Part 36

Pileus 27 grams Stem 14 — Total weight 41

A specimen which had attained the average growth weighed:

Pileus 43 grams Stem 25 — Total weight 68

An analysis yielded the following results:

Water 92.19 per cent. Total solids 7.81

The dry substance contained:

Total nitrogen 5.79 per cent.

Extractive nitrogen 3.87

Protein nitrogen 1.92

Ether extract 3.3

Crude fiber 7.3

Ash 12.5

Material soluble in 85 56.3 per cent. alcohol

=C. soboli´ferus= Fr. =Pileus= 1½-2½ in. across, subcylindrical, then oval bell-shaped, lower half of pileus usually undulate but not furrowed or striate, disk obtuse, usually depressed, distinctly scaly, dingy white, toward the apex tinged with pale brown, scales darker. =Flesh= very thin. =Gills= free, tapering toward each end, ¼ in. or more broad, crowded, pale then blackish. =Stem= 5–8 in. long, ¾ in. thick at the base, slightly attenuated upward, silky-white, stuffed; toward the base there is a depressed zone caused by the edge of the pileus when young. =Ring= fugacious. =Spores= elliptical, 15×7µ.

Amongst grass near to trunks, buried wood, etc. A very large and beautiful species, distinguished from Coprinus atramentarius, its nearest ally, by the larger size of every part, the costate (ribbed) or waved lower portion of the pileus, the truncate, depressed disk, with distinct squamules, the whitish color of the pileus, and the imperfectly hollow or stuffed stem.

=Spores= elliptical, 15×7µ _Massee_.

Almshouse grounds, Philadelphia. On maple roots in grass-grown places, May, 1897–1898. _McIlvaine._ Not previously noted in United States.

C. soboliferus is a substantial food-giving species, very heavy for its size. It grows singly and in clusters and will immediately attract attention, wherever found. It is of fine flavor and substance. Cook at once.

=C. ova´tus= (Schaeff.) Fr.—_ovum_, an egg. =Pileus= white, somewhat membranaceous, _at the first egg-shaped and densely imbricated with thick spreading concentric scales_, covered with an even hood at the apex, then expanded, striate. =Stem= 3–4 in. long, solid at the base, rooting, otherwise hollow, with spider-web threads within, attenuated upward, downy, shining white. =Ring= not very conspicuous and soon vanishing. =Gills= free, remote, slightly ventricose, at the first somewhat naked and remaining long shining white, _at length umber-blackish_, never becoming purple.

Smaller, thinner, less handsome than C. comatus. For the most part solitary. _Fries._

=Spores= 11–12×7–8µ _Massee_.

On rich ground, dumps, etc. Same habitat as C. comatus.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey. _McIlvaine._

So closely allied to C. comatus that it is with difficulty distinguished from it. However, its edible qualities are the same, and into these the name does not enter.

FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.

1. COPRINUS ATRAMENTARIUS, 373 3. PANAEOLUS SOLIDIPES, 385

2. COPRINUS MICACEUS, 378 4. PANAEOLUS SOLIDIPES 385 (SECTION),

=C. sterquili´nus= Fr.—_sterquilinium_, a dunghill. =Pileus= about 2 in. across when expanded, conical, then expanded, sulcate more than half way from margin to disk, at first villous or silky, disk rather fleshy with rough scales, silvery-gray, tinged with brown at the apex. =Flesh= thin. =Gills= free, ventricose, about 2 lines broad, pale then umber-purple. =Stem= 4–6 in. high, slightly attenuated upward, white, fibrillose, hollow, thickened base solid, and booted for about an inch from the base, margin of sheath ending in a free border or ring.

On dung. A fine large species known by the scaly apex of the pileus, the basal portion of the stem surrounded by a volva-like, adnate structure with a free upper margin. The stem soon becomes black when bruised. Base of stem not rooting but abrupt, and furnished with a few white fibers. _Massee._

Edible, _Cooke_, 1891; also _Leuba_.

