32 BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



Edible Fungi. — Agaricus cmnpestris (common mushroom) 

 (Fig. 21, illus. I) is practically the only edible species cultivated 

 in this country. The plant grows wild in open grassy fields dur- 

 ing August and September. It is not found in the mountains to 

 any extent, and is never found in the woods or on trees or fallen 

 trunks. The color of the stipe and the upper surface of the 

 pileus varies from whitish to a drab color, but the color of the 

 gills is at first pinkish and then of a brownish-purple, which is 

 an important character, the color being due to the spores. The 

 stipe is cylindrical and solid, and a little more than half way up 

 is furnished with a membranous band known as the ring. There 

 are no appendages at the base of the stipe, which. appears to rise 

 directly out of the ground. Before the pileus is fully expanded a 

 veil extends from its border to the stipe, which when ruptured 

 leaves a portion attached to the stipe, and it is this which consti- 

 tutes the ring. The ring shrinks more or less in older specimens 

 but usually leaves a mark indicating where it has been formed. 



Poisonous Fungi. — There are two of the poisonous group 

 of fungi which are very common and which have some resem- 

 blance to the edible mushroom just described, namely, the fly 

 agaric {Amanita muscaria) and the deadly agaric {Amanita phal- 

 loides) (Fig. 21, illus. 2). The fly agaric, while more abundant 

 in some localities than the common edible mushroom, is seldom 

 found in grassy pastures, but more generally in poor soil, espe- 

 cially in groves of coniferous trees. It occurs singly and not in 

 groups. The gills are always white; the stipe is white, hollow 

 and provided with a ring at the top, and the base is bulbous, hav- 

 ing fringy scales at the lower part. The pileus is yellow or orange 

 and sometimes reddish ; the surface is smooth, with prominent, 

 angular, warty scales, which can be easily scraped off. 



The deadly agaric (Fig. 21, illus. 2) somewhat resembles the 

 fly agaric and also differs from the common mushroom in not 

 usually growing in pastures. It occurs singly but not in groups, 

 in woods and borders of fields. The gills and stipe are white, 

 the latter, when young, having a number of mycelial threads 

 running through it. The base is quite bulbous, the upper part of 

 the bulb having a sac-like membrane called the volva. The pileus 

 may vary from any shade of dull yellow to olive, although some- 



