Part 7

This is a large and interesting species, well marked and easily recognized by its large size, by the greenish tint that pervades the pileus, lamellæ, annulus and stem, and especially by the large persistent patch of grayish-white felty material that covers the center of the pileus and sometimes extends nearly to the margin. This is in fact the upper part of the ruptured volva that is carried up by the growing plant, and is very suggestive of the specific name. In the young state the plant is entirely enveloped in the volva, which then is similar to a goose egg in size and shape, and its walls are one-fourth to one-half inch thick. So thick and firm are they that the young plant appears sometimes to be unable to break through and it decays in its infancy.

Dr. Lane says that, having found that the Italians made use of this mushroom for food, he began eating it and introducing it to his friends, and he learned by personal trial that it is a thoroughly good and wholesome mushroom, which, when broiled with bacon, fried, baked or stewed, may be eaten with perfect safety and that it is a nutritious food. _Peck_, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 27, January, 1900.

=A. crenula´ta= Pk. =Pileus= thin, broadly ovate, becoming convex or nearly plane and somewhat striate on the margin, adorned with a few thin whitish floccose warts or with whitish flocculent patches, whitish or grayish, sometimes tinged with yellow. =Lamellæ= close, reaching the stem, and sometimes forming decurrent lines upon it, floccose crenulate on the edge, the short ones truncate at the inner extremity, white. =Stem= equal, bulbous, floccose mealy above, stuffed or hollow, white, the annulus slight, evanescent. =Spores= broadly elliptic or subglobose, 7.5–10µ long, nearly as broad, usually containing a single large nucleus.

=Pileus= 2.5–5 cm. broad. =Stem= 2.5–5 cm. long, 6–8 mm. thick.

Low ground, under trees. Eastern Massachusetts. September. _Mrs. E. Blackford_ and _George E. Morris_.

The volva in this species must be very slight, as its remains quickly disappear from the bulb of the stem. The remains carried up by the pileus form slight warts or thin whitish areolate patches. The annulus is present in very young plants, but is often wanting in mature ones, in which state the plant might be mistaken for a species of Amanitopsis. Its true affinity is with the tribe to which A. rubescens belongs. As in that species, the bulb soon becomes naked and exhibits no remains of the volva. It is similar to A. farinosa also in this respect, but quite unlike it in color, in the adornments of the pileus and in the character of its margin, which is even in the young plant and but slightly striate in the mature state. Its dimensions are said sometimes to exceed those here given, and it is reported to have been eaten without harm and to be of an excellent flavor. I have had no opportunity to try. _Peck_, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 27, January, 1900.

=AMANITOP´SIS= Roze.

_Amanita_; _opsis_, resembling.

Having a universal veil at first completely enveloping the young plant, which soon bursts through, carrying particles of it on the pileus, where they appear as scattered warts readily brushed off; the remainder or volva closely enwraps the base of the stem. Ring absent. Spores white. This genus was formerly included in Amanita. It differs from Amanita in the absence of a ring or collar upon the stem and in the more sheathing volva. It differs from Lepiota in having a volva.

Close observation is necessary in collecting Amanitopsis for the table. _It has no trace of ring or veil upon the stem._ So far as the species are known no poisonous one exists. But Amanita spreta Pk., which is deadly, so closely resembles forms of Amanitopsis that those confident of their knowledge will be deceived. The veil or traces of veil, which Amanita spreta always has, sometimes so adheres to and wraps the stem that it is not noticeable without close examination, thus giving to it every appearance of an Amanitopsis.

The volva of A. spreta is attached for a considerable distance to the base of the tapering stem, and is not readily removed. This is a guide to detect it. It is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Amanitopsis corresponds to Volvaria in the pink-spored series, in which, as far as known, there is no poisonous species.

All American species of Amanitopsis are given. Several have not been tested by the writer because of lack of opportunity.

FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.

1. AMANITOPSIS VAGINATA, 28 5. MYCENA GALERICULATA, 127

2. AMANITOPSIS VAGINATA, 29 6. MYCENA PROLIFERA, 126 VAR. LIVIDA,

3. AMANITOPSIS NIVALIS, 29 7. MYCENA PROLIFERA 126 (SECTION),

4. AMANITOPSIS STRANGULATA, 30

=A. vagina´ta= Roze—_vagina_, a sheath. (Plate X, figs. 1, 2, p: 28.) =Pileus= thin, fragile, glossy, smooth except in rare instances where a few fragments of the volva adhere to it for a time, deeply and distinctly striate on the margin, sometimes umbonate. =Flesh= white, in the dark forms grayish under the skin. =Stem= ringless, sometimes smooth, but generally mealy or floccose, hollow or stuffed with a cottony pith, _not bulbous_. =Volva= long, thin, fragile, closely sheathing yet free from the stem, except in the lower part, easily detachable and frequently remaining in the ground when the plant is pulled. =Color= variable, generally mouse-gray, sometimes livid, tawny-yellow or white, in one variety a rich date-brown. =Spores= globose, 8–10µ broad _Peck_; elliptical 10×7–8µ _Massee_.

