Chapter 3

The common name often given to this genus is “Fairy Clubs.” We have described several species in our list of fungi, and will only say that these are fleshy fungi, either simple or branched. The expression fleshy, so often met with in these pages, is used in speaking of plants when they are succulent and composed of juicy, cellular tissue. They do not become leathery. In the genus Clavaria the fungi have no caps, but they have stems. There are a few edible species. One can scarcely walk any distance without seeing some species of Clavaria. They are conspicuous, sometimes attractive looking, and interesting in their variety.

The genus Cortinarius, one of the order of Agarics, has been already described, but it contains so many species that it deserves especial mention.

They are difficult to define. The genus has been subdivided by botanists into tribes which it may be well to enumerate. We have followed Stevenson’s arrangement.

He divides Cortinarius into six tribes.

1. Phlegacium = clammy moisture. In this tribe the cap is fleshy and sticky (viscous), while the stem is firm and dry. In all Cortinarii the gills become cinnamon-colored. There are many large-sized mushrooms in this tribe, the cap sometimes measuring 6 inches across.

2. Myxacium = mucous. This tribe has the stem sticky (viscous), and the universal veil is glutinous. The cap is fleshy but thin. Gills attached to stem and decurrent.

3. Inoloma = fibre and fringe. It contains distinguished species. The cap is at first silky, with innate scales or fibrils, is equally fleshy and dry. The stem is fleshy and rather bulbous.

4. Dermocybe = skin and head. The cap and stem are both thinner in this tribe than in Inoloma. The pileus becomes thin when old, and is dry, not moist. It is at first silky. The color of the gills is changeable, which makes it hard to distinguish the species.

5. Telamonia = lint. Pileus moist; at first smooth or sprinkled with superficial whitish fibres of the veil. Flesh thin, or becoming so abruptly at the margin; the veil is somewhat double, which is a distinguishing characteristic of this tribe.

6. Hygrocybe = moist and head. Cap in this tribe is smooth or only covered with white superficial fibrils, not gluey, but moist when fresh, and changing color when dry. Flesh thin.

CLASS I. GASTEROMYCETES, OR STOMACH FUNGI.

The Basidia-bearing fungi, or Basidiomycetes, are divided into three classes, as has been already stated. The third class, Hymenomycetes, or Membrane fungi, has been described, but there remain two other groups of which we will now speak more fully. They may be considered too difficult for beginners, and we would not venture to enter further into the subject were it not that some of the most familiar fungi belong to these classes--such as Puff-balls, Morels, and Helvellas.

The first class, called the Gasteromycetes, or Stomach fungi, matures its spores on the inside of the plant. The distinction between this class and that of the Membrane fungi, which ripens its spores on the outside, may be more readily understood by one familiar with the structure of the fig, whose flowers are situated on the interior of its pear-shaped, hollow axis, which is the fruit.

We will divide the Stomach fungi into four orders--1, the thick-skinned fungi (Sclerodermæ); 2, the Bird’s-nest fungi (Nidulariæ); 3, the Puff-balls (Lycoperdons); 4, the Stink horns (Phalloidæ.)

ORDER 1. SCLERODERMÆ, THE THICK-SKINNED FUNGI.

Our attention will be confined to only one genus, and, indeed, one species of this family. We often see in our walks what at a first glance look like potatoes lying along the road, and the suggestion arises that some careless boy has been losing potatoes from his basket on his way home from the country store. We stoop to pick them up, and find them rooted to the ground and covered with warts and scales. We cut them open and find them a purplish-black color inside. It is a mass of closely packed unripe spores. In a few days the upper part of the outside covering decays, bursts open, and the ripe spores escape. This is called the common hard-rind fungus, or Scleroderma vulgare.

ORDER 2. NIDULARIÆ, THE BIRD’S-NEST FUNGI.

This is again divided into three genera. The Crucible (crucibulum), the Cup (Cyathus), the Bird’s-nest proper (Nidularia.)

We often find on a wood-pile or a fallen tree some of the members of the Bird’s-nest family. It is fascinating to examine them in their various stages of development. First we see a tiny buff knot, cottony in texture and closely covered; next, another rather larger, with its upper covering thrown aside, displaying the tiny eggs, which prompts one to look around for the miniature mother bird; then we find a nest empty with the fledglings flown. The characteristic that distinguishes the Bird’s-nest fungi from others consists in the fact that the spores are produced in small envelopes that do not split open, and which are enclosed in a common covering, called the peridium. One species is known by the fluted inside of the covering, which is quite beautiful. They are all small and grow in groups.

