this fungus takes its name. The dense clusters are graceful, dainty, and
contain many individuals of all ages—from the very young with egg-shaped
heads, like pigmy C. comatus, to the fluff-capped eldest, willowy and
fair to look upon. The out-door kind soon droops when matured; the young
plants of a cluster will remain fresh for several days after taken from
their habitat. Stems in these tufts are often quill-shaped, and the
striations on the cap margins are shorter than those on their indoor
cousins. These grow in hot-houses and stables. One of the two forms has
a yellow cap, the other is white and fair.
These forms have often come to my table as a pleasant winter surprise.
Children in the hot-houses of Haddonfield, N.J., watched for its
appearance among the bedded plants, sure of a present when they brought
me a meal of it. Both the white and yellow varieties were equally
enjoyed.
The entire fungus is tender and delicious cooked in any way.
=L. farino´sa= Pk.—_farina_, meal. =Pileus= thin, rather tough,
flexible, at first globose or ovate, then bell-shaped or convex, covered
with a soft, dense, white veil of mealy down, which soon ruptures,
forming irregular, easily-detersible scales, more persistent and
sometimes brownish on the disk. =Flesh= white, unchangeable. =Gills=
close, free, white, minutely downy on the edge. =Stem= equal or slightly
tapering upward, somewhat thickened at the base, slightly mealy, often
becoming glabrous, hollow or with a cottony pith above, solid at the
base, white, pallid or straw-colored, the ring lacerated, somewhat
appendiculate on the margin of the pileus, evanescent. =Spores=
subovate, 10–13×8µ.
=Pileus= 1.5–2.5 in. broad. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 2–4 lines thick.
Mushroom beds in a conservatory, Boston, Mass. March. Communicated by
_E.J. Forster_.
This species is related to L. cepæstipes, from which it may be
distinguished by its pileus, which is not folded on the margin, and by
its larger spores. It is edible. It is very distinct from Amanita
farinosa. _Peck_, 43d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Ohio, _Lloyd_, _Prof. William Miller_ (Lloyd Myc. Notes).
=L. America´na= Pk. (Plate XII, fig. 1, p. 32. Plate XV_a_.) =Pileus= at
first ovate, then convex or expanded, umbonate, scaly, white, the umbo
and scales reddish or reddish-brown. =Gills= close, free, white. =Stem=
somewhat thickened at or a little above the base, hollow, bearing a
ring, white. =Spores= subelliptical, uninucleate, 8–10×5–8µ.
The American lepiota belongs to the same genus as the parasol mushroom
and the Smooth lepiota. It has one character in which it differs from
all other species of Lepiota. The whole plant when fresh is white,
except the umbo and the scales of the cap, but in drying it assumes a
dull reddish or smoky-red color. By this character it is easily
recognized.
In the very young plant the cap is somewhat egg-shaped and nearly
covered by the thin reddish-brown cuticle, but as the plant enlarges the
cuticle separates and forms the scales that adorn the cap. On the
central prominence or umbo, however, it usually remains entire. The
margin of the cap is thin and is generally marked with short radiating
lines or striations. The gills do not quite reach the stem and are,
therefore, free from it. Sometimes they are connected with each other at
or near their inner extremity by transverse branches. They are a little
broader near the margin of the cap than at their inner extremity. The
stem affords a peculiar feature. It is often enlarged towards the base
and then abruptly narrowed below the enlargement, as in the
Onion-stemmed lepiota. In some instances, however, the enlargement is
not contracted below and then the stem gradually tapers from the base
upward. The stem is hollow and usually furnished with a collar, but
sometimes this is thin and may disappear with advancing age. Wounds or
bruises are apt to assume brownish-red hues.
The caps vary in width from 1–4 in.; the stems are from 3–5 in. long,
and 2–5 lines thick. Sometimes plants attain even larger dimensions than
these. The plants grow singly or in tufts in grassy ground or on old
stumps. They may be found from July to October.
[Illustration:
Photographed by Dr. J.R. Weist. PLATE XV_a_.
LEPIOTA AMERICANA.
