WILD MUSHROOMS AS FOOD 



335 



ous, although a few are insipid or bit- 

 ter. Coral mushrooms may be cooked 

 as other mushrooms are, or escalloped, 

 or stewed slowly for half an hour with 

 the usual seasoning and a little lemon 

 juice, then thickened and cooked longer 

 until tender. 



Edible Boletus. — Convex, six to twenty 

 centimeters broad, three to four centimeters 

 thick ; surface smooth, varying in color from 

 ocliraceous brown to reddish brown, some- 

 times paler; flesh compact, two to three 

 centimeters thick, unchanging, white or yel- 

 lowish, taste sweet and nutty ; tubes Avhite 

 and stuffed when young, yellow or greenish 

 yellow when mature, changing to greenish 

 ochraeeous when wounded, about two centi- 

 meters long; stem stout, becoming bluish or 

 discolored when wounded, wholly or partially 

 reticulate, solid, yellowish within, five to ten 

 centimeters long, three to four centimeters 

 thick. 



This excellent species of Boletus is 

 abundant, well-known, and widely dis- 

 tributed in thin woods throughout tem- 

 perate regions. The cap is large and 

 usually yellowish brown, while the stem 

 is more or less reticulate, especially 

 a])ove. In one variety, the stem is 

 reticulate to the base, and in another 

 the stem, as well as the cap, is brownish 

 lilac in color. It may be distinguished 

 from the bitter Boletus by its mild 

 flavor and differently colored tubes. 

 This species is much used in Europe, 

 and is often sliced and dried for winter 

 use. Large quantities are shipped to 

 this country from Eussia and elsewhere. 

 It is best baked in a covered dish for 

 an hour, after removing the tubes and 

 stem and cutting it into small pieces. 



Fairy-ring Mushroom. — Convex to ex- 

 panded, slightly striate at times when moist, 

 fleshy-tough, drying easily, two to five centi- 

 meters broad; surface buff or tawny, fading 

 with age or on drying; flesh thin, white, of 

 pleasant odor and taste ; gills yellowish 

 white; spores white; stem slender, tough, 

 yellowish white, villose-tomentose, five to 

 eight centimeters long, two to four milli- 

 meters thick. 



The very excellent little fairy-ring 

 mushroom is to be looked for in pas- 



tures during spells of wet weather in 

 late summer or autumn. Its habit of 

 growing in circles will aid one in recog- 

 nizing it. It should be cooked for some 

 time, owing to its tough texture. ^ 



Oyster Mushroom. — Convex or nearly 

 plane, irregularly fan-shaped, clustered, five 

 to twelve centimeters broad; surface smooth, 

 variouslj^ colored, usually white, yellowish, 

 or brownish ; flesh white, mild-flavored, some- 

 what tough ; gills white ; spores white tinged 

 with lilac when shed on paper; stem eccen- 

 tric or lateral, short or wanting, varying ac- 

 cording to position in the cluster, strigose- 

 hairy at the base. 



The oyster mushroom is very com- 

 mon on dead trunks of deciduous trees, 

 especially elm, from June to November. 

 In Hungary, it is cultivated on sections 

 of elm logs. The sapid mushroom is 

 confused with it in this country and 

 for our present purpose need not be dis- 

 tinguished, as its properties are similar. 

 Both species are rather tough and lack 

 flavor, but they occur in such large 

 masses and are so readily recognized 

 that they are to be recommended for 

 general use as food. The young and 

 tender caps should be selected and 

 cooked slowly in a saucepan for at 

 least twenty minutes. 



"Masl-ed" Tricholoma. — Thkk, firm, 

 convex to expanded, five to twelve centimeters 

 broad; surface moist, lilac or purple, fading 

 to grayish, becoming slightly brownish on 

 the disk; margin inrolled and frosted when 

 young; flesh white, firm, pleasant to the 

 taste, becoming dull-colored with age ; spores 

 dingy white, dull pinkish in mass; stem 

 short, solid, often bulbous at the base, lilac 

 or violet, three to six centimeters long, one 

 and one half to three centimeters thick. 



The "masked" Tricholoma is exceed- 

 ingly valuable, of excellent flavor, and 

 not easily confused with dangerous 

 species. It may be found in open 

 woods or among weeds or long grass in 

 rich fields during the autumn montlis. 



^ One should be very careful in picking small 

 fungi growing on lawns for table use, to avoid 

 getting Inocyhe infida, a dangerous species with 

 yellowish brown spores ; and certain species of 

 Panceolus, liaving black spores. 



