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The Shaggy-mane Mushroom (Edibee) 

 Coprinits coiiiatus Fries 



The shag'gv-mane mushroom is a handsome plant which can 

 scarcely be mistaken for anything- else when one has once seen it. In 

 fact the photograph alone is enough to identify it. It occurs in lawns, 

 parks, and other grassy places, especially if the soil is richly manured. 

 It grows either singly or in clusters, and may be looked for in wet, 

 warm weather from May to late autumn. The fruit bodies grow very 

 rapidly, so that one is likely t<j find a basketful waiting for him to col- 

 lect them for breakfast, some morning" in a place where there was not 

 a sign of any the night before. 



The cap is 5 to 15 cm. (2 to 6 inches) broad, soft-fleshy, moist, 

 at first oblong or cylindrical and then bell-shaped, but seldom ex- 

 panded. As it matures it usually splits at the margin along the lines 

 of the gills. In yery young specimens the surface is spotted with dark 

 brown and white, clue to the fact that the outer layer, which is dark 

 brown, is torn and separated into patches or scales so that the white 

 beneath shows between them. As the cap elongates, the brown patches 

 become farther and farther apart, so that the mature plant is nearly 

 all wdiite. 



The gills are broad, free from the stem, and crowded close to- 

 gether. They are at first white, but when the spores begin to ripen 

 the gills become dark, then black, and finally they dissolve into an 

 inky fluid which falls from the cap in drops. The spores are black. 



The stem is sometimes very short but may be as much as 25 cm. 

 (10 inches) long, the upper portion being concealed within the cap. 

 It is nearly cylindrical, l3ut usually tapers slightly upward, and is some- 

 times bulbous at the Ijase. It is hollow, brittle, smooth or with some 

 loose fibers on the surface, white or nearly so, and very easily pulled 

 out of the cap. The ring is thin and usually movable. In mature 

 plants it is apt to be found lying on the ground at the base of the stem 

 or it may have disappeared alt(\gether. There is no volva. 



This is a most excellent edible species. Many people consider it 

 much better than the cultivated mushroom. It is one of the best for 

 stewing or for cooking with meat. 



Collected in Champaign county. 



