1372 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Mushrooms and Toadstools 



W. A. Setchell 



What is a toadstool? The answer of 

 the botanist is that a toadstool is any 

 one of the fleshy umbrella-shaped fungi 

 which commonly are called by that name 

 or by the name of "mushroom." The 

 popular desire, however, seems to be to 

 restrict the name "toadstool" to the 

 poisonous species and that of "mush- 

 room" to the edible species. This is, how- 

 ever, very unsatisfactory, since one can- 

 not tell, except by trial, whether a par- 

 ticular toadstool is poisonous or not 



Edible, innocent and poisonous toad- 

 stools. 



A few toadstools are extremely poison- 

 ous, a considerable number are probably 

 slightly poisonous, most toadstools are 

 innocent, i. e., not poisonous, and some 

 of the innocent species are edible. Edi- 

 bility implies that only those innocent 

 species which are of fair size, sufficiently 

 delicate texture and of agreeable flavor 

 are to be included in the list. 



How may one tell an innocent from a 

 poisonous toadstool? The popular mind 

 always seeks some test which may be 

 applied. Such a test should, of course, 

 be decisive and of uniform result. Many 

 reputed tests pass current and are im- 

 plicitly believed in by some. So far as 

 is known there is no single test, short 

 possibly of chemical analysis, which will 

 give results of any value whatsoever! It 

 may be well to mention some alleged 

 tests in order to emphasize their unre- 

 liability and their danger. 



Unreliable Tests 



1. The so-called "silver test" is one 

 most prevalent. It is believed that a 

 silver spoon or coin placed with the toad- 

 stools while cooking will demonstrate by 

 blackening or failure to blacken whether 

 the toadstools are safe to eat or not. It 

 need only be said in criticism that there 

 are both poisonous and innocent species 

 which act alike on silver. This test is 

 therefore of no value. 



2. Some say that if the outer (upper) 

 skin of the top of the toadstool peels off 

 readily, such a species is edible. It 



may be said that certain edible species 

 will "peel" and other edible species will 

 not "peel." Some poisonous species also 

 will "peel." So there is no reliance to 

 be placed on this "test," 



3. It is alleged that edible toadstools 

 while raw have an agreeable flavor when 

 tasted (in minute quantities as a rule), 

 while poisonous species are bitter or pep- 

 pery, or even disagreeable in flavor. Some 

 disagreeably flavored toadstools are inno- 

 cent and even of agreeable flavor when 

 cooked, while some others are looked 

 upon with suspicion and reputed poison- 

 ous. The most poisonous toadstools, how- 

 ever, are, at least, not at all disagreeable 

 as regards the flavor of the raw flesh. 

 Consequently, this test offers no certain 

 way to distinguish poisonous from inno- 

 cent or edible toadstools. 



4. When one breaks open a toadstool 

 or bruises it, it may change color or it 

 may not. Sometimes the change is to 

 light or to dark blue, sometimes to a 

 reddish or brownish tint of dai'ker or 

 lighter hue. This may or may not be 

 significant, but it is no reliable test of a 

 general character. In general, any de- 

 cided change of color should arouse sus- 

 picion, but the lack of it gives no indica- 

 tion whatsoever as to the nature of the 

 toadstool. 



5. Some toadstools when broken open 

 show a milky juice. This is usually 

 white but may be red, orange or blue. 

 Some such toadstools are regarded as 

 poisonous, others are well known to be 

 innocent, and some are delicious eating. 

 On the other hand the lack of a milky 

 juice is no evidence of either non-poison- 

 ous or of poisonous character. 



6. Many, if not all, toadstools are 

 liable to be infested by insects, whose 

 larvae are often so abundant within the 

 plant (often without any external evi- 

 dence of it) that the toadstools are fairly 

 honeycombed by their ravages. Some 

 take this as an indication of a non- 

 poisonous nature on the part of the toad- 

 stool. Experience has shown, however, 

 that this is not so, but that the insects 

 attack both poisonous and non-poisonous 

 species. 



