Part 32

Height 2–3 in., breadth of pileus 1–2 in., stipe 4–6 in. thick.

Grassy ground in pine woods. Greenbush. June.

The flesh is dull-yellowish. The pileus, when drying, has for a time a brown-marginal zone. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

New Jersey pines. Eagle’s Mere, Pa., coniferous woods. August. Mt. Gretna, Pa., pines. August, September. _McIlvaine._

Like most of the hygrophanous Cortinarii, the taste is more or less that of rotten wood. The flavor is flat and undesirable.

=C. furfurel´lus= Pk. =Pileus= thin, convex, furfuraceous with minute squamules, hygrophanous, watery-tawny when moist, pale ochraceous when dry. =Lamellæ= broad, thick, distant, adnate or slightly emarginate, tawny-yellow, then cinnamon. =Stem= equal, peronate, colored like the pileus, with a slight annulus near the top. =Spores= subelliptical, minutely rough, 8–10×6µ.

=Plant= 1–2 in. high. =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 lines thick.

Moist ground in open places. Gansevoort. August. _Peck_, 32d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Haddonfield, N.J., Mt. Gretna, Pa. _McIlvaine._

Strong woody flavor—like rotten wood. Not poisonous, but not desirable.

HYGROCYBE.

=C. casta´neus= Bull.—chestnut. =Pileus= fleshy, thin, campanulate or convex, then expanded, dark chestnut-color when moist, paler when dry. =Lamellæ= rather broad, violet-tinged, then cinnamon. =Stipe= fibrillose, stuffed or hollow, lilac tinged at the top, white below.

Height 2–3 in., breadth of pileus 1–2 in., stipe 3–4 lines thick.

Ground under spruce or balsam trees. Catskill mountains. October. Edible. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

=Spores= 8×5µ.

It is certainly a wholesome, esculent species, but a great number would be required to make a good dish. _M.C. Cooke._

Catalogued by Rev. M.A. Curtis, North Carolina, as edible.

Eaten in Italy. Inodorous, edible and agreeable. _Cordier._ More than fair. I have often eaten it. _R.K. Macadam._

=PAXIL´LUS= Fr.

_Paxillus_, a small stake.

=Hymenophore= continuous with the stem, decurrent. =Gills= membranaceous, somewhat branched, frequently anastomosing behind, _distinct from the hymenophore and easily separable from it_. =Spores= dingy-white or ferruginous.

_Fleshy putrescent fungi, margin of pileus at first involute, then continually and gradually unfolding and expanding._ _Fries._

=Pileus= symmetrical or eccentric. =Stem= central, eccentric or wanting. Edge of gills entire, sharp.

The marked features of this genus are the strongly involute margin, the soft, tough, decurrent gills, separating readily from the flesh, and the color of the spores.

The members of this genus possess some of the characters of Boletus. The gills separate easily from the hymenophore as do the tubes of the latter, and their anastomosing tendency is in P. porosus so marked that the hymenium consists of large angular tubes. The gills of P. solidus B. and C. form pores at the base, and its spores are elongated, both features indicating an affinity with Boletus.

ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.

LEPISTA (a pan). Page 327.

Pileus entire, central. Spores dingy-white, in P. panæolus somewhat rust-color. On the ground.

TAPINIA (to depress). Page —--.

Pileus generally eccentric or resupinate. Spores rust-color. On the ground or on stumps.

So far as known the species of this genus are harmless. Many of them are large, fleshy and inviting in appearance, but their flesh is usually dry and coarse, and, though absorbent, is hard to cook tender. P. atrotomentosus, which seems to be rare, is an exception. The flesh of this species being firm in texture and readily made into a first-class dish.

LEPIS´TA.

=P. lepis´ta= Fr.—_lepista_, a pan. =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad, flat or depressed, dirty-white, smooth, sometimes minutely cracked near the margin which is thin, involute and often undulate. =Stem= very variable in length, 1–4 in., ½-¾ in. thick, dingy white or cream, solid, white inside, equal, with a cartilaginous cuticle passing between the gills and the flesh of the pileus, base blunt, villous, white. =Gills= very decurrent, crowded, 2–3 lines broad, slightly branched but not at the base, dingy-white becoming darker.

=Spores= reddish, becoming dingy brown. Broadly pyriforme 6×8µ _Massee_.

Pennsylvania. September, 1894. _McIlvaine._ Albion, N.Y., _Dr. Cushing_, 1898.

On ground in woods and margins of woods.

=Flesh= white. =Gills= narrow, crowded, brittle, decurrent, dingy-white or pale-buff, easily separating from cap. =Stem= solid, elastic, at length hollow, often short, an inch long, tapering downward, frequently up to four inches in length and equal, base villose.

