Chapter 4

This species is small in size. +Cap+ is about 1 inch broad, thin, convex and almost plane. Sometimes with a depression (umbilicate). When moist it has a water-soaked look, and becomes pale in drying. When wet it has a peculiar flesh color, but when dry it is a pale yellowish-red hue. +Stem+ is long and slender, tough and of same color as cap, 2 lines thick, fibrous, stuffed, often twisted and white, with soft, weak hairs at base (villous). +Gills+ are attached to stem with a decurrent tooth, broad, distant, of a peculiar flesh color. We found several varieties. One had gills of a beautiful violet color (Var. amethystina), in another the gills were pale (Var. pallidifolia). (Peck.) A small form with radiating lines extending from near the centre to the margin (Var. striatula), Peck, is an interesting species and often seen. They grow closely together on the sides of roads, in groups, all through the season. Sometimes the cap is very small, ¼ inch across. It often grows in arcs of circles.

+CLITOCYBE INFUNDIBULIFORMIS = funnel-shaped.+ +The Funnel-shaped Clitocybe.+

+Cap+ a pale red color, 2 to 3 inches broad, convex when young, then slightly raised in the middle, umbonate, afterward the margin is elevated and the cap becomes funnel-shaped and the margin wavy. Flesh thin and white. +Stem+ 1½ to 3 inches long, 2 to 3 lines thick, smooth, paler colored than the cap, tapering upward. +Gills+ rather decurrent, arc-shaped, broad, distant, whitish, not yellow, netted with veins. This is also a variable species and grows in woods. It is pretty, and is easily known by its shape.

+BOLETUS MURRAYI.+ +Murray’s Boletus.+

+Cap+ dark red, 1 to 3 inches broad, granulated, convex, with a slight mound or umbo, margin turned upward, flesh yellow. +Stem+ ½ inch long, yellow. Tubes lemon color, angular and round, irregular. The stem in our specimen was granulated like the cap.

+BOLETUS CHROMAPES = chrome yellow and foot.+ +The Chrome-footed Boletus.+

+Cap+ tawny red, 2 to 4 inches broad, convex or nearly plane, flesh white. Tubes almost attached (subadnate), depressed around the stem, whitish, turning a pinkish-brown color. +Stem+ equal or tapering upward, rough whitish color, with reddish specks upon it, but chrome yellow at the base, both outside and inside, and spongy within. Stem 2 to 4 inches long, about ½ inch thick. This is not a hard boletus to distinguish on account of the yellow color at the base of the stem. The Boleti seem to be most abundant from the beginning of July until early in September. There are many varieties of beautiful colors, and they are a most interesting group, especially to beginners. This may be partly owing to the fact that Professor Peck’s pamphlet on “Boleti” is clearly expressed, and the descriptions so vivid and plain that one has less trouble in naming them than any other class of fungi.

+HYGROPHORUS MINEATUS = vermilion.+ +The Vermilion Hygophorus.+

+Cap+ 1 inch broad, at first vermilion color and then paler, broad, flattened and then even, depressed in centre by the margin becoming elevated. It is thin and fragile at first, even, smooth, and then scaly. +Stem+ from 1 to 2 inches long, slender, 1 line thick, a little paler than the cap, equal, round, somewhat stuffed, smooth, shining. +Gills+ attached, seldom decurrent, distant, distinct, yellow color, shaded with red. This species is very fragile. It grows in woods or in open country, on mosses or on dead leaves. It may be cæspitose, or grows singly from July to October.

+HYGROPHORUS COCCINEUS = scarlet color.+ +The Scarlet Hygrophorus.+

+Cap+, first bright scarlet and then changing to a paler hue. One to 2 inches broad and even more, convex, plane, often unequal, obtuse, sticky, and even, smooth, flesh of the same color as cap. +Stem+ 2 inches long, 3 to 4 lines thick, hollow, then compressed and rather even, scarlet color like cap, but always yellow at the base. +Gills+ wholly attached, decurrent, with a tooth, distant, connected by veins, soft, watery, when full grown, purplish at the base, light yellow in the middle, powdery at the edge, fragile. This species grows in pastures, and is common. It is found from August to November.

