Part 10

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ fleshy, tawny, red, smoothly tomentose, very irregular in shape, from two to five inches across, lobed or undulated; margin vaulted, acute, wavy; flesh white, turning yellow when cut, if bruised becoming brown-red; _spines_ pale-yellow, unequal, thick-set, apices canino-denticulate or conical, straight or slightly ungulate; occasionally bifid; shorter and more obtuse towards the stalk, on the upper part of which they are somewhat decurrent, leaving small foraminules when detached; _stem_ at first white, then tawny; two inches long, solid, of variable thickness (from half an inch to two inches) more or less flattened, papillated above with the rudiments of spines which have aborted; _spores_ round, white, _taste_ when raw at first pleasant, but presently of a saline bitter, like Glauber salts, somewhat peppery, and _smell_ like that of horse-radish.

This fungus occurs principally in woods, and especially in those of pine and oak; sometimes solitary, but more frequently in company and in rings. In Italy (where the spines have procured for it the name of “Steccherino,” or Hedgehog), it is brought into the market and sold promiscuously with the Chantarelle, to which in colour and in some other respects it bears a resemblance. There is no fungus with which this is likely to be confounded; once seen, it is recognized at a glance afterwards, and may be gathered fearlessly.

According to Paulet, Persoon, and Vittadini, the _Hyd. repandum_ should be cooked for a long time, and with plenty of sauce, otherwise, being deficient in moisture, it is apt to become rather tough; when well stewed it is an excellent dish, with a slight flavour of oysters; it makes also a very good _purée_. Vittadini places it among the most delicate of the funguses of Italy.

FISTULINA HEPATICA, _Fries_.

PLATE XII. FIGS. 1 AND 2.

“Fungus pauperibus esculentus.”—_Schœff._

This fungus, which, in the earlier stages of its development, frequently resembles very closely a tongue in shape, structure, and general appearance, presents later a dark, amorphous, grumous-looking mass, bearing a still more striking likeness to liver. Thus, seen while young, and just beginning to bud out from the oak,[181] its papillated surface, regular shape, and clear fibrous flesh make it an object of interest to many who, introduced to it at an advanced period of growth, can hardly be brought to believe that the blackened misshapen mass, that looks like liver, and that deeply stains the fingers with an unsightly red fluid, can indeed be the same plant. It has, from the earliest-recorded accounts, been designated by names pointing to these resemblances: Cesalpinus calls it _Linguæ_; Wallemb, _Buglossus quercinus_; the vulgar name in Italy is “Lingua quercina,” or “Lingua di castagna.” It constitutes a genus by itself.

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ confluent with the stalk: at first studded on the upper side with minute papillæ (the rudiments of tubes), which afterwards disappear; flesh succulent, fibrous, like beetroot in appearance, with a vinous smell and a slight acid taste; _tubes_ continuous with the fibres of the receptacle, unequal, very short, small, cylindrical, ochraceous-rufescent; at first with closed pores, but as they elongate they become patent; colour at first a dry dusky white, afterwards a yellowish-red; the whole surface more or less sticky, with a gelatinous secretion exuding from it; _sporidia_ ochraceous-green, and matured at different times from the unequal length of the tubes. This fungus varies in size from that of a small kidney to an irregular mass of many pounds’ weight, and of several feet in circumference. I recently picked a specimen which measured nearly five feet round, and weighed upwards of eight pounds; but this is nothing to one found by Mr. Graves, which, on the authority of Mr. Berkeley, weighed nearly thirty pounds.

The _Fistulina hepatica_, which Schœffer calls the Poor Man’s fungus, “fungus pauperibus esculentus,” deserves indeed the epithet if we look to its abundance, which makes it an acquisition to the labouring class wherever it is known; but that it is in any other sense fitted for the poor, or to be eaten by those only who can purchase no other food, is what I cannot subscribe to. No fungus yields a richer gravy, and though rather tough, when grilled it is scarcely to be distinguished from broiled meat. The best way to dress it if old, is to stew it down for stock, and reject the flesh, but if young, it may be eaten in substance, plain, or with minced meat; in all cases its succulency is such that it furnishes its own sauce, which a friend of ours, well versed in the science of the table, declares each time he eats it to be “undeniably good.”

In England the _F. hepatica_ grows principally on old oak-trees, and may be found throughout the summer in great abundance.