Var. _liv´ida_ Pers.—livid. Leaden brown, gills dingy. (Plate X, fig. 2, p. 28.)

Var. _ful´va_ Schæff.—yellowish. Tawny-yellow or pale ochraceous.

This plant is widely dispersed, having been reported from many localities in the United States, also from Nova Scotia and Greenland.

On ground in woods and on margins of woods, under trees, in shaded grassy places. Sometimes in open stubble and pastures. June to frost. Mt. Gretna, September, 1899, found a cluster on decayed chestnut stump. Various colors abound—hazel, brown, gray, yellow, whitish. The caps and stems are tender as asparagus tips, but without much distinct flavor when cooked.

Great care must be taken to distinguish these forms from Amanita spreta Pk. which is poisonous. See heading of genus—Amanitopsis.

=A. niva´lis= Grev.—snowy. (Plate X, fig. 3, p. 28.) =Pileus= at first ovate, then convex or plane, smooth, _striate on the thin margin, white_, sometimes tinged with yellow or ochraceous on the disk. =Flesh= white. =Gills= subdistant, white, free. =Stem= equal, rather tall, nearly smooth, _bulbous_, stuffed, white; the volva very fragile, _soon breaking up into fragments or sometimes persisting in the form of a collar-like ring at the upper part of the bulb_. =Spores= globose, 7.5–10µ in diameter.

=Plant= 4–6 in. high. =Pileus= 2–3 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 lines thick. July to October.

It approaches in some respects A. Frostiana, but its larger size, smooth pileus, lighter color and the absence of an annulus will easily distinguish it from that species. _Peck_, 33d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Specimens have been repeatedly found by the writer in open oak woods near Philadelphia.

A strong, unpleasant bitter, which appears to develop while cooking, renders it unpalatable. It is harmless, but its use is not advised.

=A. velo´sa= Pk.—_velosus_, fleecy. =Pileus= at first subglobose, then bell-shaped or nearly plane, generally bearing patches of the remains of the whitish felty or tomentose volva, elsewhere glabrous, becoming sulcate-striate on the margin, buff or orange-buff. =Flesh= compact, white. =Gills= close, reaching the stem, subventricose, pale cream color. =Stem= firm, at first attenuated and tomentose at the top, then nearly equal, stuffed, white or whitish, closely sheathed at the base by the thick volva. =Spores= globose, 10–13µ.

=Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 3–4 in. long, 3–4 lines thick.

Under oak trees. Pasadena, California. April. _A.J. McClatchie._

This fungus is closely related to A. vaginata, from which it may be separated by the more adherent remains of the thicker volva which sometimes cover the whole surface of the pileus, and by the thicker gills which are somewhat adnate to the stem and terminate with a decurrent tooth. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 22, No. 12.

As it is probable this species will be found elsewhere than California, and from its close relation to A. vaginata likely to be edible, its description is here given.

=A. strangula´ta= (Fr.) Roze—choked, from the stuffed stem. (Plate X, fig. 4, p. 28.) =Pileus= at first ovate or subelliptical, then bell-shaped, convex or _plane, warty_, slightly viscid when moist, _deeply and distinctly striate on the margin_, grayish-brown. =Gills= free, close, white. =Stem= equal or tapering upward, stuffed or hollow, nearly smooth, white or whitish, _the volva soon breaking up into scales or subannular fragments_. =Spores= globose, 10–13µ.

=Plant= 4–6 in. high. =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 3–6 lines thick. _Peck_, 33d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

_A. Ceciliæ_ B. and Br. is a synonym.

Not distinct in color and general appearance from A. vaginata, but distinctly separated by its warty pileus and evanescent mouse-colored volva which does not sheath the stem. =Pileus= striate when young, then sulcate. =Stem= mealy, especially on the upper part.

Woods, open grassy places, wheat stubble, etc. June to September. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, _McIlvaine_.

In the latitude of Philadelphia the plant is found in great abundance. Its rather early appearance, staying quality, delicate consistency and flavor make it valuable as a food supply.