+HYGROPHORUS PUNICEUS = blood red.+ +The Blood-red Hygrophorus.+

+Cap+ 2 to 4 inches broad, glittering blood scarlet, when older becomes paler, at first bell-shaped, obtuse, commonly spread out or lobed, irregular, even, smooth, sticky. Flesh of the same color as cap, fragile. +Stem+ 3 inches long, 1 to 1½ inch thick. Solid when young, at length hollow, very stout, swollen in middle, thinner at both ends, marked with lines and generally scaly at apex; when dry either yellow or same color as the cap, always white at first, and often incurved at the base. +Gills+ ascending, swollen in middle, 2 to 4 lines broad, distant, thick, white or light yellow, or yellow, and often reddish at base. This is a very handsome species. It is found in pastures from July to November.

MUSHROOMS WITH YELLOW OR ORANGE COLORED CAP.

+CANTHARELLUS CIBARIUS = food.+ +The Chantarelle.+

+Cap+ bright orange or egg color, first convex, and then depressed, at length top-shaped and smooth. The margin lobed and turning under (involute). Flesh thick and white. +Stem+ 1 to 1½ inch long, thickened upward, solid, fleshy. +Gills+ running down the stem, thick, distant, fold-like. Stevenson does not give the size of the cap, but our specimen measured 2 inches in breadth. It had an odor like ripe apricots, and a pleasant taste. It is often tufted in its growth. It is found in woods from July to December. This is a very striking looking mushroom and easily distinguished. It often grows in rings or arcs of circles. (Edible.)

+HYPHOLOMA FASCICULARE = a small bundle.+ +The Tufted Hypholoma.+

+Cap+ a beautiful reddish color, like a peach; the disc darker, about 2 inches broad, fleshy, thin, convex, then plane, with a slight mound or umbo, even, smooth, dry; flesh a light yellow. +Stem+ variable in length, 2 to 9 inches long, 2 lines thick, hollow, thin, incurved or curved, covered with fibres of same color as cap. +Gills+ adnate, very crowded, linear, somewhat liquid when mature (deliquescent), sulphur yellow, and then becoming green, taste bitter. It grows in crowded clusters. It is said to be poisonous.

+AMANITA MUSCARIA = a fly.+ +The Fly Amanita.+

+Cap+ at first red, then orange, then becoming pale, about 4 inches broad, convex, and then flat, covered with thick fragments of volva; margin when grown slightly marked with lines; flesh white, yellow under the cuticle. +Stem+ white, sometimes yellowish, 2 inches long, torn into scales, at first stuffed, then hollow; the attached base of the volva forms an oval-shaped bulb, which is bordered with concentric scales, that is, having a common centre, as a series of rings one within the other. +Ring+ very soft, torn, even, inserted at the apex of the stem, which is often dilated. +Gills+ free but reaching the stem, decurrent, in the form of lines, crowded, broader in front, white, rarely becoming yellow. It grows in woods from July to November. This mushroom is easily identified by its orange-colored cap, covered with white warts and _pure white stem and gills_. We found several specimens in the woods, all of a most beautiful striking color. (Poisonous.)

+AMANITA FROSTIANA.+ +Frost’s Amanita.+

+Cap+ a bright yellow, almost orange color, 1½ inch broad, convex or expanded, covered with warts, but sometimes nearly smooth, the margin marked with lines (striate.) +Gills+ white or tinged with yellow, free from the stem. +Stem+ 2 to 3 inches long, white or yellowish, stuffed, slender, bearing a slight evanescent ring; bulbous at the base, bulb slightly margined by the volva. We found several specimens growing in mixed woods. It is smaller than A. muscaria, more slender, with a beautiful color.