AGARICUS ORCELLA,[182] _Bull._

PLATE XI. FIGS. 1 AND 2.

Section MOUCERON, _Fries_.

“Senza dubbio uno de’ migliori funghi indigeni.”—_Vitt._

“Esculentus!”—_Ibid._

This is a very delicate mushroom; it grows either solitary or in company, and sometimes in rings, succeeding occasionally a crop of _Ag. oreades_ and _Ag. prunulus_ which had recently occupied the same site. Its general appearance, once recognized, is such as to render the mistaking it for any other species afterwards unlikely, whilst the least attention to its botanical characters makes it impossible to do so. Its irregular lobed pileus with smooth undulated borders, its decurrent gills, and short solid stem are so many particulars in which at first it might seem to resemble in outline the _Canth. cib._, with which it has, however, nothing else in common. It bears a nearer general resemblance to several of the section _Lactifluus_ of Persoon, but the exudation, or not, of milk would be conclusive in any doubtful case, to say nothing of its peculiar smell of cucumber rind, or syringa leaf,[183] in which respect it resembles no other fungus. The surface is as soft and smooth to the touch as kid, except in wet weather, when it becomes more or less sticky; the size, which does not admit of much variation, is from two to three inches across; whilst young the borders are rolled inwards towards the gills, the stalk is in the centre, and somewhat enlarged at the base; but as the fungus grows the borders unroll themselves, one side grows more rapidly than the other, the stalk becomes, in consequence, eccentric, and this eccentricity is often rendered greater by a lateral twist towards the base. The gills, which at first are white, assume later a pale salmon hue; Berkeley adds that “they are more or less forked, covered with very minute conical papillæ ending in four spiculæ;” those that are entire taper away posteriorly and terminate on the stalk, but the imperfect ones are rounded off midway; the spores are elliptic, and of the colour of brown-holland.[184]

This mushroom is found occasionally, throughout the summer, but autumn is the season to look for it, amidst the grass of woods and pastures, where it abounds. It should be eaten the day it is gathered, either stewed, broiled, or fried with egg and bread-crumbs, like cutlets. When dried, it loses much of its volume and acquires “a very sweet smell,”—“un’ aroma suavissimo” (_Vitt._).

HELVELLA CRISPA, _Fries_.

HELVELLA LACUNOSA, _Afz._

Tribe MITRATI, _Fries_.

“Può essere con vantaggio raccolta ed agli stessi usi delle spugniole destinata.”—_Vitt._

All _Helvellæ_ are esculent, have an agreeable odour, and bear a general resemblance in flavour to the _Morell_. The _Helvella crispa_, or pallid Helvella of Scopoli and Fries, is, it seems, “not uncommon,”[185] and the _Helvella lacunosa_, or cinereous Helvella of Afzel (on each of whose heads respectively Sowerby and Schœffer place an _inappropriate_ mitre), are both indigenous. They are thus succinctly but excellently described by Mr. Berkeley.

_Helvella crispa_, Fries.

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ whitish, flesh-coloured or yellowish, deflexed, lobed, free, crisped, pallid; _stem_ fistulose, costato-lacunose, 3-5 inches high, snowy-white, deeply lacunose and ribbed, the _ribs_ hollow.

_Helvella lacunosa_, Afzel.

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ inflated, lobed, cinereous,[186] lobes deflexed, adnate, stem fistulose, costato-lacunose; _stem_ white or dusky.

This _Helvella_ is not so common as the last, neither is it so sapid. They both grow in woods and on the stumps of old trees. Bendiscioli places them, for flavour, before the _Morell_, but this is not the general opinion entertained of them.

_Helvella esculenta_, Pers.

PLATE XII. FIGS. 3, 4, AND 5.

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ inflated, irregular, undulated, gyroso-rugose, of a rich dark-brown colour, margin united with the stem; _stem_ white or dusky. In plantations of fir and chestnut adjoining Weybridge Heath, in Surrey. It has not yet been found elsewhere in Britain.

VERPA DIGITALIFORMIS, _Persoon_.

PEZIZA ACETABULUM, _Linn._

Tribe CUPULATI.