ORDER 3. LYCOPERDONS, THE PUFF-BALLS.

The Lycoperdons contain several genera, among which we select the Puff-balls proper and the Earth stars.

What child is there who lives in the country and does not know the Puff-ball? With what gusto he presses it and watches what he calls the smoke pouring from the chimney. Indeed, the outpouring of myriads of spores in its ripe stage does suggest smoke from a chimney. The puff-ball, when young, is of a firm texture, nearly round, grayish, or brownish outside, but of a pure white within. There are several genera, but we have selected two--1, Lycoperdon; and 2, Earth Star, or Geaster.

+LYCOPERDON = the puff-ball.+

The puff-balls vary greatly in size, the smallest measure ½ inch up to the largest, about 15 inches. Professor Peck describes them thus: “Specimens of medium size are 8 to 12 inches in diameter. The largest in the State Museum is about 15 inches in the dry state. When fresh it was probably 20 inches or more. The color is whitish, afterward yellowish or brownish. The largest size was called the Giant Puff-ball (Calvatia bovista).”

+GEASTER = the earth star.+

These vary greatly in size. The small ones grow on pine needles on the ground or among leaves. Some are mounted on pedicels, some are sessile or seated directly on the earth, but the family likeness is so pronounced that even the novice need not be doubtful as to the name of the fungus when found. There are two species that have slender, elongated stems. The name is well chosen. In moist weather the points expand and roll back or lie flat on the earth. Then the round puff-ball in the centre is plainly seen.

In dry weather the star-like divisions are rigidly turned in and cover closely the round portion. “When dry it is sometimes rolled about by the wind; when it is wet by the rain or abundant dew it absorbs the moisture and spreads itself out, and rests from its journey, again to take up its endless wandering as sun and rain appear to reduce it once more to a ball and set it rolling.” (Underwood.)

ORDER 4. PHALLOIDS, THE STINK HORN FUNGI.

We come now to the fourth and last order of the Stomach fungi (Gasteromycetes) that we shall mention. In spite of their appellation these fungi are strikingly beautiful, but their odor is most offensive. They grow in woods, and are also found in cellars. Their history has been carefully investigated by mycologists, and the novice will find many beautiful illustrations in various works. In their early stage they are enclosed in an egg-shaped veil (volva), having a gelatinous inner layer. Some are bright-colored, others are pure white, and the stems of one species look as if covered with lace work. The most familiar one, Phallus impudicus, “the fetid wood witch,” we have placed in the list of fungi at the end of this book, with its description.

CLASS II. ASCOMYCETES, OR SPORE SAC FUNGI.

This is the second division of the Basidia-bearing fungi. It includes all the fungi that have the spores enveloped in delicate sacs called asci. It is divided into several orders, but we will only mention the one which contains the most familiar plants. This order is named the Disc-like fungi (Discomycetes). In this the spore-bearing surface is on the upper or outside surface of the mushroom cap. It is divided into many genera, of which we shall mention three--the Cup fungi, or Pezizas, the Morels or Morchellas, and the Yellowish fungi or Helvellas.

+PEZIZAS = the Cup fungi.+

These form a very large group, mostly growing on decaying plants. They are typically disc-shaped or cup-shaped, and when young are closed or nearly so, opening when mature. They vary in size from minute species to large fleshy ones, 3 to 4 inches in diameter. They are generally small, thin, and tough. They grow on twigs, leaves, dead wood, or on the ground. Many are stemless. They are both solitary and densely clustered. The color varies from pale brown to a dark gray, resembling, when moist, india-rubber cloth, and then, again, there are many of brilliant hues--red and orange. Some are erect, some are split down at the side like the ear of a hare. The Cup fungi are found in August and September, growing near ditches, and by the roadside where there is moisture. The ear-shaped Pezizas somewhat resemble the Jew’s ear, and the beginner might easily confound them. This latter fungus belongs to the third class of membrane fungi (Hymenomycetes), and it is included in the descriptions of fungi.

+THE MORELS or MORCHELLAS = the honey-combed fungi.+

The collector during the months of April and May will enjoy a new experience when he first finds a fungus of a bright brown color, deeply pitted, spongy looking, cone-shaped or nearly round; its head supported on an erect, white stem. He will probably find it on a grassy hillside or along a running brook under some forest trees. He has perhaps seen its picture and at once exclaims, “my first Morel.” He will notice its peculiar honey-combed depression, and then cutting it open will find both the head and the stem hollow. Where are the spores? There are no gills as in the Agarics, nor are they concealed in a covering (peridium), as in the Puff-balls, but they are contained in delicate sacs on the cap. The exterior surface of the cap is the spore-bearing portion, and the spores are developed in their sacs, but only seen under a microscope.

