=Bundled Stump-mushroom.= Fig. 1.
(_Agaricus_ [_Hypholoma_] _fascicularis._) 331.
This species occurs everywhere at the bases of old stumps, always
in groups. The stem is hollow, and the gills are greenish and
sub-deliquescent. There is a heavy odour attached to it, and the taste
is bitter and repulsive.
=Red Juice-Mushroom.= Fig. 2.
(_Hygrophorus conicus._) 482.
This truly handsome fungus is common in pastures and roadsides. It
turns purple-black when bruised, broken, or old, and it has a strong
and very forbidding odour.
It is of a succulent substance, and is not unfrequently a brilliant
yellow or deep orange, in place of crimson or scarlet.
[Illustration]
=Trellised Clathrus.= Fig. 3.
(_Clathrus cancellatus._) 917.
I am indebted to the late Mrs. Gulson, of Eastcliff, near Teignmouth,
Devon, for the original plant from which this figure was taken. It is
of extreme beauty and rarity, seldom occurring in this country, but
common enough in the south of Europe.
The fetor exhaled from this species is highly disagreeable, and can
be compared with nothing but itself. It is so horribly repulsive and
loathsome as to make a mere examination of the plant a matter of the
greatest difficulty. In the young state the odour is less strong, or
altogether absent.
=Fetid Leather-fungus.= Fig. 4.
(_Thelephora palmata._) 760.
This soft fungus bears a distant resemblance to some species of
Clavaria. It is uncommon, grows upon the ground, and possesses a very
disagreeable odour.
=Olive-gilled Mushroom.= Fig. 5.
(_Agaricus_ [_Hypholoma_] _sublateritius._) 328.
This plant is allied to fig. 1, and, like it, grows upon old stumps in
woods, and has, too, a disagreeable smell.
=Astringent Mushroom.= Fig. 6.
(_Panus stypticus._) 582.
Is very common on old dead trees and stumps in woods, and had better be
avoided.
=Matrix-bearing Mushroom.= Fig. 7.
(_Agaricus_ [_Amanita_] _Phalloides._) 2.
Common everywhere in woods; this handsome Agaric is known to be highly
dangerous. It is allied to fig. 8, as will be seen by glancing at the
figures.
All parts are nearly white, excepting the top, which generally takes
some pale shade of subdued yellow or green.
=Poisonous Spring Mushroom.= Fig. 8.
(_Agaricus_ [_Amanita_] _vernus._) 1.
Belonging to a very suspicious group, this Agaric is supposed to be
very poisonous. It grows in woods, _in the spring_, and is white in all
its parts.
It is rare, but I have found it close to London.
=Magpie Mushroom.= Fig. 9.
(_Coprinus picaceus._) 379.
This, too, is equally rare, though in some places, as in the
Herefordshire woods, it is by no means infrequent. It is a very
handsome but suspicious-looking plant, with the top broken up into
large patches of black and white. It grows on roadsides, and has a
disagreeable odour.
=Gloomy Tube-Mushroom.= Fig. 10.
(_Boletus luridus._) 607.
This is one of the handsomest ornaments of our woods and woody places.
The prevailing tint is umber, relieved on the under surface by bright
red, sometimes approaching crimson, or even vermilion; when broken or
bruised it rapidly changes colour to blue. It is very common in all
places where there are trees, and often comes up early in the year. It
is probably more or less poisonous, though I have known it to be eaten
without _fatal_ effects.
Mr. Penrose once found a specimen as large as a milking-stool, exactly
three feet in circumference.
=Griping Milk-Mushroom.= Fig. 11.
(_Lactarius torminosus._) 488.
This dangerous fungus is at once known by the hairy margin of the top,
which is rolled inwards. The milk that exudes when the plant is broken
is acrid and biting, and does not change colour as does fig. 11, Edible
Sheet, and figs. 20 and 28, Poisonous Sheet.
Though said to be common, I think it is somewhat rare; it now and then
occurs in solitary specimens in the woods and open places near London.
