathiforme. Cyathiforme,
meaning cup-shaped, is suggested by the cup-like base which
remains after the dispersion of the spores and threads (capillitium).

GENUS BOyiSTA

In the genus Bo-vista the rind or peridium opens by an apical
mouth, as do the species of Lycoperdon, but the species of

Bovista have no
sterile base.
They are puff-
balls of small

Bovista

Section of Bovista
(diagrammatic)

size, growing

in fields and

woods. The

outer coat is

thin and fragile,

and scales off

at maturity. The inner coat is thin, becoming papery, and
then opens by an apical mouth.

Bovista plumbea is esteemed a delicacy. It is shaped like a
flattened globe, with a smooth, white inner coat, and a lead-
coloured outer coat opening by an apical mouth.

(^'-ath-l-for'-mls

Bo-vKs'-ta
128

Genus Geaster

GENUS BOVISTELLA

The genus Bovistella contains but one species.
Bovistella OhienSlS (Edible)(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 134)

Peridium or Pouch Globose or broadly obovoid, sometimes much

depressed, wrinkled underneath, with thick cord-like base.
Bark or Outer Coat Dense, floccose, or with soft warts or spines.

White or greyish, drying

to buff colour, and falling

away.
Inner Coat Smooth, shining,

pale brown or yellowish

surface.
Subgleba Cup-shaped, broad,

ample, occupying nearly

one-half the peridium ;

long, persistent.

Threads

Cup-shaped
base

Section of Bovistella (diagrammatic)

Spores and Capittitium Loose,

friable, clay colour.

Threads free, short, twice branching, originating within the

spore mass, and having no connection with the tissue of the

inner coat.
Habitat On ground in pastures and open woods.

GENUS GEASTER

Earth-stars

The Geasters or Earth-stars are the most picturesque forms
of the puffballs. At first they are sunk deep in the soil, and are
connected with it by abundant thread-like mycelium, which
issues from every part of the surface. In the earth-stars the
covering to the pouch is double, the outer cover is thick and
leathery, and at first closely invests the inner coat, but is separate
from it. At maturity the outer coat breaks its connection with
the mycelium in the soil and bursts to form separate lobes, which
become reflexed and lift the inner ball from the ground into the
air, where it remains, seated at the centre of the expanded star-

B6-vfa-teT-la
9

0-hi-eV-sfe
129

Ge-is'-te'r

'Puff balls

like coat. The coat of this ball is thin and papery, and opens by
one apical mouth. The threads or capillitium, which bear the
spores, project from the tissue of the inner wall and also from a
central columella.

The Geasters have no economic value, but are rather inter-
esting to the nature student on account of their beauty and their
curious methods of discharging their spores.

The Smallest Earth-star

Geaster minimus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 135)

Peridium or Pouch Globose, depressed, not pointed; vaulted

underneath.
Bark or Outer Coat Segments acute at the apex, many lobed ;

the lobes, seven to nine, expanding j^-i inch.
Inner Coat Ovoid, %-i inch in diameter, white to pale brown,

with a distinct pedicel, seated in a plain circular disk.
Mouth Lifted on a cone, lip bordered with hair-like fringe.
Spores Brown, globe-shaped, minutely waited.
Threads Transparent.
Habitat Grassy grounds.

Water-measuring Earth-star (Dangerous)

Geaster hygrometricus (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 135)

Peridium or Pouch Sub-globose, depressed, the bark or skin fall-
ing with the mycelium.

Bark or Outer Coat Deeply parted ; the segments, acute at the
apex, seven to twenty. Mrongly hygrometric, expanding to
a breadth of 2-3 inches.

Inner Coat Globose, depressed, sessile, covered with a network.
Whitish or greyish.

Mouth Rim irregular.

Spores Brown, globe-shaped, minutely warted.

Threads Transparent, much branched and interwoven ; continu-
ous with the hyphae or threads of the inner coat,

Habitat Fields and woods, in sandy soil.

The Geaster hygrometricus, or Astrceus hygrometricus as it
is called by some, is found all over the world. When the

MXn'-I-mtts Hf .gr6-mt'-rf-ctis

130

Genus Calostoma

weather is wet, the lining of the points of the star become gelati-
nous and lie flat on the ground, anchoring the plant firmly ; but
when the weather is dry, the soft, gelatinous part becomes hard
and rigid, and curls the segments up around the inner ball; then
the wind rolls it about, and it scatters its spores from the hole in
the apex of the ball as it rolls. It is a fair-weather traveller,
always resting at night and on damp days.

GENUS CALOSTOMA

This genus has but three known American species. The
plants are remarkable in structure and substance. The spore
mass or gleba lies at the centre of a base, and is in its young
stages surrounded by four layers. The outermost coat is gelati-
nous, and soon disappears. This is known as the volva or
wrapper. The layer just within the wrapper also soon disap-
pears ; it is known as the exoperidium. The layer just within
the exoperidium is known as the endoperidium, and is the layer
seen on the exterior of older specimens. Between the exope-
ridium and endoperidium is a layer of red threads, part of which
is torn away when the exoperidium breaks, and a part of which
remains as a red star at the apex of the ball.

The exoperidium is cartilaginous ; it is thin and fragile when
dry, but when wet it is flexible, translucent, and soft. The
endoperidium is hard and rigid when dry, and is conspicuous for
the brilliant red which shows at its mouth. Within the endo-
peridium is a sac which contains the spores ; when the spores
are mature, this sac contracts, and forces the spores out into the
air. The mycelium, or vegetative part of the Calostoma plant, is
composed of numerous cord-like fibres, translucent, jelly-like,
and tough, which, branching and anastomosing into a dense net-
work, form a rooting columnar base to the spore-bearing part of
the plant. The name Calostoma means beautiful mouth, referring
to the red star which surrounds the opening through which the
spores escape.

OU-5s'-t6-ma

Puffballs

e.
Calostoma lutescens

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 123)

Ball or Peridium Globular, with a thick, entangled, rooting base.

Outer Coat or Exoperidium Dingy yellow, rupturing so as to form
a ragged collar at the base, a thin cap on the summit, and
small fragments between. The cap is marked on the under
side with a vermilion star outlined with yellow.

Inner Coat or Endoperidtum Smooth, globular. Pale yellow.

Mouth With several rays of a bright red colour.

Footstalk Thick, of entangled strands finer than those of C. cin-
nabarinum. Stem long, yellowish green.

Spores Globular, with protuberances.

Calostoma Ravenelii

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 123)

Ball or Peridium Globular, with a thick, entangled, rooting base.,
Outer Coat or Exoperidium Cartilaginous, gelatinous. Fragments

remain upon the inner coat in the form of irregular warts or

scales.
Inner Coat or Endoperidium Yellowish. Tough when wet, rigid

when dry.
Mouth Red starred.
Footstalk Short and rooting, composed of mycelial threads netted

to form cartilaginous cords.
Spores Elliptical, oblong, smooth.

Calostoma cinnabarinum

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 123)

Outer Coat or Exoperidium Vermilion within, breaking at tfi

base and sometimes at the apex.
Inner Coat or Endoperidium Yellowish, often slightly vermilion.

Smooth.

Mouth Rays several. Vermilion.
Footstalk Reddish brown or brownish.
Spores Elliptical oblong, spined or punctured, pale ochre

yellow.

Lti-t&>'-5ns Ri'-vgn-gl'-X-I Cfa'-ni-bi-rl'-niim

132

Genus Sclcroderma

ORDER NIDULARIALES

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 135)

The members of this order, Nidulariales, or bird's-nest fungi,
are curious fungi of small size. They resemble, when mature, tiny
birds' nests containing eggs, as the pouch in which the spores are
developed opens at the top to form a nest or bowl or trumpet, and
the globular cases in which the spores are contained have strong
walls, and remain in the open pouch like eggs in a nest.

One genus of the order, Sphcerobolus, has two walls or layers
to its nest and but one spore case or "egg." This "egg" is
jelly-like, and is forcibly thrown from the nest when the spores in
it are mature. While a part of this action is due to the mechan-
ical working of the teeth, it is thought that underneath the spore
case gases are formed which expand, and so help force out the
"egg."

The other genera have but one wall to their nests. The
genus Nidularia has ragged edges, the genus Cyathus is trumpet-
shaped, and the genus Crucibulum is bowl-shaped.

ORDER SCLERODERMATALES

The puffballs of the order Sclerodermatales have the rind
or peridium thick. The spores remain in the peridium until
maturity, when they escape from an irregular opening in the
rind. The species are not numerous, but some are abundant and
widely distributed.

GENUS SCLERODERMA

The species of the genus Scleroderma, or thick-skinned puff-
balls, represent a transition from the subterranean forms to those
which emerge from the ground and have a definite opening from
which they eject their spores. To illustrate : there is one group
(Hymenogastrales) in which the species remain in the ground,

Nld-u-la'-rf-a'-les N*d-u-la'-rf-a Cru-9fb'-ii-ltim
Sphe-r6b'-a-liis gy'-a-thtis SclSr'-S-dSr'-ma-ta'-les

133

Poffballs

even when mature, unless washed out by rains or nosed out by
animals, and which rely upon being crushed by accident or upon
the disintegration of their rinds to free their spores. All true puff-
balls push themselves out of the ground before the spores are
mature, and then, by rupturing the skin in a definite manner
when mature, disperse their spores. The thick-skinned puff-
ball goes a step farther than the first mentioned and emerges
from the ground ; but it remains behind the true puffballs, which
disperse their spores from a definite opening, for it ruptures the
skin irregularly. Scleroderma bovista is dangerous.

Scleroderma vulgare (Edible)

(or S. aurantium)

Peridium or Pouch Rough and warty;
depressed, globose. Pinkish to
buff, remaining solid until the
fungus is quite old. Sessile or
with a rooting base. Ruptures
irregularly to scatter the spores.

Subgleba None.

Spore Mass Lead colour marbled with
white.

JFfafa'tafOld stumps and buried roots.

Section of S. vulgare

This fungus has been eaten without harm, but is pronounced
very unattractive.

'.14

Bovistella Ohiensis, Ellis and Morgan
(Edible.) Reduced

CUP-SHAPED CALVATIA (EDIBLE)

(Calvatia cyathiformis, Bosc)
Reduced. Nat size: Ball diam..2 7 a inches

LEAST EARTH-STAR
(Geaster minimus, Schw. Nat. size-

WATER-MEASURING EARTH-STAR
(Geasfer hygrometricus, Pers. Nat. size)

BIRD'S NEST

(Cyathus vernicosus, D. C. Nat. size)
See page 133

CHAPTER XII: SPORE-SAC FUNGI
ASCOMYCETES

ALL the fungi which belong in the class Ascomycetes de-
velop their spores in little membranous sacs called asci. These
asci are, as a rule, collected, together
with slender empty asci, called para-
physes, in variously shaped bodies,
known in different orders by different
names, such as perithecium, ascoma,
apothecium, and receptacle. This class
includes in its numbers individuals
ranging in size from microscopic one-
celled plants to conspicuous and often
beautiful specimens. We shall con-
cern ourselves with but a few of

Asci

Asci and paraphyses

those conspicuous ones which are attractive either from an edible
or an artistic standpoint.

