White-spored Series 



Wrapper 



Section of young plant in 

 wrapper 



Young plant in 

 wrapper 



whether they grow down on the stem; and whether the stem is 

 hollow, solid, or filled with web-like mycelium, and whether it is 

 fleshy or has a tough and hard rind. The lamellae may be of 

 different or of equal lengths, and their edges may be entire or 

 toothed or thin or blunt. 



To know a genus of the gill-bearing fungi, one must know 

 the cap, gills, stem, and habit of growth which characterise that 

 genus. 



A very young plant of the genus Amanita is enveloped in a 

 membranous wrapper. The relation of the young plant to the 

 wrapper will readily be understood by cutting 

 a young plant through its length. 



As the plant grows, the wrapper is ruptured, 

 a part is left at the base 

 to form a cup or sheath, 

 or a part maybe carried 

 up on the cap, to ap- 

 pear in small patches. 



The cap is, as a 



rule, regular and 



broadly convex, It may be almost 



flat when mature. The stem has a 



conspicuous collar and the gills are 



free from the stem. 



There are twenty American species in the genus Amanita ; 



some of them are the most poisonous p atC he 



fungi known, while others are most 



highly esteemed for the table. Since Free gms^ 



the most dan- 



• Cap gerous species 



belong to this 



genus, it would 



be better for the 



.Voiva amateur not to 



eat of specimens 



whichhavestalks 



with a swollen base surrounded by a cup- 

 like or scaly envelope, especially if the gills are white. In gath- 

 ering all white-gilled species, care should be taken to get 



A-man'-T-ta 

 47 



Stem 



A. muscaria (See Plate III.) 



Wrapper ruptured 



