258 



Mycologia 



Hymenomycetes 



This group comprises tremelline forms, such as Tremella and 

 Auricularia; fleshy, coral-Hke forms, such as Clavaria and Spar- 

 assis; thin, tough forms with smooth hymenium, such as Thele- 

 phora and Stereum; fleshy or woody forms with spiny hymenium, 

 such as Hydnum and Odontia; tough or wood-loving forms with 

 porous hymenium, such as Polyporus and Fomes; fleshy, terres- 

 trial forms with porous hymenium, such as Boletus and Cerio- 

 myces; and tough or fleshy forms with true gills, such as /4^anVw^ 

 and Amanita. In all of these divisions except the last two, the 

 species are usually considered either harmless or too tough for 

 food. One woody species of polypore, Fomes Laricis, contains 

 a poison and is used in medicine. The poisonous or suspicious 

 species of the Boletaceae and the Agaricaceae will now be taken 

 up in alphabetical order and their poisonous properties discussed. 



It must be clearly understood, however, that this list does not 

 contain all the poisonous mushrooms in America. The only safe 

 method of procedure for the mycophagist is to have two lists, 

 one of species to avoid, and another of species that have been 

 thoroughly tested and found safe under all conditions. The 

 accompanying illustrations are made from colored charts pub- 

 lished some years ago in France, intended to give popular instruc- 

 tion in distinguishing poisonous and edible mushrooms. Excel- 

 lent charts of this kind have also been known for many years in 

 Sweden, owing to the work of Elias Fries at Upsala. Regarding 

 these charts, it must be remembered, first, that they soon get out 

 of date, and, second, that the person using them should have a 

 good general knowledge of the characters of mushrooms, other- 

 wise there will be mistakes, which may sometimes prove fatal, 

 especially in distinguishing the species of Amanita. In the case 

 of this genus, I would strongly advise everyone to let all of its 

 species severely alone, so far as eating them goes, and thus elimi- 

 nate many chances of error. 



BOLETACEAE 

 Ceriomyces ferruginatus (Batsch) Murrill 

 Considered slightly poisonous by most mycologists, but Mac- 

 Ilvaine claims that it loses its peppery taste on cooking and be- 

 comes perfectly harmless. 