ORDER TUBERALES TRUFFLES

The order Tuberales contains the truffles, which are subter-
ranean fungi, ranging in size from an acorn to a good-sized po-
tato. The asci or spore-sacs are formed
on the inte-
rior of the
fungus, the
warty truffle
itself being
called an as-
coma, as it
contains the
asci.

Since the time of Pliny and Dioscorides, truffles have been
known and esteemed as a table delicacy. Since they mature

Xs'-cS-my-ce'-tes Tu'-Wr-a'-les

135

Section to show position of
asci

Truffles, ascoma

Spore-sac Fungi Ascomycetes

underground, they must be hunted for by dogs and pigs trained
for the purpose. A pig will scent a truffle at a distance of twenty
feet, and will run quickly to the spot to dig it out with her snout.
An attendant must follow the pig to secure the truffle before the
pig eats it. Edible species have not been found growing in this
country.

ORDER HYPOCREALES

(See PLATE FACING PAGE 138)

The order Hypocreales contains certain fungi which are
parasitic on other fungi, and also on insects. In the genus
Cordyceps there is a club-like form about an inch long, and
of a rich red colour, which lives as a parasite on the
pupae of various moths buried beneath dead leaves. In
New Zealand a similar fungus lives on caterpillars. The
mycelium in time replaces the body, but maintains out-
wardly the form and appearance of the caterpillar. These
growths are much prized by the natives as food. The
form which grows on the truffle-like Elaphomyces is shown
in the species of Elaphomyces upon which the Cordy-
ceps lives as a parasite grow two or three inches below
the surface of the ground, and somewhat resembles a
truffle in appearance.

ORDER SPH/ERIALES

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 123)

The Xylaria pictured is a woody fungus which is
common, growing on logs or at the bases of trees or
stumps. The collections of asci (perithecia) are fully im-
bedded in the fleshy part of
the fungus (stroma), which is
formed almost wholly of
Fungus growing on caterpillar hardened mycelium.

Hy-p6-cr-a'-les CSr'-dy^ps E'-laph-o-my-ces Sphe-rf-a'-les Zy-la'-rf-a

136

Order Pezizales Cup Fungi

ORDER PEZIZALES CUP FUNGI

The Females or cup fungi, which are typically disk or cup-
shape, comprise an extensive group, and vary in size from forms
scarcely visible to the naked eye to forms several inches in
diameter. One genus, Pe^a, has a smooth ascomata, regularly
saucer-shaped or cup-shaped. The genus contains many species
which are met with chiefly on decaying vegetable matter. The
spore-sacs are situated on the upper surfaces of the cups, and the
spores are ejected with such force and in such profusion that they
form a cloud around the plant from which they are expelled.

Pe^a ceruginosa is a stalked green form, and is interesting
because it permeates the wood of oaks and beeches with its
mycelium, and gives a rich green colour to the wood, which
makes it valuable for the manufacture of the famous "Tunbridge
ware." One may often find the wood affected when the fruit
cups are not evident. Pe^a Willkommii produces on larch trees
a disease known as the "larch canker," which shows itself as a
sunken, blistered hole from which resin flows. This patch is
formed because the mycelium of the fungus attacks and destroys
the cambium or green layer which lies under the brown bark,
and since this is the tissue which builds up the wood of the
trees, the growth of wood in this part is prevented. The fruits
appear above the bark in the form of little cups, white outside
and scarlet within. When branches bearing golden-yellow
needles are seen among the fresh green shoots of a larch, pre-
maturely giving to the tree an autumnal appearance, one may
expect to find Peqiqa Willkommii at work.

Peziza odorata (Edible) (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 139)

Cup Yellowish, translucent, becoming
dull brown when old. The flesh
is moist and watery, and separable
into two layers; the outer layer
rough, and the inner smooth. The
frame is cup-shaped when young,
but flattened and split on the mar-
gin when old.

E'-ru-gln-o'-sa Wfl-kBm'-M O'-dfir-a'-ti Section to show two layers

137

Spore-sac Fungi Ascomycetes

Stem None.

Habitat The specimen pictured was found in December, among
the violets in a cold frame in New Jersey.

Golden Peziza (Edible)

aurantia (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 139)

Cup Orange red within, golden or whitish outside, with a

frosted appearance. Subsessile, irregular.
Habitat In clusters on the ground, usually in the autumn.

ORDER HELYELL ALES EAR TH- TONGUES

The order Helvellales contains the fleshy spore-sac fungi
which have the spore-bearing body, the ascoma, open from the
earliest stage of its development.

FAMILY GEOGLOSSACE/E

The family Geoglossacece, which belongs to this order, con-
tains the earth-tongues, which are club-like forms, green or
black or yellow, and from one to three inches high, common on
the ground, growing in rich wood mould. In consistency they
are fleshy, gelatinous, or waxy, and their asci open by means
of a terminal pore.

GENUS SPATHULARIA

The genus Spathularia has the spore body flattened and
growing down both sides of the stem.

Velvety Spathularia

Spathularia velutipes (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 123}

Spore Body Flattened, tawny yellow, shaped like a spatula, with
the spore surface wavy and growing down two sides of the
stem.

Stem Hollow, minutely velvety, dark brown tinged with yellow.

Flesh Firm and tough, shrinking little in drying.

Habitat Mossy trunks in damp woods.

Au.rin'-shK-* Ve-ia'-tf-pes

138

Cordyceps capitala (Holmsk.), Lk
i Parasitic on Elaphomyces.

Floccose Chanterelle (ediblej.
(Cantharellus floccosus, Schw.)

See page 53.

Mutinus Caninus, Huds.

See page uo.

Golden Peziza (edible).
(Peziza aurantia, Pers.)

Peziza cdorata. Pk. (edible).
Reduced. See page 137.

Genus Vibrissea

Spathularia clavata

Spore Body Clear yellow, shaped like a spatula, sometimes tinged
with red. Obtuse or cleft at the apex, the surface wavy,
the margin crisped, growing down the stem some distance
on opposite sides ; hollow.

Stem Thick, hollow. White, often becoming yellowish.

Flesh Dry.

GENUS GEOGLOSSUM

The genus Geoglossum has the spore body simple, erect,
and club-shaped, and entirely black. The spore surface is ter-
minal.

Geoglossum hirsutum

Geoglossum hirsutum is black, dry, and everywhere velvety.
Lanceolate, ovate, oblong, or almost round, often irregular. The
spore-bearing portion is one-quarter to one-half the length of the
fungus.

Geoglossum glabrum

Geoglossum glabrum is dry, black, or brownish black, some-
times tinged with olive or purple. Club-shaped or sometimes
laterally compressed. The spore-bearing portion not sharply
distinct from the stem below.

GENUS VIBRISSEA

The genus Wbrissea contains fungi with vertical and simple
stems, and horizontal caps with their thick margins rolled in to-
ward the stem. The spore-sacs are borne on the upper surface.

Vibrissea truncorum

Wbrissea truncorum is a clear orange-red or sometimes yel-
low or brownish-red fungus, about an inch high, found on
decayed wood, branches, or leaves which are submerged in
water.

Clav-a'-ta mr-su'-tflm Vl-brfs'-sg-*

Ge-6-gl6s'-stira Gla'-brum Trfin-co'-riim

139

Spore-sac Fungi Ascomycetes

Vibrissea circinans

Vibrisseacircinans'is a pale yellowish flesh colour, or simply
yellowish fleshy fungus found growing in circles or clusters,
with convex caps and incurved, wavy margins, the concave under
surface often minutely wrinkled. The stem is long, pallid, or
reddish. The plant is found chiefly in pine woods.

GENUS MITRULA

The genus Mitrula has the spore body erect, black or bright
coloured, and dry, spatulate, or cylindrical, often compressed lat-
erally. The spore-bearing surface is sharply distinct from the
scaly or mealy stem below.

Irregular Mitrula (Edible)

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 146)
Mitrula vitellina, var. irregularis *

Spore Body Bright egg yellow. Club-shaped, somewhat lobed,
cylindrical or compressed ; apex narrow, obtuse, smooth.
No two plants are quite alike. Length, 1-2 inches.

Stem Short, white, rather distinct, covered with fibres. Spongy
and white within.

Habitat In mossy places in woods during the autumn. The
specimen pictured was found growing among fallen birch
leaves, hemlock needles, and moss, in the dense woods at
Lake Placid.

FAMILY HELVELLACE/E MORELS

A second family Helvellacece contains three important gen-
era, Morchella, Gyromitra, and Helvetia, in which are the largest
and most highly prized spore-sac fungi known. They are dis-
tinguished from the earth-tongues by the cap-like form of the
spore body or ascoma, but especially by the character of the
spore-sac, which opens by a little lid instead of by a simple pore.

gir-cl'-nans Vl'-tgl-ll'-nS Gy'-ro-ml'-trS

MKt'-rfi-ia M6r-keT-lS Hel-veT-li

* This species is also described under the names Gcoglossum irregulare and
Getghssum vittllinum.

140

Genus Morchella

GENUS GYROMITRA

The genus Gyromitra contains seven species. These have the
ascomata distinctly stalked, and the upper surface covered with
gyrose folds. The largest spore-sac fungi belong in this genus.

Gyromitra esculenta (Dangerous)

Cap Bay red, round, lobed, irregular,

gyrose-wrinkled, attached to the

stem in several places. Hollow,

white, and uneven within.
Stem Whitish, hollow, scurfy. Two or

more inches long.
Flesh Edible only when young and

freshly gathered.
Habitat In sandy soil, during the wet

weather of May and June.
This species is on Peck's List of Edible
Mushrooms, but it is also on the U. S.
Dep't. of Agriculture List of Poisonous or Suspected Mushrooms.

G. esculenta

M. deliciosa

Section to show margin of the
cap united to the stem.

GENUS MORCHELLA

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 1 50)

The genus Morchella has the
cap covered with a network of blunt
ridges enclosing irregular depressed
spaces. The spore-sacs are devel-
oped in both ridges and depressions.
All the species when young are
of a buff yellow tinged
with brown, but later
they are darker. The
stems are rather stout
and hollow, white or
whitish in some spe-
cies, and attached to
the cap at the apex
only; but in others,
attached to the rim
as well. All the species M. esculenta
141

Spore-sac Fungi Ascomycetes

are edible and highly esteemed. They must be looked for during
wet weather, early in the season. They may be classed in two
groups, according to the attachment of the stem.

I MARGIN OF CAP UNITED TO THE STEM

Cap rounded or oval MORCHELLA ESCULENTA

Cap oblong or cylindrical MORCHELLA DELICIOSA

Cap conical or oblong conical ; broader than stem MORCHELLA CONICA

Cap conical or oblong conical ; scarcely broader than stem. MORCHELLA ANGUSTICEPS

II MARGIN OF CAP FREE FROM THE STEM

Cap free from the stem to the middle MORCHELLA SEMILIBERA

Cap free from the stem to the top MORCHELLA BISPORA

GENUS HELVELLA

The genus Helvetia contains twelve species. They
all have lobed, irregular, or saddle-shaped caps, which
are fleshy, and attached to the stem at the apex. They
are contorted in such a way that no two of the species
appear alike.

