Wild Mushrooms as Food' 



By W I L L I A M A. M U K R I L L 



Assistant Director of the New York Botanic.il Garden 



THE immense importance of the 

 food question at the present 

 time naturally suggests the use 

 of wild foods; and many of the wild 

 mushrooms might be made a valuable 

 addition to our food supply if the pub- 

 lic knew enough about them. Fresh 

 specimens are available throughout the 

 summer and autumn, and the surplus 

 might be canned or dried for winter use. 



The popular and widespread interest 

 in mushrooms of all kinds is almost 

 phenomenal. This is due to their 

 beauty of form and color and the sup- 

 posed mystery surrounding their origin 

 and growth, as well as to the use of 

 certain kinds for food. Their nutritive 

 value is not very great, being about 

 equal to that of cabbage, but they afford 

 variety in flavor and add greatly to the 

 relish for other foods. 



]\rushroom eating is much more com- 

 mon in Europe than in America. The 

 struggle for existence is greater there, 

 and the edible and poisonous varieties 

 are better known by all classes of peo- 

 ple. In China it is almost impossible 

 for a botanist to get specimens on ac- 

 count of the thorough manner in which 

 all wild food is collected by the natives. 

 The use of mushrooms in this country 

 is confined chiefly to our foreign-born 

 population. Even in New York City, 

 many excellent kinds go to waste every 

 season because they are different from 

 kinds known in Europe. 



All knowledge regarding the edible 

 and poisonous properties of mushrooms 

 is based on experiments, either inten- 

 tional or unintentional. The only safe 

 rule is to confine oneself to known 



edible forms until others are proved 

 harmless. If one is a beginner, he is 

 like an explorer in a new country with 

 an abundance of attractive fruit near 

 at hand, which may be good or may be 

 rank poison. 



Any writer on this subject undertakes 

 a very responsible task, owing to the 

 vast number of similar forms among 

 the mushrooms which are distinguished 

 with difficulty by those not accustomed 

 to fine distinctions; but it should be 

 possible with the aid of figures to de- 

 scribe a few striking kinds in such a 

 way that no serious mistakes will be 

 made. 



Pale Yellow Coral Mushroom. — 

 Bushy, seven to fifteen centimeters high, five 

 to ten centimeters wifle; base thick, fleshy, 

 white, dividing- abruptly into a dense mass 

 of erect, pale yellow branches, the tips more 

 deeply colored but fading with age; flesh 

 white, mild, of good flavor. 



This excellent, as well as beautiful, 

 coral mushroom occurs rather abun- 

 dantly in woods during warm, wet 

 weather. In collecting it, the ba^■e 

 should be examined for insects, which 

 might give a disagreeable flavor to the 

 whole plant. ^ 



The coral mushrooms are easily 

 known by their striking resemblance to 

 clusters of branched coral. They grow 

 on the ground or on rotten wood in 

 dense shade, and are usually whitish or 

 yellowish in color. When tender and of 

 mild flavor, they make a delicious rlish. 

 Xone of them are known to 1)0 poison- 



- The golden Clararia is similar, but more deeply 

 colored. The rarer red-tipped Clararia has red- 

 tipped branches, the color of which fades out with 

 age. There is also an unbranched, club-shaped 

 species which is often eaten. 



^ niustrations from photographs by the Author 



32.3. 