]
In flavor this species is not much inferior to the parasol mushroom, but
when cooked in milk or cream it imparts its own reddish color to the
material in which it is cooked. It is, however, a fine addition to our
list of esculent species. _Peck_, 49th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
I found several on a decaying willow trunk, and on the ground beside it,
in Philadelphia. In July, 1898, large quantities, often clustered, grew
under the great, open auditorium of the Pennsylvania Chautauqua, at Mt.
Gretna, Pa., from ground covered with crushed limestone.
The caps are meaty and excellent in flavor. They should be broiled or
fried.
GRANULOSI. Pileus granular or warty. Stem sheathed, etc.
=L. granulo´sa= Batsch.—_granosus_, full of grains. =Pileus= thin,
convex or nearly plane, sometimes almost umbonate, rough, with numerous
granular or branny scales, often radiately wrinkled, rusty-yellow or
reddish-yellow, often growing paler with age. =Flesh= white or
reddish-tinged. =Gills= close, rounded behind and usually slightly
adnexed, white. =Stem= equal or slightly thickened at the base, stuffed
or hollow, white above the ring, colored and adorned like the pileus
below it. =Ring= slight, evanescent. =Spores= elliptical 4–5×3–4µ.
=Plant= 1–2.5 in. high. =Pileus= 1–2.5 in. broad. =Stem= 1–3 lines
thick. Woods, copses and waste places. Common. August to October.
This is a small species with a short stem and granular reddish-yellow
pileus, and gills slightly attached to the stem, a character by which it
differs from all the preceding. The ring is very small and fugacious,
being little more than the abrupt termination to the coating of the
stem. _Peck_, 35th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
=Spores= 5–6×3µ _B._; 3×4µ _W.G.S._; elliptical, 4–5×3–4µ _Peck_.
Var. _rufes´cens_ B. and Br. Pure white at first, then partially turning
red and in drying acquiring everywhere a reddish tint.
Var. _al´bida_ Pk. Persistently white.
Though small many plants grow neighboring. Being fleshy for their size,
and of pleasing quality, they well repay gathering. Remove stems.
Open woods, Angora, West Philadelphia; Haddonfield, New Jersey,
_McIlvaine_.
_A._ CUTICLE VISCID. NEITHER SCALY NOR WARTY.
=L. delica´ta= Fr.—_delicatus_, delicate. Up to 1½ in. across, reddish,
becoming yellowish toward margin. Flesh well proportioned to cap,
convex, obscurely umbonate, glabrous, slightly viscid. =Stem= 1½-2 in.
long, very thin, but covered with dense downy scales, equal, lighter
than cap. =Ring= usually entire, membranaceous, fluffy from scales.
=Gills= free, crowded, ventricose, white.
Haddonfield, N.J., January, 1896–97, in hot-houses. _McIlvaine._
A delicate, delicious Lepiota. Though small, it is meaty. Its appearance
in hot-houses (it is found in woods) insures a crop at a time of year
when other species are not plentiful, and when anything edible in the
toadstool line is most welcome to their lovers.
=L. lenticula´ris= Lasch.—_lenticula_, a lentil. =Pileus= at first
globose, then convex, even, naked, pinkish-tan color. =Flesh= thick,
spongy, white. =Gills= close to stem, but free from it, ventricose,
crowded, whitish. =Stem= 4–6 in. high, thick, equal or swollen at base,
solid but spongy, more or less covered with scales; above the ring it is
frequently covered with drops of water more or less green, which leave
spots when they dry. =Veil= superior and very large.
=Pileus= 3–4 in. across. =Stem= 4–6 in. long, ½ in. and more thick. In
damp woods.
Redman’s Woods, Haddonfield, N.J. September, 1894. _McIlvaine._
This species is included in Amanita by Fries and Stevenson. Massee
places it in Lepiota. In the dozen or more specimens I have found, there
was no trace of a volva, even when very young. I tested it carefully and
at one time ate three good-sized caps without experiencing any
indications of poison. I have seen it during but one season and not then
(at one time) in sufficient quantity to make a meal off it. Cooked it
has a slight cheesy flavor which is pleasant.
