December. _R.F. Dearborn._
This is a very interesting and an excellent mushroom. Dr. Dearborn
writes that he has used it on the table for fourteen years and that it
is the only mushroom that he has ever eaten in which the stem is as good
as the cap. He considers it the most hearty and satisfying of all the
numerous species that he has ever eaten. Both its taste and odor is
suggestive of the sea. The latter is quite strong, and perceptible by
one riding along the road by whose side the mushrooms are growing. They
sometimes grow in semicircles and attain a larger size in warm weather
than in the colder weather of autumn. They are most abundant in August.
The flesh, when cut or broken, quickly assumes a pink or reddish hue on
the freshly-exposed surface. This is a very distinctive character and
with the maritime habitat makes the species easy to recognize. Another
species, Agaricus hæmorrhoidarius Kalchb. exhibits a similar change of
color in its wounded flesh, but is of very rare occurrence with us, does
not, so far as ascertained, grow near the sea, has a darker cap and a
long hollow stem. The stem in the maritime mushroom is short and solid.
Its collar is very slight and easily destroyed. _Peck_, Bull. Torr. Bot.
Club, Vol. 26, No. 2, F. 1899.
=A. Califor´nicus= Pk.—=Pileus= at first subconical, becoming convex,
minutely silky or fibrillose, whitish, tinged with purple or
brownish-purple on the disk. =Flesh= whitish. =Gills= close, free, pink
becoming purplish, then blackish-brown. =Stem= rather long, solid or
stuffed, equal or tapering upward, distinctly and rather abruptly
narrowed above the entire externally silky ring, pallid or brownish.
=Spores= broadly elliptical, 5–6×4–5µ.
=Pileus= 1–3 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–3 in. long, 2–4 lines thick.
Under oak trees. Pasadena. January. _McClatchie._
This fungus is similar in size, shape and habitat to A. hemorrhoidarius,
but it is unlike that species in color, in the adornment of the pileus
and in its color not changing where bruised or broken. Bull. Torr. Bot.
Club, 22–5 My. 95.
=A. Elven´sis= B. and Br.—Name from river Elwy, Wales, where first
found. Tufted. =Pileus= 4–6 in. or more across, subglobose then
hemispherical, fibrillose, broken up into large persistent brown scales,
areolate in the center, margin very obtuse, thick, covered with
pyramidal warts. =Stem= at first nearly equal, at length swollen in the
center, and attenuated at the base, 4–6 in. high, 2 in. thick in the
center, fibrillose and areolate below, nearly smooth within the pileus,
solid, stuffed with delicate threads. =Ring= thick, very large,
deflexed, broken here and there, warted in areas beneath. =Gills= rather
crowded, ¼ in. broad, free, of a brownish flesh-color. =Spores= elliptic
oblong, 8×4µ.
Under oak trees, etc. Edible, delicious eating. Flesh of pileus ¾ in.
thick, red when cut. _Massee._
California, _H. and M._
Edible. _Cooke_, 1891.
=A. f[oe]dera´tus= Berk. and Mont.—confederated. =Pileus= fleshy, thin,
at first ovoid then bell-shaped, finally convex, somewhat umbilicate
with the center slightly depressed, margin hanging down (when dry
involute), fragments of the veil hanging from the margin, tawny, scaly
with minute, scattered, white, persistent granules, 2–3 in. broad, ¾-1½
in. high.
=Stem= stout, hollow, stuffed with fibers, gradually increasing in size
to the base; below the ring rough from the ruptured bark, 4 in. high.
=Ring= superior, broad, reflexed, torn, persistent. =Gills= linear,
medium broad, at first pinkish-lilac, when adult brownish, edge white,
pulverulent, adnate, gradually attenuated toward the margin. =Spores=
dingy-brown, ovoid oblong, 10µ long. Somewhat cespitose. Elegant.
On the ground in pastures. July. Columbus, Ohio. _Sullivant_, Mont.
Syll., p. 121.
Edibility not reported. I have not seen this species.
