Chapter 2

It is the vegetative part of the fungus, and is composed of minute, cylindrical, thread-like branching bodies called hyphæ. When we wish to cultivate mushrooms we plant the spawn not the spores. The thread-like branches permeate the earth or whatever the mushroom grows upon. The color of the mycelium is generally white, but it may also be yellow or red. Its structural details are only visible through a microscope.

Every fungus does not bear the spores exposed upon the cap nor underneath it. The first group of Gasteromycetes, or “Stomach fungi,” as Professor Peck has called them in his work on “Mushrooms and Their Uses,” have the spore-bearing surface enclosed in a sac-like envelope in the interior of the plant. The genus Lycoperdon belongs to this group, and it contains the puff-balls so common in this country.

In the second group, Ascomycetes, or “Spore sac fungi,” the spores are produced in delicate sacs called asci. The fruit-bearing part is often cup-shaped, disc-like, or club-shaped, thicker at the top or covered with irregular swellings and depressions like the human brain.

The Morels and Helvellas belong to this group. One often meets with mushrooms of the former genus in the spring, and they are striking and interesting looking fungi. There are many of both genera that are edible. They will be described in detail later.

Botanists have classified Agarics by means of the color of the spores, and it is the only sure way of determining to what class they belong. We propose in this work also to enumerate the mushrooms according to the color of the pileus or cap, and give a list, with a description of each, after this arrangement. This, of course, is merely superficial, but may interest and attract a beginner in the study of fungi. This list will be placed at the end of the book.

The descriptions will be preceded by a classification according to color of spores, some hints to students, and aids to learning which have been found useful to others.

It is appalling to a beginner when he first reads the long list of names of classes, genera, and species, as the latter are so closely allied in resemblance. One has not always the time nor inclination to condense facts for himself, nor to collect necessary information so as to remember it most easily, all which has to be done in the absence of an American manual or textbook. A great deal has been written for us, it is true, by experienced botanists, but a general and comprehensive work has yet to be compiled.

Before we begin our list of fungi, let us learn what a mushroom is, and know something of its component parts. A mushroom consists of a stem and a cap, or pileus. The cap is the most conspicuous part. The color varies from white and the lightest hues of brown up to the brightest yellow and scarlet. Its size is from an eighth of an inch to sixteen inches and more in diameter. The surface is smooth or covered with little grains (granular) or with minute scales (squamulose) shining like satin, or kid-like in its texture. It may be rounded and depressed (concave), elevated (convex), level (plane), or with a little mound in the centre (umbonate). It may be covered with warts, marked with lines (striate), or zoned with circles. The margin may be acute or obtuse, rolled backward or upward (revolute), or rolled inward (involute); it may be thick or thin.

THE STEM.

The stem is the stalk that supports the cap. It is sometimes attached to one side, and then it is said to be lateral or between the centre and side, and it is called eccentric; when it is in the middle, or nearly so, it is central.

It is either solid, fleshy, stuffed with pith, or hollow, fibrous, firm and tough (cartilaginous). It is often brittle and breaks easily, or it will not divide evenly in breaking. Its color and size both vary, like the cap. It may taper toward the base, or toward the apex, be even or cylindrical. Its surface may be smooth (glabrous), covered with scales (squamulose), rough (scabrous), dotted, lacerated, or be marked with a network of veins (reticulated). The base may be bulbous, or only swollen (incrassated), and it may root in the ground.

THE GILLS.

The gills or lamellæ are the radiating parts, like knife blades, that extend from the centre to the margin underneath the cap. They contain the spores. The group of mushrooms that have gills are called Agaracini or Agarics. The gills vary in color; sometimes they change color when mature. When they are close together they are called crowded, and when far apart distant. There are often smaller gills between the others, and sometimes they are two-forked (bifurcate), and are connected by veins.

They are narrow or wide, swell out in the middle (ventricose), are curved like a bow (arcuate), and have a sudden wave or sinus in the edge near the stem (sinuate).

There are various modes of attachment to the stem. Where the gills are not attached to it they are called free; slightly so, adnexed; and when wholly fastened they are adnate. They may run down on the stem, and are then called decurrent.

THE SPORES.

