270 



Mycologia 



host. It is to be expected, after the long period of association 

 necessary for the close adaptation of fungus to host, that both 

 would be more or less similarly influenced by their environmental 

 conditions. I shall present data to show that the infection of 

 Apium graveolens by Septoria Apii is favored by conditions which 

 accelerate the growth of the host. The comparatively narrow 

 specialization of the Septoria on celery suggests a promising out- 

 look for experiments in breeding for resistance. More intensive 

 work in this direction is needed." 



Is Amanita pantherina Edible or Poisonous? 



It will interest mycologists to note that Dr. Raebiger 1 has ex- 

 perimented toxicologically with Amanita pantherina, a species 

 usually regarded with fear. Raebiger fed the plant raw to guinea 

 pigs, while rabbits, were given material, in part raw, in part 

 cooked. Two goats and two pigs were supplied with daily 

 rations of ten German pounds of parboiled material for a period 

 of six weeks. In the case of the pigs, other poisonous and sus- 

 picious species were included in the rations. In none of these 

 animals was it possible to observe any impairment of their health. 



The author states further that he has for years gathered this 

 species for his own consumption without experiencing the slight- 

 est poisonous effects. He admitted no other species into his 

 messes of A. pantherina, and, before cooking, would remove the 

 cuticle of the pileus, the " cortex " of the stem, and then parboil, 

 throwing away the water. 



We know that edibility for this species, after preliminary pre- 

 cautions such as Dr. Raebiger took, has been claimed by Michael, 2 

 who says that it is excellent, cooked, or as a pickle. Ford 3 re- 

 gards it as mildly poisonous. Inoko 4 and Boehm 5 have made 



1 Raebiger, Dr., Zur Kenntnis der Gift und Nutzpllze. Berliner klin. 

 Wochenschrift, No. 38. 1919. 



2 Michael, E., Fuehrer fuer Pilzfreunde. Ausgabe ' B,' Gruppe 76. 1918. 



3 Ford, W. W., The Distribution of Poisons in the Amanitas. Jour, of 

 Pharm. and Exper. Therap., Vol. I, No. 2, p. 277. Aug. 1909; and, A Clin- 

 ical Study of Mushroom Intoxication. The Johns Hopkins Bull., XVIII, No. 

 l 93> PP- i 2 4 C14) and 129 (20). April, 1907. 



4 Inoko, Y., Ueber die giftigen Bestandtheile und Wirkungen des Japan- 