These funguses are very similar in their properties to the _Helvellæ_; that is, are not to be despised when one cannot get better, nor to be eaten when one can. “The _Verpa_,” says Vittadini, “though sold in the market, is only to be recommended when no other esculent fungus offers, which is sometimes the case in spring.” The _Peziza acetabulum_ is utterly insipid, and depends entirely for flavour upon the sauce in which it is served. As they are rare in England, I shall merely give the botanical character of each.

_Verpa digitaliformis_, Persoon.

_Pileus_ campanulate, three-quarters of an inch high, more or less closely pressed to the stem, but always free, wrinkled, but not reticulated, under side slightly pubescent, _sporidia_ yellowish, elliptic, _stem_ three inches high, half an inch thick, equal or slightly attenuated downwards, loosely stuffed, by no means hollow, transversely squamulose.[187] Season, spring.

_Peziza acetabulum_, Linn. Series _Aleuria_, Section _Helvella_, Fries.

_Bot. Char._ Deeply cup-shaped, two inches broad, one and a half deep, externally floccose, light-umber, darker within, mouth puckered, tough; _stem_ half to one inch high, smooth, deeply but irregularly costato-lacunose, ribs solid “branching at the top and forming reticulations on the outside of the cup, so as to present the appearance of a cluster of pillars supporting a font or roof, with fret-work between them” (_Berkeley_). Season, spring.

POLYPORUS FRONDOSUS, _Schrank_.

PLATE IV. FIG. 1.

There are many species of _Polyporus_ eaten on the Continent; among the more common kinds to be mentioned are _P. frondosus_ and _P. tuberaster_, Persoon, _P. corylinus_, Mauri, _P. subsquamosus_, Pers., _P. giganteus_, ibid., _P. fomentarius_, ibid., which last is the Amadou, or German tinder fungus. Two of these are local; the _P. tuberaster_, which occurs principally in the kingdom of Naples, and the _P. corylinus_ or that of the cob-nut tree, which (though it might perhaps be cultivated elsewhere) is at present restricted to Rome; both these are excellent for food.

As to the _Polyporus squamosus_, which is as common in England as abroad, in substance it cannot be masticated, and its expressed juice is exceedingly disagreeable; I should not think the _P. fomentarius_, to judge from its texture, promised much better; nor _P. giganteus_, of which the flesh is sometimes so tough as to creak under the knife.

The true _P. frondosus_ is probably rare in England, that which I have met with and have had cooked, without being able to say much in its favour, is the _P. intybaceus_ of Fries, which Mr. Berkeley says is distinguished from the other by having larger pores. Vittadini has not included it among the esculent funguses in his work; Persoon does not recommend it for weak stomachs on account of its toughness.[188] Paulet, indeed, is of a different opinion, telling us that in place of its being heavy for the stomach, _he_ will feel all the lighter who sups upon it. The people in the Vosges seem to have an equal affection for it with this writer, giving it the somewhat whimsical, though really most graphic _sobriquets_ of the Hen-of-the-Woods and the Breeding Hen (Mougeot). Professor Sanguinetti informs me that it sells for six or seven baiocchi in the Roman market, the finer specimens being sent as surprise presents, “per meraviglia,” from poor tenants to hard landlords.

_Bot. Char._ “_Pilei_ very numerous, dimidiate, condensed into a convex tuft from half a foot to a foot broad, imbricated, variously confluent, irregular, at first downy, dusky, then smooth, livid grey; disk depressed, dilated above, from half to one inch broad, convex, the base confluent with the compound stem” (_Fries_).

CLAVARIA CORALLOIDES, _Linn._

PLATE V. FIG. 3.

Subgenus OCHROSPOREA, _Fries_.

“Esculenta deliciosa.”—_Vitt._

All the funguses of this genus being esculent, enter more or less largely into the supplies of the Italian markets. Roques describes seven species; Persoon five; Vittadini gives a detailed account and drawings of three, selecting those principally for the superiority of their flavour over the rest, and because of their greater abundance in the Milanese district. Mr. Berkeley, in a list with which he has favoured me, enumerates four British species as esculent, _C. coralloides_, _C. grisea_, _C. cristata_, and _C. rugosa_; as, however, he has no personal experience of any of these as articles of food, I shall merely give the botanical character of the _C. coralloides_, the most abundant of all the species (for the excellent qualities of which I can myself vouch), furnishing the reader with one or two drawings of other sorts, in further illustration of this elegant genus.