=Ruddy Milk-Mushroom.= Fig. 12.
(_Lactarius rufus._) 512.
This is one of the most deadly of all British fungi, and generally
grows in fir woods; the white milk is singularly acrid and corrosive,
which is perhaps its best distinguishing mark. It bears some
resemblance to fig. 26, Edible Sheet, but the milk of the _L. volemum_
is mild, and changes colour to dark brown when exposed to the action of
the air; whilst in _L. rufus_ it remains white, and the milk is highly
pungent.
=Fly Mushroom.= Fig. 13.
(_Agaricus_ [_Amanita_] _muscarius._) 3.
Few fungi can exceed this well-known species in beauty. It is somewhat
local, and loves birch woods, where it sometimes makes the very ground
almost scarlet with its profuse growth. Sometimes the top is deep
yellow or orange, but it is usually brilliant scarlet; if the top skin
is stripped off, the flesh just beneath is seen to be bright yellow,
and the rest of the flesh white. It is allied to fig. 1, Edible Sheet,
but the flesh of the latter is not yellow under the skin; and _A.
rubescens turns reddish_ in every part as soon as bruised or broken.
=Poisonous Forest Mushroom.= Fig. 14.
(_Agaricus_ [_Entoloma_] _sinuatus._) 212.
Without doubt, this is a very poisonous plant, for I once cooked a very
small piece of a specimen for luncheon, and was very nearly poisoned to
death thereby.
I did not eat a twentieth part of the specimen gathered—I am sure
not so much as a quarter of an ounce—and the taste was by no means
disagreeable. But mark the result. (It must be borne in mind, too,
that though I fell so dangerously ill, I never till the last moment
_suspected the fungus_. Such a confirmed toadstool-eater was I, that I
laid my symptoms to anything but the true cause.)
About a quarter of an hour after luncheon _I left home_, and was
immediately overtaken by a strange nervous, gloomy, low-spirited
feeling quite new to me. Soon a severe headache added its charms to my
feelings, and then swimming of the brain commenced, with violent pains
in the stomach.
I had now great difficulty to keep upon my legs at all; my senses
all appeared leaving me, and every object appeared to be moving with
_death-like stillness_ from side to side, up and down, or round and
round.
More dead than alive, I soon returned home, and was horrified to find
_two others_ (whom I had invited to partake of my repast) in exactly
the same condition as myself. At this moment, and not before, I thought
of _Agaricus sinuatus_. These two others had suffered precisely as I
had done, and we all three were apparently dying fast. They, however,
were attacked by violent vomiting, which I imagine helped to hasten
their recovery; for after a few days of sickness and nausea (with
medical assistance) they got well; but it was not so with me; for
although I had at first the inclination, I had not the strength left
to vomit. During the latter part of the first day I was, however, so
continually and fearfully purged, and suffered so much from headache
and swimming of the brain, that I really thought every moment would be
my last.
I was very ill for the next four or five days; suffered from loathing
and lassitude; fell into deep sleep, long and troubled; at times found
all my joints quite stiff; at others, found everything swimming before
me; and it was not till a fortnight had elapsed that every bodily
derangement had left me.
Fig. 14 is a portrait of the plant in question, taken before the
culinary operations were commenced. No one, after seeing this picture,
can fail to recognize the thing itself if found. It is large, has dull
flesh-coloured gills, the top is a little downy, it smells like meal,
and grows in woods.
It can always be found sparingly in autumn in the woods north of London.
=Fiery Milk-Mushroom.= Fig. 15.
(_Lactarius piperatus._) 500.
I imagine there are very few species in this country more dangerous
than this one. So essentially and powerfully acrid is the milk, that
if it be allowed to trickle over tender hands it will sting like the
contact of nettles; and if a drop is placed on the lips or tongue, the
sensation is like the scalding of boiling water, or the burning of a
red-hot iron.