Helvella

Helvella elastica

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 146)

Cap Brownish grey. Cup-shaped, flattening out when mature ;

when young, the under surface is covered with little spines

or hairs. Both surfaces are smooth when mature.
Stem Slender, of the same colour as the cap, tapering toward

the cap. Solid and white within.
Habitat The specimen pictured was found growing beneath

hemlocks and yellow birches, in Lake Placid forest, during

September.

Dg-Hsh-K-o'-si An-giis'-rt-9eps Bi'-sp6r-4

Con'J-c* Se'm'-Mlb'-e'r-a E-lHs'-tfc-i

142

FLESH-COLOURED PUFFBALL (EDIBLE)

(Lycoptrdon sMncarnalum, Peck). Averages less than one inch in diameter
See page T2?

YOUNQ PEAR-SHAPEP PUFFBALL (EDIBLE)

(LycQperdon pyriforme, Schaeff). piarneter, %-l% inches; height, V<i inch
See page 125

HARD-SKINNED PUFFBALU
(Scleroderma vu/j?are. Fries)

SLIPPERY LEOTIA (EDIBLE)
(Leotta lubrica (Scop.), Pcrs.)

Gelatinous, gristly ; spore-bearing body (ascoma), green or yellow ; stem yellow
Family, Geoglossaccce. Class, Ascomycetes. Order, Helrellales. See p. 138

JELLY-LIKE TREMELLODON (EDIBLE, Mel.)

(Tremellodon gelatinosum)
Surface white to grey: teeth white. Class, Basidiomycetes. Order, Tremellales. See Genus, p. n6

Genus Helvetia

Attachment
of stem

Helvella laCUnOSa (SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 146)

Cap Of one piece, thin and flexible like rubber cloth, folded to
saddle the apex of the stem. The two saddle-flaps are at-
tached on their
margins at irreg-
ular intervals
when young, and
are puffed out
like a balloon ;
but when ma-
ture, the pieces
separate. Their
outer surface is
brownish grey,
and their inner
surf a ce light
grey, creased and
folded.

Stem Irregularly and
deeply furrowed.

Flesh Odour offen-
sive.

Habitat The speci-
men pictured was
found growing

imbedded in deep moss on old bark in the Lake Placid
woods.

LXc-ti-no'-si

Stem

H. lacunosa (diagrammatic)

CHAPTER XIII: SLIME FUNGI-MYXO-
MYCETES

(SEE PLATE FACING PAGE 138)

WHETHER the slime fungi are plants or animals is a question
Tiot yet decided. They are living organisms which have no
chlorophyll, or leaf-green, and which in their vegetative state
resemble certain groups of the Protozoa, or unicellular animals,
which live in water. In their manner of reproduction they show
resemblances to certain fungi, and the spore cases or sporangia
of some resemble tiny puffballs in form and manner of ejecting
their spores.

In the growing stage they consist of a naked mass of yel-
lowish or whitish protoplasm, which creeps about in the dark, in
accumulations of dead parts of plants, or under the bark of
rotting stumps or logs. When a spore germinates, the mem-
brane about it bursts, and a bit of naked and slimy protoplasm
escapes. This tiny mass creeps about, absorbing food from its
surroundings, and increasing in size until it may perhaps cover
an area of many inches. After a time spores begin to form, then
either the whole mass is transformed into a single spore case or a
number of spore cases are formed. The spore cases of Lycogala
epidendron are pretty things, resembling pink coral beads. When
fresh, a case is filled with a thin pink paste; but when mature,
with fine brown dust-like spores. When the spore case bursts,
these spores escape, and if they fall in favourable places the life
cycle begins anew.

Mjrx'-o-my-je'-tes Pro-to-zo'-i Ly-c6g'-i-l&

144

CHAPTER XIV : FUNGI FOR THE HERBARIUM

THERE are no plants more difficult to preserve for an her-
barium than the fleshy fungi, and yet my personal observation
leads me to believe that there are many people who would be
willing to undertake the task if they knew how to set about it;
and there is no class of plants in which the assistance of the
amateur may help the botanist more than in this, provided that,
at the time of gathering a specimen, full descriptive notes are
made of all the characteristics of the plant.

To aid one in quickly taking notes, it is well to have with
one in the field some printed or written blanks. A convenient
form is suggested by the following outline, which is the one
used by the Boston Mycological Club :

Species
Collected by
No.

Locality
Date

COLLECTOR'S NOTES.

N.B. When collecting, be sure to get the whole plant, base and all, uninjured;
and to get young as well as mature specimens.

Note here at once the

> i_ij. /-. ( Tree (kind: dead or living).

Habitat. On| Gro ^ d(k .' ndofsoJ1)

Place (wood, field, wet or dry, high land or low, etc.).
Under and near what trees ?

Manner Of j (Solitary, in clusters, troops, or caespitose [growing from one
Growth. 1 root]).

Character. (Viscid, hygrophanous [transparent when moist], dry.)
Smell.
Taste.

Spores. Colour.

NOTE. -If the plant is perishable, sketch anJ describe it fully at once, and look
10 H5

Fungi for the Herbarium

for indications of spore colour. After the plant is described it may be dried in hot
air (over a stove for instance) and preserved or sent in for identification.

Sketch the plant, indicating markings of cap and stem. Draw or trace a vertical
section through the centre of cap and stem, indicating thickness of flesh; shape and
attachment of gills; nature of interior of stem; position of ring, volva, etc. Do this
also for a young specimen (button), showing whether the margin of the pileus is
straight or incurved.

N.B. If not life size, note dimensions.

When the characters vary with age or with moisture, note the changes.
Pileus.

( Shape (flat, convex, concave, umbonate [raised in the centre],
( umbilicate [depressed in the centre], etc.).

Is it viscid when moist and fresh; tough, fragile, fleshy, mem-
branaceous; smooth, floccose, scaly, silky, fibrillose; even,
rough, wrinkled, furrowed ? etc.

Is the margin entire, wavy, striate, inrolled, upturned, smooth,
woolly, hairy, appendiculate ? etc.

Colour and markings.
GUIS. Shape.

Attachment (adnate, sinuate, decurrent, etc., or free).

Are they distant or crowded, all of one length, branching or
forked, connected by veins ?

Surface (smooth, powdery, marked in any way).

Colour (young and old).

Texture (thick, thin, brittle, etc.).

Margin (entire, wavy, scalloped, toothed, fringed).

With Boleti note colour, length, and size of tubes, shape and size
of mouths, relation of pore surface to stem, etc.

Flesh. Consistency (firm, mealy, punky, etc.).

Colour (in general; just under skin; near gills or tubes).

Juice (taste and colour).
Stem. Texture (tough, flexuous, fragile, fleshy).

Shape (tapering either way, straight or bent, swollen, etc.).

Exterior (cartilaginous, fibrous or not, etc.).

Colour and markings (striate, dotted, pruinose [with a bloom],
fibrillose, or smooth, etc.).

Interior (hollow, solid, stuffed, fistulose [tubular], etc.).
Base (shape, markings, etc.).
146

Helvella elastica, Bul'l. Reduced. See page I 42.

Helvella lacunosa, Holm. Reduced. See pacre 143-

Mitruia viiemaa, sacc., var. irregularis, Pk. (edible). Length, 1-2 inches.

Fungi for the Herbarium

Mycelium (thread-like, cottony, compact, root-like, sclerotioid
[hard], coloured).

Veil. (Examine young specimens).

_. j (Relative position, permanent or fugacious [quickly disappearing],

1 etc.).

Volva. (Examine young buttons, base of stem, surface of pileus).

Remarks.

COLLECTOR'S OUTFIT. For collecting fungi there is nothing
better than a cheap splint basket with a cover. The size will
depend upon the ambition and strength of the collector. In ad-
dition, a chisel for woody fungi and a trowel or broad-bladed
knife will be found convenient ; also a few small boxes for
fragile species, and a package of thin, tough, uncoloured paper
in which other specimens may be put. Sheets of six inches
square and also of twelve by twenty-four are convenient sizes.
Before the specimens are put in the basket, those of a kind should
be compactly piled in the centre of a sheet, and the four corners
of the sheet brought together and fastened by twisting them.
The slip with the notes may either be put inside the package or
fastened on the outside.

CARE OF SPECIMENS. As soon as possible after reaching
home, the packages should be taken from the basket and spread
out in convenient places. If the specimens are to be used imme-
diately for identification, begin with the most perishable, or they
will be lost by decay. If they are to be preserved for future use,
put them in the warmest place available where they will not
burn. This may be under .or over the kitchen stove, or in the
furnace-room of the hotel or laundry ; or, if any of these places is
not practicable, then a drier may be improvised by placing over
a lamp a frame made of wire screening.

COLLECTING SPORES. At least one specimen of each kind
should be set for spores. This is readily done by thrusting the
stem of one plant through a hole in a disk of gummed paper so
that the paper fits closely against the gills. This disk may be
held in place by thrusting the stem of the fungus through a piece
of thin paper and then bringing the paper above the cap and
twisting the corners. Use white disks for fungi suspected of
having coloured spores, and coloured paper for those suspected of

Fungi for the Herbarium

having white spores. If there is any doubt, set two fungi one
with a coloured disk and the other with a white one.

It is an easy matter to fix spores for future use, but a more
difficult matter to fix them so that they represent a picture of the
radiating gills. In order to do this the stem must be cut from
the cap, and the cap must be so arranged over the paper that no
draughts shall disturb the spores as they fall, and also so that it
may be removed from the paper without disturbing the spores
after they have fallen. The writer would suggest that two fine
wires should be thrust horizontally and at right angles to each
other through the cap, and that the ends of the wires should be
supported in a convenient manner, so that the cap may just
swing free from the paper which is to receive the spores. The
whole must be covered to keep the spores from being disturbed
by draughts. When the spores have fallen, the cover can be re-
moved, the cap raised, and the spore-print fixed.

Various methods of fixing spores for prints are recommended.
The following are quoted from a bulletin of the Boston Mycolog-
ical Club :

The following directions for fixing spore prints are taken from Herpel ("Das
Prapariren der Hutpilze ").

Paper which is somewhat absorbent must be used; unglazed blue or black paper
(of which the colour must be unaffected by the fixative) for white-spored species.
The piece of paper bearing the spore print is to be laid, spores upward, in a flat plate
or platter on which a thin layer of fixative has first been poured. The fixative is al-
lowed to soak up through from below, and should not overflow the edges of the
paper. When it is certain that the spores as well as the paper are thoroughly soaked,
the preparation is removed and dried ; sometimes, to prevent sticking, being laid on
moistened blotting-paper.

The fixative to be used will vary with the species. For instance, the spores of
Cantharellus cibarius and some others may be fixed by water alone. The following
solution is recommended for Boleti and species with coloured spores: One partsan-
darac, two parts mastic, and two parts Canada balsam, dissolved in thirty parts of
ninety-five per cent, alcohol. In the use of this it has been found that the time of
soaking necessary to fix the spores is for Boleti,\.vto minutes; Dermini, Coprinarii,
Gomphidius, Paxillus, Russula^ and Lactarius t four to five minutes; pink-spored
agarics, also dark brown spored (as the meadow mushroom), and Cortinarii, six to
eight minutes. It is important that the alcohol should be full strength.