Pearl color, bluish-gray and gray are the prevailing cap-coloring.

=A. adna´ta= (W.G.S.) Roze—_adnatus_, adnate, of the gills. =Pileus= about 3 in. across. =Flesh= thick, whitish, firm, convex, then expanded, rather moist, pale yellowish-buff, often furnished with irregular, woolly patches of volva; margin even, extending beyond the gills. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, ½ in. thick, cylindrical, rough, fibrillose, pale buff, flesh distinct from that of the pileus, stuffed, then hollow; base slightly swollen. =Volva= adnate, white, downy, margin free and lax, sometimes almost obsolete. =Gills= truly adnate, crowded, with many intermediate shorter ones, white. =Spores= subglobose, with an oblique point, 7–8µ _Massee_.

Tender, good flavor, yielding more substance when cooked than any other Amanitopsis.

=A. volva´ta= Pk.—possessing a volva. =Pileus= convex, then nearly plane, slightly striate on the margin, hairy or floccose-scaly, white or whitish, the disk sometimes brownish. =Gills= close, free, white. =Stem= equal or slightly tapering upward, stuffed, minutely floccose-scaly, whitish, inserted at the base in a large, firm, cup-shaped, persistent volva. =Spores= elliptical, 10×8µ.

=Plant= 2–3 in. high. =Pileus= 2–3 broad. =Stem= 3–4 lines thick. _Peck_, 33d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

The plant is easily recognized by its large, cup-shaped volva and cap, which is not smooth, as is usual in a species with a persistent membranous volva, more or less scaly with minute tufts of fibrils or tomentose hairs. The gills are white in the fresh plant.

Professor Peck notes the species as quite rare. Numerous specimens occur in the sandy oak woods of New Jersey, and in oak woods near Angora, Philadelphia. July to October.

Care must be taken to determine the absence of an annulus or any trace of one. Tender, delicate, without pronounced flavor. Equal to Amanitopsis vaginata.

=A. farino´sa= Schw.—covered with _farina_, meal. =Pileus= nearly plane, thin, _flocculent-pulverulent, widely and deeply striate on the margin_, grayish-brown or livid-brown. =Gills= free, whitish. =Stem= whitish or pallid, equal, stuffed or hollow, mealy, _sub-bulbous_, the volva _flocculent-pulverulent_, evanescent. =Spores= variable, _elliptical ovate or subglobose_, 6–8µ long.

=Plant= about 2 in. high. =Pileus= 1 in. to 15 lines broad. =Stem= 1–3 lines thick. July to September.

This is our smallest Amanita (now Amanitopsis). It is neither very common nor very abundant when it does occur. It is described by Schweinitz as “solid,” but I have always found it stuffed or hollow. _Peck_, 33d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

=A. pusil´la= Pk.—small. =Pileus= thin, broadly convex or nearly plane, subglabrous, slightly umbonate, even on the margin, pale brown. =Gills= narrow, thin, close, free, becoming brownish. =Stem= short, hollow, bulbous, the bulb margined by the remains of the membranous volva. =Spores= broadly elliptical, 5–6×4µ.

=Pileus= about 1 in. broad. =Stem= 8–12 lines long, 1–2 lines thick.

Grassy ground. Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county. September. _Mrs. Anthony._ _Peck_, 50th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Edibility not tested.

=A. pubes´cens= Schw.—downy. =Pileus= yellow, covered with a thin pubescence, margin involute. =Stem= short, about 1 in. in length, at first white becoming yellowish, bulbous, bulb thick. =Volva= evanescent. =Gills= white.

In grassy grounds. Rare.

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_.

=A. agglutina´ta= B. and C.—viscid. =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad, white, hemispheric then plane, viscid, areolate-scaly from the remains of the volva, margin thin, sulcate. =Stem= .5–1.5 in. long, 2 lines thick, short, solid, bulbous. =Volva= with a free margin. =Gills= broad, ventricose, rotundate-free. =Spores= elliptic.

In pine woods.

North Carolina, _Curtis_.

Resembling some of the dwarf forms of A. vaginata but at once distinguished by its solid stem and decidedly viscid, areolate-squamose pileus. Am. Jour. Sci. and Arts, 1848.

FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE. 1. LEPIOTA AMERICANA, 48 3. LEPIOTA CEPAESTIPES, 46 2. LEPIOTA NAUCINOIDES, 45 4. AMANITA RUBESCENS, 21

=LEPIO´TA= Fr.

_Lepis_, a scale.

(Plate XI.)

