BULLETIN OF THE 



T 



No. 175 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief. 

 April 29, 1915. 



MUSHROOMS AND OTHER COMMON FUNGI. 



By Flora W. Patterson, Mycologist, and Vera K. Charles, Assistant Mycologist, 

 Office of Pathological Collections and Inspection Work. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 1 



Morphological structure of mushrooms and 



certain other fungi 3 



Descriptions of species 4 



Agaricaceae 5 



Polyporacese (pore fungi) 37 



Hydnacerc 43 



Tremellacesc (jelly fungi) 44 



Clavariaceas (coral fungi) 46 



Gasteromycetes 47 



Phallaceae (stinkhorn fungi) 47 



Lycoperdaceae 48 



Sclerodermaceae 52 



Nidulariacese (bird's-nest fungi) 52 



Ascomycetes 54 



Poisonous or suspected mushrooms 56 



Glossary 1 . . 56 



Recipes for cooking mushrooms 58 



Reference books useful to the amateur 64 



INTRODUCTION. 



The desirability of a Government publication for free distribution 

 by the aid of which the amateur collector may distinguish poisonous 

 and edible species of fungi is suggested by the present-day tendency 

 to popularize science, the increased general interest in nature-study 

 subjects, and the special interest manifested in the subject of mush- 

 rooms. 



The writers make no claim to originality or to the contribution of 

 new and interesting observations on the subject of mycology, but if 

 this bulletin furnishes the amateur collector or nature student with 

 a means of identifying certain common species and differentiating 

 poisonous and edible varieties its purpose will be attained. 



The keys to aid in locating the genus or species are only intended 

 and applicable for use with the species described. Questions of rela- 

 tionship are sometimes necessarily sacrificed for the sake of rendering 

 identifications easier for the amateur. 



There has been no effort to include the descriptions of a large 

 number of species, but a few have been selected from each of the 

 most familiar genera. The descriptions are brief and plainly written, 

 the object being to mention the salient features or the distinctive 

 characters of a particular fungus and to avoid as far as possible the 



73431°— Bull. 175—15 1 