+TRICHOLOMA EQUESTRE = a knight.+ +The Canary Mushroom, so called from its color.+

+Cap+ pale yellow, 3 to 5 inches broad, darker at disc, tinged with a brick red hue, and yellow near margin, convex, then plane, wavy, irregular; flesh white, thick. +Stem+ 1 to 2 inches long, and ½ to ⅔ inch thick, generally white, sometimes yellow, stout and solid. +Gills+ close, deeply notched near the stem, a beautiful pale yellow color, scarcely adnexed, broad, somewhat swollen in middle. It grows in pine woods and appears in the autumn.

+TRICHOLOMA SULPHUREUM = sulphur.+ +The Sulphury Tricholoma.+

+Cap+ dingy sulphur yellow color, ½ to 4 inches broad, at first round with a slight umbo, at length depressed, rather silky, then smooth and even. +Stem+ 2 to 4 inches long, 3 to 4 lines thick, stuffed, somewhat equal but often curved, rather smooth, striate, sulphur yellow, of same color as cap. +Gills+ adnexed, narrowed behind, rather thick, distant, distinct, brighter than the cap. This is also found in autumn in the woods, and is quite common. It has a strange disagreeable odor.

+LACTARIUS DELICIOSUS = delicious.+ +The Delicious Lactarius.+

+Cap+ orange brick color, 2 to 6 inches broad, becoming pale, fleshy, when young depressed in centre, margin turned under (involute), then flat and depressed, or funnel-shaped, with margin unfolded, smooth, zoned, slightly sticky. The zones become faded in the old plants. The flesh is whitish or tinged with yellow. +Stem+ a little paler than the cap, with spots of deeper orange, 1 to 4 inches long, ⅓ to ⅔ of an inch thick, stuffed, then hollow, fragile. +Gills+ running down the stem (decurrent), orange color, crowded, narrow, becoming pale and green when wounded. The milk is orange color. It grows in pine woods and in wet, mossy swamps. It resembles the orange brown Lactarius in size and shape, but the color is different, so we have placed it in the orange-colored section and L. volemus in the red division of colors.

+STROPHARIA SICCAPES = dry and foot.+ +The Dry Stropharia.+

Stropharia is taken from a Greek word meaning sword belt, referring to its ring (Stevenson). Siccapes is from two words meaning dry and foot. It grows on horse manure. Stevenson does not mention this species. It is described by Mr. Peck in the State reports. +Cap+ is a light yellow, darker in the centre, ¼ inch to 1 inch broad, bell-shaped, sticky, shiny when dry, even. +Stem+ sometimes 4 inches long, slender, straight, dry, base almost club-shaped. +Ring+ scarcely perceptible, but forming a whitish zone, shining, persistent, apex of stem whitish, and slightly striate. +Gills+ dark gray, almost blackish, the margin paler, adfixed, thin. We found a great many in one place, of all sizes, from 1 line across cap to 1 inch. In some specimens the ring was wanting, but in others it was apparent.

+CANTHARELLUS AURANTIACUS = orange yellow.+ +The Orange Chanterelle.+

This species takes its name from its color. +Cap+ is orange yellow, 2 to 3 inches broad, fleshy, soft, depressed, often eccentric, with the stem between centre and margin, and wavy, somewhat tomentose and involute at the margin. +Stem+ 2 inches long, stuffed, and then hollow, somewhat incurved and unequal, yellowish. +Gills+ decurrent, tense, and straight, repeatedly dividing by pairs from below upward (dichotomous) and crowded, often crisped at base, orange color. This species grows in woods, and is often found there during the months of autumn. Some consider it poisonous.

+CANTHARELLUS INFUNDIBULIFORMIS = funnel-shaped.+ +The Funnel-Shaped Chantarelle.+

+Cap+ yellow when moist, 1 to 2 inches broad, umbilicate, then funnel-shaped, wrinkled on the surface, at length wavy at margin. +Stem+ 2 to 3 inches long, 2 lines thick, hollow (fistulose), a little thickened at the base, even, smooth, always a light yellow. +Gills+ decurrent, thick, distant, dichotomous, straight, light yellow; when old, ash color (cinereous.) This is found in the woods from July to October.