=A. xylo´genus= Mont. _Gr_—produced on wood. =Pileus= membranaceous, at
first ovoid, then conical, bell-shaped, umbonate, finally convexo-plane,
smooth, pale-yellow, center brownish, margin split, striate when dry,
1½-2½ in. broad, 1¼ in. high. =Stem= cartilaginous, white, 3 in. high, ¼
in. thick, gradually thickened toward the base, hollow. =Ring= of medium
size, inferior, erect or reflexed. =Gills= free, remote, lance-shaped,
rounded behind, attenuated toward the margin, pink as in A. campester.
=Spores= spherical, colorless, hyaline, 5–7.5µ.
On dead wood. August. Columbus, Ohio. _Sullivant._ Mont. Syll., p. 122.
Edibility not reported. I have not seen this species.
** _Gills at first brownish or gray._
=A. argen´teus= Brændle—of silver. =Pileus= thin, convex becoming nearly
plane, slightly silky or glabrous, pale grayish white or grayish brown,
shining with a silvery luster when dry, the margin sometimes striate, at
first incurved, often revolute when old. =Flesh= whitish, becoming
blackish where cut. =Lamellæ= close, free, at first brownish becoming
blackish brown or black with age. =Stem= short, glabrous, solid, often
narrowed toward the base, the annulus slight, evanescent. =Spores=
broadly elliptic, 7–10µ long, 6µ broad.
=Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= 1–1½ in. long, ¼-⅜ in. thick.
Lawns and grassy places in rich soil. Often associated with Stropharia
bilamellata Pk. After rains from April to November. Washington, D.C.
_F.J. Brændle._
This is a small mushroom, peculiar in having the young gills of a dark
color and in the absence of any pink hues. The gills sometimes become
moist and manifest a tendency to deliquesce. The drying specimens emit a
strong but not unpleasant odor. Mr. Brændle says that their edible
quality is excellent and that it is not impaired by drying. _Peck_,
Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 26, F. 1899.
=A. praten´sis= Schaeff.—a meadow. =Pileus= 2–3½ in. across, ovoid then
expanded, becoming smooth or sometimes broken up into scales more or
less concentrically arranged, whitish, then grayish. =Flesh= thick in
the center, thin toward the margin, white. =Gills= free, rounded behind,
about ¼ in. broad, grayish, then brown. =Stem= about 2 in. long, ½-⅔ in.
thick, base thickened, smooth, whitish. =Ring= median, simple, usually
deciduous. =Stem= becoming more or less hollow. =Spores= elliptical,
apiculate, 6×3.5µ.
On pastures and woods. Distinguished by the grayish gills becoming brown
without any intermediate pink or fleshy tinge, and in being rounded
behind, the median deciduous ring, and the more or less hollow stem.
_Massee._
California. Common. Edible. _H. and M._ Not elsewhere reported.
=A. achi´menes= B. and C. _Gr_—an amber-colored plant. =Pileus= 4–6 in.
broad, pallid or yellowish-white, smooth like kid leather, but studded
with warty excrescences especially toward the center. =Stem= 4–6 in.
high, 3–4 lines thick, white, stuffed with floccose fibers, furnished
toward the apex with a large deflexed ring. =Gills= broad, crowded at
first, whitish then ash-colored and dingy-brown, free. =Spores=
brownish, oval or ovate.
A splendid species allied to A. fabaceus, but differing in its paler
spores, warty cap, ample ring, etc.
On the earth. Solitary. June. _S.C. Ravenel._ Am. Jour. Sci. and Arts,
1849.
I have not seen this species.
=A. faba´ceus= Berk.—relating to beans. =Pileus= 4–5 in. across, thin,
almost submembranaceous, umbonate, conical when young, becoming nearly
plane as it expands, white, viscid when moist; epidermis smooth, tough,
feeling like fine kid leather, turning yellow when bruised. =Stem= 3–4
in. high, ⅓ in. thick, white, smooth, with the exception of a few
fibrilla, equal except at the base. =Veil= large, at first covering the
gills and connecting the margin with the stem, white, externally
floccose. =Gills= crowded, very thin, not ventricose, free, brown when
young, then darker brown, at length almost black like the dark part of a
bean flower. A fine species allied to A. arvensis. When young it has a
peculiar but not unpleasant smell. On the ground, amongst dead leaves in
open woods. Waynesville, September 10, 1844. Hooker’s London Jour. of
Botany, 1847.
