EDIBLE FUNGI. 



501 



size and is gregarious in its habits. This also is an autumnal species and 

 is always found amongst dead leaves. Sometimes it may be gathered as 

 late as the beginning of December. The cap is sometimes only three or 

 four inches in diameter, but often five or six, soon becoming flattened and 

 concave, and often, when old, almost funnel-shaped. The usual colour is 

 cloudy grey, rather darker in the centre, with a sort of glaucous bloom 

 on the caps, like the "bloom " of a plum. The flesh is very thick and 

 firm at the centre, and the stem long and thick, dirty white, striate, and 

 somewhat thickened downwards. The gills are narrowed behind and run 

 a little down the stem, very close together, and creamy white. The 

 odour is rather strong, and some fancy it cheesy, but when raw the taste 

 is mild. There is a great difference of opinion amongst Continental 

 authors as to its edible qualities, many of them regarding it with sus- 

 picion, but we have eaten it so often that we have no doubt as to its 

 qualities, although perhaps not quite so digestible as some. There is 

 nothing very prepossessing in its appearance, and the ' Blue Caps,' which 

 often grow in company with it, would always be accepted in preference. 



(12) Pakasol Mushroom : Lepiota procera (Scopoli). 



Another favourite Fungus with mycophagists is the handsome white- 

 spored species known here and on the Continent as the Parasol Mushroom. 

 The cap or pileus is usually 3 or -4, but sometimes 7 or 8, inches in diameter, 

 with a prominent central boss or umbo of a brown colour, the ground- 

 colour of the cap being dirty white, with its thick cuticle torn up into 

 broad scales, leaving the exposed portions silky, especially at the margin. 

 The substance is rather thick towards the centre, but soft, almost spongy. 

 The gills are white and broad at the base, not reaching to the stem, but 

 leaving a channel round it. The stem is tall and erect, from 8 to 12 inches 

 long, but scarcely more than half an inch thick except at the base, where 

 it is swollen in the form of a bulb. The lower part of the stem is 

 delicately variegated with small closely-pressed scales. The ring around 

 the stem is large and spreading, so slightly attached that it soon becomes 

 movable. Both taste and smell in the raw state are pleasant ; the 

 general appearance suggests the name of Parasol Mushroom. It is milder 

 in flavour and more delicate when cooked than the common Mushroom, 

 and is of a drier consistency, so that it does not decay so rapidly, but in 

 dry seasons will become quite dried whilst still on the ground. 



(13) Maned Inky Mushroom : Coprinus comatus (Fries). 



There are very few of the black-spored Agarics which are fit for food, 

 but one of these has a great reputation, and some persons consider it quite 

 equal as an esculent to the choicest Mushroom. It is called a Coprinus, 

 and differs from the ordinary Agarics in the rapid deliquescence of the 

 gills, which, when mature, soon drop away in an inky fluid which may be 

 used as a substitute for ink, and has been seriously recommended for 

 printing bank-notes, since the large black spores are readily detected 

 under the microscope, and forgery would be impossible so long as the 

 secret was unknown (fig. 155). 



