habitats are frequently passed or overlooked. Yet many of them are
common and plentiful. Those which have been tested are excellent and
worth seeking in their season. The entire genus has been under a cloud.
Writers upon it assert some of its members to be dangerously poisonous.
So far as carefully tested by the writer no doubtful one has been
encountered, and one—semiglobata—has been eaten by himself and friends
since 1881, notwithstanding its dangerous reputation.
The division between this genus and Agaricus is not always sharply
defined. S. æruginosa, S. semiglobata and S. stercoraria were formerly
placed in Psalliota, now Agaricus.
ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.
_A._ VISCIPELLES (_viscum_, bird-lime; _pellis_, a skin). Page 349.
Pellicle of the pileus even or scaly, generally viscid.
* Mundi—_mundus_, clean. Not growing on dung.
** Merdarii—_merda_, dung. Ring often incomplete.
_B._ SPINTRIGERI (Stropharia spintriger).
Pileus without a pellicle, but fibrillose, not viscid. None known to be
edible.
_A._ VISCIPELLES. Pellicle of the pileus even or scaly.
* Mun´di—_not growing on dung._
(Plate XCVI.)
[Illustration:
STROPHARIA ÆRUGINOSA.
Natural size. (After Stevenson.)
]
=S. ærugino´sa= Curt.—_ærugo_, verdigris. =Pileus= fleshy, but not
compact, convex-bell-shaped then flattened, somewhat umbonate (obtuse
when larger), _with very viscid pellicle_, the ground color yellowish
but _verdigris from the azure-blue slime_ with which it is more or less
covered over, becoming pale as the slime separates. =Stem= _hollow_,
soft, equal, _at the first scaly_ or fibrillose _below the ring, viscid,
becoming_ more or less _azure-blue green_. =Ring= distant. =Gills=
adnate, plane, 2 lines and more broad, not crowded, soft, whitish then
dusky, becoming somewhat purple.
The above are the essential marks of this species. Variable in form,
sometimes cespitose. The typical and handsomest form is gathered in
soaking weather in later autumn in shaded woods; it is large (pileus and
stem 3 in. and more), stem squarrose with white spreading scales,
intensely verdigris or azure-blue-pelliculose and very glutinous. From
this there is a long series of forms with the gluten more separating (on
the separation of the gluten the pileus becomes yellow), and the scales
alike of the pileus and stem rubbed off. Finally, a smaller form occurs
in open meadows, stem scarcely 2 in. long, only 2 lines thick, becoming
azure-blue-green and without scales, pileus 1–2 in. broad, pale
verdigris soon light yellowish, less viscid. In this form the ring is
incomplete, while in the typical form it is entire, spreading, and
persistent.
In woods, meadows, etc. Common. July to November. _Stevenson._
=Spores= ellipsoid or spheroid-ellipsoid, 8×4–5µ _K._; 5×7µ _W.G.S._;
elliptical, 10×5µ _Massee_.
POISONOUS. _Stevenson._
“There is a white variety, in which the pileus is perfectly white from
the first.” _Cooke._
S. æruginosa has been noted here by Schweinitz in Pennsylvania, Curtis
in North and South Carolina, Frost in Vermont and Massachusetts,
Harkness and Moore, California, Morgan, Ohio. The qualities of the
American representatives are not reported. I have not seen the species.
As it is asserted to be poisonous by European writers it may be. M.C.
Cooke says: “It has the reputation, which is somewhat general on the
continent, of being poisonous, but probably this is only assumed from
its disagreeable taste and repulsive appearance.” Collectors are
cautioned to look out for it, and not to eat of it carelessly.
I can find no case of poisoning by this species reported. It presents
another case of “Not proven.”
** Merda´rii—_ring often incomplete._
=S. stereora´ria= Fr.—_stercus_, dung. =Pileus= 1 in. broad, yellow,
fleshy, but thin at the margin, hemispherical then expanded, obtuse,
orbicular, with a viscid pellicle, naked, smooth, even or at length
slightly striate only at the margin. =Stem= 3 in. and more long, 2–3
lines thick, stuffed with a separate fibrous pith, equal, clothed to the
ring (which is scarcely 1 in. distant from the pileus, viscous, narrow,
but somewhat spreading) with the flocculose veil which is at the same
time viscous (so that it appears as if smooth), yellow. =Gills= adnate,
very broad behind, 2 lines broad, somewhat crowded, dusky-umber or
dusky-olivaceous, of one color, quite entire.
