FUNGI 



19 



hollow, upper part torn into loose scales; bulb prominent, generally 

 marked by concentric scales forming irregular ridges; ring typically 

 apical, lacerated, lax, large. 



Cap 8 to 14 cm. broad, stem 10 to 15 cm. long. (Fig. 7.) 

 A. muscaria may be found during the summer and fall, occurring 

 singly, or in small associations, or in patches of considerable size. It 

 grows in cultivated soil, partially cleared land, and in woods or road- 

 sides. It does not demand a rich soil, but rather exhibits a preference 

 for poor ground. The color is of an exceedingly variable character, 

 the plants being brighter colored when young and fading as they 



FIG. 7. The Fly Amanita (Amanita muscaria), a very poisonous fungus, which 

 has been responsible for many deaths and numerous cases of severe illness. 

 It is found during the summer and fall growing in partially cleared land and 

 in woods and roadsides. The flesh is white, the upper portion or cap is 

 convex, becoming at maturity flattened, and marked by scattered, floccose 

 or rather compact scales, varying from yellow to orange or red in color. 

 The stem is cylindrical, marked by a ring at or near the middle portion and 

 a prominent bulb at the base. After V. K. Chestnut, Bureau of Plant Indus- 

 try, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



mature. The European plant possesses more gorgeous colors than 

 the American form. 



This is a very poisonous species, and it has been the subject of 

 many pharmacological and chemical investigations. Its chief 

 poisonous principle is muscarine, although a second poisonous 



