1044 MUSHROOM 



Copriiuis comatus, the Shaggy-mane Mushroom, or 

 Horse-Tail, occurs in richly manured lawns or parlis 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, whili- tlic L-ills are at first salmon color. The ring 

 «n the St. iti I- ii. . iumI niorable. It is one of the best 

 of the .-lii.'. M.. ;.i....iiis. 



Co]>m' 's, the Ink-cap, grows in similar 



places. I!:. . : , I, In. Ill 1-:! ill. lung and nearly as 



■wide. It 1- ii.ii, ■■ii.i.h.l L't:i>.i-li ill color. The 



ring is lix.il ;n..l I . I m , ! i . : i . i ■ ■- ,t seen .just as 

 the manjir. i.f tl.. . ,._ : . i . >tfm. 



Copriinis in",ir. .... M. J -:. . I J ' i.|.fiuus, grows 

 about old stumjis mill I1..111 ..I. I 1- ..r ..1 h.r buried and 



ated above, and tan in col..f, tli.. i-:<]< wluu In sli being 

 covered with thin, loose. Ihiky s.id. s whi.li j;lisliii in 

 the sunlight like mica particles, but they are easily 

 rubbed off or washed off by rains. 



Lepiota. — Of the white-spored agarics 



Ijepiota, with 



ilus on 1 



genus 

 1 and the gills usu 

 ally free from th. 

 stem, contains sev 

 eral edible species 

 Lepiota procera, the 

 Parasol Mushroom 

 grows in pastures 

 lawns, and sometimes 

 in gardens. Lepiota 

 iinnrinn, the smooth 

 Lepiota, grows in 

 -itiiilrir places and 

 i- .iiiirely white. 



Am.\n'ita. — The 

 ^-.-•iius Amanita is 

 closely related to Le- 

 piota, and contains, 

 besides several edible 

 species, a number of 

 poisonous ones, a few 

 of which are the most 

 deadly of all the 

 Mushrooms. Amanita 

 ].r.^sp-;ses thecharac- 

 t.rs ..f I.epiota, with 

 thf ;i.l.litioual charac- 

 t. 1 .if a volva, or 

 I.ix-.uiiuunt universal 

 veil, forming an outer 

 layer of greater or 

 lesser thickness and 

 composition, which is 

 ruptured as the cap 

 expands and the stem 

 elongates. In Lepio- 

 ta the universal veil 

 is not prominent, and 

 it is further closely 



ited 

 face of the < 



the 



The 



often left as a prominent cup-like still. 11,! :ii ih. l.ase 

 of the stem (see Fig. 1«3), and 111 . I I ■ !' ■ iit in 



some of the poisonous species i- i. . 1 : . .. ly as 

 the "poison cup," "death cup," eti'. It i- ].r, -. m. h.iw- 

 «ver, in some of the edible species. 



Amanita phalloides, the deadly Amanita (Fig. 1443), 

 is one of the most fatal species. It is 4 to 6 in. high, 

 .and the cap is 2 to 4 in. in diameter. The cap is dark 

 gray or umber, or whitish with a yillnwish tinge, or 

 <iuite yellow, or in some forms, <•-].. .inlly run.pean 

 ones, the cap is green. In other i-ii^. s th. v. I1..I.. plant 

 may be entirely white. The volva in typi. al l.n ms splits 

 at the apex as the young plant is exiiamiiug. iiiid is left 

 as a cup with prominent lobes, as shown in Fig. 1443. In 

 other cases the volva is ruptured irregularly, so that 

 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 



MUSHROOM 



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

 cap 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 spfi-ies should make the novice very cautious 

 re^'tuihti- till- s|...,ies of Amanita, or indeed any species 

 of .Ai ii~]i liii.ni with which he is not quite familiar. 

 Till- ^|.'. I. - i.r .\manita usually occurs in woods or 

 gr.'\ . -. ..I in th. iiiari^ins of woods, while the Aqarieuff 



from woods, and 111 siuli c:is<-s niif;bt be mistaken lor 

 the smooth Lepiota, since this is white 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. phalloides. 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- 

 guished only by the torn veil, portions of which remain 

 clinging to the margin of the cap, and by the scaly char- 

 acter of the stem, rlirinu-tir-- \vliiih -hnw rvcry grada- 

 tion into 4 . vcr»«n . 1' ■' !■ ' '• [ '.'IIS. 



:i poisonous 



.■.-ni.i. ni.t.d if treat- 

 he volva splits trans- 

 Dterrupted rings which 

 pi-r-ii ii~ -. :il\ iiii;;s on the upper part of the bulb on 

 tlif li.is.. ..f till- sti-iii, and as scattered scales on the sur- 

 face of the cap. The cap is yellowish or orange-yellow, 

 sometimes red in color, and in age sometimes fades out 

 so that white forms appear. The gills are usually white, 

 as are also the ring and the stem. Amanita Frostiaita 

 is a i-losfly rchited species with the same color on the 

 cap. but witti yclliiwish gills and veil, though variations 

 in ihi- ri.li.r tif.- shown in different plants when the cap 

 only iiiiiv l.i-\.lh.\v. The scales are usually yellow, but 



II! I . i incies may be mentioned Amanita 



(.1 1 . Ill Agaric "or "Csssar's Agaric." The 



i-:il. i I i I II -1' or yellow, with prominent striae or 



fun I - 11 Ih. margin. The gills are orange, though 

 the sjiores arc wliite. The veil and stem are often yel- 

 low, especially in the larger specimens. The volva splits 

 at the apex and is left at the base of the stem as a cup 

 with a prominent free limb, which usually fits closely to 

 the stem. The volva is white, and rarely are portions 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 



Amanita rtibescens, 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 

 do not show the color so well. 



inaliita, is one of the 



Amanita soUtarn 

 largest species of t 

 the surface of the 

 times with tints of 1 

 It grows 





plants. 



1 1..M1- LTin i-li, and some- 

 th, -. ah -. . -[..liallyinold 

 .i|HH woi.ds or by roadsides 

 L 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 stroiiliformis is a closely 

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