=Pileus= _generally scaly_ from the breaking up of the cuticle and the adherence of the concrete veil. =Gills= free, often very distant from the stem and attached to a _cartilaginous_ collar. =Stem= hollow or stuffed, its flesh distinct from that of the pileus. =Ring= at first attached to the cuticle of the pileus, often movable, sometimes evanescent.

On the ground. Several are found in hot-houses and hot-beds, and are probably introduced species.

The universal veil, covering the entire plant when very young, is closely applied to the pileus, which from the breaking up of the cuticle is generally scaly. The =stem= in most species differs in substance from the pileus. This is readily seen by splitting the plant in half from cap to base. It is easily separated from the cap, leaving a cup-like depression therein. =Gills= usually white. In some species they are yellow-tinted. In others they become a dingy red when wounded or ageing.

The veil in this genus, being concrete with the cuticle of the pileus, never appears as loose warts or patches, neither is there a volva as in Amanita and Amanitopsis. These three genera are the only ones in the white-spored series having gills free from the stem. In a few species the gills are slightly attached to the stem, but are never decurrent upon it as in Armillaria. When the plant is young it is egg-shaped. It then gradually spreads, becomes convex, and opens until it is nearly flat, with a knob in the center.

The only species in this genus known to be poisonous to some persons is L. Morgani Pk., which is distinguished by its green spores and white gills becoming green. L. Vittadini has also been regarded with suspicion.

ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.

_A._ PILEUS DRY.

PROCERI (_L. procera_). Page 35.

=Ring= movable. The plant is at first entirely enclosed in a universal veil, which splits around at the base, the lower part disappearing on the bulb, the upper part attached to the pileus breaking up into scales. =Stem= encircled at the top with a cartilaginous collar to which the free, remote gills are attached.

CLYPEOLARII (_L. clypeolaria_). Page 39.

Ring fixed, attached to the upper portion of the universal veil which _sheaths the stem_ from the base upward, making it downy or scaly below the ring. The remainder of the veil united with the pileus breaking up and becoming downy or scaly. Collar at the apex of stem not so large as in Proceri, hence the gills are not usually so remote. Taste and smell unpleasant, resembling that of radishes.

ANNULOSI (_annulus_, a ring). Page 44.

Ring _fixed_, somewhat persistent, universal veil closely attached to the pileus. Collar absent or similar in texture to the stem. =Stem=, _not sheathed_.

GRANULOSI (_L. granulosa_). Page 49.

Pileus _granular or warty_. Universal veil sheathing the stem, at first continuous from the stem to the pileus, finally rupturing, forming a ring nearer the base. Stem not so distinctly different from the pileus as in other sections.

MESOMORPHI (_L. mesomorpha_).

Small, slender, stem hollow. Pileus _smooth, dry_.

_B._ PILEUS VISCID. NEITHER SCALY NOR WARTY.

_A._ PILEUS DRY.

PROCE´RI. Ring movable, etc.

=L. proce´ra= Scop.—_procerus_, tall. (Plate XIII, p. 34.) Tall Lepiota, Parasol Mushroom, in some localities Pasture Mushroom (a misleading title).

The =Flesh= not very thick, soft, permanently white. =Pileus= at first ovate, finally expanded, cuticle soon breaking up into brown scales, excepting upon the umbo, umbo smooth, dark-brown, distinct. The caps vary in shades of brown, sometimes they have a faint tinge of lavender. =Gills= whitish, crowded, narrowing toward the stem, and very remote from it. =Stem= variable in length, often very long, tubular, at first stuffed with light fibrils, quite bulbous at base, generally spotted or scaly with peculiar snake-like markings below the ring, which is thick, firm and readily movable. When the stem is removed from pileus it leaves a deep cavity extending nearly to the cuticle.

=Pileus= 3–6 in. broad. =Stem= 5–12 in. high, about ½ in. thick.

White spores elliptical, 14–18×9–11µ _Peck_; 12–15×8–9µ _Massee_; 14×10µ _Lloyd_.

Readily known by its extremely tall stem, shaggy cap, distinct umbo and the channel between the gills and stem. Resembles no poisonous species.

Before cooking the scurf should be rubbed from the caps, which alone should be eaten, as the stem is tough. Though the flesh is thin, the gills are meaty and have a pleasant, nutty flavor. Fried in butter it has few equals. It makes a superior catsup.

