KEPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST 



207 



matter is the same in both cases. The greater the number 

 of edible species clearly recognizable by any one the greater the 

 field from which he may draw his supplies. If he is acquainted 

 with but one species he should limit his use of mushro )ms to that 

 one species, unless he can avail hitnself of the more extensive 

 knowledge of some one else or unless he is willing to take the 

 risk of eating some poisonous or unwholesome species. In a few 

 instances it is possible to affirm of certain groups of species or of 

 certain genera, that no deleterious species are known in them. 

 Thus we have in this State six species of morels and no morel is 

 known to be poisonous. It is, therefore, possible for any one 

 who is able to separate a morel from all other fungi, to eat 

 morels with considerable confidence though he may not be able 

 to distinguish one species of morel from another. The same 

 mav be said of puff balls. No harmful species is known among 

 them, and he who can discriminate between puff balls and all 

 other fungi does not incur ver}'^ much risk- in eating any puff ball 

 of good flavor, though he may not be able to distinguish the 

 species from each other. The probability is that he will suffer 

 no harm by so doing, but there is not absolute safety. It is 

 possible that some rare species exists having deleterious qualities 

 which have not yet been ascertained by experiment, hence the 

 lack of absolute certainty; for we know by experience among 

 the amanitas that excellent edible species may exist in the same 

 genus with and be closely related botanically to dangerously 

 poisonous t-pecies. Therefore, those rules which say all morels, 

 all puff balls, and all fairy clubs may safely be eaten are too 

 sweeping, and would be better if modified by the words, "so far 

 as known." 



Many mushrooms have a farinaceous taste or odor, or both 

 taste and od .r are of this character. Some have thought that all 

 species having this meal like flavor are edible, and indeed many 

 of them are, and no dangeroush^ poisonous species is known to 

 have it. But occasionally a species has this flavor combined with 

 or followed by a bitter or otherwise disagreeable flavor which 

 would at leastrender the mushroom undesirable if not unwhole- 

 some. So that rules designed to aid in the selection of edible 

 species have their exceptions and their weak points as well as the 

 rules designed to protect us against the poisonous sjiecies. There 