The color of the spores can be seen by cutting off the cap, and laying it gills downward, on a sheet of paper, two or three hours or more. The impression will remain on the paper. It is better to use blue paper, so that the white spores can be seen more clearly. The Agarics are divided into classes according to the color of the spores, so it is of great importance to examine them. The shape and size of the spores can only be learned by the use of a microscope. We have not attempted in this elementary work to do more than mention them.

THE VOLVA AND VEIL.

The universal veil or volva is a thin covering which encloses the entire young plant. The cap grows and expands and bursts this veil into fragments. That part of the veil which breaks away from the cap, called the secondary veil, forms the annulus or ring. It resembles a collar, and is generally fastened to the stem. It is not always permanent or fixed in one place. It may disappear when the plant is mature. It is often fragile, loose and torn, and sometimes is movable on the stem.

The name volva is particularly given to that part of the universal veil which remains around the base of the stem, either sheathing it or appressed closely to it, or in torn fragments. The volva and ring, or annulus, are not always present in mushrooms. The rupture of the veil often causes a part of it to remain on the cap in the shape of warts or scales. These may disappear as the plant grows older, and are sometimes washed off by a heavy rain.

THE TUBES OR PORES.

There is a group of fungi called Polyporei, which have tubes or pores instead of gills. They are placed under the pileus just as the gills are situated, and contain the spores. The length of the tubes varies. The mouths or openings are also of different shapes and sizes. They are sometimes round, and at other times irregular. The color of the mouths is often different from the tubes, and changes when mature. The mouths, too, are sometimes stuffed when young. The attachment to the pileus is to be noted. They may be free or easily detached, depressed around the stem or fastened to it (adnate.)

CLASSIFICATION OF FUNGI.

The color of both gills and tubes is an important feature in the classification of fungi.

We have now arrived at a point where the amateur may become wearied at the reading of long names and the enumeration of classes and genera. Stevenson has said in his preface to his work on British Fungi that “there is no royal road to the knowledge of fungi,” and if we become enough interested to pursue the subject we will probably discover it at this point. We will try and make this part as simple as possible, and only mention those genera which are most common.

Mushrooms may be divided into three great classes:

I. Gasteromycetes, or “Stomach fungi,” where the spores are produced within the plant.

II. Ascomycetes, or “Spore sac fungi,” where the spores are produced in delicate sacs called asci.

III. Hymenomycetes, or “Membrane fungi,” where the spores are produced on the lower surface of the cap.

CLASS III. HYMENOMYCETES, OR MEMBRANE FUNGI.

This class is divided into six orders:

1. Gill-bearing mushrooms, Agarics, or Agaricini.

2. Fungi with pores or tubes, Polyporei.

3. Fungi with awl-shaped teeth or spines, Hydnei.

4. Fungi with an even spore-bearing or slightly wrinkled surface, Thelephorei.

5. Plants, club-shaped and simple, or bush-like and branched, Clavariei.

6. Gelatinous plants, irregularly expanded, Tremellinei.

The first order, the Agarics, contains most of the well-known mushrooms, as well as most of the edible ones. They have been divided into different classes according to the color of the spores. In a great many cases the color is the same as that of the gills; but this is not always the case, especially in the young plants. The Agarics are divided into four sections:

1. White spores, Leucosporæ.

2. Rosy, salmon or pinkish spores, Rhodosporæ.

3. Brown or ochraceous spores, Ochrosporæ.

4. Dark purplish or black spores, Melanosporæ.

There are an infinite number of mushrooms we shall not mention. The study of fungi has only begun in this country, and there is an immense vista for future students. The amateur or beginner may be well satisfied if after one summer spent in studying mushrooms he can remember the distinguishing types of the various genera, and can say with certainty, “This is a Russula, or this a Cortinarius, or this a Tricholoma.” He will then feel he has taken one important step in this “royal road.”

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF GENERA OF HYMENOMYCETES.

ORDER 1. AGARICS.

The names of the genera are all derived from Greek and Latin words. Stevenson, in his book on British Fungi, has given the original words and also their meanings. We take the liberty of copying the English term only, and will place it beside the name of each genus.