_Clavaria coralloides._

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ erect, white; _stem_ rather thick, branches unequal, elongated, mostly acute, pure white, sometimes violet at the base.

_Mode of Dressing._

Having thoroughly cleansed away the earth, which is apt to adhere to them, they are to be sweated with a little butter, over a slow fire, afterwards to be strained, then (throwing away the liquor) to be replaced to stew for an hour, with salt, pepper, chopped chives and parsley, moistening with plain stock, and dredging with flour occasionally. When sufficiently cooked, to be thickened with yolks of eggs and cream.

_Another Mode._

Proceed as before; after sweating the _Clavarias_, wrap them in bacon and stew in a little broth seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley, and ham; cook for an hour, then serve in white sauce, or with a _fricassée_ of chicken.

N.B.—The saucepan should be covered with a sheet of paper under the lid, which keeps the _Clavarias_ white and also preserves their flavour.

There can be little doubt that our woods, properly explored, would be found to abound in funguses hitherto considered rare, and this would probably be one of them. At present the weald of Kent, within forty miles of London, remains, so far as Mycology is concerned, nearly as unexplored as the interior of Africa.

Plate V. fig. 2, represents _Clavaria amethystina_, Bull. Plate V. fig. 5, represents _C. cinerea_, Bull. Plate V., fig. 6, represents _C. rugosa_, Bull.

LYCOPERDON PLUMBEUM, _nob._

_Puff-balls._

Subdivision GASTEROMYCETES, _Fries_.

Tribe 3. TRICHOSPERMI.

Family 1. TRICHOGASTRES. GENUS 1. LYCOPERDON, _Tournef._

“Il Licoperdo piombino è uno dei funghi mangiativi più delicati che si conoscano. Il suo uso è pressochè generale.”—_Vitt._

All these more or less spherical white funguses furnished with a membranaceous covering, and filled when young with a white, compact, homogeneous pulp, which we call Puff-balls, are good to eat; those in most request for the table abroad, and the best, have no stem, _i. e._ no sterile base, but are prolific throughout their whole substance. One of the most common of these is the _Lycoperdon plumbeum_, of which the following excellent description is chiefly taken from Vittadini.

_Bot. Char._ Body globose; when full-grown about the size of a walnut, invested with two[189] tunics, the outer one white, loosely membranaceous and fragile, sometimes smooth, at others furfuraceous; the innermost one (peridium) very tenacious, smooth, of a grey-lead colour externally, internally more or less shaggy with very fine hairs; these hairs occupy the whole cavity, and in the midst of them a prodigious number of minute granular bodies, the sporules (each of which is furnished with a long caudiform process), lie entangled. The whole plant, carefully removed from the earth, with its root still adhering, is in form not unlike one of its own seeds vastly magnified.

The _L. plumbeum_ abounds in dry places, and is to be found in spring, summer, and autumn, solitary or in groups. “This,” says Vittadini, “is one of our commonest Puff-balls, and after the warm rains of summer and of autumn, myriads of these little plants suddenly springing up will often completely cover a piece of ground as if they had been sown like grain, for a crop; if we dig them up we shall find that they are connected with long fragile threads, extending horizontally underground and giving attachment to numerous smaller Puff-balls in different stages of development, which, by continuing to grow, afford fresh supplies as the old ones die off.”

LYCOPERDON BOVISTA, _Linn._

Subdivision GASTEROMYCETES, _Fries_.

Tribe 3. TRICHOSPERMI. Family 1. TRICHOGASTRES.

“Vescie buone da friggere” (Tuscan vernacular name).

“La sua carne candida compatta si presta facilemente a tutte le speculazioni del cuoco.”—_Vitt._

This differs from the last-mentioned Puff-ball in many particulars; in the first place it is much larger (sometimes attaining to vast dimensions), its shape is different, being that of an inverted cone; never globular, the flesh also is more compact, while the membrane which holds what is first the pulp and afterwards the seed, is very thin and tender; the seed, moreover, has no caudal appendage; and finally, a considerable portion of the base is sterile, in all which additional particulars it is unlike the _Lycoperdon plumbeum_. The plant is sessile, a purple-black fragile membrane contains the spores, which are also sessile,[190] and of the same colour as the peridium.