It is common in all woods; is particularly firm and solid, but rather
brittle. In colour it is sometimes as white as snow, at others it
inclines a little to cream; the milk is white and unchangeable, and
usually abundant.
=Fetid Mushroom.= Fig. 16.
(_Russula fœtens._) 530.
Less rigid than other _Russulæ_, brittle, and sticky in all its parts,
always slug-eaten, and possessed of a wet insufferable odour that can
be likened to nothing in nature, this species cannot in reason be
anything but deleterious and pernicious to human life. Slugs certainly
highly relish it; for although it is one of our commonest species, yet
it is invariably much eaten by slugs: frequently the gills are covered
with these creatures, or are even completely eaten away.
=Blood-stained Mushroom.= Fig. 17.
(_Russula sanguinea._) 518.
This acrid species of Russula, sometimes found in woods, is by no
means uncommon; its well-marked blood-red top and _firm substance_ at
once distinguish it from other species. The gills are white, and run a
little down the stem.
=Livid Milk-Mushroom.= Fig. 18.
(_Lactarius pyrogalus._) 498.
The highly acrid white milk abundantly exuded from this plant, its
depressed and zoned top, its peculiar livid coloration and yellowish
gills, distinguish it from the other milk-mushrooms.
It grows in woods and meadows.
=False Chantarelle.= Fig. 19.
(_Cantharellus aurantiacus._) 540.
Is known by its smaller size, its gills being far thinner and more
crowded than in the true chantarelle; the stem frequently deep umber at
the base, and the gills or veins darker than the top.
It is a species to be rejected for culinary purposes.
=Yellow Milk-Mushroom.= Fig. 20.
(_Lactarius theiogalus._) 503.
This is a beautiful plant, with an odour that is far from disagreeable.
It is _sometimes_ without the zones on the top which are shown in our
figure, but it is immediately known by the change of colour which
takes place in the milk on breaking the fungus; this is at first pure
white, but in less than a minute the milk turns to a brilliant yellow.
It is not uncommon, and may generally be found at Hampstead in the
woods; and it is supposed to be poisonous.
=Emetic Mushroom.= Fig. 21.
(_Russula emetica._) 528.
This is a magnificent but certainly rare species, but it has a very bad
name, and is supposed to possess highly dangerous qualities. The skin
is scarlet, and may be readily peeled off, and then the pink flesh is
displayed beneath, which is its great characteristic; the gills are
pure white, and do not reach the stem; the top is highly polished, and
varies from scarlet and crimson to a faint rose-colour, and may now and
then be found shaded with purple.
It attains a large size, and loves damp places in woods, and the
neighbourhood of trees.
=Slimy Dung-Mushroom.= Fig. 22.
(_Agaricus_ [_Psalliota_] _semiglobatus._) 327.
This extremely common little sticky Agaric grows in pastures, on dung,
everywhere; the stem is covered with a glutinous thick slime.
It is regarded as poisonous.
=Sulphury Mushroom.= Fig. 23.
(_Agaricus_ [_Tricholoma_] _sulfureus._) 55.
In woody places at the south of London this very disagreeable
but handsome species now and then puts in an appearance. It has
a particularly nasty penetrating smell, which has been compared
with “gas-tar.” The stem is firm, as is the whole plant, and
sulphur-coloured.
It is probably a very dangerous species, but I have seldom met with it.
=Incrusted Mushroom.= Fig. 24.
(_Agaricus_ [_Hebelonia_] _crustuliniformis._) 278.
Growing in woods, this deleterious species is extremely common, and
without doubt very dangerous. The dirty pale-umber gills, and its
habitat and time of growth—viz. the autumn—at once distinguish it from
the delicious _A. gambosus_, fig. 19, Edible Sheet. It has a powerful
and highly disagreeable odour, and brown spores, and we believe it is
often mistaken by the ignorant for the true mushroom.
=Verdigris Mushroom.= Fig. 25.
(_Agaricus_ [_Psalliota_] _æruginosus._) 322.