SECTION 1. WHITE SPORES, OR LEUCOSPORÆ.

The first genus we will mention is:

+HYGROPHORUS, from a word meaning moist.+

This genus contains plants growing on the ground. They soon decay. The cap is sticky or watery, the gills often branched. It has a peculiarity in the fact that the hymenial cells, or the layer of mother cells, contained in the gills, change into a waxy mass, at length removable from the trama. The trama is that substance which extends with and is like in structure to the layer of mother cells.[1] It lies between the two layers of gills in Agarics. The gills seem full of watery juice, and they are more or less decurrent, _i. e._, extend down the stem. This genus contains many bright-colored and shining species.

[Footnote 1: In the young plant it forms the framework of the gills.]

We are obliged to refer to the hymenial layer in this place, though the beginner will scarcely understand the meaning of the term. The distinguishing peculiarity of this genus consists in the cells changing to a waxy mass. In the chapter on the structure of mushrooms we have tried to explain something about the cells and the Hymenium.

+LACTARIUS = milk.+

This genus is fleshy, growing on the ground; the cap is often depressed in the centre. The gills are adnato-decurrent, that is, partly attached and prolonged down the stem. They are waxy, rather rigid and acute at the edge. The distinctive feature is the milk that flows when the gills are cut. Sometimes the milk changes color.

+RUSSULA = red.+

This genus grows on the ground, is fleshy, and soon decays. The cap is depressed, or becomes so at a later stage of growth. The stem is polished, generally white, and is very brittle. The gills are rigid, fragile, with an acute edge, and mostly equal in length. Some species exude watery drops. It contains many species of beautiful colors.

+CANTHARELLUS = vase or cup.+

The principal characteristic of this genus consists in the fold-like nature of its gills. The gills are thick, with an obtuse edge, and are branched and decurrent. The genus is fleshy, soft, and putrescent, and has no veil. Some plants grow on the ground and others on mosses.

+MARASMIUS = to wither.+

The genus is tough and dry, not decaying, but shrivelling, and reviving when wet. The stem is tough (cartilaginous.) The gills are rather distant, the edge acute and entire. The plants often have a peculiar smell and taste, like garlic. They are small and thin, commonly growing on the outside of another plant (epiphytal) on the ground, on putrid leaves, or on roots of grasses.

+AMANITA.+

The origin of this name is doubtful. Galen, an ancient Greek physician, is said to have given the name to some edible fungi (Stevenson). It is distinguished as the only genus that has _both volva and ring_. The young plant is enveloped by a universal veil which bursts at maturity. The volva around the base of the stem is formed by the splitting or bursting of the veil, and its different modes of rupture mark the several species. It is sometimes shaped very prettily, and has the appearance of a cup around the stem. It contains many poisonous as well as edible mushrooms.

+LEPIOTA = a scale.+

This genus has a universal veil. The gills are free. Sometimes the ring, or annulus, is movable on the stem. The cap is often covered with warts, or the skin torn into scales, and the stem sometimes inserted in a cup or socket.

+ARMILLARIA = ring or bracelet.+

There is no universal veil in this genus, only a partial one that forms a ring, or sometimes only indicating the ring by scales. The species usually grow on the ground.

+TRICHOLOMA = from two Greek words, hair and fringe.+

This genus is especially noted for its sinuate gills. They have a tooth next to the stem. All grow on the ground and are fleshy. There are sometimes fibrils which adhere to the margin of the cap, the remains of the veil. There are no plants in this genus that are considered poisonous.

+CLITOCYBE = a declivity.+

The gills in this genus are attenuated behind and are attached to stem (adnate) or run down it (decurrent.) The cap is generally plano depressed or funnel-shaped (infundibuliform). Some are fragrant; the odor resembles fresh apricots.

+COLLYBIA = a small coin.+

The stem in this genus is tough or stuffed with a pith, and covered with a cartilaginous rind. The margin of the cap is smooth and turned under at first (involute). The gills are soft, free, or only adnexed behind. The plants grow on the outside of wood and leaves, even on fungi, but are often rooted on the ground, and do not dry up. The gills are sometimes brightly colored.