Resembling Lactarius piperatus and some forms of Clitocybe. It is separated from the former by the absence of milk and from the latter by its involute margin. The Clitocybe resembling it are all edible.

=Smell= strong, like old oily nuts. Edible but coarse.

=P. li´vidus= Cke. =Pileus= 1–2 in. across, convex, at length slightly depressed at the disk, margin slightly arched and incurved, dingy-white, or livid ochraceous, opaque. =Gills= decurrent, arcuate, almost crowded, 1½ line broad, white. =Stem= 3–4 in. long, ½ in. thick at the apex, attenuated downward, white, fibrillose, stuffed then hollow, usually rather flexuous. =Flesh= nearly white. =Spores= globose, 3–3.5µ diameter, nearly white.

In woods. Usually in small clusters. Closely allied to Paxillus revolutus, but distinguished by the absence of any tinge of violet on the pileus or stem, and by the persistently white gills. _Massee._

Received from Katherine A. Hall, Danville, N.Y. October, 1898.

Raw it tastes like a drug-store smell. Edible, pleasant.

TAPI´NIA.

(Plate XC.)

=P. involu´tus= (Batsch) Fr.—_involutus_, rolled inward. =Pileus= 2–5 in. broad, fleshy, compact, convexo-plane then depressed, smooth, viscid when moist, shining when dry, yellowish or tawny-ochraceous, _strongly involute_, _margin densely downy_, flesh pallid. =Stem= 2–4 in. high, about ½ in. thick, solid, firm, paler than the pileus, central or eccentric. =Gills= 2–3 lines broad, crowded, branched, anastomosing, _forming pores behind_, whitish then yellowish or rusty, _spotting when bruised_.

=Spores= rust-color, ellipsoid or oblong-ellipsoid 8–16×6µ _K._; 5×6µ _W.G.S._ Elliptical, 8–10µ _Peck_.

It grows singly or in groups and likes damp mossy soil. Common in cool hemlock or spruce woods in the Adirondack mountains; not rare in the mixed woods of all our hilly districts. When growing on decayed stumps the stem is sometimes eccentric. August, November. _C.H. Peck._

In open woods near Haddonfield, N.J., it grows to a large size and in quantity. In Angora woods near Philadelphia a complete ring of it 20 ft. in diameter was seen.

Considered edible throughout Europe and said to be highly esteemed in Russia. The flesh of the American plant is dry and coarse, does not cook tender and is rather tasteless.

=P. a´tro-tomento´sus= (Batsch.) Fr.—_ater_, black; _tomentum_, down. =Pileus= 3–6 in. broad, rust-color or reddish-brown, compactly fleshy, eccentric, convex then plane or depressed, margin thin, frequently minutely rivulose, sometimes tomentose in the center. =Flesh= white. =Stem= 3–6 in. high, ½-1 in. thick, stout, solid, elastic, eccentric or lateral, unequal rooting, _covered with dense velvety down, very dark brown_. =Gills= adnate, 3 lines broad, close, anastomosing at the base, yellowish, interspaces venose.

=Spores= subhyaline 4–6×3–4µ _K._ Elliptical, pale-yellowish, 5×2.5–3µ _Massee_. Elliptical 5–6×4µ _Peck_.

Found near Philadelphia, gregarious in old woods. September. In New Jersey in pine woods on stumps and on the ground, probably growing from roots. _McIlvaine._

Grows singly or cespitose, sometimes in large tufts, when the pileus is frequently irregular from compression. In wet weather the pileus is moist and sometimes obscurely mottled with dark spots. Occasionally it has an unpleasant dirt-like odor. _Peck._

Cordier considers this species suspicious and Paulet inutile on account of its bad taste.

The flesh differs from most Paxilli in being very fine grained and cooked is of the consistency of a marshmallow. The taste is marked but pleasant.

_Series IV._ =PORPHYRO´SPORÆ= (Pratelli). _Gr_—purple.

Spores typically black-purple or brownish-purple, more rarely dusky brown. (It is to be observed that the spores vary in color according to the color of the ground on which they are deposited.) There are sterile forms with the gills persistently white (A. obturatus, A. udus). Those species are more deceptive in which the gills continue for a long time white, and even begin to decay before they are discolored by the spores; these may be easily mistaken for Leucospori. _Fries._

Pratelli is the name given by the early authors to this series, based upon the spore color; Porphyrosporæ is the name now used. The species within the group are closely allied to those having black spores without a tinge of purple or violet (Melanosporæ), but in none of the species do the gills deliquesce as in Coprinus, neither are there resupinate or lateral stemmed species.