=L. illi´nita= Fr.—_illino_, to smear over. =Pileus= rather thin, soft,
at first ovate, then campanulate or expanded, subumbonate, smooth,
white, very viscid or glutinous, even or striate on the margin. =Gills=
close, free, white. =Stem= equal or slightly tapering upward, stuffed or
hollow, viscid, white. =Spores= broadly elliptical, 5×4µ broad.
=Plant= 2–4 in. high. =Pileus= 1–2.5 in. broad. =Stem= 2–3 lines thick.
Thin or open woods. Adirondack mountains. July to September.
This is a smooth white species with the stem and pileus clothed with a
clear viscid or glutinous veil. The margin of the pileus is often even,
but the typical form of the species has it striate. The flesh is soft
and white. The species may be distinguished from the viscid white
species of Hygrophorus by the free, not adnate nor decurrent lamellæ.
_Peck_, 35th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Springton and Mt. Gretna, Pa., 1887–1897. _McIlvaine._
Not yet found by me in quantity. Several specimens eaten were of good
flavor.
=L. rugulo´sa= Pk. =Pileus= thin, submembranaceous, broadly convex or
nearly plane, umbonate, rugulose, widely striate on the margin, whitish.
=Lamellæ= thin, narrow, close, free, whitish. =Stem= short, equal,
slightly silky, whitish, the annulus thin, persistent, white. =Spores=
elliptic, 7.5µ long, 4µ broad.
=Pileus= 12–20 mm. broad. =Stem= about 2.5 cm. long, 2 mm. thick.
Moist grassy places under trees. Washington, D.C. July. _Mrs. E.M.
Williams._ Perhaps in the fresh state the pileus is not as distinctly
rugulose as when dry. _Peck_, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 27, January,
1900.
[Illustration]
=ARMILLA´RIA= Fr.
_Armilla_, a ring.
(Plate XVII.)
[Illustration: ARMILLARIA MELLEA.]
=Pileus= and =Stem= continuous. =Veil= partial, sometimes only indicated
by the scales which clothe the stem terminating in the form of a ring.
=Spores= white. On the ground or on stumps.
In the young plant the veil extends from the stem to the pileus,
sometimes forming scaly patches upon it; below the ring it is attached
to the stem often in scales.
But for the presence of the ring the species of this genus could be
distributed in Tricholoma, Clitocybe and Collybia, with which they agree
in all other characters.
In Amanita and Lepiota, the other ringed genera of the white-spored
series, the flesh of the stem and pileus is not continuous; and their
stems are therefore easily separated. Amanita is also distinguished by
its volva.
ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.
TRICHOLOMATA. Page 52.
Gills sinuately adnexed, stem fleshy, ring often evanescent. (Like
Tricholoma.)
CLITOCYBÆ. Page 55.
Gills not sinuate, more or less decurrent, narrowed behind; ring
permanent. (Resembling Clitocybe.)
COLLYBLÆ. Page 58.
Gills adnate, equal behind; stem somewhat cartilaginous outside; ring
permanent. (Resembling Collybia.)
[Illustration: Grouped by F.D. Briscoe—Studies by C. McIlvaine and Val
Starnes. PLATE XVI.]
FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.
1. Armillaria mellea, 55 3–4. Lentinus 230
lepideus,
2. Armillaria mellea var. 56
exannulata,
I.—TRICHOLOMATA. Gills sinuately adnexed, etc.
=A. robus´ta= A. and S.—_robustus_, robust, sturdy. Substance of entire
plant compact. =Pileus= 2–3 in. across, varying in shades of gray and
brown, scaly, fibrillose on margin, decreasing toward center or smooth,
convex or top-shaped and margin involute at first, expanding. =Flesh=
firm, very thick. =Gills= broad, emarginate, nearly free, crowded,
whitish, up to ½ in. broad. =Veil= large, membranaceous, sometimes
floccose, remaining adherent to the stem. =Stem= 1–2 in. long, obese,
solid, tapering at the base, brownish-white and fibrillose below veil,
white and flocculose above, flesh of stem continuous with that of the
cap.
Stevenson gives var. _minor_ with even cap with both gills and ring very
narrow.
=Spores= ovoid-spherical. 7µ. _Q._
Edible, _Curtis_; District Columbia, _Mrs. M. Fuller_.