Nova Scotia, _Dr. Somers_.

This species is not reported as found in the United States.

** Atramentarii. _Ring imperfect, etc._

=C. atramenta´rius= (Bull.) Fr.—_atramentum_, ink. (Plate CII, fig. 1, p. 372.) =Pileus= 1½-4 in. across, ovate, expanding, grayish, lead-color or grayish-brown, with occasionally a few obscure scales on disk, often covered with bloom; margin ribbed, sometimes notched, soft, tender. =Gills= free, ventricose, up to ½ in. broad, crowded and at first cohering and white with white floccose edges, then becoming black and dissolving into ink. =Stem= up to 5 in. long, up to ½ in. thick, smooth, whitish, hollow, at first spindle-shaped, then attenuated upward, with more or less distinct ring near base.

=Spores= subcylindrical, large cystidia numerous, 12×6µ _Massee_; 9–10×6µ _K._; 9×5µ _W.G.S._; 8–10µ long _Peck_.

Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; Harrisburg, Pa., _Dr. J.H. Fager_; West Virginia, _McIlvaine_.

The stem is obscurely banded within, by which it may be recognized with certainty.

It grows singly or in clusters of many individuals on rich ground, whether lawns, gardens, gutter sides, or in woods, but not on dung. I know of a fine cluster growing year after year on a much-decayed pear-stump. Occasionally it appears in the spring months, but is common during the summer and autumn after rains, and from its first appearance it occurs in successive crops until stopped by severe frost. It is common in Europe and over the United States.

The flavor is higher than that of C. comatus. It should be cooked as soon as gathered, and kept in a cool place until needed.

Analysis shows the following:

Two separate, freshly-gathered lots of this species were examined. The one (_a_) contained six young small specimens weighing 5.5 grams, or .9 gram each; the other (_b_) contained eight mushrooms weighing 12 grams, or 1.5 grams each. An analysis gave:

_a._ _b._ Water 92.31 per cent. 94.42 per cent. Total solids 7.69 5.58 The dry substance contained: Total nitrogen 4.68 4.77 Ether extract 3.1 5.7 Crude fiber 9.3 ..... Ash 16.8 20.1 _Lafayette B. Mendel_ in American Journal of Physiology.

=C. fusces´cens= (Schaeff.) Fr.—_fuscus_, dark or swarthy. =Pileus= 1–1¼ in. across, submembranaceous, ovate, expanded, dull, disk rather fleshy, even or cracked into squamules, grayish-brown, disk reddish. =Gills= adfixed, blackish-umber. =Stem= 4–5 in. long, about ¼ in. thick, equal, fragile, hollow, subfibrillose. =Ring= indistinct or absent, whitish. _Massee._

Smaller and more slender than Coprinus atramentarius. =Pileus= brownish-gray, disk becoming reddish, not sprinkled with micaceous particles, but at first covered with a mealy bloom. =Gills= adnexed, attenuated from the stem to the margin, deliquescent. _Fries._

=Spores= elliptical, pointed at the ends, 10x6µ _Massee_; 10x5µ _W.G.S._

Solitary and in tufts. On stumps, trunks, etc. May to October.

West Philadelphia, Pa., _McIlvaine_.

C. fuscescens is tender, delicate and of excellent flavor. In this it ranks with C. atramentarius.

(Plate CIV.)

=C. macro´sporus= Pk. =Pileus= ovate, then expanded, rimose-striate (cracked in lines), obscurely floccose-squamulose, white, the small even brownish disk scaly. =Lamellæ= crowded, free, white then black. =Stem= glabrous, white, with traces of an annulus (ring) near the thickened or subbulbous base.

=Spores= very large, elliptical, 20–20.5 long, 12–16µ broad.

=Plant= cespitose, 2–3 in. high. =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= 1 line thick.

Ground in open fields. Ticonderoga. August.