There is a present tendency to do away with this series and include all dark-spored species in the Melanosporæ. Professor Atkinson and Bertha Stoneman, in their “Provisional Key to the Genera of Hymenomycetes,” omit the series and give “Melanosporæ, Gill and Butz (Pratellæ and Coprinariæ in broadest sense). Spores dark brown, purplish-brown or black.”

(Plate XCIII.)

It is frequently difficult to determine by the spore-color of this series even to which series a specimen belongs. Many of our best edibles belong in this series. I know of none noxious.

=CHITON´IA= Fr.

Universal veil distinct from the pileus, at maturity forming a distinct volva round the base of the ringless central stem. =Gills= free from the stem. =Spores= brownish-purple.

Analogous in structure with Volvaria and Amanitopsis. An exotic genus imported into this country.

No American species reported.

FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.

1. AGARICUS VARIABILIS, 346 4. AGARICUS CAMPESTER, 332

2. AGARICUS SILVICOLA, 343 5. AGARICUS CAMPESTER 332 (SECTION),

3. AGARICUS PLACOMYCES, 345

AGAR´ICUS.

_Agaricon_, a Greek name for fungi, said to be derived from the name of a town, Agara.

=Pileus= fleshy, flesh of the stem different from that of the pileus, furnished with a distinct ring. =Gills= at first enclosed by the veil, free, rounded behind, at first white or whitish, in some species this stage lasting but a short time, then pink or reddish, at length dark purplish-brown from the spores. =Spores= brown, brownish or reddish-purple.

On the ground, generally in pastures, meadows or manured ground, a few species occur in woods.

Analogous with Lepiota of the white-spored series. Stropharia also bears a ring and has similar colored spores, but is separated by the flesh of stem and pileus being continuous and the gills being more or less adnate.

Formerly in Agaricus as sub-genus Psalliota (_psallion_, _psalion_, in poetry, a ring). When Psalliota was raised to generic rank it was given the name of the great genus Agaricus as a mark of distinction on account of its including the most widely known and useful mushroom of the world—Agaricus campester. The name Psalliota is not in modern use.

Old Agaricus included many subgenera and consequently many more species. Now it contains but few. All of them are highly flavored and of marked excellence. Before the subgenera under Agaricus were promoted to full generic standing it was customary to state the name of a species thus: Agaricus (Psalliota) campester. Agaricus (Stropharia) semi-orbicularis. This was lengthy and clumsy. In the older books this form prevails. Often, however, the subgenus is omitted before the name, which compels the student to look up the subgenus to which the species belongs. The older books are therefore puzzling to modern students, who find there simply the name Agaricus to guide them. The present genus of a known species in old Agaricus can be easily found by looking in the index for its specific name. The name of the genus follows it in parentheses.

All of the genus can be cooked in any desired way.

ANALYSIS OF SPECIES.

* Gills at first or very soon pink or rosy.

** Gills at first brownish or gray.

*** Gills at first white or whitish.

* _Gills at first or very soon pink or rosy._

=A. campes´ter= Linn.—_campus_, a field. (Plate XCI, fig. 4 (3 figs.) fig. 5, section, p. 332). =Pileus= at first hemispherical or convex, then expanded with decurved margin or nearly plane, smooth, silky floccose or hairy squamulose, the margin extending beyond the lamellæ, the flesh rather thick, firm, white. =Lamellæ= free, close, ventricose, _at first delicate pink or flesh color_, then blackish-brown, _subdeliquescent_. =Stem= equal or slightly thickened toward the base, _stuffed_, white or whitish, nearly or quite smooth. =Ring= at or near the middle, more or less lacerated, sometimes evanescent. =Spores= elliptical, 6–8×4–5µ.

=Plant= 2–4 in. high. =Pileus= 1.5–4 in. or more broad. =Stem= 4–8 lines thick. _Peck_, 36th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

=Spores= spheroid-ellipsoid, 9×6µ _K._; 6×8µ _W.G.S._

The varieties of A. campester are numerous. All of them are edible and vary but slightly in their excellence.

Var. _al´bus_ Berk.—_albus_, white. A very common wild form. =Cap= 2–4 in. across, smooth or slightly fibrillose. =Stem= 1½-3 in. long, ⅓-⅔ in. thick, white or whitish. Spring to autumn, in rich grassy places. Sometimes very large. It is cultivated.

Var. _gri´seus_ Pk.—_griseus_, gray. =Cap= grayish, silky, shining. =Ring= vanishing. Reported from Virginia.