In mixed woods. Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.
The substance of A. robusta differs from all other Armillaria in being
very compact. It is not acrid but has a marked flavor. Cut into small
pieces and well cooked it makes an acceptable dish. It is best in
croquettes and patties, or served with meats.
=A. viscid´ipes= Pk.—_viscidus_, sticky; _pes_, a foot. =Pileus= fleshy,
compact, convex or nearly plane, glabrous, whitish with a slight
yellowish or reddish-yellow tint. =Flesh= white, odor peculiar,
penetrating, sub-alkaline. =Gills= narrow, crowded, sinuate or
subdecurrent, whitish. =Stem= equal, solid, viscid and slightly tinged
with yellow below the narrow membranous ring, whitish above. =Spores=
elliptical, 8×5µ.
=Pileus= 3–6 in. broad. =Stem= 3–4 in. long, 6–12 lines thick.
In mixed woods. Rock City, Dutchess county. October.
It is a large fine fungus, easily known by its white and yellowish hues,
its crowded gills, viscid stem and peculiar penetrating almost alkaline
odor. The cuticle of the pileus is thin and soft to the touch, but it
sometimes cracks longitudinally and is sometimes slightly adorned with
innate fibrils. A. dehiscens is said to have a viscid stem, but it is
also squamose and the pileus is yellowish-ochraceous. _Peck_, 44th Rep
N.Y. State Bot.
Quite common in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. _McIlvaine._
It loses its strong odor when cooked and is equal to other Armillaria in
edibility. Unless well cooked it has a slight saponaceous flavor. This
is easily overcome by a few drops of lemon juice or sherry.
=A. appendicula´ta= Pk.—bearing an appendicula or small appendage.
=Pileus= broadly convex, glabrous, whitish, often tinged with rust color
or brownish rust color on the disk. =Flesh= white or whitish. =Gills=
close, rounded behind, whitish. =Stem= equal or slightly tapering
upward, solid, bulbous, whitish, the veil either membranous or webby,
white, commonly adhering in fragments to the margin of the pileus.
=Spores= subelliptical, 8×5µ.
=Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–3.5 in. long; 5–10 lines thick.
Auburn, Ala. October. _C.F. Baker._
The general appearance of this species is suggestive of Tricholoma
album, but the presence of a veil separates it from that fungus and
places it in the genus Armillaria. The veil, however, is often slightly
lacerated or webby and adherent to the margin of the pileus. _Peck_,
Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 24.
Mt. Gretna, Pa., Angora, Pa. On decaying roots in ground. August to
November. Found plentifully in resorts of other Armillaria. Edibility
the same. _McIlvaine._
=A. pondero´sa= Pk.—_ponderosus_, weighty, ponderous. =Pileus= thick,
compact, convex or subcampanulate, smooth, white or yellowish, the naked
margin strongly involute beneath the slightly viscid, persistent veil.
=Gills= crowded, narrow, slightly emarginate, white inclining to cream
color. =Stem= stout, subequal, firm, solid, coated by the veil, colored
like the pileus, white and furfuraceous above the ring. =Flesh= white.
=Spores= nearly globose, 4µ in diameter.
=Plant= 4–6 in. high. =Pileus= 4–6 in. broad. =Stem= about 1 in. thick.
Ground in woods. Copake, Columbia county. October.
The veil for a long time conceals the gills, and finally becomes
lacerated and adheres in shreds or fragments to the stem and margin of
the pileus. _Peck_, 26th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
New England, _Frost_; New York, _Peck_, Repts. 26, 29, 41. West Virginia
and Pennsylvania. Ground in woods. September to November. _McIlvaine._
Professor Peck says in 26th Report: “This species has not been found
since its discovery in 1872.”
Where the Armillaria mellea frequents I have often found A. ponderosa.
It was plentiful at Mt. Gretna, Pa., in September, 1898. Young specimens
are quite as edible as A. mellea, and rather more juicy.
II.—CLITOCYBÆ. Gills not sinuate, etc.
=A. mel´lea= Vahl.—_melleus_, of the color of honey. (Plate XVI, fig. 1,
p. 52.) =Pileus= adorned with minute tufts of brown or blackish hairs,
sometimes glabrous, even or when old slightly striate on the margin.