+MYCENA = a fungus.+

In this genus also the stem is cartilaginous, the cap is sometimes bell-shaped (campanulate) and slender. The plants are generally small and fragile. The cap is from ⅛ to 1½ inch broad. The stem is sometimes filiform, and they grow on stumps and sticks, dead wood, twigs and leaves. They may be found early in the season, but oftener from August to November.

+OMPHALIA = depressed.+

The stem in this genus is cartilaginous. The gills run down the stem. The cap is somewhat membranaceous. It is oftener depressed and funnel-shaped. The gills are often branched. The species grow in moist places. The plants are generally small. The largest only measure 2 inches, the smallest only ½ inch across the cap.

+PLEUROTUS = side and an ear.+

In this genus the stem is sometimes wanting, or it grows on the side, or between the centre and margin (eccentric). The plants rarely grow on the ground. They are irregular and fleshy or membranaceous. The time of growth is generally in the autumn. There are a few edible species.

SECTION 2. RHODOSPORÆ, RED OR PINK SPORES.

In this section of Agarics the spores are red, pink, or salmon color.

+PLUTEUS = a penthouse.+

This genus has neither volva nor ring. The gills are rounded behind and free, entirely separate from stem, white, then flesh-colored, but often tinged with yellow. The cuticle is sometimes covered with fibres, or with a bloom upon it (pruinose). The apex of the stem is inserted in the cap like a peg, and in this it resembles the Lepiotas. The species grow on or near trunks, appear early, and last until late in the season.

+ENTOLOMA = within and fringe.+

This genus resembles Tricholoma, which belongs to the white-spored Agarics and Hebeloma, which is rosy-spored. The species grow on the ground, and are found chiefly after rain. The stem is fleshy or fibrous, soft, sometimes waxy. The cap has the margin incurved, the gills have a tooth (sinuate), and are adnexed to the stem. Some species smell of fresh meal.

SECTION 3. OCHROSPORÆ, BROWN OR OCHRACEOUS SPORES.

+CORTINARIUS = a veil.+

This genus has a veil resembling a cobweb. The gills generally become cinnamon-colored. They grow on the ground in woods, during late summer and autumn. Some of our most beautiful mushrooms belong to this group. The veil is not persistent, and soon disappears.

+PHOLIOTA = a scale.+

This genus mostly grows on trunks. The partial or secondary veil takes the form of a ring. The cap is often covered with scales.

+INOCYBE = fibre and head.+

This genus is distinguished by the silky fibrilose covering of the cap, which never has a distinct pellicle, and by the veil which is lasting and of like nature to the fibrils of the cap. All grow upon the ground.

+HEBELOMA = youth and fringe.+

In this genus the margin of the cap is at first incurved. The gills are attached with a tooth, with the edge more or less of a different color, often whitish. The stem is fleshy, fibrous, somewhat mealy at the apex. They grow on the ground and are strong-smelling, appear early in the autumn, and continue until late in the season.

+PAXILLUS = a small stake.+

This genus is fleshy, putrescent; at first the cap has the margin turned under (involute), then it unfolds gradually and dilates. There are some species of both Tricholoma and Clitocybe that resemble it. The gills separate easily from the cap, and in this it is similar to the Boleti, where the tubes separate also with ease.

SECTION 4. MELANOSPORÆ, DARK PURPLE OR BLACK SPORES.

+PSALLIOTA = a ring or collar.+

The common mushroom Agaricus campestris belongs to this group. The gills are rounded behind and free, the stem has a collar. There are many edible mushrooms in this genus. They grow in pastures, and the larger ones are called Champignons. In former times when one spoke of eating mushrooms the species A. campestris, or campester, was always the one denoted.

+STROPHARIA = a sword belt.+

This genus has a ring. The gills are generally attached to the stem; some species grow on the ground, and some grow on other fungi. They are sometimes bell-shaped and then flattened, often with a mound or umbo.

+HYPHOLOMA = web and fringe.+

The veil in this genus is woven in a web which adheres to the margin of the cap. The cap is more or less fleshy, and the margin at first incurved. The gills are attached or have a tooth. There is no ring. The plants grow in tufts on wood, or at the base of trees in the autumn.

