MUSHROOMS AND OTHER COMMON FUNGI. 35 



Hypholoma perplexum. (Edible.) 



Cap convex,- expanding to nearly plane, sometimes umbonate, smooth, reddish or 

 brownish red, margin yellowish; flesh, white or whitish; gills thin, close, rounded 

 at inner extremity, first pale yellow then greenish, later purplish brown; stem equal, 

 hollow, fibrillose, yellowish above, reddish brown below. 



Cap 1 to 3 inches broad; stem 2 to 3 inches long, 2 to 4 lines thick. 



Hypholoma sublateritium and H. perplexum are very closely related and by some 

 authorities the latter is regarded as only a variety of H. sublateritium, while certain 

 mycologists consider the two species identical. Prof. Peck states that H. perplexum may 

 be distinguished by its smaller size, more hollow stem, the yellow-greenish and purplish 

 tints of the gills, and the absence of a bitter flavor. Like H. sublateritium, this species 

 occurs abundantly in the fall about stumps or logs, often continuing until freezing 

 weather. The plants grow in clusters and the caps are frequently discolored by the 

 falling spores. 



Hypholoma sublateritium. (Edible.) 



Cap conical, becoming almost plane, fleshy, firm, smooth, but with fine, silky 

 fibers, brick red, sometimes tawny, margin of lighter color; flesh white or yellowish; 

 gills narrow, crowded, adnate, sometimes decurrent by a tooth, creamy when young, 

 purplish olivaceous, sometimes with a sooty tinge when mature; stem firm, stuffed, 

 attenuated downward, smooth or fibrillose, scaly, light yellowish, rust colored below; 

 veil at first white, becoming dark, and may for a time adhere to the margin of the cap. 



Cap 2 to 3 inches broad; stem 3 to 4 inches long, 3 to 5 lines thick. (PI. XXVII, 

 fig. 1; from G. F. Atkinson.) 



This species appears very abundantly in the fall, producing large clusters around 

 rotten stumps or decayed prostrate logs. The European form of this plant is reported 

 as bitter and regarded as poisonous. The American form has been frequently eaten, 

 although it has little to recommend it as a delicacy. Catsup has been made from it, 

 but the success of the experiment was doubtless due more to the addition of condi- 

 ments than to the flavor of the mushrooms. 



COPRINUS. 



The genus Coprinus is easily recognized by the black spores and the 

 close gills, which at maturity dissolve into an inky fluid. The stem 

 is hollow, smooth, or fibrillose. The volva and ring are not generic 

 characters, but are sometimes present. The plants are more or less 

 fragile and occur on richly manured ground, dung, or rotten tree 

 trunks. The genus contains species of excellent flavor and delicate 

 consistency. 



Coprinus atramentarius. Inky cap. (Edible.) 



Cap ovate, slightly expanding, silvery to dark gray or brownish, smooth, silky or 

 with small scales, especially at the center, often plicate and lobed with notched mar- 

 gin; gills broad, ventricose, crowded, free, white, soon changing to pinkish gray, 

 then becoming black and deliquescent; stem smooth, shining, whitish, hollow, 

 attenuated upward, readily separating from the cap; ring near the base of stem, 

 evanescent. 

 Cap 1£ to 4 inches broad; stem 2 to 4 inches long, 4 to 6 lines thick. (PI. XXVIII.) 

 This species appears from spring to autumn, particularly after rains. It grows 

 singly or in dense clusters on rich ground, lawns, gardens, or waste places. It has 

 long been esteemed as an edible species. Coprinus atramentarius differs from C. coma- 

 tus in the more or less smooth, oval cap and the imperfect, basal, evanescent ring. 