No fungus requires to be eaten so soon after gathering as this; a few hours will destroy the compactness of the flesh and change its colour from delicate-white to dirty-yellow;[191] but when perfectly fresh and properly prepared, it yields to no other in digestibility. It may be dressed in many ways, but the best method is to cut it into slices and fry these in egg and bread-crumbs; so prepared, it has the flavour of a rich, light omelette.[192]

AGARICUS MELLEUS.

PLATE IX. FIG. 3.

Subgenus 3. AMILLARIA.

This is a nauseous, disagreeable fungus, however cooked, and merely finds mention here, as its omission in a work on the esculent funguses of England might seem strange to those unacquainted with its demerits; it is really extraordinary how some Continental writers, speaking from their own experience, should ever have recommended it for the table. Pliny’s general _apage_ against all funguses really finds an application to this, which is so repugnant to our notions of the savoury, that few would make a second attempt, or get dangerously far in a first dish. Not to be poisonous is its only recommendation; for as to the inviting epithet _melleus_, or honeyed, by which it is designated, this alludes only to the colour, and by no means to the taste, which is both harsh and styptic.

_Bot. Char._ In tufts, near or upon stumps of trees, or posts. Pileus dirty-yellow, more or less hairy; _stem_ fibrous, varying greatly in length, from one inch to nine or ten; enlarged above and below, thinner in the middle; _ring_ thick, spreading, rough or leathery; _gills_ somewhat decurrent, deeper than the pileus; _spores_ white, appearing like fine dust on the gills.

AGARICUS ULMARIUS, _Bull._

Subgenus PLEUROPUS. Subdivision ÆGERITARIA.

“Fungo mangiativo sommamente ricercato e di ottima qualità.”—_Vitt._

_Bot. Char._ Solitary or connected to others by a common root; the _pileus_ presenting a dirty-white surface, turning afterwards to a pale rust-colour, and sometimes tessellated; varying like all parasitical funguses in shape, but generally more or less orbicular; flesh continuous with the stalk, white, compact; _stalk_ very thick, solid, elastic, smooth towards the summit, tomentose at the base; _gills_ of a yellowish tint, broad, thick, ventricose, emarginate, _i. e._ terminating upon the surface of the stem in a receding angle; the imperfect gills few; _taste_ and _smell_ agreeable; _spores_ white.

This Agaric which takes its name from the tree where it is most commonly found, grows also, though less frequently, on the Poplar and Beech. Mr. Berkeley reports it rare; perhaps, however, as it is eminently local, it may here, as in Italy, be common in some places though of unfrequent general occurrence. No country being so rich in Elm-trees as our own, we should probably find _A. ulmarius_ more often if the height at which it grows among the branches did not frequently screen it from observation.[193] Though registered in the Flora of Tunbridge Wells, I have not met with a single specimen of it this autumn.

This Agaric dries well and may be kept (not, however, without losing some of its aroma) for a long time without spoiling; the gills, after a time, assume the same hue as the pileus.

AGARICUS FUSIPES, _Bull._

Subgenus CLYTOCYBE. Subdivision CHONDROPODES.

“Il a le même goût quo le Champignon de Couche, quoique un peu plus prononcé.”—_Persoon._

_Bot. Char._ Gregarious; _pileus_ fleshy, loose, of a uniform brown colour, sometimes marked with dark blotches, as if burnt; _gills_ nearly free, serrated, at first dirty-white, afterwards a clear bistre; easily separable from the stalk; _stalk_ hollow, ventricose, sulcate, rooting, spindle-shaped, slightly grooved, tapering at the base, sometimes cracked transversely, varying singularly both in length and breadth.

This excellent fungus is very abundant throughout summer and autumn, coming up in tufts at the roots of old Oak-trees after rain. It may be easily recognized by its peculiar spindle-shaped stalk.

Vittadini does not mention it, nor does its name occur in the list of esculent funguses in the Diz. di Med. Class.; notwithstanding which the young plants make an excellent pickle; while the full-grown ones may be stewed or dressed in any of the usual modes adopted for the common mushroom.

AGARICUS VAGINATUS, _Bull._

Series 1. LEUCOSPORUS. Subgenus 1. AMANITA.

“La Coucoumèle grise (_Ag. vag._) est une des espèces les plus délicates et les plus sûres à manger.”—_De Candolle._