MYCOLOGIA 



Vol. I March, 1909 No. 2 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF FUNGI— II 



William A. Murrill 



The species shown on the accompanying plate are all edible and 

 abundant, most of them occurring on lawns or in pastures 

 throughout this country and Europe. 



Agaricus campestris L. 



Common Mushroom 



Plate 3. Figure 1. X i 



Pileus 5-9 cm. broad, convex to expanded, dry, silky and 

 whitish or floccose-squamulose and light reddish-brown, the 

 color being chiefly in the scales ; flesh white, thick, solid, of mild 

 flavor, sometimes becoming reddish when broken; gills free, 

 rounded behind, ventricose, crowded, white when young, be- 

 coming salmon-pink, and finally purplish-brown or blackish ; 

 spores ellipsoid, smooth, dark-brown, 10-12 //, long; ring delicate, 

 inconspicuous, formed from a thin, white veil, which covers the 

 gills in their younger stages; stem smooth, white, cylindrical, 

 nearly equal, stuffed within, 3-6 cm. long, 1.5-2 cm. thick. 



The common mushroom occurs in low grass on meadows or 

 on rich, moist upland pastures, being common after rains from 

 August to October in this latitude. The " spawn," or vegetative 

 portion, is hidden in the soil and feeds upon the dead organic 

 matter found therein. In the cultivation of this species, bricks 

 of spawn are planted in suitable soil and the conditions of growth 

 attended to with great care. This is the mushroom usually found 

 in market, either in the fresh stage or in cans. Most persons 



[Mycologia for January, 1909 (1 : 1-36), was issued 27 F 1909.] 



37 