Described by Berkeley from specimens collected by Thomas G. Lea, in the
vicinity of Cincinnati.
On ground among old leaves in woods. Common. =Pileus= 3–4 in. broad.
=Stem= 3–4 in. high. =Spores= brown, nucleate on one side, small, 5.5µ
long. _Morgan._
This is among the most delicious species for the table. Fresh specimens
have a distinct taste and odor of peach kernels or bitter almonds which
is nearly lost in cooking. Am. Jour. Science and Arts, 1850. _Curtis._
Ohio, _Lea_, _Morgan_; North Carolina, _Curtis_; South Carolina,
_Ravenel_; Massachusetts, _Sprague_.
*** _Gills at first whitish._
=A. arven´sis= Schaeff.—belonging to cultivated ground. HORSE MUSHROOM,
PLOWED-LAND MUSHROOM. (A. Georgii Sow., A. pratensis Scop., A. edulis
Krombh., A. exquisitus Vitt.) =Pileus= at first convex or conical,
bell-shaped then expanded, at first more or less floccose or mealy, then
smooth white or yellowish. =Flesh= white. =Gills= close, free, generally
broader toward stem, _at first whitish, then pinkish_, finally
blackish-brown. =Stem= equal or slightly thickened toward the base,
smooth, _hollow or stuffed_ with a floccose pith; ring rather large,
thick, the lower or exterior surface often cracked in a radiate manner.
=Plant= 2–5 in. high. =Pileus= 3–5 in. or more broad. =Stem= 4–10 lines
thick.
Cultivated fields and pastures. Summer and autumn.
This species is so closely related to the common mushroom that it is
regarded by some authors as a mere variety of it. Even the renowned
Persoon is said to have written concerning it: “It appears to be only a
variety of A. campestris.” Fries also says that it is commonly not
distinguished from A. campestris, but that it is diverse in some
respects; its white flesh being unchangeable, its gills never
deliquescing, remaining a long time pale and not becoming dark-red in
middle age. Berkeley says of it: “A coarse but wholesome species, often
turning yellow when bruised.” _Peck_, 36th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
=Spores= spheroid-elliptical, 9×6µ _K._; 11×6µ _W.G.S._; elliptical,
8–10×5–6.5µ _Peck_.
Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; Minnesota, _B.L. Taylor_; West Virginia, North
Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.
Unless the numerical system of John Ph[oe]nix to express degrees of
quality is adopted by a mycophagists' congress, and one species of
fungus is chosen as the standard of excellence, the comparative
excellence of species will never be settled. English epicures shun A.
arvensis; the French prefer it. Berkeley says it is inferior to the
common mushroom; Vittadini says it is very sapid and very nutritious. So
opinion varies. Individual tastes must decide excellence. Comparison
never will. Toadstools differ in substance, texture and taste as one
meat or vegetable differs from another. Beef could not be chosen as the
standard for meats, or cabbage as the standard for vegetables. Agaricus
arvensis is good.
[Illustration: Grouped by F.D. Briscoe—Studies by C. McIlvaine.
PLATE XCIV.]
PAGE.
AGARICUS MAGNIFICUS. PECK, 342
A new species of Agaricus.
=A. magni´ficus= Pk.—magnificent. (Plate XCIV.) =Pileus= 5–15 cm. (2–6
in.) broad, fleshy, thick, convex, becoming nearly plane or centrally
depressed, bare, often wavy and split on the margin, white or whitish,
often brownish in the center. =Flesh= 1.5–2 cm. (½ in.) thick in the
center, thin on the margin, white, unchangeable. =Gills= numerous,
rather broad, close, free, ventricose, white becoming dark purplish
brown with age, never pink. =Stem= 10–15 cm. long (4–6 in.), about 2.5
cm. thick (1 in.), firm, stuffed with cottony pith, bulbous or thickened
at the base, fibrillose, striate, minutely furfuraceous (covered with
scurf) toward the base, ringed, pallid or whitish, the ring thin,
persistent, white. =Spores= small, elliptic, 5–6µ long, 3–4µ broad.
