234 
Mycologia 
margin rarely striate ; context extremely poisonous, white, not ob- 
jectionable to the taste but having at times a somewhat disagree- 
able odor ; lamellae white, unchanging, broad, ventricose, rounded 
at the base and free or adnexed ; spores globose, smooth, hyaline, 
7-10 /x; stipe subequal, bulbous, long, smooth or floccose-scaly, 
usually white, stuffed or hollow, 6-15 cm. long, 0.5-1. 5 cm. thick; 
annulus superior, membranous, thin, ample, persistent or at times 
becoming torn away, usually white ; volva white, adnate to the 
base of the large, rounded bulb, the limb usually free, conspicuous, 
lobed, thick and fleshy, persistent, but at times breaking partly or 
wholly into irregular patches that are either carried up on the sur- 
face of the pileus or remain at the base of the stipe. 
This most deadly species, for which no antidote is known, 
occurs widely distributed in many forms and colors, but is al- 
ways distinguished by the presence of a distinct volva or death- 
cup at the base of the stipe. See Mycologia 5 : pi. 8 p, f. i for an 
illustration of the common white form known as the destroying 
angel. The brown form figured on the accompanying plate is 
very rare about New York City but quite common farther north, 
where it attains a larger size. 
It is frequently stated that poisons may be removed from mush- 
rooms by boiling them in water and throwing the water away. 
This may be true of some species, but it is by no means true of 
the deadly amanita. This species has only recently been sub- 
jected to severe tests with both dry heat and steam without dis- 
organizing or extracting the poison from the substance of the cap. 
The variety of colors assumed by this species — white, yellow, 
green, gray, brown, blackish — and the fact that the annulus and 
the limb of the volva may sometimes be lost, make it necessary 
to use great caution in selecting any white-gilled species with 
bulbous stipe for food, whether an annulus is present or not. 
All species of Venenarius and Vaginata, and several species of 
Lepiota, must be examined with great care. 
New York Botanical Garden. 