+BOLETUS HEMICHRYSUS = half and golden.+ +The Half Golden Boletus.+

The descriptions of the Boleti are all written after comparing the specimens we found with those described in Professor Peck’s work on Boleti. We examined and analyzed all those placed on the list. The descriptions written by Professor Peck are so clear and faithful to nature that it makes the task of calling them by name much easier than any other fungi we have studied. +Cap+ bright golden yellow, 1½ to 2½ inches broad, convex plane and depressed, with minute wooly scales (floccose squamulose), and covered with a yellow powder (pulverulent), sometimes with cracks (rimose). Flesh thick and yellow. Tubes decurrent, yellow, becoming brown; mouths large, angular. +Stem+ short, about 1 inch long, 3 to 6 lines thick, irregular, narrowing toward the base, sprinkled with a yellowish dust, tinged with red. We found it growing on an old stump, in pine woods, in the month of August.

+BOLETUS GRANULATUS = granules.+ +The Granulated Boletus.+

This Boletus varies much in color. In our specimen it was a pinkish-yellow, and covered with yellow spots of a darker shade. We found it in all sizes, from 2 to 4 inches broad. +Cap+ was convex, nearly plane, viscid when moist. It became more of a yellow color when it was dry. Flesh pale yellow. The tubes were adnate, short and yellowish. +Stem+ 1 to 2 inches long, 4 to 6 lines thick. Some were united in tufts (cæspitose), others were gregarious (in groups) or solitary. They grew on the edge of pine woods, and near the roadside. The stem was dotted in the upper part with glandules and was pale yellow.

+BOLETUS CYANESCENS = bright blue.+ +The Bluing Boletus.+

+Cap+ a light pale brownish-yellow, or a light yellow color (alutaceous), 2 to 5 inches broad, with minute wooly scales, convex or nearly plane. Flesh white, changing quickly to blue when cut. Tubes free, white, afterward yellow; mouths small, round. Tubes change also to a bluish-green when bruised. +Stem+ 2 to 4 inches long, ¾ to ½ inch thick, swollen in the middle (ventricose), covered with a bloom (pruinose), stuffed and then hollow, tapering toward the apex, colored like the cap. This is a very easy Boletus to distinguish from others, and interesting to the beginner on account of the striking and beautiful change of color. Found in hemlock and pine woods toward the end of August.

+PHOLIOTA ADIPOSA = fat.+ +The Stout Pholiota.+

+Cap+ bright yellowish or orange color, 3 to 7 inches broad, convex, then flattened, gibbous, that is, more convex on one side than on the other; viscid, covered with woolly (floccose) scales, which often separate. Flesh whitish. +Stem+ 3 to 6 inches long, ½ to 1 inch thick, solid, large at base, first white and then light yellow, with darker scales. +Ring+ yellow, and then ironrust color (ferruginous.) +Gills+ adnate, slightly rounded, broad at first, yellow and then darker. We were driving through a thick woods when we saw the bright yellow cap of this mushroom peering among the bushes. There was no apparent ring and few scales except on the margin. It was irregularly shaped, fleshy and thick. It was not a typical specimen, and a beginner would have found it difficult to name. The then recent hard rains had washed nearly all the scales from the cap, and the ring was hardly to be seen. It grew on the trunk of a tree in the month of September. Not edible.

+PHOLIOTA SPECTABILIS = showy.+ +The Showy Pholiota.+

This Pholiota was found much later in the season. +Cap+ is from 2 to 5 inches broad, a golden yellow, then growing paler, fleshy, torn into squamules, dry, flesh thick, hard, sulphur yellow. +Stem+ about 3 inches long and 1 inch thick, solid, hard, swollen in the middle, and extending into a spindle-shaped root. It is sometimes smooth and shining and sometimes scaly, sulphur yellow color and mealy _above_ the ring. +Gills+ adnate, crowded, narrow, at first pure yellow and afterward ironrust color. Gills have sometimes a small decurrent tooth (Stevenson), but our specimen had none. It grew together (cæspitose) on a stump. Not edible.