Gregarious or cespitose; thin woods, Mt. Gretna, Pa. August. _Charles
McIlvaine._
A large fine species distinguished from its near allies by the absence
of pink hues from the gills. Mr. McIlvaine remarks that it has an
anise-like flavor and odor and that when young the whole fungus is
tender and high flavored, but when full grown the caps only are edible.
_Peck_, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 26, F. 1899.
=A. silvic´ola= Vitt.—_silva_, a wood; _colo_, to inhabit. (Plate XCI,
fig. 2, p. 332.) (A. arvensis, var. abruptus Pk.; now A. abruptus Pk.)
=Pileus= convex or sub-bell-shaped, sometimes expanded or nearly plane,
_smooth, shining_, white or yellowish. =Gills= close, thin, free,
rounded behind, generally narrowed toward each end, _at first whitish,
then pinkish_, finally blackish-brown. =Stem= _long_, cylindrical,
stuffed or hollow, white, _bulbous_; ring either thick or thin, entire
or lacerated. =Spores= elliptical, 6–8×4–5µ.
=Plant= 4–6 in. high. =Pileus= 3–6 in. broad. =Stem= 4–8 lines thick.
Woods, copses and groves or along their borders. Summer and autumn.
_Peck_, 36th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Very good eating, though scarcely as highly flavored as the common
mushroom. _Peck._
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, June to frost. _McIlvaine._
A. silvicola, by many authors considered a variety of A. campester, is,
seemingly, becoming common. Professor Peck in 46th Rep. has made the
abrupt bulb and its usual double veil distinctive marks which ally it to
A. arvensis. He therefore calls it var. abruptus. As this book goes to
press Professor Peck writes me that he concludes var. abruptus to be a
good and distinct species. It is therefore given as such. While familiar
with it since 1881, I never found it in quantity until 1898, at Mt.
Gretna, Pa. There, among the straw and rubbish of abandoned camps on
wood margins, it grew in great quantity; sometimes singly, at others in
crowded clusters. When growing singly it exhibits all the
characteristics of its description; when clustered, the stems are not
always bulbous. The caps are thin but fleshy, brittle and bear a
disproportionate width to the stem—like a plate on a pipe stem. The caps
when mature are usually tinged with yellow and are spread flat; the ring
is large, often double, yellowish, often torn, fragments of it
frequently hang from the cap margin; the bulb when perfect is small,
abrupt, as if it had once been round but the stem pushed into it. It has
a strong spicy mushroom odor and taste, and makes a high-flavored dish.
It is delicious with meats. It is the very best mushroom for catsup.
Mixed with Russulæ or Lactarii or other species lacking in mushroom
flavor, it enriches the entire dish. The stems, excepting of the very
young, are tough.
Larvæ do not infest A. silvicola. Its habit of growth shows it to be
cultivatable. It has but one draw-back. Growing as it does in woods and
in the presence of the poisonous Amanita, it is possible for the
careless collector to confound the two. The Amanitæ have larger bulbs,
cups at the base, and _white gills_; the A. silvicola has no volva, has
whitish gills when very young only, they become pinkish, then a marked
blackish-brown.
=A. creta´ceus= Fr.—_creta_, chalk. =Pileus= 3 in. and more broad,
wholly _white_, fleshy, lens-shaped-globose when young, then
convexo-flattened, obtuse, dry, _sometimes even_, sometimes rivulose
chiefly round the margin from the cuticle _separating into squamules_.
