1044 



MUSHROOM 



MUS 



IROOM 



Coprinus comatus, the Shaggy-mane Mushroom, or 

 Horse-Tail, occurs in richly manured lawns or parks in 

 early spring or late autumn. It is white in color, with 

 a cylindrical cap 3^ in. long and 1-2 in. in diameter. 

 The cap is very shaggy, the scales often being black in 

 color, while the fills' arc at first salmon color. The rinir 

 oti the sti 111 i-i til.- and movable. It is "nt- t,{ ihi- lust 

 of tlir .-.hl.l.^ .Mu-linir.ms. 



(■■■/,,■,„•:., ,,!,.■ i„. ,//<u-i'».<!, the Ink-cap. -im'.v- in -imihu- 



wide. It is nearly sn'.n.i!,. ,-,, .| -r;n)-ii in .-.il,..'. Tint 



ring is fixed and not ;i: ; . . > : : K^ -t -. •n ,iu>t :is 



the margin of the c:ip i i " '1m -t. m. 



Coprinus micacm:. ':. _ :i.iiiil' ( '"iniiiii-. i;rM\v< 

 about old stumps atnl i i^i i -."i - "i- i-ilnr luivii ,| .ind 



rotten wood. It is slii;ill< r 1 li:ili l In' l w .. -|Hri,.^ - mini- r- 



ated above, and tan in .clnr, ili.' <-:t\' \\li.n I'n-li Krm:; 



covered with thin, lu"-. . il:il.\ >ralr- \\\,i.-\, -li-irn m 



the sunlight like niir:i p;.rlidr-, but thny ;ir- .^isily 



rubbed off or washed off by rains. 

 Lepiota. — Of the white-spored agarics the genus 



Lepiota, with an annulus on the stem and the gills usu- 

 ally free from the 

 stem, contains sev- 

 eral edible species. 

 Lepiota procera^ the 

 Parasol Mushroom, 

 grows in pastures, 

 lawns.and sometimes 

 in gardens. Lepiota 

 naucina, the smooth 

 Lepiota, grows in 

 similar places and 

 is entirely white. 



Amanita. — The 

 genus Amanita is 

 closely related to Le- 

 piota, and contains, 

 besides several edible 

 species, a number of 

 poisonous ones, a few 

 of which are themo.st 

 deadly of all the 

 .■Mushrooms. Amanita 

 jiossesses the charac- 

 ters of Lepiota, with 

 the additional charac- 



v,il,f(,niiiiii; an outer 

 ':iyri- ni' •,'i-eater or 

 Ir^sri- tlii.'kness and 



ours, the cap is green. In nil,. , , ,. i 



iiKiy be entirely white. The vnl , , , ; ,,[ ; ( , 



at the apex as'the young plant i.. r.\|,aiiil:n„'. and i.- iiii 

 as a cup with prominent lobes, as shown in Fig.li4J, In 

 other cases the volva is ruptured irregularly, so fhat 

 portions of the universal veil are left on the surface of 

 the cap. In still other cases the volva splits in a cir- 

 cumscissile fashion, that is, circularly or transversely 

 about the middle, the lower half remaining attached to 

 the surface of the bulb at the base of the stem, while 

 the upper half remains loosely attached to the upper 



surface of the cap, and is torn apart into scales as the 

 cai) expands. In these forms the volva forms a narrow 

 rim or margin on the outer angle of the bulb, so that the 

 latter appears saucer-shaped. The cap is rather slimy 

 when moist. These great variations in this very poi- 

 sonous species should make the novice very cautious 

 n-anliiiLC iln- >p.(iis of Anianiia, nr in.li-ed any species 

 mI .Mii-ii,,„,in with v.bi.ii b.- 1- II. .t ,|uite familiar. 



