394 The Book of Woodcraft 



Spiny toadstools 

 Coral toadstools 

 Puffballs 

 All the virulently poison ones as well as the most delici- 

 ous are in the first group. 



POISONOUS TOADSTOOLS 



The only deadly poisonous kinds are the Amanitas. 

 Others may purge and nauseate or cause vomiting, but it is 

 believed that every recorded death from toadstool poison- 

 ing was caused by an Amanita, and unfortunately they are 

 not only widespread and abundant, but they are much 

 like the ordinary table mushrooms. They have, however, 

 one or two strong marks: Their stalk always grows out of 

 a "poison cup" which shows either as a cup or as a bulb; 

 they have white or yellow gills, a ring around the stalk, and 

 white spores. 



First of these is the 



Deathcup, Destroying Angel, Sure-Death or Deadly Ama- 

 nita {Amanita phalloides) , one and one half to five inches 

 across the cup; three to seven inches high; pure white, 

 green, yellowish, olive, or grayish brown; smooth, but 

 sticky when moist; giUs below; spores white; on the stem is 

 an annulus or ring just white the cap, and the long stalk 

 arises out of a hollow bulb or cup; usually it is solitary. 



A number of forms have been described as separate, but 

 which are considered by Professor Mcllvaine as mere vari- 

 eties of the phalloides — namely, the Virulent Amanita 

 (virosa), shining white with a cap at first conical and acute; 

 Spring Amanita (verna), like virosa, but showing a more 

 persistent and closely sheathing remains of the wrapper at 

 the base of the stem; Big-veiled Amanita (magnivelaris), 

 like verna, but has a large persistent annulus, and the bulb 