The verdigris-green colour of the top of this mushroom is not
permanent, but consists of green slime that soon gets washed off by the
rain, flaked with white scales. The stem is hollow, and the top fleshy.
It generally grows about stumps, is a very handsome fungus, and is
doubtless poisonous.
=Fiery Tube-Mushroom.= Fig. 26.
(_Boletus piperatus._) 597.
Never attains a larger size than the specimen on the sheet; indeed it
is one of the smallest of all the _Boleti_. The taste is highly acrid;
it is therefore looked upon with grave suspicion, and it is probably a
very dangerous plant.
It grows in woods, but is rare.
=Satanical Tube-Mushroom.= Fig. 27.
(_Boletus Satanas._) 606.
The specimen figured I gathered in Crab-tree Wood, near Winchester,
during an architectural excursion to St. Cross. I have only once
seen anything of it elsewhere, though my late friend Mrs. Gulson, of
Eastcliff, has sent it on to me several times from the neighbourhood of
Teignmouth.
Without doubt it is by far the most splendid of all the _Boleti_. The
top is nearly white, very fleshy, and a little viscid; the stem is
firm, exquisitely coloured, and beautifully reticulated; the under
surface is brilliant crimson. It usually attains a large size, grows in
woods, and as soon as broken or bruised, changes to blue.
In all likelihood it is highly poisonous.
=Pungent Milk-Mushroom.= Fig. 28.
(_Lactarius acris._) 505.
As its name indicates, this is a very acrid and dangerous fungus. It
is said to be rare, but I have sometimes known it to be extremely
abundant in the woods near London. When cut or broken, the flesh and
white milk change to a dull-sienna red; this distinguishes it from all
other mushrooms. To observe the change of colour it requires at times a
little patience; for I have known half an hour, or even an hour, elapse
before the change of colour is manifest.
=Bitter Tube-Mushroom.= Fig. 29.
(_Boletus felleus._) 617.
Said to be rare, but generally abundant in Epping Forest. I have found
it in abundance in Nottinghamshire, and know it well; it was the first
Boletus I ever drew, and I was then nearly eating it for _Boletus
edulis_.
The bitter taste of _B. felleus_, the _flesh-coloured tubes_, the
flesh-colour of the top when broken, the reticulated stem, and the pink
spores are the distinguishing marks of this species. It is poisonous.
=False Champignon.= Fig. 30.
(_Marasmius urens._) 550.
The more slender habit, the mealy stem, white downy base, and the
narrower, darker, and crowded gills, distinguish this counterfeit from
the true champignon (fig. 28, Edible Sheet). It sometimes accompanies
the latter plant, but with ordinary care can be detected in a moment.
It grows in _woods_, as well as in pastures and by roadsides.
I think I was once poisoned by it in Bedfordshire. I well remember,
on my way home late one evening, gathering a quantity of champignons
for supper; and as it was dark, I imagine I must have gathered both
species. I did not cook them myself, neither did I examine them after
they were taken from the basket; but I noticed at supper-time that they
were unusually hot, and I thought the old woman who cooked them had put
too much pepper into the stew. I never suspected the fungi.
In about half an hour after partaking of them my head began to ache, my
brain to swim, and my throat and stomach to burn, as if in contact with
fire. After being ill for some hours, a terrible fit of purging and
vomiting set in, which appeared soon to set me to rights; for after a
day or so I was no worse for it.
=Fetid Wood-Witch.= Fig. 31.
(_Phallus impudicus._) 914.
This is a great ornament to our woods, but its truly horrible effluvia
beggars description; the nasal organs detect its presence at a long
distance, and when neared the loathsome odour is indescribably
revolting. Flies, however, appear to highly relish it; for these
_Phalli_ are invariably covered with flies, who greedily devour the
odorous and liquid repast found at the top of the stem. It is most
abundant at woody places in the north of London, all through the summer
till the late autumn.
Had not this species really been eaten, with several other singular,
offensive, and dangerous fungi figured on this sheet, it would have
been hardly necessary to figure or refer to it at all.