+MARASMIUS OREADES = a mountain nymph.+ +The Fairy Ring Mushroom.+

+Cap+ when young and moist is of a pale yellowish-red, but fades when dry to pale yellow. It is from 1 to 2 inches broad, fleshy, tough, convex, then plane, somewhat umbonate, even, smooth, slightly striate at margin when moist. +Stem+ 1 to 2 inches long and less than ¼ inch thick; slender, solid, tough, equal, sometimes cartilaginous, straight, covered with a close woven skin that can be rubbed off. +Gills+ free or slightly attached, whitish or creamy yellow, broad, distant, the alternate ones shorter, rounded, or deeply notched at inner end. These mushrooms grow in circles and are called fairy rings. They are found chiefly on lawns and pastures from May till October. We saw one specimen in October. It grew in a waste lot at Kaighn’s Point, Camden, N.J. It was solitary, of a brownish-yellow color, the cap 1 inch broad, and the stem 1 inch long. It was growing amidst some ballast plants, the only mushroom there.

+COPRINUS MICACEUS = mica.+ +The Glistening Coprinus.+

+Cap+ varies from buff to tawny yellow, 1 to 2 inches broad, bell-shaped (campanulate) or conical (cone-shaped), thin, marked with lengthwise lines, which extend half-way up from the margin. The disc is even and is more highly colored. It is often sprinkled with shiny atoms when young. +Gills+ at first whitish, then brown or black. +Stem+ 1 to 3 inches long, slender, hollow and white. The spores are dark brown. We found it in great numbers growing on the ground amidst the grass in September and October. It may be seen as early as April. It is a pretty species. (Edible.)

MUSHROOMS WITH GRAY COLORED CAP.

+AMANITA STROBILIFORMIS = a pine cone.+ +The Warted Amanita.+

+Cap+ light gray, or dingy white when young; 7 to 9 inches broad when expanded fully. It is covered with large pyramidal, persistent warts. The margin is even, and extends beyond the gills. Flesh firm and white. +Stem+ 6 to 8 inches long, 1 to 3 inches thick, solid, scaly, tapering upward, with a bulbous base and marked with a series of rings near the root, which extends deep into the ground. +Ring+ large, torn. +Gills+ white, free, rounded near the stem, ⅜ inch broad. This is said to be rather rare. We found it twice in August growing solitary on the roadside in the grass. It was large-sized, measuring 7 inches across cap, of a grayish-white color, with prominent warts; the stem was mealy, the volva was large. It was marked with distinct rings near the base. When kept many hours the smell becomes disagreeable. The name is given on account of the shape of the warts, which are conspicuous.

+AMANITA VAGINATA = a sheath.+ +The Sheathed Mushroom.+

+Cap+ gray, mouse color, sometimes slate-colored gray, and even brownish, 2 to 4 inches broad. It is thin and fragile, convex, and then nearly flat, with a slight mound or umbo, but sometimes none. It is deeply striate or grooved (sulcate) on the margin. +Stem+ is white and often covered with mealy particles. It is slender, either hollow or stuffed, 3 to 5 inches long, ⅓ to ½ inch thick. It is not bulbous, but is sheathed quite high in a loose, soft wrapper, the remains of the volva. There is no ring. +Gills+ are whitish, free from the stem, and rounded. It is easily broken. There are several varieties (Peck). In one the plant is white, Var. alba. In Var. livida the cap is a leaden brownish color, and in the Var. fulva the cap is tawny yellow and ochraceous. The mouse-colored form is the most common. We found many specimens in July and August.