Var. _prati´cola_ Vitt.—_pratum_, a meadow; _colo_, to inhabit. Meadow variety. =Cap= covered with reddish scales. =Flesh= pinkish. Parade ground, Mt. Gretna, Pa.

Var. _umbri´nus_ Vitt.—_umber_, dark brown. =Cap= brown, smooth. =Stem= short, minutely scaly.

“Var. _rufes´cens_ Berk.—_rufescens_, becoming red. =Pileus= reddish, minutely scaly. =Gills= at first white. =Stem= elongated. =Flesh= turning bright red when cut or bruised. This departs so decidedly from the ordinary characters of the type, especially in the white color of the young gills, that it seems to merit separation as a distinct species.” _Peck_, 36th Rep.

Var. _villa´ticus_ Brond.—belonging to a villa. =Cap= scaly. =Stem= scaly.

Var. _horten´sis_ Cke.—growing in gardens. =Cap= brownish or yellowish-brown, covered with fibrils or minute hairs. This is a cultivated species.

“Var. _Bu´channi_. =Cap= white, smooth, depressed in center, the margin naked. =Stem= stout. =Ring= thin, lacerated. A rare variety, sometimes occurring in mushroom beds.

“Var. _elonga´tus_—elongated. Long-stemmed variety. =Pileus= small, smooth, convex, the margin adorned with the adherent remains of the lacerated veil. =Stem= long, slender, slightly thickened toward the base. =Ring= slight or evanescent. This is also a variety of mushroom beds.

“Var. _vapora´rius_. Green-house variety (A. vaporarius Vitt.) =Pileus= brownish, coated with long hairs or fibrils. =Stem= hairy-fibrillose, becoming transversely scaly. Conservatories, cellars, etc. Not differing greatly from Var. hortensis.” _Peck_, 36th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

The A. campester is known the world over as the common mushroom. It is cosmopolitan, appearing in pastures and rich places from spring and until long after severe frosts. It is the sweet morsel of gourmets. Indirectly it has done more damage than the assembled viciousness of all other toadstools. It is by mistaking the young button forms of the deadly Amanita for the button forms of the common mushroom that most cases of fatal toadstool poisoning are brought about. It is, also, usually the persons who think they know the mushroom, and can not be deceived, that get poisoned. If two rules are observed danger can be avoided. (1) Never eat a fungus gathered in the woods believing it to be the mushroom. The typical A. campester does not grow in the woods; species of Agaricus somewhat resembling it do. (2) Look at the gills; those of the mushroom are at first a light-pink which rapidly, as the plant matures, darken to a dark-brown, purplish-brown, or purplish-black. This is due to the ripening of the spores. Those of the Amanita are constantly white.

Pages could be written upon the mushroom and its culture, and recipes for the cooking of it would fill a volume. One important thing is omitted from them all—it is culinary heresy to peel a mushroom. Much of the flavor lies in the skin, as it does in that of apples, apricots, peaches, grapes, cherries and other fruits. The mushroom should be wiped with a coarse flannel or towel until the skin is clean. See chapter on cooking, etc.

Lafayette B. Mendel, in American Journal of Physiology, March, 1898, gives the following analysis of A. campester:

Two varieties of the common mushroom were collected in New Haven. Fifteen specimens of one variety weighed 1½ ounce, an average weight of 43 grains each. The analysis gave:

_a._ _b._

Water 87.88% 92.20%

Total solids 12.12 7.80

Total nitrogen in dry 4.42 4.92 substance

Ash in dry substance 11.66 17.18

=A. comp´tulus= Fr.—_comptus_, gaily adorned. =Pileus= 1–1½ in. broad, _yellowish-white_, slightly fleshy, convex then plane, obtuse, _adpressedly fibrilloso-silky_, becoming even. =Flesh= thin, soft, of the same color as the pileus. =Stem= 2 in. long, 2–3 lines thick, _hollow_, stuffed with floccules when young, _somewhat attenuated_, even, smooth, white, becoming somewhat light yellow. =Ring= medial, torn, _fugacious_, of the same color. =Gills= rounded-free behind, crowded, soft, broader in front, _flesh-color_ then _rose_, not dingy-flesh-color except when old.

Closely allied to A. campestris, but constantly distinct in its more beautifully colored gills. _Fries._

Cultivated ground. Menands. August. _Peck_, Rep. 41.

Closely allied to A. campestris, from which it may be separated by its smaller size, the yellowish hue of the dry plant and by the smaller spores. _Peck_, 41st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Mt. Gretna, Pa. Parade ground, with A. campester; Haddonfield, N.J. August to frost. _McIlvaine._

A. comptulus appears frequently in the latitude of Philadelphia. It is a neat species, but not substantial in flesh. Here it usually grows close to the ground. The ring is very evanescent.