+PSILOCYBE = naked and head.+

The cap in this genus is fleshy, smooth, and the margin at first incurved. Gills turn dusky purple. The stem is cartilaginous, hollow or stuffed. No veil is visible. They grow on the ground.

+PSATHYRA = friable.+

The cap is conical and soft, the margin at first straight, and then pressed to the stem. The plants are slender, fragile and moist. Gills become purple. They grow on the ground, or on trunks of trees.

+COPRINUS = dung.+

In this genus the spores are black. It has two distinctive features: one, that the gills cohere at first, and are not separated when young; and the other, that they dissolve into an inky fluid. The gills are also scissile, that is, they can be split, and are linear and swollen in the middle. The plants last but a short time. Some are edible.

ORDER 2. POLYPOREI, OR TUBE-BEARING FUNGI.

We now pass to the next order, the Polyporei. We will mention four genera:

+BOLETUS.+

The name is that of a fungus much prized for its delicacy by the Romans, and is derived from a Greek word meaning a clod, which denotes the round figure of the plant.

The Boleti grow on the ground, are fleshy and putrescent with central stems. The tubes are packed closely together and are easily separated.

+FISTULINA = a pipe.+

In this genus the tubes are free and distinct from one another. They are somewhat fleshy and grow upon wood.

+POLYPORUS = many pores.+

The pores or tubes in this genus are not separate from one another. They are persistent fungi, most of them growing upon wood.

+DAEDALEA = curiously wrought.+

The name of this genus is derived from Daedalus, who constructed the labyrinth at Crete, in which the monster Minotaur was kept. It was one of the seven wonders of the world.

These fungi grow on wood, and become hard. The pores are firm when fully grown; they are sinuous and labyrinthine.

ORDER 3. HYDNEI, OR SPINE-BEARING FUNGI.

The name is derived from a word meaning a spine. This order contains many genera, two of which we will mention, Hydnum and Tremellodon.

+HYDNUM.+

Hydnum is derived from a Greek word, the name of an edible fungus. The plants in this genus are furnished with spines or teeth, instead of gills or tubes, and these contain the spores. The species are divided according to the stem. In some it is central and grows on the ground, in others it is lateral, and the cap is semicircular (dimidiate), and others again have no stem. There are some species that have no cap, and the spines are either straight or oblique. There are a few that are edible, but generally they have a bitter taste. However, some writers say that Hydnum repandum, or the spreading Hedgehog, is “delicious.” This mushroom and the one named “Medusa’s head,” H. caput Medusæ, are perhaps the most conspicuous of the order. The latter is very large. Its color is at first white, then becoming ashy gray. The spines on the upper surface are twisted, while the lower ones are long and straight. It grows on trunks of trees. In the spreading Hydnum the margin of the cap is arched and irregular. It grows on the ground.

+TREMELLODON = jelly and a tooth.+

The fungi in this genus are gelatinous. The cap is nearly semicircular in shape, sometimes fan-shaped and rounded in front. The spines or teeth are soft, white and delicate. We found one specimen in the month of September in the mountains of the State of New York.

ORDER 4. THELEPHOREI, OR EVEN SURFACE FUNGI.

In this order the lower surface of the cap is smooth and even, or slightly wrinkled. It is divided into several genera, only two of which we will enumerate, Craterellus and Stereum.

+CRATERELLUS = a bowl.+

The species called the “horn of plenty,” Craterellus cornucopioides, belongs to this genus, and is often found. Stevenson says it is common. It is trumpet-shaped (tubiform). The cap is of a dingy black color, and the stem is hollow, smooth, and black. We found quite a small specimen, the pileus not more than 1½ inch broad, but it may measure 3 inches. The spore-bearing surface was of an ash color. The margin of the cap was wavy, and it was hollow right through to the base. It was only 2 inches high, and there was scarcely any stem.

+STEREUM = hard.+

The genus Stereum is woody and leathery in nature, somewhat zoned, and looks like some Polyporci. It grows on wood, on stumps, and on dead wood.

ORDER 5. CLAVARIEI, OR CLUB FUNGI.

This order contains several genera, but one only will be mentioned, that of Clavaria.

+CLAVARIA = club.+