The prominent characters of this species are the cracked pileus, squamose disk, free lamellæ and large spores. In its early state it resembles some species of Lepiota. It seems to be intermediate between the sections Atramentarii and Micacei. _Peck_, 31st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Found in quantity at Mt. Gretna, Pa. August to September, 1898, growing among old stable bedding on parade ground.

C. macrosporus is an excellent species, higher in flavor than any other Coprinus.

*** Pica´cei. _Universal downy veil, etc._

=C. pica´ceus= (Bull.) Fr. =Pileus= 2–2½ in. across, membranaceous, ovato-bell-shaped, striate up to the disk, smoky-black, variegated with large, irregular, superficial white patches. =Gills= free, ½ in. or more broad, ventricose, grayish-black. =Stem= 5–6 in. long, base bulbous, abrupt, otherwise equal, ¼-⅔ in. thick, white, hollow, fragile, smooth. =Spores= elliptical, apiculate, 14×8µ; cystidia large, numerous. _Massee._

Decaying trunks or branches of trees in woods. Lyndonville. June. _Fairman._

The form here referred to this species differs somewhat from the description of the type in being smaller, in having no bulb to the stem and in having smaller spores. It is probably the “smaller variety growing on rotten wood” noticed by Stevenson in his British Fungi. I have seen the true form of the species from Kansas. The New York plant seems to me to be worthy of distinctive designation, at least as a variety, and I call it

Var. _ebulbo´sus_. Plant smaller. =Stem= destitute of a bulb. =Spores= 8–10×5µ. _Peck_, 44th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Minnesota, _Johnson_, 1897; Kansas, _Cragin_, 1884; Wisconsin, _Bundy_, Nebraska, _Clements_.

Edible. _Leuba._

Large quantities grew on rotting chestnut and oak rails at Mt. Gretna, Pa., from June to August, 1899. It is strong and unpleasant.

**** Tomento´si. _Pileus at first veiled with a loose hairy veil._

(Plate CV.)

=C. fimeta´rius= Fr.—_fimetum_, a dunghill. =Pileus= 1–2 in. across, membranaceous, thin, _at first cylindrical_, soon conical, _the edge at length revolute_ and torn at the margin, _when young everywhere covered with floccose-squarrose white scales_ (from the universal veil), which separate from the vertex toward the circumference, at length naked, longitudinally cracked, but not opening into furrows, the vertex which remains entire, livid. =Stem= about 3 in. long, 2–3 lines and more thick, hollow, fragile, _thickened and solid at the base_, attenuated upward, shining white and downy with squamules of the same color. =Gills= free, reaching the stem, at first _ventricose, then linear, flexuous, black_. =Stem= when young curt and firmer. _Fries_.

=Spores= spheroid-ellipsoid, 15–18×9–12µ _K._; 15×9µ _W.G.S._; 12–14×7–8µ _Massee_.

Sometimes there is a root as long as the stem. _M.J.B._ Common on dung heaps in successive crops. Spring to autumn.

Var. _pulla´tus_. =Pileus= with adpressed scales and tomentose, soon naked, brownish, then blackish. =Stem= equal, becoming smooth.

On dung. Clustered. Stature of the type.

Var. _cine´reus_. =Pileus= membranaceous, floccosely mealy, then naked, ashy-gray. =Stem= subequal, rootless, hollow to the base, often twisted. =Spores= 12–8µ.

On dung and rich soil.

Var. _macrorhi´za_. =Pileus= at first with feathery squamules. =Stem= short, hairy, rooting, sometimes more or less marginately subbulbous. =Spores= 13–14×8–9µ.

On dung. Pileus pale and smaller than in the typical form, stem shorter, with a more or less elongated rooting base. _Berkeley._

Of this very variable species there is a small form growing on decayed wood in woods. It has the spores rather smaller than in the type, they being 10–11µ long, 8µ broad. It might be designated Var. _silvi´cola_. _Peck_, 43d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, 1881–1885, May to October. _McIlvaine._

Common to the United States. Of excellent flavor and tender. It must be cooked at once.