Its edible qualities are those of A. campester.

=A. silvat´icus= Schaeff.—belonging to woods. =Pileus= thin, at first convex or bell-shaped, then expanded, _gibbous or subumbonate_, fibrillose or variegated with a few thin tawny brownish or reddish-brown _spot-like adpressed scales_, whitish, brownish or smoky-gray, the disk sometimes tinged with red or reddish-brown, the flesh white or faintly reddish. =Lamellæ= thin, close, free, narrowed toward each end, reddish, then blackish-brown. =Stem= rather long, _equal or slightly tapering upward_, hollow, whitish. =Spores= elliptical, 5–6.5×4–5µ.

=Plant= 3–5 in. high. =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 4–6 lines thick.

Woods. Summer and autumn. Not common. _Peck_, 36th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Massachusetts, _Farlow_; Minnesota, _Johnson_; California—edible, _H. and M._

West Virginia, 1881–1885, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. August to frost. In pine and mixed woods. _McIlvaine._

Edible, _Curtis_. Edible, _Peck_.

In taste and smell A. silvaticus resembles A. silvicola, but is stronger. It is a frequent but not common species in the localities where I have found it. Quantities of it have not occurred, but myself and friends have eaten it for years, knowing no distinction in effect between it and allied species. Its strong taste requires that it be well cooked. It does not lose its high flavor, which may be objectionable to some. I prefer using its juices as a flavoring.

=A. diminuti´vus= Pk.—diminutive. =Pileus= thin, fragile, at first convex, then plane or centrally depressed, sometimes slightly umbonate, whitish or yellowish, faintly spotted with small thin silky appressed brownish scales, the disk brownish or reddish-brown. =Lamellæ= close, thin, free, ventricose, brownish-pink becoming brown, blackish-brown or black. =Stem= equal or slightly tapering upward, stuffed or hollow, smooth, pallid. =Annulus= thin, persistent, white. =Spores= elliptical 5×4µ.

=Plant= 1.5–2 in. high. =Pileus= 1–1.5 in. broad. =Stem= 1–2 lines thick.

Woods. Croghan and Sandlake, N.Y. August. Autumn.

This is a small but symmetrical and beautiful Agaric. It is perhaps too closely related to the preceding species (A. silvaticus), of which it may possibly prove to be a mere variety or dwarf form. Its pileus is quite thin and fragile. Usually the darker or reddish hue of the disk gradually loses itself in the paler color of the margin, but sometimes the whole surface is tinged with red. _Peck_, 36th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Chester county; West Philadelphia, Pa., September; Mt. Gretna, Eagle’s Mere, Pa., August. _McIlvaine._

I have found A. diminutivus so intimately associated with A. silvaticus that its being a dwarf form of the latter seemed more than probable. Its edible qualities are the same.

=A. Rod´mani= Pk. =Pileus= rather thick, firm, at first convex, then nearly or quite plane, with decurved margin, smooth or rarely slightly cracked into scales on the disk, white or whitish, becoming yellowish or subochraceous on the disk, the flesh white, unchangeable. =Lamellæ= close, _narrow_, rounded behind, free, reaching nearly or quite to the stem, _at first whitish then pink or reddish-pink_, finally blackish-brown. =Stem= short, subequal, solid, whitish, smooth below the ring, often scurfy or slightly mealy-squamulose above; ring variable, thick or thin, entire or lacerated, at or below the middle of the stem. =Spores= broadly elliptical or subglobose, generally uninucleate, 5–6×4–5µ.

=Plant= 2–3 in. high. =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 6–10 lines thick. Grassy ground and paved gutters. Astoria, L.I. _Rev. W. Rodman_. Washington Park, Albany. May to July.

This species is intermediate between A. campestris and A. arvensis, from both of which it may be distinguished by its narrow gills, solid stem and smaller, almost globose, spores. In size, shape of the pileus and general appearance it most resembles A. campestris, but in the whitish primary color of the gills and in the yellowish tints which the pileus often assumes, it approaches nearer to A. arvensis. * * * _Peck_, 36th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

I can now add my own testimony to that of Mr. Rodman as to its edibility. Its flesh is firm but crisp, not tough, and its flavor, though not equal to that of the common mushroom, is nevertheless agreeable, and its use as food is perfectly safe. _Peck_, Rep. 49.

This species has grown freely for several years at Hull and Cohasset, Mass. It is usually found about June 1st, and is not seen again until early autumn. It is the handsomest mushroom I have seen, and its edible qualities are on a par with its appearance. _Macadam._