=Gills= adnate or slightly decurrent, white or whitish, becoming sordid
with age and sometimes variegated with reddish-brown spots. =Stem=
ringed, at length brownish toward the base. =Spores= elliptical, white,
8–10µ long. _Peck_, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
=Spores= 9×5–6µ _W.G.S._; 10×8µ _B._; 8–10µ _Peck_.
The A. mellea is unusually prolific and is common over the United States
and Europe. Specimens may be found in the spring-time, but in middle
latitudes it is common from August until after light frosts. It is
usually in tufts, some of which contain scores of plants and are showy
over ground filled with roots, or on stumps or boles of decaying trees.
It frequents dense woods and open clearings. I have seen acres of dense
woodland at Mt. Gretna, Pa., so covered with it and its varieties that
but few square yards were unoccupied.
A description of the typical A. mellea will rarely apply to any one
plant. A combination of its variable features in one description would
include something of nearly every white-spored Agaric under the sun. Yet
there is something indescribable about it which once learned will
unerringly betray it.
Its =Caps= vary from perfectly smooth, through tufts of scales and
hairs, more or less dense, to matted woolliness. It may show any one of
these conditions in youth and be bald in age. Some shade of yellow is
the prevailing color, but this will vary from whitish to dark-purplish
or reddish-brown. When water-soaked it is one color, when dry, another.
Commonly the margins of the =Caps= are striated, sometimes they are
smooth as a cymbal, and not unlike one, have a raised place or umbo in
the center. =Flesh= white or whitish. =Gills= when young are white or
creamy, usually running down the stem, sometimes slightly notched at
attachment. They freckle in age and lose their fair complexion. The
=Veil= or collar about the stem is as variable as fashion—thick and
closely woven or flimsy as gossamer, or vanishing as the plant grows
old. The =Stems= may be even as a lead pencil, or swollen like a
pen-holder, or bulbous toward the base, or distorted by pressure in the
tufts. It is as variable in color as the cap, usually darkening downward
in hues of brown. The outside is firm and fibrous, sometimes furrowed,
inside soft or hollow.
=Cap= 1–6 in. across. =Stem= 1–6 in. long, ¼-¾ in. thick.
Var. _obscu´ra_ has the cap covered with numerous small blackish scales.
Var. _fla´va_ has the cap yellow or reddish-yellow, but in other
respects it is like the type.
Var. _gla´bra_ has the cap smooth, otherwise like the type.
Var. _radica´ta_ has a tapering, root-like prolongation of the stem,
which penetrates the earth deeply.
Var. _bulbo´sa_ has a distinctly bulbous base to the stem, and in this
respect is the reverse of var. radicata.
Professor Peck writes: “Var. _exannulata_ (Plate XVI, fig. 2, p. 52) has
the cap smooth and even on the margin, and the stem tapering at the
base. The annulus is very slight and evanescent or wholly wanting. The
cap is usually about an inch broad, or a little more, and the plants
grow in clusters, which sometimes contain forty or fifty individuals. It
is more common farther south than it is in our state (N.Y.), and is
reported to be the most common form in Maryland. This I call var.
exannulata.” From _Dr. Taylor_, Washington, D.C.; Indiana, _H.I.
Miller_.
To these may be added also var. _al´bida_ Pk. in which the pileus is
white or whitish.
A variety, perhaps a variation of var. bulbosa was sent to me by E. B.
Sterling, Trenton, N.J., and afterward found by myself at Mt. Gretna,
Pa. The =Cap= purplish-brown, convex, striate and light on margin, edge
irregular with parts of veil attached. =Flesh= white, very thin. =Gills=
decurrent, arcuate, pinkish-gray. =Stem= stuffed, fibrous, white above,
dense floccose veil, same color as cap below, swollen toward base which
is pointed, sulcate, white inside, closely clustered and some of the
stems distinctly bulbous. =Taste= decidedly unpleasant. An intense
acridity develops and increases when the juices of raw pieces are
swallowed, and the salivary glands are much excited. The acridity is not
lost in cooking. It simply can not be eaten. Specimens were sent by me
to Professor Peck who referred it to A. mellea.