+HELVELLA = the yellowish mushroom.+

This genus may be readily recognized by the form of the cap, which is lobed and irregularly waved and drooping, often attached to the stem. They grow on the ground in the woods, and sometimes on rotten wood. The genus comprises the largest of the Disc fungi known, some species weighing over a pound. Cicero mentions the Helvellas as a favorite dish of the Romans.

+THE TRUFFLE = delicacy.+

It will be well to finish this section with the mention of the Truffle. It may yet be found in the United States, but hitherto its place of growth has been on the continent of Europe, and especially in France, where it forms an article of commerce, and is highly prized as food. It is subterranean, and requires for its discovery a higher sense of smell than man possesses. It is generally found by the hog and the dog, who are trained to help the truffle hunters. There are some species in our country that resemble it, and grow underneath the ground. One, found in the Southern States, called Rhizopogon, grows in sandy soil. This species, however, does not belong to Class II., but to Class I., the Gasteromycetes, or Stomach fungi. It is not likely that the beginner will find this mushroom, so no description will be given.

GENERAL HELPS TO THE MEMORY.

There are certain facts which if committed to memory will be of great help to beginners in classifying mushrooms. There are distinctive features belonging to different genera, which will be enumerated as follows. These facts apply to the order of Agarics, containing the largest number of familiar mushrooms. They have been placed in tables for the convenience of the beginner, and are arranged without regard to family relationship.

_Mushrooms Containing both Volva and Ring (Annulus)._

There is only one genus that has both volva and ring. Amanita.

_Mushrooms with Ring and no Volva._

1. Pholiota. 2. Annularia. 3. Stropharia. 4. Psalliota. 5. Armillaria. 6. Lepiota.

_Mushrooms that have the stem attached on the side (lateral) or between Margin and Centre (eccentric)._

1. Crepidotus. 2. Claudopus. 3. Pleurotus.

_Mushrooms with tough or cartilaginous Stems._

1. Psathyra. 2. Nolanea. 3. Mycena. 4. Marasmius. 5. Naucoria. 6. Leptonia. 7. Omphalia. 8. Collybia. 9. Psilocybe. 10. Galera.

_Mushrooms, Stemless._

1. Schizophyllum. 2. Trogia. 3. Lenzites.

_Mushrooms that have the Cap bell-shaped (campanulate) and Marked with Lines (striate)._

1. Psathyra. 2. Galera. 3. Nolanea. 4. Mycena.

_Mushrooms with Gills attached to Stem and a Ring._

1. Stropharia. 2. Armillaria. 3. Pholiota.

_Mushrooms Having Gills with serrated edge._

1. Lentinus.

_Mushrooms with Free Gills not attached to Stem._

1. Chitonia. 2. Psalliota. 3. Pluteolus. 4. Pluteus. 5. Volvaria. 6. Lepiota. 7. Amanita.

_Mushrooms with emarginate sinuate Gills, or with notch near to Stem._

1. Hypholoma. 2. Tricholoma. 3. Hebeloma. 4. Entoloma.

_Mushrooms that are corky and leathery._

1. Lenzites. 2. Lentinus. 3. Schizophyllum. 4. Panus.

_Mushrooms with Gills running down Stem more or less (decurrent)._

1. Gomphidius. 2. Paxillus. 3. Tubaria (some species). 4. Flammula (some adnate). 5. Eccilia (truly decurrent). 6. Clitopilus (somewhat decurrent). 7. Panus (some species decurrent). 8. Lentinus (mostly decurrent). 9. Cantharellus. 10. Hygrophorus (mostly decurrent). 11. Pleurotus (some decurrent). 12. Omphalia (truly decurrent). 13. Clitocybe (decurrent or adnate). 14. Lactarius (decurrent or adnato-decurrent).

_Mushrooms that are deliquescent or turn into inky fluid._

1. Coprinus. 2. Bolbitius.

It will also be useful to the beginner to see a list of Agarics classified according to botanists by the color of their spores.

CLASSIFICATION OF AGARICS BY COLOR OF SPORES.

1. Leucosporæ (white spores). 2. Rhodosporæ (rosy or salmon spores). 3. Ochrosporæ (ochraceous spores). 4. Melanosporæ (dark purple or black spores).

