OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 
the writer lias eaten, though with much circumspection. It is very necessary to 
use great caution, as in some eases poisonous kinds may closely resemble edible 
ones. In a new country such as this, without an experience of many centuries 
of ‘ 1 mushroom ' ’ tasting behind us, we might easily mistake an indigenous and 
possibly poisonous species for a European innocuous kind, which it might possibly 
closely resemble. Our own peculiarly Australian species will doubtless be tested 
for edibility in the course of time. This testing will, however, not- be without 
danger, and even the administration of them to animals, such as guinea-pigs, 
rabbits, or even pigs, without harm does not necessarily imply that man can 
consume them unhurt. The testing will therefore require great care, and should 
not be attempted without a full appreciation of the dangers and a good know- 
ledge of local mycology. Here we would emphasise the great importance of 
no one eating any mushroom unless he is absolutely certain that it is the kind 
he thinks it is, that it in no way departs from typical members of this kind, 
and that it is not decayed, and has not been attacked by insects. For us this 
practically means that the ordinary gatherer of mushrooms should see that wliat 
he intends to eat consists of absolutely typical clean, fresh mushrooms. He 
should discard any of which he lias the slightest doubt. 
We may state here — and state emphatically — that there is no royal road for 
distinguishing edible from poisonous species. Other kinds besides the field 
mushroom have pellicles which can be peeled from the cap; others have a ring 
on the stem. The tarnishing of a silver coin may furnish well-grounded suspicion, 
but the lack of this does not necessarily connote innocuousness. A fungus whose 
fiesli turns blue or green when sectioned would doubtless deter us from eating 
it, but does not in itself denote danger. 
In Australia, the Common Field Mushroom (PsaUiota campestris) is 
extensively eaten. It is characterised by growing in grassy places, and also in 
sandy soil, by its white -cap, often beset with thin brownish fibrils or scales, a 
ring on the stem, and gills which arc bright pink even when young, becoming 
purplish brown when old. 
The larger, coarser Horse Mushroom ( Psalliota arvmsis) is also much eaten, 
and many of the large mushrooms sold in the shops appear to be this species. 
The gills when young are pallid whitish, and pass through a stage of a dingier 
pink to become purplish brown in the end. There is a ring on the stem. The 
mushrooms often grow in rings in fields or on hillsides. Unless the pink or 
purplish-brown hue of the gills is definite, or the collector possesses an extensive 
knowledge of our fungi, it is wise to discard any “mushrooms” which have 
very pale gills. 
Mushrooms in which the flesh or cap turns yellow on bruising ( Psalliota 
xanthoderma) are not uncommon, growing under trees or bushes. The gills, 
like those of the Horse Mushroom, are never a bright pink, but pass from 
whitish to- dingy pink and then purplish-brown. I have eaten these, but the 
species is said to- upset certain people. 
Lcpiota naue.inat is said to be ail edible species. I am not aware of its having 
been tried in Australia. It resembles somewhat a mushroom in being white 
and having a ring on the stem and no cup or volvn at the base of the stem, but 
the gills are white, and remain so. 
The Parasol Mushroom or Agaric ( Lcpiota procera) grows amongst grass 
under trees in our National Park and elsewhere. 1 have eaten it and found it 
palatable. These Agarics have large caps, which are several inches across, 
convex with an elevation or umbo in the centre, whitish, and clothed with 
brownish scales, creamy white gills, not reaching the stem, a long rather thin 
stem with a ring, often movable, on it (hence the name Parasol Mushroom), 
and a soft' texture. 
Several of the Coprini, winch have black or blackish spores and gills which 
deliquesce as they mature, are edible. The only one I have eaten, and found 
good, is Coprinns comatws. It has feen, found growing on a lawn in our Botanic 
Gardens. It has a- fairly large cylindrical pilous, whitish and shaggv-scaly. The 
gills are close, ascending, whitish, then pinkish, and finally blackish and deli- 
quescing. The long stem has a movable ring on it. These mushrooms must, be 
eaten before the gills change colour and become dark. 
In Sydney I have eaten a small apricot-orange coloured agaric (a small 
representative, apparently, of the edible European Cunt.harcttns cibarius) and a 
similarly-coloured club-shaped Clavaria. CanthareUus is a genus characterised bv 
thick, often forking, gills with obtuse edges. It is interesting that both of these 
had not only an apricot colour but also an apricot taste. 
