CHAPTER VI. 



THE WHITE-SPORED AGARICS. 



The spores are white in mass, or sometimes with a faint yellow- 

 ish or lilac tinge. For analytical keys to the genera see Chapter 

 XXII. 



AMANITA Pers. 



The genus Amanita has both a volva and a veil ; the spores are 



white, and the stem is easily separable from the cap. In the young 



stage the volva forms a universal veil, that is, a layer of fungus 



tissue which entirely envelopes the young plant. In the button 



stage, where this envelope runs over the cap, it is more or less free 



from it, that is, it is not " concrete " with the surface of the pileus. 



As the pileus expands and the stem elongates, the volva is ruptured 



in different ways according to the species. In some the volva splits 



at the apex and is left as a " cup " at the base of the stem. In 



others it splits circularly, that is, transversely across the middle, the 



lower half forming a shallow cup with a very narrow rim, or in other 



cases it is closely fitted against the stem, while the upper half 



remains on the cap and is broken up into patches or warts. In still 



other cases the volva breaks very irregularly, and only remnants of 



it may be found on either the base of the stem or on the pileus. For 



the various conditions one must consult the descriptions of the 



species. The genus is closely related to Lepiota, from which it is 



separated by the volva being separate from the pileus. This genus 



contains some of the most deadly poisonous mushrooms, and also 



some of the species are edible. Morgan, Jour. Mycol.3: 25-33, 



describes 28 species. Peck, 33d Report N. Y. State Mus., pp. 38-49, 



describes 14 species. Lloyd, A Compilation of the Volvae of the U. 



S., Cincinnati, 1898, gives a brief synopsis of our species. 



Amanita muscarla Linn. Poisonous — This plant in some places is 

 popularly known as the fly agaric, since infusions of it are used as a 

 fly poison. It occurs during the summer and early autumn. It grows 

 along roadsides near trees, or in groves, and in woods, according to 

 some preferring a rather poor gravelly soil. It attains its typical 

 form usually under these conditions in groves or rather open woods 

 where the soil is poor. It is a handsome and striking plant because 



52 