A gelatine solution is useful for white-spored species. This is prepared and used
warm. Its strength varies with the species. Lepiota procera, Collybia radicata, and
Clitocybe laccata may be fixed by a solution of one part gelatine to thirty of water.
For species of Tricholoma this is too strong, and one to sixty, or one to two hun-
dred must be the formula. The difficulty arises here from the fact that an excess of

148

Fungi for the Herbariun

gelatine makes the spores transparent and even invisible. Their opacity may be
secured by previous treatment with a solution of one part mastic in thirty of ether.

For certain kinds (Tricholoma personatum, Lepiota granulosa, Amanitopsis
vaginata, and others which experiment will discover), ten to twenty-five per cent,
of alcohol must be added to the gelatine solution in order to make the spores adhere.

Experience will doubtless show that other fixatives may be used. Gum arable,
for instance, suggests itself. This, however, if strong, is apt to cake the spores to-
gether. If one method fails, invention and repeated trials must find a successful
means. Reports are requested from all who engage in the amusement of making
spore prints. To these a suggestion not without value is that dry agarics (like
Marasmius and some Collybias) may be kept in a condition to shed spores by putting
moistened blotting-paper under them.

Another method of making spore prints is to spray them
from an atomizer with a solution of white shellac in alcohol.
A saturated solution should be made, and then diluted fifty per
cent, with alcohol.

THE SEARCH FOR A NAME. When looking up a name for a
plant, the best plan is to use fresh specimens, and, if a good
supply can be had, make a careful comparison of all, so as to be
sure that the characteristics are normal and not due to injury.
If the attempt to find a satisfactory description is not successful,
preserve the specimens dried, together with full notes, and send
a part of them to the State botanist for determination.

The name of a fungus is not the vital thing. In pursuit of a
name do not neglect the plant. Observe it as it grows and in
its different stages. Make a friend of it, and you will find it
good company.

THE PREPARATION OF ROUGH-DRIED PLANTS FOR THE HERBA-
RIUM Put the dried plants in a place where they will absorb just
moisture enough to make them pliant. Either put them in a box
containing something damp, as a wet sponge, sand, or paper; or
spread them where they can absorb the moisture of the atmos-
phere without getting too wet. When pliant, bend the stem and
cap so that they lie in the same plane, and arrange them in as
natural a form as possible ; then place them between driers of un-
glazed paper, with a weight just sufficient to keep them from
curling out of shape.

MOUNTING The specimens may be placed loose in envelopes
made by folding paper as for mosses or lichens, or they may be
glued directly to mounting sheets, or they may be kept in boxes
of varying sizes.

149

Fungi for the Herbarium

SECTIONS A section of a fungus Is a very thin slice cut from
the plant by running a thin-bladed knife from the top of the cap
down through the stem. When well made, sections of young
and mature plants are valuable in addition to the notes and dried
specimens. A section to be of any value must show the form of
the cap; the attachment of the gills to the stem; the thickness of
the stem ; and the interior, whether solid, hollow, or stuffed.
To preserve the section, it must be placed, while fresh, upon
a sheet of gummed paper, and then covered with a sheet of
waxed paper, and placed between driers, under heavy pressure.

POISONING HERBARIUM SPECIMENS It will be found necessary
to use every means possible to keep insects from the herbarium,
as fungi are particularly subject to such pests. In order that no
eggs and larvse may be packed away with the dried plants, it
will be well to apply a poisonous solution to the specimens just
after they have been moistened to be put into press. Professor
Peck, the State botanist of New York, uses a solution made by
dissolving strychnine in warm water, and then adding alcohol
in sufficient quantities to make the mixture spread easily with a
brush.

Sulphate of strychnia ^ ounce

Warm water 4 or 5 ounces

Alcohol About 2 ounces

In addition to this precaution, the specimens must be kept
where insects cannot get at them, or the havoc which they make
will be disastrous. An ingenious person can improvise all the
apparatus necessary for a successful collection of moderate size;
and then, if his enthusiasm continues, he can provide himself
with everything of the most improved style from dealers who
make a specialty of botanical supplies.

ISO

DELICIOUS MOREL (EDIBLE)
(Morchelia. deliciosa^ Fr.)

Polyforus arcularius, (Batsch) Fries
See page 112

BRISTLY PANUS

(Panusstrigosus, B. & C.; Lentinus strigosus)
Cap, gills, and stem creamy. See Genus, p. 67

CHAPTER XV : FUNGI FOR THE TABLE

BEFORE you attempt to use fungi for the table be sure that
they are edible ; the consequences which follow a mistake are
too serious to warrant any risks. Unless you are experienced in
making careful observations and comparisons, eat only those
fungi which have been shown to you by some one who has tried
them and knows them to be wholesome. If you are experienced
in making careful observations and comparisons, and wish to
make experiments, make them cautiously, using a small quantity
of the fungus for the first trial, and, if no ill effects are felt, in-
crease the amount until you are satisfied as to its edibility.

There is no general rule by which one may know an edible
species from a poisonous species. One must learn to know each
kind by its appearance, and the edibility of each kind by experi-
ment.

Some edible mushrooms change colour when bruised, some
edible ones do not.

Some poisonous mushrooms change colour when bruised,
and some poisonous ones do not.

Some mushrooms with bright colours, or viscid caps, or
pleasant taste, or agreeable odour are edible, and some are
poisonous.

Some edible mushrooms will turn a silver spoon black, and
so will some poisonous ones.

Cautions for the Inexperienced

Never use specimens which are decomposed in the slightest
degree.

Never use those which are at all burrowed by insects.

Never collect, for food, mushrooms in the button stage, as
it is difficult for a novice to distinguish the buttons of poisonous
species from the buttons of harmless species.

Never use fungi with swollen bases surrounded by sac-like
or scaly envelopes.

Fungi for the Table

Never use fungi with milky juice unless the juice is red-
dish.

Never use fungi with caps thin in proportion to the width
of the gills when the gills are nearly all of equal length, especially
if the caps are bright coloured.

Never use for food tube-bearing fungi in which the flesh
changes colour when cut or broken, nor those with the tubes
reddish. Be very cautious with all fleshy tube-bearing fungi.

Never use for food fungi with a web-like ring around the
upper part of the stem.

The novice may safely experiment with Clavarias, coral
fungi, morels, and puffballs.

THE FOOD VALUE OF FUNGI. Many people thoughtful for the
welfare of those with limited opportunities for varying their bill
of fare have hoped to solve the problem by introducing into
more general use the varied and abundant fungi which grow
everywhere throughout our country. In order to accomplish
this object, bulletins have been published by the several agricul-
tural departments, and have been distributed freely to those
wishing to have them. The result has been that a wide-spread
interest has been created in this branch of botany, and fungi
have become a common dish on tables where they were never
before seen.

As accessories, for relish or variety, edible fungi are undoubt-
edly valuable ; but that they can never take the place of meat, as
many fondly hoped, nor rank very high as an essential food, has
been shown by the experiments of Mr. L. B. Mendel in the
Sheffield Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry, Yale University.
Mr. Mendel has demonstrated by chemical analysis and by ex-
periments in artificial digestion that the proportion of proteid
matter the material which meat supplies is smaller than it was
formerly supposed to be, and also that a large proportion of that
present is not acted upon by the digestive juices. Since, also,
the proportion of water to solid matter is very great, being from
seventy to ninety per cent, in the most desirable edible species,
it would be necessary that a man should eat a great many
pounds of even the richest fungi in order to obtain the daily
requisite of proteid matter necessary to maintain a healthy
constitution.

The specimens marked edible in this book have been repeat-

152

Fungi for the Table

edly tried by many people, and without ill effects. Some marked
edible are harmless, but poor, while others are extremely de-
licious and appetizing.

A few directions for preparing different species for cooking
are given below, that those who wish to experiment may have
the benefit of the experience of others. Receipts for cooking the
common mushroom, Agaricus campestris, may be found in all
complete cook-books, and these receipts as they are given or
modified may be used for other kinds also, provided that the
directions for the preparation of the different species are fol-
lowed.

To KEEP MUSHROOMS TEMPORARILY. Cleanse, remove the
parts to be rejected, rinse in cold water the parts to be used, dry
with a cloth, then put in boiling water and keep boiling for five
or ten minutes. Drain, and wipe dry.

To PREPARE THE EDIBLE AGARICS FOR COOKING. Cleanse,
cut off the stems and throw them away. Rinse the caps in
cold water, drain, and leave in cold water acidulated with lemon
or vinegar until just before using.

To TOAST AGARICS. Dry with a cloth, dust with flour, put
a little butter, pepper, and salt on the gills. Lay the caps, gills
upward, on a wire-net toaster, over a moderate fire, and cook
from five to ten minutes.

To BAKE AGARICS. Dry with a cloth. Line a porcelain pie-
dish with toast, spread the peeled caps on the toast, sprinkle
with pepper and salt, and pour over them a few spoonfuls of
thick cream. Cover with a plate, and place in a moderate oven
for fifteen minutes. Serve hot. Or,

Line the dish with toast dipped in hot water and buttered.
Spread the caps on the toast, with half a teaspoonful of butter on
each one. Cover, and cook in a warm oven for ten minutes.

To BROIL AGARICS Broil lightly on both sides over a bright
fire. Arrange on buttered toast, sprinkle with pepper and salt.
Put bits of butter or bits of toasted bacon on each, and set in the
oven a moment. Serve hot.

MUSHROOMS STEWED Caps, peeled, one quart; butter, two
tablespoonfuls ; salt, one teaspoonful; pepper, one-third of a
teaspoonful; water or stock, one-half cupful. Boil gently in
a covered stewpan for five minutes. Or,

Caps, peeled and cut in pieces, one pint; butter, one table-

Fungi for the Table

spoonful; salt, one-half teaspoonful; pepper, one pinch. Simmer
in a stewpan for ten minutes.

To PREPARE RUSSULAS Reject the stems and gills, but not
the peel. Cleanse the caps, rinse in cold water, then put for a
moment in boiling water, and dry with a cloth. Cook by the
receipts given for agarics.

To PREPARE FUNGI WITH MILKY JUICE Remove the stems,
cleanse, rinse, and scald. Steep for six hours in a liquid pre-
pared by mixing one wineglass of strong vinegar, one table-
spoonful of salt, and one pint of water. Boil for ten minutes in
salt and water. Cook by the receipts given for agarics.

LACTARIUS DELICIOSUS Known by its greyish-orange cap
marked with brighter zones, and by its orange milk. Also

LACTARIUS VOLEMUS Known by its reddish-brown cap, two
to five inches across, with stems of the same colour, and white
milk. May be prepared by simply removing the bases of the
stems and then rinsing in water.

To PREPARE AMANITAS Reject the stems and peel, and cook
but a short time.

To PREPARE CHANTERELLES Cut off the base of the stems,
rinse in cold water, soak in warm milk for six hours. Stew a
long time with plenty of butter or stock. Use with meat hashes
and stews, or in omelet.