_Leucosporæ, or White Spores._

1. Amanita. 2. Lepiota. 3. Armillaria. 4. Tricholoma. 5. Clitocybe. 6. Collybia. 7. Mycena. 8. Omphalia. 9. Pleurotus. 10. Trogia. 11. Hygrophorus. 12. Lactarius. 13. Russula. 14. Cantharellus. 15. Marasmius. 16. Lentinus. 17. Panus. 18. Xerotus. 19. Schizophyllum. 20. Lenzites. 21. Arrhenia (pallid spores).

_Rhodosporæ, Rosy or Salmon Spores._

1. Volvaria. 2. Pluteus. 3. Enteloma. 4. Leptonia. 5. Nolanea. 6. Eccilia. 7. Claudopus. 8. Clitopilus.

_Ochrosporæ, or Ochraceous Spores._

1. Pholiota. 2. Inocybe. 3. Hebeloma. 4. Flammula. 5. Naucoria. 6. Pluteolus. 7. Galera. 8. Tubaria. 9. Crepidotus. 10. Cortinarius. 11. Acetabularia. 12. Paxillus (spores are ferruginous or dingy white). 13. Bolbitius (ferruginous spores).

_Melanosporæ, Dark Purple or Black Spores._

1. Chitonia. 2. Psalliota. 3. Stropharia. 4. Hypholoma. 5. Psilocybe. 6. Psathyra. 7. Panæolus. 8. Psathyrella. 9. Coprinus. 10. Gomphidius. 11. Anellaria.

Having arranged these lists of mushrooms by their different characteristics, and then by the color of the spores, we will give a list of fungi familiar to most persons, classified according to the colors of the cap. The far greater number have been analyzed by the writers, and a full description is given to enable the beginner more easily to identify them.

The reader will notice that in the lists of fungi given above there are certain genera not elsewhere mentioned in this book. He will understand that it is inadvisable in a short primer to allude to all the genera that exist. It was, however, impossible to give a complete table without including them in it.

DESCRIPTIONS OF FUNGI, ARRANGED ACCORDING TO COLOR OF CAP ONLY.

MUSHROOMS WITH RED OR PINK COLORED CAP.

The genus Russula probably contains the largest number of mushrooms with reddish caps, the word Russula meaning reddish.

+RUSSULA EMETICA = a vomit.+ +The Nauseating Russula.+

+Cap+ bright blood red, at first rosy, then blood color, tawny when old, 3 to 4 inches broad, first bell-shaped, then flattened or depressed, polished, margin at length grooved (sulcate), flesh white, reddish under the cuticle. +Stem+ 1½ to 3 inches long, ¾ of an inch thick, white or with a reddish hue, spongy, stuffed, stout, elastic when young, fragile when old, even, tapering slightly upward. +Gills+ free, broad, rather distant, white.

This is found on the ground among dead leaves, in the woods and open places from July to December. It has a bitter taste, and is said to be poisonous. Those eating it are often affected as if they had taken an emetic. It is easily distinguished by the fact of the flesh turning red immediately under the skin when it is peeled off. There are numerous varieties of it, in one the stem has minute wrinkles running lengthwise. We found it in different localities. The taste was acrid. It was one of the first and the last mushrooms that we gathered. (Poisonous.)

+RUSSULA SANGUINEA = blood.+ +The Blood-colored Russula.+

+Cap+ blood red, becoming pale at margin, 2 to 3 inches broad, at first convex, then depressed, and funnel-shaped (infundibuliform), irregularly swollen in the centre, polished, even, margin acute, moist in damp weather. Flesh firm, cheesy, white. +Stem+ stout, spongy, stuffed, at first contracted at apex, then equal, slightly marked with lines white or reddish. +Gills+ at first fastened to stem and then decurrent, crowded, narrow, connected by veins, fragile, somewhat forked, shining white, afterward turning ochraceous color. The taste is acrid and peppery. It is found in woods from August to September, and is not common. (Poisonous.)