=L. racho´des= Vitt. _Gr._—a ragged, tattered garment. =Pileus= very fleshy, but very soft when full grown, globose then flattened or depressed, not umbonate, at first incrusted with a _thick, rigid_, even, very smooth, bay-brown, wholly continuous _cuticle_, which remains entire at the disk but otherwise _soon becomes elegantly reticulated with cracks_; these very _readily separate_ into _persistent_, polygonal, concentric _scales_, which are revolute at the margin and attached to the surface with beautifully radiating fibers, the surface remaining coarsely fibrillose-downy. =Flesh= white, _immediately becoming saffron-red_ when broken, easily separating from the apex of the distinct stem, which is encircled with a prominent collar. =Stem= stout, at the first bulbous with a distinct margin upon the bulb, conical when young, then elongated, attenuated upward, as much as a span long, very robust, 1 in. thick, and more at the base, always even, and _without a trace of scales_ or even of fibrils although the appearance is obsoletely silky, wholly whitish, hollow within, stuffed with spider-web threads, the walls remarkably and coarsely fibrous. =Ring= movable, adhering longer to the margin of the pileus than to the apex of the stem, hence rayed with fibers at the circumference, clothed beneath with one or two zones of scales. =Gills= _very remote_, tapering toward each end or broadest at the middle, crowded, whitish, sometimes reddening. _Stevenson._

Veil remarkable in its development and thick margin.

=Spores= 6×8µ _W.G.S._

Fort Edward, _Howe_; Westfield, N.Y., _Miss L.M. Patchen_; Pennsylvania, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.

A heavier species than L. procera, of which by some writers it has been considered a variety, but it differs in the absence of umbo and flesh becoming tinged with red.

Stem is decidedly swollen downward. Veil heavy, apparently double, thickest at margin of cap to which it remains attached in heavy fragments. It tears from the stem, leaving no mark of ring.

Var. _puella´ris_ Fr.—_puella_, a girl. Smaller than typical form, shining white, pileus with downy scales. Not yet reported in America.

Edible qualities similar to those of L. procera. It is sold indiscriminately with it in London markets.

=L. excoria´ta= Schaeff.—stripped of its skin. =Flesh= spongy, rather thick, white, unchangeable. =Pileus= at first globose, then flat, hardly umbonate, pale-fawn or whitish, disk dark; cuticle thin, silky or scaly, sometimes areolate, more or less peeled toward margin, hence its name. =Gills= ventricose, white, free, somewhat remote. =Stem= attenuated, hollow or stuffed, short, scarcely bulbous, smooth, white, not spotted, very distinct from flesh of pileus. =Ring= movable but not so freely as that of L. procera.

=Stem= 1½-2½ high, less than ½ in. thick. =Pileus= 2–3 in. broad.

=Spores= 14–15×8–9µ _Massee_.

In pastures or grassy lawns. May to September.

North Carolina, edible, _Curtis_; Massachusetts, _Frost_; California, _H. and M._; Ohio, _Morgan_; Minnesota, _Johnson_.

Distinguished from the preceding by its smaller size and short stem which is scarcely bulbous.

Esculent qualities good.

=L. mastoi´dea= Fr. _Gr._—breast-shaped. =Pileus= rather thin, ovate, bell-shaped, then flattened, with a conspicuous acute umbo, cuticle thin, brownish, breaking up in minute scattered scales; the pileus appears whitish beneath. =Stem= hollow, smooth, tough, flexible, attenuated from the bulbous base to the apex. =Ring= entire, movable. =Gills= very remote, crowded, broad, tapering at both ends, white.

=Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 3–4 lines thick at base, 1½-2 lines at apex.

North Carolina, edible, _Curtis_. It is generally eaten in Europe. In woods, especially about old stumps. October.

The entire plant is whitish and is well marked by the prominent umbo, which generally has a depression around it. It has the least substance of any in this section, and consequently not much value as food.

=L. gracilen´ta= Krombh.—_gracilis_, slender. =Pileus= rather fleshy, thickest at the disk, ovate then bell-shaped, finally flattened, obscurely umbonate; at first brownish from the adnate cuticle, which, breaking up into broad adpressed scales, allows the whitish pileus to be seen beneath them. =Gills= remote, very broad, crowded, pallid. =Stem= whitish, obscurely scaly, hollow or containing slight fibrils, slightly bulbous. =Ring= thin, floccose, vanishing.

=Stem= 5–6 in. long, 3–5 lines thick. In pastures, also in woods.

=Spores= 11×8µ _W.G.S._

Almost as tall as L. procera, but slighter in stem and pileus; the ring, instead of being firm and persistent, is thin and fugacious, and the stem is hardly bulbous.

Edible, but not of the first quality.