=Flesh= thick, white, unchangeable. =Stem= 3 in. long, 3–6 lines and
more thick, _hollow, stuffed with a spider-web pith_, firm, attenuated
upward, even, smooth, not spotted, white. =Gills= free, then remote,
ventricose but _very much narrowed toward the stem_, crowded, _remaining
long white_, becoming dingy-brown only when old. _Fries._
=Spores= 3×4µ _W.G.S._; 5–6×3.5µ _Massee_.
Under certain conditions the spores are white. _M.J.B._
In lawns and rich ground.
North Carolina, on earth and wood. Edible, _Curtis_; Minnesota, rare,
_Johnson_; California, _H. and M._; Ohio, _Lloyd_; Kentucky, _Lloyd_,
Rep. 4; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 22.
=A. subrufes´cens= Pk.—_sub_, under; _rufescens_, becoming red. =Pileus=
at first deeply hemispherical, becoming convex or broadly expanded,
silky fibrillose and minutely or obscurely scaly, whitish, grayish or
dull reddish-brown, usually smooth and darker on the disk. =Flesh=
white, unchangeable. =Lamellæ= at first white or whitish, then pinkish,
finally blackish-brown. =Stem= rather long, often somewhat thickened or
bulbous at the base, at first stuffed, then hollow, white; the annulus
flocculose or floccose-scaly on the lower surface; mycelium whitish,
forming slender branching root-like strings. =Spores= elliptical, 6–7µ
_Peck_, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Indiana, _H.I. Miller_, 1898; Haddonfield, N.J., _McIlvaine_.
June 2, 1896, I found several specimens of a fungus new to me, and sent
them to Professor Peck for identification. He pronounced it a dwarf form
of his species A. subrufescens. The cluster grew on a florist’s compost
pile at Haddonfield, N.J. Its flesh has a flavor like that of almonds.
This species is now cultivated and has manifest advantages over the
marketed species—it is easier to cultivate, very productive, produces in
less time after planting the spawn, is free from attacks of insects,
carries better and keeps longer.
Amateurs are likely to succeed in growing it, and to have goodly crops
of mushrooms instead of disappointments.
=A. placo´myces= Pk. _Gr_—a flat cake. (Plate XCI, fig. 3, p. 332.)
=Pileus= thin, at first convex, becoming flat with age, whitish, brown
in the center and elsewhere adorned with minute brown scales. =Lamellæ=
close, white, then pinkish, finally blackish-brown. =Stem= smooth,
annulate, stuffed or hollow, bulbous, white or whitish, the bulb often
stained with yellow. =Spores= elliptical, 5–6.5µ long.
=Cap= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 3–5 in. long, ¼ to nearly ½ in. thick.
It grows in the borders of hemlock woods or under hemlock trees from
July to September. It has been eaten by Mr. C.L. Shear, who pronounces
it very good. I have not found it in sufficient quantity to give it a
trial. This mushroom is very closely related to the wood mushroom or
silvan mushroom, Agaricus silvaticus, a species which is also recorded
as edible, but which is apparently more rare in our state (New York)
than even the flat-cap mushroom. This differs from the silvan mushroom
in its paler color, in having the cap more minutely, persistently and
regularly scaly, and in its being destitute of a prominent center. In
the silvan mushroom the scales, when present, are few, and they
disappear with age. _Peck_, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Mrs. E.C. Anthony, Gouverneur, N.Y., June, 1898, writes: “In great
abundance on lawn, tumbling over one another in their haste to make
their appearance. One of the largest, which did not have half a chance
to display its proportions, would probably measure 7 in., perhaps more.
When mature they crack across the top, showing the white flesh. The
gills are pink, stem white, solid and bulbous. There is no perceptible
odor when fresh.”
Indiana, _H.I. Miller_, edible, good.
Specimens sent to me by Mrs. Anthony, though not fresh, were eaten by
me. They very much resembled the common mushroom, but probably, owing to
their condition, were not so tender.
I have not found the species. The illustration is after a painting by
Mrs. E.C. Anthony.