+CORTINARIUS CORRUGATUS = wrinkled.+ +The Wrinkled Cortinarius.+

+Cap+ gray, with a pinkish-yellowish tint, 2 inches broad, campanulate, sticky, broken up into squamules, pellicle scaling, margin thin. +Stem+ slender, 5 inches long, shiny, mealy at apex, slightly bulbous. +Gills+ gray color, adnexed, distant, ventricose. This is a pretty mushroom. The shade of color of the pileus is delicate. We found it in August in the woods.

+BOLETUS FELLEUS = bitter.+ +The Bitter Boletus.+

This Boletus varies much in color; our plant was a brownish-gray, a dingy color. +Cap+ 3 to 8 inches broad, convex or nearly plane, glabrous, even, flesh white, turning to flesh or pink color when wounded. Taste bitter, tubes adnate, long, depressed around the stem, crowded. +Stem+ variable, 2 to 4 inches long, about ½ to 1 inch thick, equal or tapering, reticulated above, bulbous or enlarged at base, a little paler than the pileus. The Boleti we found grew in great numbers, in different localities, and were of all sizes. The color of the reticulations was a brownish-gray.

+BOLETUS GRISEUS = gray.+ +The Gray Boletus.+

+Cap+ dark gray, 2 to 4 inches broad, broadly convex, smooth, soft, silky, flesh whitish. Tubes adnate, slightly depressed, mouths small. +Stem+ 2 to 4 inches long, 3 to 6 lines thick, yellowish, much reticulated, sometimes reddish toward the base. Our plant was of a brownish color at base, and grew in the month of September.

+PSALLIOTA CAMPESTRIS = a field.+ +The Common Mushroom.+

There are several edible species of the genus Psalliota, chiefly the Field or Common Mushroom, which is constantly seen on our tables. +Cap+ varies from white and gray to brown. It is 2 to 4 inches broad, fleshy, convex, then flattened, dry, sometimes covered with silky fibrils, and when old smooth. The margin of the cap generally extends beyond the gills. Flesh white. +Stem+ rather short, 1 to 3 inches long, ⅓ to ⅔ inch thick, white or whitish, slender, stuffed and then hollow, nearly even. +Ring+ distant, simple. +Gills+ free, ventricose, narrowing at both ends, thin, first a pink color, then afterward brown or blackish-brown. It grows in rich pastures or in meadows, and is found in autumn. It has a most delicious flavor.

+AGARICUS PLACOMYCES.+ +The Flat-capped Mushroom.+

+Cap+ a whitish-gray, about 3 inches broad, convex, and then expanded and flat. It is covered with small, distinct, brown, persistent scales, except on the disc, where they are so close together that they appear of a brown color. +Stem+ is long and slender, 3 inches and more, stuffed and then hollow, equal and bulbous at the base. It is whitish, but sometimes has yellowish stains toward the base. +Gills+ are first white, then pink, and lastly a blackish-brown. It grows under trees, and is found in summer and autumn.

+COPRINTUS ATRAMENTARIUS = ink.+ +The Inky Coprinus.+

+Cap+ gray or grayish-brown, smooth, except a slight scaly appearance on the disc. It is silky near the margin, and the margin is irregular. When young it is often egg-shaped. +Gills+ crowded, whitish, soon becoming brown and then deliquescent. +Stem+ smooth, hollow, white. It grows in clusters until late in the autumn. We found our plants on a lawn in great profusion in the month of October.

+PLUTEUS CERVINUS = a deer.+ +The Fawn-colored Pluteus.+

+Cap+ about 3 inches broad, whitish-gray color, at first bell-shaped, then expanded, smooth, even, but afterward broken up into fibrils, margin entire; flesh soft, white. +Stem+ 3 to 6 inches long, nearly equal and solid, whitish, striate with black fibrils. +Gills+ rounded behind, free, crowded, ventricose, white, then flesh color as the spores mature. This is a common species, appearing early in the season--April to November. It usually grows from stumps and old logs. It can be easily known by its gills, being quite free from the stem, where it joins the pileus.

MUSHROOMS WITH A GREEN COLORED CAP.

+RUSSULA VIRESCENS = green.+ +The Greenish Russula.+