Tbi- ~p,ri,- ..f Anianita u~nall\ .■.aurs in WOOds OF 



cum pest ris or the L< 

 open grassy places, 

 cannot be relied on alt 

 especially the white fo 

 from woods, and in s\ 

 the smooth Lepiota, since thi 



tir usually in 



n.as of habitat 



b adly Amanita, 



"nii.l in lawns far 



f;bi. lie mistaken for 



vhite in color. The 



deadly Amanita is usually deeply seated in the ground, 

 so that the stem might be broken in gathering it when 

 the volva would be left in the ground, and it might eas- 

 ily be mistaken for some species of Lepiota. 



Amanita verna, the Destroying Angel, is by some re- 

 garded as only a white variety of A. plialloides. The 

 entire plant is white, the volva splits at the apex, and 

 thus a prominent free limb of about three lobes remains 

 at the base of the stem. The free limb remains more or 

 less closely applied to the stem. The annulus is broad 

 and entire, and hangs down as a broad collar from the 

 upper part of the stem. 



Amanita virosa is very near A. verna. It is distin- 

 f which remain 

 ■ the scaly char- 

 acter of the stitii, <-ii'ira<-tci-.. "tifii - how every grada- 

 tion into . I .,■, ,-,'•• i:.a|, I. ,,'!, In.l-.IIIOUS. 



Aimni.li: f,<,' i. I iNoa poisonous 



specie.-, tliniijb II ' 11 I ■ named above, 



since ilm pni-.m.n.- . Hi. I .an bi- ■laniinnicted if treat- 

 ment Is promptly eniplnyeil. The volva splits trans- 

 versely into several concentric, interrupted rings which 

 persist as scaly rings on the upper part of the bulb on 

 the base of the stem, ami as scattered scales on the sur- 

 face of the cap. Tbn .all i- M ll.a.. i-n la- la-aiiLaM-Ilow, 



.sometimes reil ill ' - ' a i ■ i ■ : mIi s out 



sothat white f.iiii a . t . _ .white, 



as are also the till- anil .m -i.in, la..., I f^iiitua 



is a closely rehitr.l spL-cn- with ib,- s,.im- c...b.i on the 

 cap, but with yellowish gills and veil, though variations 

 in the color are shown in different plants when the cap 

 only may be yellow. The scales are usually yellow, but 

 may also be white. 



Of lb. .III.;. I i.s may be mentioned Amanita 



Cam:!,. I, \ aaric" or "Cffisar's Agaric." The 



cap is I. I i- yellow, with prominent strise or 



ftin-nw- n : iiaiii. Tlie gills are oi-iinKc. though 



1..'.'. .'V."|'M'...ial'l'vin't'li'|.'lar...". i ...'■' .' . , t'' '' ■ . ' :' -plitS 

 al III.. a]...x an. I I- IlII ai ' . ' . . i i - a cup 



XMlli a i.n.nniH.nt rrri- hnn., .,.,iii..|i u-n.iii. hi- . L.-nlvtO 

 tlo- stem. The volva i> «l,ile, „l„l la,, l> a,,- |...ril,m's of 



it left on the surface of the cap. It is a very beautiful 

 species, occurring during late summer and autumn in 

 woods, and is more common in the southern states than 

 north. 



Amanita rubescens, another edible species, has a 

 volva which is more or less friable, that is, it crumbles 

 more or less into loose particles which easily wash off 

 from the cap as well as from the base of the stem. The 

 entire plant has a dull reddish tinge, and when bruised 

 or cut quickly changes to a deeper reddish color due to 

 a reddish juice in the plant. Small forms of the species 

 ilo not show the color so well. 



I nnir it<: X n / if a rlo , ths Solitary Amanita, is one of the 

 ' : i. < of the genus. It is almost pure white, 



. I the cap often being grayish, and some- 

 . ... lilts of brown in the scales, especially in old 

 l.lant, . 1'. -io\vs in rather open woods or by roadsides 

 in woods. The volva is entirely broken up into mealy 

 particles which easily rub off, or there are conic scales, 

 especially toward the center of the cap. The veil is very 

 delicate and easily torn into shreds, which disappear 

 soon. The stem has a large bulb, which tapers into a 

 long, root-like process in the soil. The plant is said by 

 some to be edible. Amanita strobiliformis is a closely 

 related species, if it is not identical with it, and is said 