To FRY CHANTERELLES Wash, slice, put in melted butter,
and stir for ten minutes, simply keeping them warm. Add more
butter, pepper, salt, crumbs of bread, and minced parsley, and
fry over a hot fire.

To PREPARE COPRINI INK CAPS Use only young specimens.
Remove the base of the stems, wipe with a damp cloth. Throw
for an instant into boiling water. Fry in boiling butter or lard.
Remove from the pan as soon as they break or sink. Serve on
toast.

To PREPARE BOLETI Remove the tubes with a spoon.
Reject the stems.

To PREPARE HYDNUM REPANDUM Remove the bases of the
stems, and scrape off the spines. They require little cooking.

To PREPARE MORELS Cleanse; rinse by shaking them in
several waters, or run the cold water from the faucet over them
until the pits are thoroughly cleansed. They require to be
cooked for a long time.

Fungi for the Table

To PREPARE BEEFSTEAK FUNGUS Gather when of a light-
red colour. Remove the hard base, cleanse in cold water.

For salad Cut in thin slices and serve with dressed lettuce.

Minced Mince fine, put in a stewpan with butter, three
ounces to the pound. Season with salt, pepper, minced parsley,
and onion juice. Stew gently for twenty minutes. Bind with
egg-yolk beaten in cream, and serve with toast. This mince
may be used with veal or chicken hash.

To PREPARE GYROMITRAS. Cleanse, cut in slices, boil in water
fifteen minutes, then wash by shaking in two successive waters
boiling hot. Dry on cloths, and cook as directed for morels.

To PREPARE WOODY PORE-BEARING FUNGI POLYPOR^E. Take
the soft parts of young specimens. Put in boiling water for a
few moments, rinse in cold water, and dry on cloths. Spread
with butter, lay in a stewpan, and cover; then keep them for ten
minutes just warm enough to melt the butter. Strain, broil for
fifteen minutes, or stew half an hour or more with gravy.

To PREPARE CLAVARIAS AND BRANCHED HYDNUMS. Cleanse,
throw into scalding water for a moment, and then put into cold
water made acid with lemon or vinegar until they are to be
cooked. Divide the large ones, and tie the small ones into
bundles. Place in a stewpan with bits of butter laid on them.
Cover the pan, and expose to heat enough to melt the butter.
Leave for ten minutes, and drain.

To COOK CLAVARIAS. Put into a hot stewpan with bits of
butter; season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Cover closely,
and stew for half an hour. Thicken with cream and flour, season
to taste, and cook until tender.

Clavarias may also be cooked as directed for agarics.

To PREPARE PUFFBALLS. Cleanse, peel, trim off the base.
Cut in two pieces, and reject all those which are not pure white
within.

To COOK PUFFBALLS. Fry in lard five or six minutes, with
bacon, parsley, onion juice, salt, and pepper; or cook as directed
for agarics.

To COOK THE GIANT PUFFBALL. Cut in slices half an inch
thick, dip in the beaten yolk of egg, pepper, and salt. Fry in
boiling fat for five or six minutes.

PUFFBALL SALAD. Cut in strips, and serve with green salad
dressed with mustard, oil, and vinegar.

SOME OTHER USEFUL BOOKS
ON MUSHROOMS*

ATKINSON, G. F. "Studies of American Fungi." 1911. Holt & Co.,
N. Y.

BANKER, H. J. "Revision of the Hydnaceae," Memoir Torrey Club,
Vol. 12, 1906.

BURLINGTON, GERTRUDE. Monographs of Lactaria and Russula,
North American Flora, Vol. 9, part 3, 1910; part 4, 1915.

BURT, E. A. Papers on the Thelephoraceae. Annals Mo. Botanical'Garden,
St. Louis, 1914.

COKER, W. C. Papers on North Carolina Fungi, Journal Elisha Mitchell
Society, Chapel Hill, N. C.

GIBSON, W. H. "Our Edible Toadstools and Mushrooms," 1903. Har-
per & Brothers, N. Y.

HARD, M. E. "Mushrooms, Edible and Otherwise." 1908.

HARPER, E. T. Papers on Gill-fungi, Transactions Wise. Academy of
Sciences, 1912-.

KAUFFMAN, C. H. "The Agaricaceae of Michigan." Publication 26,
Mich. Biological Survey, Vols. i and 2, 1918.

LLOYD, C. G. "Mycological Notes." 1898-. Cincinnati, O.

McILVANE, C. "One Thousand American Fungi." 1912. The Bowen-
Merrill Co., Indianapolis.

MOFFATT, W. S. "Higher Fungi of the Chicago Region." Natural His-
tory Survey of Chicago Academy of Sciences, Bulletin VII, 1909.

MURRILL, W. A. Monographs in North American Flora, published by the
New York Botanical Garden, at $2.00 per part: Polyporaceae, Vol. 9, parts i and 2;
Boletaceae, Vol. 9, part 3; Agaricaceae, Vol. 9, parts 3 to 6, and Vol. 10, parts i to 3.
Books published by W. A. Murrill, Bronxwood Park, N. Y. City: "Edible and

Compiled by Dr. W. A. Murrill, of the New York Botanical Garden, for the Yama Farms Myco-
logical Club.

157

Some Other Useful Books on Mushrooms

Poisonous Mushrooms," $2.00; "American Boletes," $1.00; "Northern Polypores,"
$1.00; "Southern Polypores," $1.00; "Western Polypores," $1.00; "Tropical Poly-
pores," $1.50; "Murrill's and Saccardo's Names of Polypores Compared," $.35

MYCOLOGIA. Volumes i to 1 1 . 1909-. New York Botanical Garden,
$4.00 a volume. A bi-monthly containing a series of colored plates, technical arti-
cles, notes, and an index to current mycological literature.

NEUMAN, J. J. " Polyporaceae of Wisconsin," Wise. Survey, Bulletin 33,
1914.

OVERHOLTS, L. O. Papers on the Polyporaceae, Annals Mo. Botanical
Garden, 1914, and Washington University Studies, Vol. 3, 1915, St. Louis.

PATTERSON, FLORA W. and CHARLES, VERA K. "Mushrooms
and Other Common Fungi," Bulletin 175, U. S. Department of Agriculture,
1915, Washington, D. C.

PECK, C. H. Annual Reports of the State Botanist, 1872-1912, Albany,
N. Y.

RIDGWAY, R. "Color Standards and Color Nomenclature," 1912, Wash-
ington, D. C.

SACCARDO, P. A. "Sylloge Fungorum," 1882-. Twenty-two volumes
in Latin, containing descriptions of all known fungi.

SEAVER, F. J. " Iowa Discomycetes," New York Botanical Garden.

UNDERWOOD, L. M. "Moulds, Mildews and Mushrooms," 1899, Holt
& Co., N. Y.

WHITE, E. A. "Hymeniales of Connecticut," Conn. Natural History Sur-
vey, Bulletin 3, 1905; Bulletin 15, 1910, New Haven, Conn.

158

LIST OF POISONOUS OR SUSPECTED

MUSHROOMS

(From Bulletin 175 [1915], U. S. Department of Agriculture)

Amanita chlorinosma
Amanita cothurnata
Amanita junquillea
Amanita muscaria
Amanita pantherina
Amanita phalloides
Amanita porphyria
Amanita radicata
Amanita solitaria
Amanita spreta
Amanita strobiliformis
Amanita virosa
Amanitopsis volvata
Boletus erythropus
Boletus felleus
Boletus luridus
Boletus miniato-olivaceus

ear. sensibilis
Boletus satanus
Calvatia cyathiformis
Cantharellus aurantiacus
Clathrus columnatus
Clavaria aurea
Clitocybe geotropa
Clitocybe illudens
Cortinarius purpurescens
Elaphomyces granulatus
Entoloma grande
Entoloma lividum
Entoloma sinuatum
Entoloma speculum
Geaster hygrometricus
*Gyromitra esculenta
Hebeloma crustuliniforme
Hebeloma fastibile
Helvella esculenta

Hygrophorus conicus
Hypoloma fasciculare
Inocybe infelix
Inocybe infida
I thy phallus impudicus
Lactarius fuliginosus
Lactarius piperatus
Lactarius pyrogalus
Lactarius rufus
Lactarius theiogalus
Lactarius torminosus
Lactarius villereus
Lactarius zonarius
Lepiota dolichaula
Lepiota morgani
Marasmius peronatus
Marasmius urens
Mitrula paludosa
Panseolus campanulatus
Panus papilionaceus
Panus stypticus
Pholiota automnalis
Pleurotus olearius
Psilocybe foenisecii
Russula emetica
Russula foetens
Russula fragilis
* Russula nigricans
Russula nitida
Russula queletii
Scleroderma bovista
Stropharia aeruginosa
Stropharia semiglobata
Tricholoma sulphureum
Tricholoma tigrinum
Tricholoma venenatum
Volvaria gloiocephala

Also on Peck's "List of Edible Mushrooms."

159

LIST OF EDIBLE MUSHROOMS
BY DR. CHARLES H. PECK

(Formerly State Botanist of New York)

Agaricus abruptus Pk.

Agaricus arvensis Schaeff.

Agaricus campester L.

Agaricus diminutivus Pk.

Agaricus hsmorrhoidarius Schulz.

Agaricus micromegethus Pk.

Agaricus Placomyces Pk.

Agaricus rodmani Pk.

Agaricus silvicola Pk.

Agaricus subrufescens Pk.

Amanita caesarea Scop.

Amanita rubescens Fr.

Amanitopsis strangulata (Fr.) Roze

Amanitopsis vaginata Roze

Armillaria mellea Vahl

Boletinus grisellus Pk.

Boletinus pictus Pk.

Boletus affinis Pk.

Boletus albidipes Pk.

Boletus albus Pk.

Boletus bicolor Pk.

Boletus brevipes Pk.

Boletus castaneus Bull.

Boletus chrysenteron albocarneus Pk.

Boletus clintonianus Pk.

Boletus edulis Bull.

Boletus edulis clavipes Pk.

Boletus eximius Pk.

Boletus frostii Russell

Boletus granulatus L.

Boletus laricinus Berk.

Boletus luteus L.

Boletus niveus Fr.

Boletus nobilis Pk.

Boletus ornatipes Pk.

Boletus pallidus Frost

Boletus rubropunctus Pk.

Boletus rugosiceps Pk.

Boletus scaber Fr.

Boletus spectabilis Pk.

Boletus subaureus Pk.

Boletus subglabripes Pk.

Boletus subluteus Pk.

Boletus versipellis Fr.

Bovista pila V. & C.

Bovista plumbea Pers.
Cantharellus cibarius Fr.
Cantharellus cinnabarinus Schw.
Cantharellus dichotomus Pk.
Cantharellus floccosus Schw.
Cantharellus infundibuliformis (Scop.)

Fr.