=C. tomento´sus= (Bull.) Fr.—_tomentum_, pubescence. =Pileus= very thin, at first oblong-oval and floccose-scaly, soon bell-shaped, naked, closely striate, grayish-brown or blackish-brown, often with a leaden hue, finally expanded, the disk smooth, reddish or ochraceous-brown, the margin turned upwards and much split or lacerated. =Lamellæ= closely crowded, narrow, free, white then pinkish, finally black. =Stem= white, tall, fragile, tapering upward, finely floccose-squamulose, hollow, sometimes with a large tap root. =Plant= gregarious or cespitose.

=Height= 3–6 in., breadth of pileus 6–18 lines.

Very variable in size and color. The covering of the pileus is easily rubbed off. It soon disappears and the plant quickly decays, seldom continuing through the day. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Mt. Gretna, Pa., about old picketing places in camp grounds. _Prof. M.W. Easton_, July, 1898.

West Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, May to September, on dung, rich ground, gardens and in woods. _McIlvaine._

Very delicate; of strong mushroom flavor. It is common, and can usually be collected in numbers. It is of little food value in itself, but yields an excellent flavor to anything it is cooked with. It must be cooked as soon as gathered.

=C. ni´veus= Fr.—_nix_, snow. =Pileus= white, 1–2 in. across, thin, ovate then bell-shaped, margin at length turned upward, split or covered with a dense white, mealy or downy covering, slightly pink. =Gills= _adnexed_, narrow, crowded, at first cohering, white then pinkish, then black. =Stem= at first short, then up to 4 in., slender, attenuated upward, covered with white down, fragile, hollow.

=Spores= 16×11–13µ _Massee_; 10×12µ _W.G.S._

Common on dung and dung heaps, clustered. May to frost.

West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. _McIlvaine._

Very variable in size, but clearly distinguished by its snow-white color and adnexed gills. Like all of the thin, delicate species of this genus there is little substance left after cooking, but the savory flavor is imparted to the cooking medium.

***** Mica´cei. _Pileus at first covered with minute, glistening scales, etc._

=C. mica´ceus= (Bull.) Fr.—_mica_, grain, granular. (Plate CII, fig. 2, p. 372.) =Pileus= thin, ovate, then bell-shaped, with the margin more or less revolute, wavy, splitting, closely striate, with a few minute scales and sparkling atoms, or naked, varying in color from whitish-ochraceous to livid-brown, generally darker when moist or old. =Gills= rather narrow, crowded, white then pinkish, finally black. =Stem= slender, fragile, easily splitting, slightly silky, white, hollow, often twisted. Plant mostly cespitose.

=Height= 2–4 in., breadth of pileus, 1–2 in.

Streets, yards and fields, on or about old stumps. May to September. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

=Spores= elliptical, blackish, 7–8×4–5µ _Massee_; 7×8µ _W.G.S._; 10×5µ _W.P._; elliptical, brown, 6–8µ _Peck_.

Var. _granula´ris_. Pileus sprinkled with granules or furfuraceous scales. New York. August. _Peck_, 47th Rep.

Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. May to October. _McIlvaine._

Common from spring until frost. This is the oval-capped toadstool found in clusters about trees, posts, along grassy sides of pavements, popping up, Brownie-like, from sodded places. Although small and thin, its clusters soon fill baskets, and its continuous growth in some places, from month to month, year to year, makes it one to be depended upon. Stewed for ten minutes it makes a rich, luscious dish. C. congregatus closely resembles it and is equally good.

