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. 



48 