Cantharellus lutescens Fr.
Cantharellus minor Pk.
Clavaria botrytes Pers.
Clavaria botrytoides Pk.
Clavaria conjuncta Pk.
Clavaria cristata Pers.
Clavaria flava Schaeff.
Clavaria pistillaris L.
Clitocybe adirondackensis Pk.
Clitocybe amethystina (Bolt.) Pk.
Clitocybe clavipes (Pers.) Fr.
Clitocybe infundibuliformis Schaeff.
Clitocybe laccata Scop.
Clitocybe maculosa Pk.
Clitocybe media Pk.
Clitocybe monadelpha Morg.
Clitocybe multiformis Pk.
Clitocybe nebularis Batsch.
Clitocybe ochropurpurea Berk.
Clitocybe subcyathiformis Pk.
Clitopilus abort ivus B. & C.
Clitopilus micropus Pk.
Clitopilus orcella Bull.
Clitopilus prunulus Scop.

161

List of Edible Mushrooms

Collybia acervata Fr.
Collybia droyophila (Bull.) Fr.
Collybia familia Pk.
Collybia platyphylla Fr.
Collybia radicata (Relh.) Fr.
Collybia velutipes (Curt.) Fr.
Coprinus atramentarius Fr.
Coprinus comatus Fr.
Coprinus micacaus Fr.
Cortinarius albidipes Pk.
Cortinarius cinnamomeus Fr.,
Cortinarius collinitus Fr.
Cortinarius corrugatus Pk. /
Cortinarius evernius Fr.
Cortinarius violaceus Fr.
Craterellus cantharellus (Schw.) Fr.
Craterellus cornucopioides Pers.
Crepidotus malachius B. & C.
Entoloma grayanum Pk.
Fistulina hepatica Fr.
*Gyromitra esculenta Fr.
Helvella crispa Fr.
Hydnum albidum Pk.
Hydnum caput-ursi Fr.
Hydnum coralloides Scop.
Hydnum repandum L.
Hygrophorus cantharellus Schw.
Hygrophorus chlorophanus Fr.
Hygrophorus flavodiscus Frost.
Hygrophorus fuliginosus Frost.
Hygrophorus laricinus Pk.
Hygrophorus laurae Morg.
Hygrophorus miniatus Fr.
Hygrophorus nitidus B. & C.
Hygrophorus pratensis Fr.
Hygrophorus pudorinus Fr.
Hygrophorus puniceus'Fr.
Hygrophorus speciosus Pk.
Hygrophorus virgineus (Wulf.) Fr.
Hypholoma aggregatum sericeum Pk.
Hypholoma incertum Pk.
Hypholoma perplexum Pk.
Hypomyces lactifluorum (Schw.) Tul.
Lactarius camphoratus (Bull.) Fr.
Lactarius chelidonium Pk.
Lactarius deceptivus Pk.
Lactarius deliciosus Fr.

Also on U. S. Department of Agriculture's '

Lactarius distans Pk.

Lactarius gerardii Pk.

Lactarius lignyotus Fr.

Lactarius luteolus Pk.

Lactarius rimosellus Pk.

Lactarius serifluus (DC ) Fr.

Lactarius subdulcis (Bull.) Fr.

Lactarius subpurpureus Pk.

Lactarius volemus Fr.

Lepiota americana Pk.

Lepiota cepzstipes Sow.

Lepiota clypeolaria (Bull.) Fr.

Lepiota naucinoides Pk.

Lepiota procera Scop.

Lycoperdonjatropurpureum Vitt.

Lycoperdon cyathiforme Bosc.

Lycoperdon gemmatum Batsch.

Lycoperdon giganteum Batsch.

Lycoperdon subincarnatutn Pk.

Marasmius oreades Fr.

Mitrula vitellina irregularis Pk.

Morchella angusticeps Pk.

Morchella bispora Sor.

Morchella conica Pers.

Morchella deliciosa Fr.

Morchella esculenta Pers.

Morchella semilibera DC.-

Paxillus involutus Fr.

Pholiota adiposa Fr.

Pholiota caperata Pers..

Pholiota discolor Pk.

Pholiota duroides Pk.

Pholiota praecox (Pers.) Fr.

Pholiota squarrosa Muell.

Pholiota squarrosoides Pk.

Pholiota vermiflua Pk.

Phylloporus rhodoxanthus (Schw.) Bres.

Pleurotus ostreatus Fr.

Pleurotus sapidus Kalchb.

Pleurotus ulmarius Bull.

Pluteus cervinus (Schaeff.) Fr.

Polyporus sulphureus Fr.

Psilocybe foenisecii (Pers.) Fr.

Psilocybe polycephala (Paul.) Pk,

Russula abietina Pk.

Russula albida Pk.

Russula brevipes Pk.

'List of Poisonous or Suspected Mushrooms."
162

List of Edible Mushrooms

Russula compacta Frost.
Russula crustosa Pk.
Russula earlei Pk.
Russula flavida Frost.
Russula furcata (Pers.) Fr.
Russula mariae Pk.
*Russula nigricans (Bull.) Fr.
Russula ochrophylla Pk.
Russula pectinatoides Pk.
Russula pusilla Pk.
Russula roseipes (Seer.) Bres.
Russula rugulosa Pk.
Russula sordida Pk.
Russula subsordida Pk.
Russula uncialis Pk.
Russula variata Banning.
Russula virescens Fr.

Volvaria

Russula viridella Pk.
Strobilomyces strobilaceus (Scop.) Brek.
Stropharia bilamellata Pk.
Tricholoma hirtellum Pk.
Tricholoma imbricatum Fr.
Tricholoma nudum (Bull.) Fr.
Tricholoma personatum Fr.
Tricholoma portentosum centrale Pk.
Tricholoma radicatum Pk.
Tricholoma russula (Schaeff.) Fr.
Tricholoma sil vaticum Pk.
Tricholoma sordidum (Schum.) Fr.
Tricholoma subacutum Pk.
Tricholoma subsejunctum Pk.
Tricholoma terreum fragrans Pk.
Tricholoma transmutans Pk.
Tricholoma unifactum Pk.
bombycina (Pers.) Fr.

NOTE

It is customary, when writing the name of a fungus for
scientific purposes, to append the name of the author who first
published the appellation. The author's name, for convenience,
may be abbreviated. A list of such abbreviations as are used
in this book is given below.

A. & S. Albertini and Schweinitz.

BATSCH. Augustus Batsch (1761-1802), German botanist
BERK. Rev. Miles Joseph Berkeley.

B. & C. Berkeley and Curtis.

Bosc Louis Bosc (1759-1828), one of the first collectors
of fungi in the United States.

BULL. Pierre Bulliard, 1742-1793.

BURNAP. Charles E. Burnap, an American student.

BUXB. Johann Christian Buxbaum, 1693-1730.

D. C. Augustin Pyrame de Candolle (1778-1841), a promi-
nent Swiss botanist.

DESV. Nicaise Augustin Desvaux, French botanist, 1784-
1856.

ELLIS. J. B. Ellis. Mr. Ellis is a mycologist in the United
States. The Ellis collection of fungi contains the
largest number of types of any collection of Ameri-
can fungi in existence. It is deposited in the
museum of the New York Botanical Garden.

FR. Elias Magnus Fries (1794-1878), a Swedish botanist,

who laid the foundations for the study of the
Basidiomycetes.

HOLMSK. Theodor Holmskiold (1732-1794), a Danish botanist.

HUDS. William Hudson (1730-1793), an English botanist.

LASCH. Wilhelm Lasch (1786-1863), a German botanist.

LK. Heinrich Friedrich Link (1767-1851), a German

botanist.

L. or LINN. Carl von Linnaeus (1707-1778), a Swedish botanist,
who revised the principles of classification and
introduced what is known as the binomial no-
menclature. According to his method, the name
of a plant is reduced to two words : the first, or
165

Note

MASS.

MORG.

PK.
PERS.

ROZE.
SCHW.

SCOP.

SACC.

VAHL.

generic, name is a substantive or a word used as a
substantive ; while the second, or specific, name is
an adjective. Lactarius is the generic name of
those fungi dripping milk, and deliciosus (delicious)
the specific name for one edible species.

George Massee, an English botanist.

A. P. Morgan, an American botanist.

Charles H. Peck (1833- ) the State botanist of
New York.

Christian Hendrik Persoon (1755-1837), a German
botanist.

Ernest Roze, a French botanist.

Lewis David de Schweinitz (1780-1834), an Ameri-
can botanist ; one of the first to make mycology a
serious study.

Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (1723-1788), an Italian
botanist.

Jacobi Christiani Schaeffer (1718-1790), a German
botanist.

P. A. Saccardo (1845- ), an Italian botanist. Sac-
cardo is the compiler of Sylloge Fungorum, a work
in Latin, containing descriptions of over forty thou-
sand species. It is a most valuable work, as it has
made accessible to workers throughout the world
the greater part of the technical descriptive litera-
ture upon the subject of fungi.

Martin Vahl (1749-1804), a Norwegian botanist.

The diacritical marks used in the pronunciation of the Latin
names indicate the sounds of the same letters in the following
list:

* as in fat

fi as in cut

fate

met

meet

fin

fine

not

note

cute
rn^th

gem
get
cat
cent

166

INDEX AND GLOSSARY

Adnate, 35 ; united by
growth ; said of gills
when they are grown
to the stem.

Agaricaceae, 30, 32, 40,

46, 73-

Agaricales, 14, 30.
Agaricus, 39, 73.

abruptus, 77.

arvensis, 75.

campestris, 12, 75, 76.

cretaceus. 64.

hemorrhoidarius, 75.

how to grow, 73.

maritimus, 75.

placomyces, 75.

Rodmani, 75, 76.

subrufescens, 75.

sylvaticus, 75.
Algae, 9.

Algal-like fungi, 9, 17.
Amanita, 34, 46.

Csesarea, 50, 52.

Frostiana, 52.

muscaria, 52.

phalloides, 48.

to prepare, for cooking,

154.

verna, 65.

young plant, 47.
Amanitopsis, 34, 53, 88.

parcivolvata, 55.

vaginata, 54.

var. alva, 54.

var. fulva, 54.

var. livida, 54.

Anthurus, 26.

Antidote, 48; anything

that wilt counteract
the effects of poi-
son.

Arachnoid, 38 ; web-like.
Armillaria, 34.

mellea, 6l.

var. bulbosa, 62.

var. exannulata, 62.

var. flava, 62.

var. glabra, 62.

var. obscura, 62.

var. radicata, 62.

Asci, 18, 19 ; the sacs in

which the spores of
the cup fungi are de-
veloped.

Ascoma, 19, 20, 21 ; the
disk-like body bear-
ing the spore-sacs
of the cup fungi and
their allies.

Ascomata, 20, 21 ; plural
of ascoma.

Ascomycetes, 17, 18, 135.

Ascus, 17; singular of asci.

Astraeus hygrometricus,
130.

Basidia, 16, 17 ; enlarged

cells bearing spores.
Basidiomycetes, 14, 17,

97, "6.
Bean seed to show embryo,

Bear's head, 2, 96.
Beefsteak fungus, 103.

for salad, 155.

minced, 155.

to prepare, 155.
Bird's-nest, 24, 133.
Bitter Boletus, 107.
Black knot, 9.
Boletaceae, 31, 44, 102.
Boleti, 14.