****** Glabra´ti. _Pileus smooth, etc._

=C. deliques´cens= (Bull.) Fr. =Pileus= 3–4 in. broad, livid-fuliginous, membranaceous, bell-shaped then expanded, smooth, but _dotted with minute points on the disk_, never downy or split, the edge turning upward and striate, the striæ broad but not deep. =Stem= 4 in. long, 2–4 lines thick, hollow, with a bark-like covering, equally attenuated upward, _smooth, shining white_. =Gills= free, _at length remote from the stem_, very crowded, flexuous, very narrow, only ½ line broad, lurid-blackish. _Fries._

Frequent on stumps and among fallen leaves, sometimes in tufts. July to October.

=Spores= elliptical, obliquely apiculate, 8×5µ _Massee_.

Sometimes confounded with C. atramentarius.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.

C. deliquescens is of good size and quality. The stems do not cook well with the caps. The flavor is the same as C. atramentarius.

=C. congrega´tus= (Bull.) Fr. =Pileus= ½-¾ in. high, cylindrical, then bell-shaped, finally expanded and split at the margin, smooth, viscid, margin slightly striate, ochraceous. =Gills= about 1 line broad, slightly adnexed, white, finally becoming black. =Stem= 1½ in. high, equal, smooth, hollow, whitish.

On the ground, also in hot-houses. _Massee._

Readily distinguished by the densely cespitose mode of growth, the small size, the viscid, ochraceous, glabrous pileus which remains elongato-cylindrical for some time, then becomes campanulate and finally expands and splits at the margin.

Densely cespitose, fragile, readily distinguished from C. digitalis by its much smaller size. _Fries._

=Spores= 7×8µ _W.G.S._; 10×5µ _W.P._

Fries and Cooke considered this a good species.

So closely allied to neighboring species that it is difficult to determine it. Edible qualities are included in the alliance.

_B._ VELIFORMES. Pileus very thin, etc.

* Cyclodei. _Stem bearing ring, etc._

None edible.

** Lanatuli. _Pileus with superficial downy covering, etc._

=C. lagopus= Fr.—_Gr_, a hare; a foot. =Pileus= 1 in. broad, whitish, disk livid, very tender, cylindrical then bell-shaped, when young beautifully downy then naked, flattened and split, radiately furrowed. =Stem= 5 in. and more long, 1 line thick, very weak, very fragile, slightly attenuated at both ends, everywhere white-woolly. =Gills= at length remote, narrow, black. _Fries._

Fries distinguishes two forms. A, _nemorum_. =Stem= slender, 4–6 in. long. B, _viarum_. =Stem= 2–3 in. long. =Pileus= broader, livid. Both forms are inodorous. The pileus of the long-stemmed form is sometimes entirely clear brown, at others grayish with a brownish disk. =Stem= very weak, 5 in. and more in length, 1 line thick, attenuated at both ends. =Pileus= thin, expanded bell-shaped, about 1 in. across, when young elegantly flocculose, then furrowed, disk livid. =Gills= rather distant.

New York, _Peck_, 38th Rep.; Mt. Gretna, Pa., July, 1898, on rubbish about abandoned camp. _Prof. M.W. Easton._

A strikingly beautiful species. Both forms were found in abundance, tested and eaten with enjoyment. They are extremely delicate, and of attractive but not high flavor.

=C. Virgineus= Banning. =Pileus= ovate, bell-shaped, or cylindrical, pale ocher, the margin thin, torn, downy. =Lamellæ= narrow, close, forked, at first white, turning dark but never black, adnexed. =Stem= 3½ in. long, stout, somewhat stuffed, attenuated where it meets the pileus, flattened, downy. =Spores= black.

Cespitose or gregarious at the roots of trees or about old stumps. Also found in Virginia.

The plant is not rapidly deliquescent, remaining perfect for some hours. _Banning_ MS.

Maryland. Virginia. _Miss M.E. Banning_ MS. _Peck_, 44th Rep.

Chester county, Pa. New Jersey, about pear trees and stumps. _McIlvaine._

This little Coprinus is a valuable species when found. A patch of it about a tree or stump is treasure trove. Patches of it appear in July and bear until October. The not-particular observer would mistake it for C. micaceus.

