MUSHROOM 



MUSHROOM 



1045 



bv : 



t:ini "t ih' -j.i .i.-^ ami (if its edible qualities. A. stro- 

 I: , !- I .ily fc, mill in this country, and judging 



Ir || r^ ..f ifrtain plants ttributed to it, 



tti. II 1' M 'iiiii,^ -ii-^iiii-i'iu that it is only a form of A, 

 solit.irhi with large scales. 



Other native Mushrooms of economic importance may 

 be mentioned : 



Armillaria meUea,the Honey-colored Agaric, occurs in 

 late summer and during the autumn about old stumps, 

 and from roots. The plants are clustered, the cap is more 

 or less covered with pointed blackish erect scales, the 

 gills are attached to the stem, and anannulus is present. 

 The plant is also a parasite, especially on the roots of 

 coniferous trees, in some instances killing the trees. It 

 develops under the bark long black cords of mycelium. 

 The plant is edible. 



Pleurotus contains several edible species: the oyster 

 agaric, P. ostreatus ; the elm Pleurotus, P. itlmariiis ; 

 and the sapid Pleurotus, P. sapidiis, all growing on tree 

 trunks, stumps, etc., espetially abundant in the autumn. 



Trichofoma personafiini, "blewits^" is regarded as an 

 excellent edible species. It grows on the ground in woods. 

 When young, the entire plant is of a pale lilac or violet 

 color, the color fading out in age. The spores are of a 

 light ochre color. 



CantJiareUfts cibarius is the well-known chanterelle. 

 It is yellowish in color, grows in woods on the ground, 

 is somewhat irregular top-shaped, and the gills are mere 

 folds, which run irregularly from the stem to the margin 

 of the cap, and are much branched. It is one of the best 

 edible species. 



Marasmius onndes, the well-known Fairy Ring, or 

 champignon, grows in lawns and pastures. It is white, 

 with a cream-colored cap. It often grows in the form of 

 rings on the ltuuihI. thiniirh not always. 



The genu, I.a.tariu- itainsalargenumberof species. 



The plants ai-c mnri- ur less fleshy and are characterized 

 by the pre^i m-, ,i( a milky iuice contained in a system of 

 tubes thriiii-'i-'i* r!;. i i mt. This juice exudes in drops 

 when till- I ■■ ■- I ' !■ -l nr cut. In the larger number 

 of spec-ii - ■ - i;iie in color, in some it changes 



onexposup ii'i : \arious shades of yellow, while 

 in others iln miik i- maTige, blue, etc., from the first. 

 Ziactarhis fhli'insus is one of the best of the edible spe- 

 cies, as its name indicates. The milk is orange in color. 

 The plant is dull orange in color and marked on the cap 

 with concentric zones of darker eol.ir. In age bruises 

 of the plant become more m Ii -- lii ;..l with green. 



Laetarius voUmns is dull - In-, the color 



being uniform, the flesh qnii :, : -milk white, 



sweet and very abundant, ipi I' . i I • - innj m large drops 

 or running from cut or era.k.il i..hii..ii». Laetarius 

 corntgis is closely related but darker in color, some- 

 times dark brown, the gills also being dark ochre-brown 

 in color. Both species are excellent, and grow in the 

 ■woods during summer and autumn. Laetarius pipera- 

 tns is iiitir'-l^- wliite, with close and narrow white gills, 

 ami aliumlaiit milk which is very hot or peppery to the 

 ta-ic. It is -ai,i to be edible, but should not be con- 

 fusiil with cirtain species having peppery milk, which 

 are reputed to be poisonous. Laetarius resimus is 

 another white species with white and very hot milk, 

 •which is suspected. Laetarius Indigo is of an indigo- 

 blue color, with faint zones of a darker color on the cap, 



I' ■ ' — I- ! '>:--iila is cl.isrly related to Laetarius, but 

 li liiiii . In this -Dins occur many of the 



li-- it I'!' I :m ' :t-il\- )iri-al;s, till- irills of many specles 

 i-Miml.liiiL,- I ;isilv wliiii riil.l.ril. IfKssuIa lepidtt, with 

 r-'iiilisli rap :iiiil stini, wliitr -ills with the red color from 



tl a|. ixfiiiiljni,' a s|,,,,-t ili-tam-e on the ends of the 



gills, tasir niilii i- ,111 rililil.- siM'i'ies. Another edible 

 species. /,' ' 



but the -1 1 



taste is In: /, , ,>>itica is a poisonous species. 



The cap i~ ii . . .i.i i-r r.al, the cuticle easily peels off 

 from the (.a)-, iht- iijari:iii of the cap is deeply furrowed 

 and warty along the ridges, the stem is white or reddish 

 and the taste of the plant is peppery. 

 Of the tube-bearing Fungi (Polyporacece) the genus 



Boletus contains a number of edible as well as poison- 

 ous species. In shape the plants are like the Mushroom, 

 but they have a porous surface instead of gills on the 

 under side of the cap. Boletus edulis has a yellowish 

 or dull brownish cap, pores white and closed at first, 

 but yellowish or greenish yellow in age. Boletus Mleus 

 (poisonous) is of about the same size and resembles the 

 edible species closelv, but the tube surface is pink or 

 flesh color, and the taste is bitter In the genus Poly 

 yjonts most ot the sj, I „. ^,, ,w „„ wood tuts stumps, 

 logs, branche t t t 11 If j 1 \ P tul 



phuteus, f( ri 1 1 ,t like 



caps, on vai Poly 



poi us fron 1 t dead 



oak stumps t i „ 1 _ , 1 t hid leafy 



masses, with gru ( k\ s ukI whitish sti ms lud pore sur 

 face Both of these are edihU 



In the spme beiring Fun,;i {Hitdntu etc) the under sur 

 face ot the ( qi pii si nts num. i us s) ,ni likt piocesses 

 ffilh mill 1. I I I Ml Mth the 



cip 11 1 1 I I I, lor 



branched, i i is^es, tiom which long 



spines dan„l 



The Club I I ) are all said to be edible 



The Horn ( t I i ttiuropwides,tunnei 



shapi 1 11 1 i tl 1 iiiooth under sur 



fail II 1 tl // I 1 lb edible 



A.111 1 tl I I II / ) all the species 



when \ iii^uilwli 11 I 1 111, that IS, they are 

 not poisonous Some aie better to the taste than others 

 The two best ones are the <jiant Puff ball, Lyeopeidon 

 qiqantium and the Li/eopetdon cyatlnforme Both of 

 these grow in law ns or fields, the former grows some 

 times to a lirgc si7 s ^ < lal feet in diameter, while the 

 latter is 4 to ( n 1 s h h meter. 



Besides tin '\I i I i i i ] i iper which belong to the 

 Basidiomycet I it i 1 ilie Urge Ascomycetes are 



edible and ii u i II I i i 1 m treatises on Mush 



rooms In the \s i t tl | ris are borne on 



the inside of a club I i 1 i 1 111 the aseus and 

 this is the chief p u t t I t m them from the 



Basidiomycetes T > tl \ i \ t s belong the fol 

 lowing The Morels glow on the ground in damp 

 places They have a stout stem and a rounded or more 

 or less elongated cap which is deeply and coarsely 



1444. Morel— Morchella esculenta ( 



pitted. Morchella esculenta, represented in Fig. 1444, 

 shows well the general character of the genus. In 

 Helvella, containing several edible species, the cap is in 

 the form of several (usually two) irregular flaps, some- 

 times free below from the stem, sometimes united with 

 it. Lastly, the Truflles might be mentioned. They are 

 subterranean Fungi rounded or globose in form, firm, 



