MusKrooms and Toadstools : Hoiv to Rnoiv TKem 



Prof. Wm. LocKhead, Macdonald College, Sto. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec 



IN the popular mind, mushrooms 

 differ from toadstools in the im- 

 portant particular that the former 

 are edible and of commercial value, 



t 



The Smooth Lepiota — Edible 



while the latter are poisonous and of no 

 value whatever. To the botanist?, 

 however, the terms are usually synony- 

 mous, and the word "mushroom" is 

 used to comprise all forms whether pois- 

 onous or not. For example, Professor 

 Atkinson, of Cornell University, calls his 

 book on the subject: "Mushrooms, 

 Edible and Poisonous." The fact re- 

 mains that there are poisonous forms, 

 call them what we will, many of which 

 look so much like the non-poisonous 

 forms that only experts can distinguish 

 them. The number of edible mush 

 rooms is large. The connoisseur often 

 is in a position to enjoy in safety many 

 a delicious mess when it would be dan- 

 gerous for the uninformed to indulge 

 for himself. 



HOW A MUSHROOM GROWS 



When the spores find suitable con- 

 ditions they sprout and produce a mass 

 of white threads and cords called the 

 "mycelium." This mycelium when 

 grown in compost and dried forms the 

 "spawn," as sold by seed dealers. 

 Under suitable conditions the mycelium 

 grows and feeds on the decomposing 

 organic matter in the soil. Small 

 growths appear after a time on the 

 mycelium as "buttons," which soon 

 shoot up above the surface and take on 

 the umbrella form of mushrooms. The 

 "umbrella" is in reality only the fruit- 



ing portion of the mushroom. It grows 

 and develops very rapidly. A new crop 

 is ready every morning, but it must not 

 be supposed that the entire mushroom 

 plant develops in a single night. It has 

 had a considerable period of growth 

 in the soil invisible to the ordinary 

 observer. 



The common field mushroom, Agariais 

 campestris, of the late summer and au- 

 tumn, is a form that is easily recognized 

 even by the amateur. The cap is nearly 

 smooth, white or brownish white, and 

 the flesh is white; the gills underneath 

 the cap do not quite touch the stem, are 

 white when young, then pink, and later 

 brown when ripe. There is a thin 



The Common Mushroom — Edible 



"collar" or ring on the stem; the stem 

 is white, tapers slightly to the base, and 

 is solid, though less firm at the centre. 

 If the stem is cut off and the cap laid 

 with the gills down upon a sheet of 

 white paper away from drafts of air a 

 "spore-print" can be obtained in a 

 few hours. When a mushroom is ripe 

 the spores fall readily from the sides of 

 the gills where they are formed, so the 

 spore-print is nothing more than the 

 fallen spores. 



The color of the spores is of import- 

 ance in the identification of mushrooms, 

 for there are mushrooms with black 

 spores, some with brown spores, some 

 with pink spores, some with reddish - 

 brown spores, and some with, white 

 spores. For example a species, the 



117 



Smooth Lepiota, Lepiota naucina, is 

 very common, and is picked and 'eaten 

 in large numbers. It has white spores, 

 and the stem is somewhat hollow and 

 slightly swollen at the base. Another 

 species, the Deadly Amanita, Amanita 

 phalloides, resembling both the common 

 mushroom and the smooth Lepiota in 

 color and general appearance, is deadly 

 poisonous. Is is largely responsible for 

 the many cases of mushroom poisoning. 

 It has white spores ; sometimes the gills 

 have a pinkish tinge, but the main differ- 

 ence is the presence of a "cup" at the 

 base which holds the stem. Sometimes 

 this cup is left in the ground when the 

 mushroom is picked, and the novice has 

 nothing to distinguish it from the Lepi- 

 ota. Most of the other species of Aman- 

 ita are highly colored, so that they are 

 not often eaten by mistake. But all 

 highly colored forms are not poisonous. 

 In fact there seems to be no absolute 

 rule for distinguishing the poisonous 

 from the non-poisonous forms. 



Of the more common edible fungi are 

 the Oyster Agarics, Plevrotvs spp., the 

 Horsetail Agaric, Coprtnus coniatvs, the 

 Chanterelle, Cantharellus sp., the Fairy- 

 ring Fungus, Marasmius oreades, the 

 Milk Fungus, Lactarivs deliciosiis, the 



The Deadly Amanita — Poisonous 



Edible Boletus, Boletus sp., the Beef- 

 steak Fungus, Fistulina hepatica, the 

 Common Morel, Morchella esculenta ; 