167

Boleti, care of spores,
148.

to prepare, 154.

of the United States,

104.

which change colour,

104.
Boletinus, 45, 102, 103.

pictus, 103.

painted, 103.
Boletus, 44, 104.

Americanus, 109,

bicolor, 105.

calopus, 106.

castaneus, 108.

chrysenteron, 106.

cyanescens, 105.

edulis, 109.

eximius, 108.

felleus, 107.

glabellus, 104.

mutabilis, 105.

pallidus, 105.

Peckii, 106.

purpureus, 107.

radicans, 106.

Satanus, 107.

sea be r, 108.

speciosus, 105.

subtomentosus, 109.

versipellis, 108.
Boston Mycological Club,

145.
Bovista, 128.

plumbea, 128.

section of, 128.
Bovistella, 29, 124, 129.

Ohiensis, 129.
Brackets, 2, 4.
Brain-shaped Calvatia, 126.
Branches, 7.

Index and Glossary

Brick top. (PI. opposite

p. 81.)

Brick-red mushroom, 80.
Button, ii, 12 ; the name

given to a young

mushroom.

Caesarea, 50.

Caesar's mushroom, 51.

Ceespitose, 145; growing in

clumps, many plants

from one root.
Calostoma, 29, 123, 124,

131-

cinnabarinuwi, 132.

lutescens, 132.

Ravenelii, 132.
Calvatia, 28, 124, 126.

craniformis, 126.

cyathiformis, 128.

fragile coat, 126.

maxima, 127.

section of, 126.

Cambium, 137 ; the deli-
cate young cells be-
tween the wood and
bark. The inner be-
come new wood ; the
outer, new bark.

Campestris, 76.
Caninus, 120.
Cantharellus, 36, 53.

cibarius, 148.

floccosus, 53.
Cap, defined, 12.

membranous, 35.

ragged edge, 13.

scaly, 34.

smooth, 34.

striate, 50.

umbonate, 63.

Capillitium, 25, 126 ; sim-
ple or branched
threads mixed with
spores.

elastic, 126.
Capitate, 21; having a dis-
tinct head.

Capitila. (PI. opposite p.
136.)

Caput-ursi, 96.

Carbon, 4 ; an elementary
substance found in
plant and animal
tissue.

Cartilaginous, 36, 146 ;
similar to the elastic
tissue found at the
ends of fresh bones.

Caterpillar, fungus grow-
ing on, 136.

Cautions, 151.

Cell, I r ; a living vegeta-
ble unit.

spore, ii.

club-like, 13, 14.
Cervinus, 87.
Chalk agaric, 64.
Chanterelle hygrophorus,

59-

to fry, 154.

to prepare, 154.
Chemical analysis, 152.
Chestnut Boletus, 108.
Chitonia, 83.
Chlorophyll, 6, 144 ; the

green coloring mat-
ter of plants.

Christmas greens, 5, 7.

Chrysenteron, 106.

Cibus Deorum, 51.

Cinnabarinum, 132.

Circinatus, 113.

Class, 7, 15, 17.

Classification, 5, 7.

Clathraceae, 26, 117, 121.

Clathrus, 26, 121.

cancellatus, 121.

columnatus, 121.
Clavaria, 3, 14, 99.

aurea, 100.

botrytes, 100.

cristata, 100.

fellea, 101.

flava, 99.

formosa, 101.

168

Clavaria, golden, 100.

pale yellow, 99.

pistil, 101.

pistillaris, 101.

red-tipped, 100.

to cook, 155.

to prepare, 155.
Clavariacese, 30, 98, 99.
Clavate, 21 ; club-shaped,
Clitocybe, 35, 68, 70.

laccata, 70.

care of spores, 148.
Clitocybe virens, 71.

var. amythystina, 71.

var. pallidifolia, 71.

var. striatula, 71.
Clitopilus, 37, 88.
Collector, notes of, 145.

outfit of, 147.
Collybia, 35, 66.

care of specimens, 150.

care of spores, 148.

familia, 67.

radicata, 66.

radicata, care of spores,

148.

velutipes, 66.
Columella, 125.
Common mushroom, 76.
Context, 42 ; the tissue

immediately in con-
tact with * specified
part.

Coprinarii. See Coprini.

Coprini .careof spores, 148 ,

to prepare, 154.
Coprinus, 40, 89.

atramentarius, 91. '

comatus, iii, v, viii, 90

micaceus, 91.
Coral fungi, 98.
Coral Hydnum, 97.
Cordyceps, 136.
Corollas, 6.
Cortinarii, care of spores^

148.
Cortinarius, 38, 85.

alboviolaceus, 87.

Index and Glossary

Cortinarius violaceus, 87.
Count de Vecchi, 49.
C rani for mis, 126.
Craterellus cantharellus,

73-

Crested Clavaria, 100.
Crucibulum, 133.
Cup fungi, 19, 137.
Cup-shaped puffball, 128.
Cyathiformis, 128.
Cyathus, 133.
Czar Alexis, 49.

Daedalea, 43.

Death Cup, 48.

Deconica, 39, 82.

Decurrent, 35 ; growing
down the stem ; said
of gills.

Deliquescent, 26 ; dissolv-
ing or melting away.

Destroying Angels, 2. See
Death Cup.

Dictyophorus, 27.

Dissemination, of seeds,
6 ; the act of scat-
tering.

of spores, 4, 118, 126,

131, 133, 137-

Early Pholiota, 84.
Earth-stars, 123, 129.
Earth-tongues, 138.
Eccilia, 87, 88.
Edible Boletus, 109.
Elaphomyces, 136.
Elias Fries, 97.
Elm Pleurotus, 58.
Emetic Russula, 68.
Entoloma, 37, 88.

Fairy clubs, 9.
Fairy-ring mushroom, 66.
Fairy rings, 3.
Families, 7, 16.
Fat Pholiota, 83.
Favolus, 115.

alveolarius, 115.

Fawn-coloured Pluteus, 87.
Fern with spore capsules, 8.
Fertile gleba, 125.
Fibrillose, 146 ; furnished

with fibres.
Fistulina, 44, 102.

cavipes, 103.

decipiens, 103.

hepatica, 102.

paluster, 103.

porosus, 103.
Fistulose, 146 ; hollow

through the whole
length.

Flexuous, 146 ; bent alter-
nately in opposite
directions.

Flint-stone, 127 ; a stone
formerly used for ob-
taining sparks.

Floccose, 45 ; clothed
with locks of soft
hair or wool.

Flocculent, 52 ; woolly.

Flowerless plants, 5.

Fly Amanita, 49.

Food of the gods, 51.

Frog-spittle, 6.

Fruiting portion, 12, 13.

Ftihrer fur Pilzfreunde,
104.

Fungi, defined, 4.

for food, i, 151.

for the herbarium, 145.

for the table, 151.

not grewsome, 2.

habitat, 2.

how to grow them, 73.

number of, 15.

poisonous, i, 48, 151.

typical parts, 12.

with gills, 30, 32-40,

46-92.

with milky juice, 92, 93.

with pores, 42, 44, 102,

155-

with spines, 23, 41,

94-97-

169

Fungi with teeth, 94-

97-

Fungus plant, 9.
Fusiform, 40 ; cylindrical,

tapering gradually to

each end.

Gasteromycetes, a, 3, 14,

24.
Geaster, 28, 124, 129.

hygrometricus, 130.

minimus, 130.
Gelatinous fungi, 116.
Genera, 7, 16.
Geoglossaceae, 21, 138.
Geoglossum, 139.

glabrum, 139.

hirsutum, 139.
Giant puffball, 127.
Gills, 12.

forked, 53.

notched, 58.

structure, 13.

toothed, 56.

waxy, 61.
Glabrous, 50; not hairy.
Gleba, 26, 117 ; the spore

mass of the pouch
fungi.

Glistening Coprinus, 91.

Globose, 40 ; having or
approaching a spher-
ical form.

Golden Clavaria, 100.

Golden-flesh Boletus, 106.

Golden Peziza, 138.

Gomphidius, 4, 92.

fixing spores of, 148.
Grandinia, 94.

Grass spikelet, 7.
Gray-gilled mushroom, 79.
Green Russula, 69.
Greeks, I.
Guepinia, 116.
Gyromitra, 20, 140,
141.

esculenta, 141.

to prepare, 155.

Index and Glossary

Habitat, 145; the locality
where a plant natu-
rally lives.

Haschisch, 49 ; an intoxi-
cating preparation of
the Indian hemp.

Hedgehog Hydnum, 97.

mushroom, 94.
Helvetia, 20, 140.

elastica, 142.

lacunosa, 143.

diagrammatic draw-

ing, 143-

section of stem, 143.

Helvellaceae, 20, 140.

Helvellales, 19, 138.

Hirneola auricula- Judae,
116.

Honey-coloured Armilla-
ria, 61.

Host, 22 ; the plant or
animal which sup-
ports a parasite.

Hydnaceae, 32, 04.

Hydnum, 14, 32, 41, 94,
116.

albidum, 95.

branched, to prepare,

155-

caput-medusae, 97.

caput-ursi, 96.

coralloides, 97.

echinaceus, 97.

imbricatum, 96.

repandum, 95.

rufescens, 95.
Hydrogen gas, 4 ; one of

the elements found
in plant and animal
tissue.

Hygrophanous, 145;
opaque when dry,
and transparent when
moist.

Hygrophorus, 35, 59.

cantharellus, 59.

eburneus, 61.

miniatus, 60.

Hygrophorus, var. flava,
60.

var. flaviceps, 60.

var. flavipes, 60.

var. rosea, 60.
Hymenogastrales, 133.
Hymenomycetes, 2, 14.
Hypha, II ; a thread-like

strand of the vegeta-
tive part of a fungus.
Hypholoma, 39, 78.
appendiculatum, 80.

capnoides, 79.

elaeodes, 80.

epixanthus, 79.

fasciculare, 80.

incertum, 80, 81.

perplexum, 78, 79.

sublateritium, 81.
Hypocreales, 18. 136.
Imperial mushroom, 51.
Incertum, 80, 81.
Indian pipe, 7.
Ingenious stamens, 6.
Ink-caps, 89.

Inky Coprinus, 91.

Irpex, 94.

Ivory Hygrophorus, 61.

Jew's Ear, 116.
Judas's Ear, n6.
Juice, milky, 32.

watery, 32.
Juvenal, I ; a Roman poet,

first century A.D.

Kaiserling, 51.
Key, 15-45-

Lachnocladium, 99.
Lactarius, 32, 92.

care of spores, 148.

channeled, 33.

crisped, 33.

deliciosus, 154.

entire, I.

ligniotus, 93.

piperatus, 92.

170

Lactarius, to cook, 154.
to prepare, 152.

volemus, 154.
Lamellae, 12.

acute 35 ; the edges

thin, not blunt.

adnate, 35 ; grown to

the stem.

brittle, 35.

decurrent, 35 ; growing

down the stem.

entire, 47.

free from the stem, 34.
obtuse, 36.

shallow folds, 36.

simple, 33.

sinuate, 35.

splitting deeply, 33.

toothed, 32.

villous, 33 ; with soft

hairs.

waxy, 35.
Larch canker, 137.
Large club, 101.
Latticed Clathrus, 121.
Leaf-green, 4, 6, 15, 144.
Lentinus, 32.

lepideus, 56.
Lenzites, 43.

betulina, 113.

separia, 114.
Lepiota, 34, 63.