*** Furfurel´li. _Pileus micaceous or scurfy, etc._

(Plate CVI.)

=C. domes´ticus= (Pers.) Fr.—_domus_, a house. =Pileus= 2 in. broad, fuliginous, disk date-brown, thin, ovate then bell-shaped, _covered with small branny scales_, then opening into furrows and flattened, _undulately sulcate_, disk obtuse, even. Stem 2–3 in. long, 2–3 lines thick, fistulose, slightly firm, attenuated upward, _adpressedly silky_, becoming even, white. =Gills= _adnexed_, at first crowded, distant when the pileus is split, linear, _white then reddish_, at length brownish-blackish.

A larger and more remarkable species than all the neighboring ones. _Fries._

=Spores= 14–16×7–8µ _Massee_.

On much decayed wood, damp carpets, in cellars, etc. Often in clusters.

Mt. Gretna, Pa., _Prof. M.W. Easton_, July, 1898; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

C. domesticus is the largest of its section and is sometimes of remarkable growth. I have seen it start from under a board in a cellar and prolong its stems for over a foot to get its caps to air and light. Under such conditions the stems are twisted in a confused mass.

It is very tender with a decided mushroom flavor. Cook at once.

(Plate CVII.)

=C. silvat´icus= Pk. =Pileus= membranaceous, with a thin fleshy disk, convex, striate in folds on the margin, dark-brown, the depressed striæ paler. =Lamellæ= subdistant, narrow, attached to the stem, brownish. =Stem= fragile, slender, smooth, hollow, white. =Spores= gibbous-ovate, 12.7µ long.

=Plant= 2 in. high. =Pileus= 6–10 lines broad. =Stem= .5 lines thick. Ground in woods. Greig. September.

The striæ extend about half way up the pileus. Allied to C. plicatilis and C. ephemerus _Peck_, 24th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. Frequent, but not common. On ground in woods, August to October. _McIlvaine._

This pretty little fungus is frequently found. I have never been able to get it in quantity, but have often eaten it. Its flavor is musky, rather strong. It is edible, but is not obtainable in sufficient numbers to make it of much food value.

=C. ephem´erus= Fr. _Gr_—lasting for a day. =Pileus= ½-¾ in. across, very thin, ovate, then bell-shaped, finally expanded and splitting, furrowed radiately, at first slightly scurfy, disk elevated, even, reddish. =Gills= slightly attached, linear, white, then brownish, at length blackish. =Stem= 1½-2½ in. high, 1 line or more thick, equal, glabrous, pellucid, hollow, whitish. =Spores= 16–17×9–10µ.

On dunghills, manured ground, etc. To the naked eye appearing almost glabrous, but under a lens seen to be distinctly scurfy. Known from Coprinus plicatilis by the disk of the pileus being prominent and not depressed. _Massee._

Common dung and dung heaps. May to October. New York, _Peck._ 23d Rep.

Of such size and delicate substance as to be of little food value. But it has a strong mushroom flavor which is choice as a flavoring. It appears during the summer months on dung and dung heaps. It must be cooked as soon as gathered.

=C. semilana´tus= Pk. =Pileus= submembranaceous, broadly conical, then expanded and strongly revolute, and the margin sometimes split, covered with mealy atoms, finely and obscurely rimose-striate, pale grayish-brown. =Lamellæ= narrow, close, free. =Stem= elongated, fragile, hollow, slightly tapering upward, white, the lower half clothed with loose cottony flocci which rub off easily, the upper half smooth or slightly farinaceous. =Spores= broadly elliptical, 12.7µ long.

=Plant= very fragile, 4–6 in. high. =Pileus= 8–12 lines broad. =Stem= 1 line thick at the base. Rich ground and dung. Sandlake. August. (Plate IV, fig. 15–18.) Allied to C. coopertus. _Peck_, 24th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia. 1881–1885, Mt. Gretna, Pa. July to October. _McIlvaine._