I have never seen the abortive form of Clitopilus abortivus, though
found in many places and in great quantity, showing any part or trace of
the original plant. But that a similar monstrosity occurs upon A. mellea
is shown by individuals and parts of individuals of a cluster being
aborted. Without such positive proof, no one would suspect either of
these odd formations to be abortive of either C. abortivus or A. mellea,
or any other fungus. I consider the abortive form of A. mellea far
superior in substance and flavor to it or any of its varieties.
The Armillaria can not be ranked among the tender or high-flavored
toadstools, yet their abundance, meaty caps and nourishing qualities
place them among our most valuable food species.
The caps when chopped into small pieces make good patties and
croquettes. They have an impressive flavor of their own, and offer an
esculent medium for seasoning and the gravies of various meats.
=A. nardos´mia= Ellis—_nardosmius_, of the odor of nardus. (A name
applied by the ancients to several plants, especially _spica
nardi_—spikenard.) =Pileus= fleshy, firm, thick and compact on the disk,
thin toward the margin, whitish, variegated with brown spots, with a
thick, tough and separable cuticle. =Flesh= white. =Gills= crowded,
subventricose, slightly emarginate, whitish. =Stem= solid, fibrous, not
bulbous, sheathed below by the brown velvety veil, the ring narrow,
spreading, uneven on the edge. =Spores= subglobose, 6µ in diameter.
=Pileus= about 3 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–3 in. long, 4–6 lines thick.
Ground in woods, Suffolk county. September. _Peck_, 43d Rep. N.Y. State
Bot.
Several specimens from sandy grounds in pine woods, Haddonfield, N.J.,
were sent by me to Professor Peck and were identified by him. Plentiful
at Mt. Gretna, Pa., September to frost, 1898. In mixed woods, on
gravelly ground. Eaten in quantity by several persons. _McIlvaine._
Cuticle of caps when dry breaking up into brownish, squamulose scales,
margin involute. =Gills= subdecurrent. =Veil= thick, persistent. =Stem=
short, subbulbous, solid. =Flesh= white. Very much resembles a
short-stemmed Lepiota. Smell and taste strong, like almonds. Disappears
in cooking.
III.—COLLYBIÆ. Gills adnate, stem somewhat cartilaginous.
=A. mu´cida= Schrad.—_mucidus_, slimy. =Pileus= commonly shining white,
thin, almost transparent, hemispherical then expanded, obtuse, more or
less radiato-wrinkled, smeared over with a thick tenacious gluten;
margin striate when thinner. =Stem= 1½-3 in. long, 1–2 lines thick at
the apex, thickened at the base, stuffed, thin, rigid, curved ascending,
smooth, white, but sooty scaly at the base when most perfectly
developed. =Ring= inserted at the apex of the stem, bent downward and
glued close to the stem, furrowed, the white border again erect, with a
swollen and entire margin, which sometimes becomes dingy brown. =Gills=
rounded behind, obtuse, adhering to the stem and striato-decurrent,
distant, broad, lax, mucid, always shining white.
Very variable in stature, from 1 in. (when of this size the stem is
almost equal) to as much as 6 in. broad. The color of the pileus varies
gray, fuliginous, olivaceous. The gills sometimes become yellow, but
only from disease. Sometimes solitary, sometimes a few are joined in a
cespitose manner at the base. _Stevenson._
=Spores= elliptical, 15–16×8–9µ _Massee_; 17×14µ _W.G.S._
North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania, _Schweinitz_;
Maryland, _Miss Banning_.
West Virginia mountains, 1882, Haddonfield, N.J., 1891–94, on beech
trees and roots. _McIlvaine._
Commonly considered esculent in Europe.
Dirt adheres so tenaciously to it that it is difficult to clean. This,
however, occurs only when the fungus grows from roots and pushes its way
up through covering earth. When growing from trees it is attractive and
of good quality.
Should be chopped fine and well cooked.
=TRICHOLO´MA= Fr.
_Gr._—a hair, a fringe.
(Plate XIX.)
[Illustration: SECTION OF TRICHOLOMA.]