Friesii, 65.

granulosa, care of

spores, 149.

naucinoides, 64.

procera, 63.

care of spores, 148.
Leptonia, 88.

Light from dry rot, 2.
Liverworts, 5, 7.
Lycogala epidendron, 144.
Lycoperdales, 25, 28, 123.
Lycoperdon, 29, 124.

cyathiforme, 128.

giganteum, 127.

maxima, 127.

pyriforme, 125.

Index and Glossary

Lycoperdon/ section of,
124.

subincarnatum, 125.

Lycopodiums, 7.

Lysurus borealis, 121.

Majoon, 49 ; an intoxicat-
ing confection of
India.

Maned agaric (see Coma-

tus), ii, v, viii, go.
Marasmius, 33, 65.

care of spores, 149.

oreades, 66.
Marchantia polymorpha.y.
Masked Tricholoma, 72.
Medusa's head, 97.
Mendel, 152.
Membrane fungi, 14, 22.
Merulius, no.

lacrymans, no.
Mitrula, 21.

vitellina, var. irregula-

ris, 140.
Morels, 140, 154.

to prepare, 154.
Morchella, 21, 140, 141,

142.

angusticeps, 142.

bispora, 142.

deliciosa, 142.

esculenta, 141, 142.

section of, 141.

semilibera, 142.
Mould, 2.

on bread, 9.

on food, 2.

on dead fly, 9.
Mould-like fungi, 15, 77.
Mounting, 149.
Mount Marcy, 68.
Mucronella, 94.
Muscaria, 49.
Muscarine, 50 ; a poison

found in A. muscaria.
Mushrooms, baked, 153.

broiled, 153.

stewed, 153.

toasted, 153.

Mushrooms, to keep, 15.

to prepare, 153.
Mutinus, 27.

bambusinus, 120.

caninus, 120.

embryo plant, 120.

young plant, 120.
Mycelial threads, 117, 123.

luminosity of, 63.
Mycelium, n, no, 136.

food provider, 13.
Mycena, 35, 55.

haematopoda, 55.
Myxomycetes, 144.

Name, not a vital thing,
150.

the search for, 150.
Nidularia, 133.
Nidulariales, 24, 133.
Nolanea, 88.

Odontium, 94.
Offensive fungi, 117.
Omphalia, 35, 68.

umbellifera, 68.
Orange Amanita, 50.
Orange-cap Boletus, 108.
Orders, 7, 16.
Oreades, 3.

Oxygen, 4 ; one of the ele-
mentary substances
which, chemically
united with carbon
and hydrogen, forms
plant tissues.

Oyster mushroom, 57.

Painted Boletinus, 103.

Panseolus, 92.

Panus, 33, 67.

Paraphyses, 135 ; jointed
thread - like bodies
found accompanying
the spore-sacs of cer-
tain fungi.

Parasite, 22 ; that which
lives by taking its

171

food from living
plants or animals.

Parasite, Cordyceps, on
Elaphomyces, 136.

Parasol mushroom, 63.

Paxillus, care of spores,
148.

Peach cure, 9.

Pear-shaped puffball, 125.

Peridium, 14, 63, 24, 25,
123 ; the thickened
covering to a puff-
ball.

Perithecium, 58 ; a round-
ed, oval, pear-shaped,
or beaked body in
which the spore-sacs
are developed.

Perplexing Hypholoma,

78, 79-

Perplexum, 78.
Peziza, 22, 137.

aeruginosa, 137.

aurantia, 138.

odorata, 137.

Willkommii, 137.
Pezizales, 19, 20, 137.
Phallacese, 27, 117.
Phallales, 24, 117, 121.
Phallin, 48 ; a deadly

poison found in cer-
tain fungi.

Phalloides, Amanita, 48.

Phallus, 27.

impudicus, 117.

section of young impu-

dicus, 119.
Phlebia, 94.
Pholiota, 38.

adiposa, 83.

limonella, 83.

praecox, 84.
Phycomycetes, 9, 17.
Phylae, 7.
Physalacria, 98.

Pileus, 146 ; the cap of a

mushroom.
Pilosace, 39, 82.

Index and Glossary

Pinkish puffball, 125.
Pistachio nuts, 78.
Pistil of St. Johnswort,
6.

of violet, 6.
Pistil Clavaria, 101.
Pistillaria, 98.
Pleurotus, 32.

ostreatus, 57.

sapidus, 58.

ulmarius, 58.
Pliny, 135.
Pluteus, 37.

cervinus, 87.
Poison Amanita, 48.
Poisoning, cases of, 49.

of herbarium sheets,

150.

recipes for, 150.
Poisonous, 48, 49, 151.
Pollen, 4, 6.
Polypodium vulgare, 6.
Polyporacese, 31, 42, 102,

109.
Polypori, no.

to prepare, 155.
Polyporus, 42.

arcularius, 112.

circinatus, 113.

conchatus, ill.

fomentarius, HO.

megaloma, no.

perennis, in.

pergamenus, ill.

squamosus, 112.

sulphureus, in.

velutinus, in.
Pores, 14 ; the openings

of the spore-bearing
tubes.

easily separating from

the adjoining tissue,
44, 102.

in radiating rows, 102.

in the form of tubes

whose mouths are
separated, 44, 102.

long-hexagonal, 43.

Pores, permanently united
to adjoining tissue,
42, 102.

separating with diffi-

culty, 45.

to prepare woody, 155.

Pouch fungi, 14, 23, 123.

Pruinose, 146 ; as if frost-
ed with a bloom or
powder.

Psathyra, 39, 82.

Psathyrella, 40, 92.

Psilocybe, 39, 82.

Protoplasm, 144 ; the vis-
cid, contractile, semi-
fluid substance of
an animal or vege-
table cell.

Protozoa, 144 ; unicellular
microscopic animals.

Pterula, 99.

Puffballs, 3, 4, 123.

salad, 155.

to cook, 155.
Purple Boletus, 107.
Pycnodon, 94.

Radulum, 94.
Resupinate, 31.
Ring, 12.

movable, 63.
Rodman's mushroom, 76.
Romans, I.

Rough-dried plants, 149.
Russia, 49.

Russula, 3, 35.

care of spores, 148.

emetica, 68.

heterophylla, 70.

to prepare for cooking,

154-

virescens, 69.

Salmon fungus, 9.
Saprophytes, 123.
Scaly Lentinus, 56.
Schizophyllum, 33, 67.
Scleroderma. 133-

r/2

Scleroderma vulgare, 134.
Sclerodermatales, 25, 133.
Seed-boxes, 6, 8.
Sensitive plant, 89.
Shaggy -mane, ii, v, viii, 90.
Shelley, I, 2, 89.
Silver fir, 6.
Simblum, 26.

rubescens, 122.
Sinuate, 35 ; said of gills

which have a notch or
recess near the stem.

Slime fungi, 144.

Smallest Earth-star, 130.

Smith, Rev. Gerard, 3.

Smokeballs, 123.

Smooth Lepiota, 64.

Smuts, 2, 14, 22.

Sparassis crispa, 99.

Spathularia, 21, 138.

velutipes, 138.
Species, 7, 16.
Specimens, 7.

care of, 147.
Spencer, 2, 5.
Sphaeriales, 136.
Sphaerobolus, 133.
Spines, 14, 41.
Spore-dust to stanch blood,

127.
Spore print, 4.

receptacle, 10.
Spore-sac fungi, 9, 17, 18,

135-

Spores, ii ; single cells
which serve the same
purpose for fungi as
seeds do for flowering
plants.

black, 32, 46, 89-92.

brown, 38, 73-83.

colour, 4.

collecting of, 147.

dark brown, 32, 73-83.

dissemination of, 4,

118, 126,131,133,137.

elliptical, 72.

fusiform, 40.

Index and Glossary

Spores, how formed, 12.

in a definite rind, 14,

23, 123.

on spicules, 9.

pink, 36, 46, 87, 88.

purplish-brown, 32.
rough, 69.

rosy, 32, 87, 88.

rusty brown, 32, 46,

83-87.

salmon, 32, 87, 88.

violet, 32, 58.

white, 32, 46-73.

yellowish - brown, 32,

83-87.

Spreading Hydnum, 195.
State botanist, 150.
Stem, 12, 13.

cartilaginous, 35.

central, 60.

characters of, 46.

cup at base, 47, 49, 50,

54, 88.

eccentric, 56.

fleshy, 5.

hollow, 50.

lateral, 58.

mealy, 46.

rusty, 46.

smooth, 46.

solid, 56.

swollen base, 48.

wanting, 113.
Sterigmata, 9, 17 ; the

slender stalks or
spicules upon which
the spores of the
Basidiomycetes are
borne.

Sterile, 29 ; not containing
spores.

base, 125.
Stinkhorns, 24, 26, 117, 123.

Stipe, 12 ; stem of fun-
gus.

Striate, 35, 50 ; said of
the cap when marked
with radiating
straight lines on the
margin.

Strobilomyces, 102.

Stroma, 136 ; a compact
mass of mycelium
which unites the
pear-shaped bodies
in which spore-sacs
are contained.

Stropharia, 39, 82.

Sulphury polyporus, III.

Sistotrema, 94.

Tall Lepiota, 63.

Thelephoraceae, 73.

Tinder, 127 ; dry material
which will ignite
without explosion
when in contact with
a spark.

Toadstool, 2, 8.

Tox-albumins, 48 ; poi-
sonous proteids pro-
duced by bacteria.

Trama, 42 ; a middle tis-
sue between two lay-
ers of spore-bearing
tissue.

Trametes, 42, no, 113.

cinnabarina, 113.

pini, 113.

suaveolens, 113.
Tremellines, 22.
Tremellodon, 116.
Tricholoma, 35.

care of spores, 148.

personatum, care of

sporse, 149.

Tricholoma personatum,
rar. bulbosum, 72.

Trogia, 33.

Truffles, 18.

Tuberales, 18, 30, 135.

Tufted yellow mushroom,
80.

Tunbridge ware, 137.

Typhula, 98.

Umbilicate, 146 ; provided
with a central depres-
sion.

Umbonate, 63 ; provided
with a central promi-
nence.

Uncertain Hypholoma, 8.

Variable Russula, 70.

Veil, 12, 113; the mem-
brane which covers
the spore surface of
a fungus in the young
stage.

Velvety Spathularia, 138.

Venenarius, see Amanita.

Verdette, 69.

Vermilion Hygrophorus,
60.

Vernal Amanita, 65.

Vibrissea, 139.

circinans, 140.

truncorum, 139.
Volva, 34, 46, 52.

of mutinus, 120.
Volvaria, 36, 88.

Water-measuring Earth-
star, 130.

White Hydnum, 95.
Wrapper, 47, 49, 50, 51, 54.

Xylaria, 136.
Yeast plant, 9.

'73