=A. varia´bilis= Pk.—variable. (Plate XCI, fig. 1, p. 332.) =Cap= 2–6
in. across, ovate, bell-shaped, irregularly convex and wavy, margin
incurved but never striate, smooth, minutely fibrillose, with few
remaining floccose scales; mature plant pure white, when young
distinctly tinged with lilac and here and there with yellow when mature,
slightly, broadly umbonate and depressed around umbo, cracks along
gills. =Flesh= thick in center, very thin, even membranaceous toward
margin, spongy, unchangeable. =Gills= free, close, thin, flaccid,
ventricose, narrow next stem, but few short, pure-white when young, then
dark-umber without purple tinge. =Stem= equal, tubed, white, silky,
smooth above ring, rippled and minutely furfuraceous (scurfy) below,
flocculose-furfuraceous when young, densely hairy at base, and
occasionally slightly expanding, but not bulbous, densely cespitose with
a coarse, white, root-like mycelium. =Veil= heavy at first, mottled with
yellow scales beneath; as cap expands veil becomes thin, like tissue
paper, ruptures at both stem and margin leaving torn ring on stem and
appendiculate fragments on edge of cap.
=Spores= shed in great quantity, rich dark umber-brown without shade of
purple.
=Taste= strong like almond. =Smell= slightly of musk, like the running
mycelium of A. campester.
Found at Mt. Gretna, Pa. _Charles McIlvaine._
I have never found worms in this species. It is very prolific and its
habitat shows that it can be cultivated. Its freedom from worms and
lasting carrying quality will make it commercially valuable.
It grew in an old roofless stable from September until after several
frosts, in enormous quantity, 25 or 30 pounds in a patch. It differs
from A. subrufescens in not having a shade of red about it, in its very
distinct light-lilac cap when full grown, and in its snow-white youth.
The young gills are pure white as are the caps. The stems sometimes
taper upward, but they are usually remarkably equal.
It is delicate when cooked and of excellent flavor.
=A. tabula´ris= Pk.—relating to boards. =Pileus= 5–10 cm. broad, very
thick, fleshy, firm, convex, deeply cracked in areas, whitish, flesh
whitish, tinged with yellow, the areas pyramidal, truncate, the sides
horizontally striate, their apices sometimes tomentose. =Lamellæ=
narrow, close, free, blackish-brown when mature. =Stem= short, thick,
solid. =Spores= broadly elliptical, 7.5–9µ long, 6–7.5µ broad, generally
containing a single large nucleus.
In clay soil by roadsides. Craig, Colorado. August. _E. Bethel._
This species is remarkable for the peculiar upper surface of the pileus
which is broken into pyramidal areas. The sides of these are marked by
parallel lines in such a way that they appear as if formed by small
tablets placed one upon another, each successive tablet being a little
smaller than the one immediately preceding it. Only dried and broken
specimens have been seen by me and the notes of the collector do not
give the color of the young lamellæ. There is a trace of a thick ring on
the broken stem of one specimen. _Peck_, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 25,
No. 6, 1898.
Not elsewhere reported. Edible qualities not given.
[Illustration]
=PILOSACE= Fr.
(Plate XCV.)
[Illustration: SECTION OF PILOSACE ALGERIENSIS.]
Hymenium differentiated from the stem. =Gills= free from the stem;
general and partial veil both absent, hence there is no ring on the
central stem. =Spores= purple-brown.
A peculiar genus, with the habit of Agaricus, but without a trace of a
ring. _Massee._
P. eximius Pk., 24th Rep. N.Y. State Bot., is the only species thus far
reported in America. Edible qualities unknown.
[Illustration]
STROPHA´RIA.
_Gr_—a sword-belt. (Referring to the ring.)
=Flesh= of stem and pileus _continuous_. =Veil= present, when ruptured
forming a distinct ring on the stem. =Gills= more or less _adnate_.
On the ground or epiphytal.
Separated from all the genera of the purple-spored series but Agaricus
by the presence of a distinct ring, and from that by the continuity of
flesh in stem and pileus, and by the gills not being free. =Pileus=
somewhat fleshy, sometimes viscid.