+RUSSULA ROSEIPES = rosy stem.+ +The Rosy Stemmed Russula.+

This is a striking-looking mushroom. The colors are pretty, and the tinge of red in the stem adds to its beauty. There are other species of Russula that also have red tints in the stem. +Cap+ rosy red, with pink and orange hues, 1 to 2 inches broad, convex, becoming nearly plane or slightly depressed; at first viscid, soon dry, slightly marked with lines on the thin margin, taste mild. +Gills+ moderately close, nearly entire, rounded behind and slightly adnexed, swollen in the middle, whitish, becoming yellow. +Stem+ 1 to 2 inches long, 3 to 4 lines thick, slightly tapering upward, stuffed or hollow, white, tinged with red. It is distinguished from other species by its mild taste, rosy cap, commonly dry and but slightly striate on margin, its gills changing from white to yellow or slightly ochraceous, and being partially attached to the stem, and its stem being slightly stained with rosy red. It grows in pine and hemlock woods, and is found in July and August. (Edible.)

+RUSSULA LEPIDA = neat or elegant.+ +The Elegant Russula.+

+Cap+ at first is a bright red, but becomes a dull reddish-pink, paler at the disc, 3 inches broad, dry, fleshy, convex; then expanded, scarcely depressed, obtuse and polished, afterward cracked (rimose), and with minute scales (squamulose). The margin spreading and rounded, obtuse, _not_ striate. +Stem+ about 3 inches long, from 1 to 1½ inch thick, even, solid, white, or rose color. +Gills+ rounded behind, rather thick, somewhat crowded, often forked, connected by veins, white, often red at edge. Taste mild. We found our specimen in mixed woods. The stem was only tinged with pink. (Edible.)

+LACTARIUS VOLEMUS = a kind of large pear. (From its shape.)+ +The Orange Brown Lactarius.+

+Cap+ 3 to 5 inches broad, reddish-orange color, becoming pale, compact, rigid, obtuse, with the margin bent inward, depressed, at length marked with lines like a river (rimose). Flesh white, turning brown. +Stem+ 2 to 3 inches long, ¾ to 1¼ inch thick, stout, stuffed, then hollow, paler at apex, with a bloom, same color as cap, with lengthwise lines. +Gills+ adnato-decurrent, yellowish turning ochraceous, broad, thin, crowded, milk sweet and plentiful. Stevenson says that the taste of this Lactarius is delicious, that it is savory even when raw. It should not be kept too long before cooking, or it will emit a strong, unpleasant odor. It is abundant in chestnut or oak woods from July to September. Our specimen was much wrinkled on the margin. The milk was abundant. (Edible.)

+LACTARIUS ICHORATUS = lymph.+ +The Colorless Lactarius.+

The name of this species is given on account of the color of the milk (Stevenson). +Cap+ a tawny pinkish-red color, 3 to 4 inches broad, zoned, plano-depressed, margin often wavy, dry, flesh creamy white or pallid. +Stem+ 1½ to 3 inches long, thick, solid, afterward spongy, equal, smooth, the same color as the cap, lighter at the apex. +Gills+ adnate, slightly decurrent, not crowded, creamy white, turning ochraceous. Milk white, sweet. It has a strong smell. In the specimen we found the stem was slightly marked with lines and the milk plentiful. It is not spoken of as edible.

+LACTARIUS MITISSIMUS = mild.+

The name only applies to the taste of the milk. (Stevenson.)

+Cap+ a light, bright reddish-orange, golden tawny color, 1 to 4 inches broad, even, then depressed, smooth, sticky when moist, flesh whitish, turning yellow. +Stem+ 1 to 4 inches long, thick, stuffed, then hollow, even, smooth, same color as cap. +Gills+ slightly running down the stem, rounded at one end, broad, yellowish. Milk mild, then bitterish and plentiful. It is found in pine and mixed woods from August until November. It has a beautiful color, and resembles in that particular L. volemus.

+CORTINARIUS ARMILLATUS = a ring or bracelet.+ +The Zoned Cortinarius.+

+Cap+ a tawny reddish-yellow, brick red, 2 to 5 inches broad, fleshy, bell-shaped or almost conical, then convex, dry, smooth, marked with reddish specks, darker toward the centre, flesh white, turning red and narrowing toward the margin. +Stem+ 3 to 6 inches long, ½ inch thick, solid, firm, slightly tapering toward the apex, very bulbous at base, same color as cap, stuffed with brown pith inside. There are two or three reddish oblique zones encircling the stem. +Gills+ adnate, swollen in the middle, distant, variable, at first pale cinnamon color, and then dark brown. We found them at the end of August in great numbers, sometimes united in tufts (cæspitose) in all stages of growth, the younger ones covered with a cobwebby veil, which is paler in color than the zones. They grow in mixed woods.

+CLITOCYBE LACCATA = a resinous substance.+ +The Waxy Clitocybe.+