Stem silky-viscous when moist, when dry becoming even, shining and
yellowish-white, and without a manifest veil. The gills are truncate and
somewhat decurrent. _Fries._
=Spores= 17×13µ _W.G.S._; elliptical, 18–20×8–10µ _Massee_.
West Virginia, 1881–1885; Pennsylvania; New Jersey. June to November.
_McIlvaine._
I have enjoyed this species, which is common, since 1881. It is usually
conspicuous upon droppings and manure piles. It also occurs on
richly-manured ground, in wood and field, usually single; sometimes two
or three are united.
Caps and stems are edible, but do not cook in the same time. It is
better to cook the caps only. They are delicious.
(Plate XCVI_a_.)
[Illustration:
SECTION OF
STROPHARIA SEMIGLOBATA.
Natural size. (From Massee.)
]
=S. semigloba´ta= Batsch.—_semi_, half; _globus_, a ball. =Pileus=
commonly ½ in. broad, _light-yellow_, slightly fleshy, hemispherical,
not expanded, very obtuse, even, _viscous_. =Stem= about 3 in. long, 1
line thick, tubed, slender, firm and straight, equal, even, smooth,
becoming yellow, paler at the apex, powdered with the spores, otherwise
smeared with the glutinous veil which is abrupt above terminating in an
_incomplete_ (not membranaceous) viscous, distant _ring_. =Gills=
adnate, _very broad_, plane, _clouded with black_.
=Spores= dusky-purple. _Stevenson._
=Spores= blackish-purple, 13×8µ _W.G.S._; elliptical, ends rather acute,
12×6µ _Massee_.
Grows on dung, rich lawns and pastures. April to November. A common,
frequent, solitary species, easily recognized by its hemispherical cap,
dark mottled gills. At first sight it resembles Naucoria
semiorbicularis.
The caps are equal to any mushroom. I have eaten it since 1881. M.C.
Cooke says: “It was Sowerby who drew attention to this species as
dangerous, and intimated that it had been fatal. Since that period we
are not aware of any further evidence against it.”
It is tender, good and harmless.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Grouped by F.D. Briscoe—Studies by C. McIlvaine.
PLATE XCVII.]
FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.
1. HYPHOLOMA APPENDICULATUM, 363 3. HYPHOLOMA SUBLATERITIUM, 359
2. HYPHOLOMA PERPLEXUM, 354 4. GOMPHIDIUS RHODOXANTHUS, 394
HYPHOLO´MA.
_Gr_—a web; _Gr_—a fringe.
(Plate XCVIII.)
[Illustration:
HYPHOLOMA FASCICULARIS.
Natural size.
]
=Pileus= more or less fleshy, margin at first incurved. =Veil= _webby,
adhering in fragments to the margin of the pileus_, not forming a
distinct ring on the stem. =Stem= fleshy, similar in substance to that
of the pileus with which it is continuous. =Gills= attached to the stem,
sometimes with a notch at the juncture (emarginate), occasionally
separating and then appearing to be free.
Generally cespitose, mostly growing on wood above or under the ground.
=Spores= brownish-purple, sometimes intense-purple, almost black.
Corresponding to Tricholoma, Entoloma and Hebeloma.
ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.
FASCICULARES (H. fascicularis). Page 354.
Pileus tough, smooth, bright colored, not hygrophanous.
VISCIDI (_viscidus_, viscid).
Pileus naked, viscid. None known to be edible.
VELUTINI (_H. velutinus_). Page 360.
Pileus silky or streaked with small fibers.
FLOCCULOSI (_floccus_, a lock of wool).
Pileus covered with superficial floccose scales, at length disappearing.
(None reported edible.)
APPENDICULATI (_H. appendiculatus_). Page 362.
Pileus smooth, hygrophanous.
Members of this purple-spored genus grow upon decayed wood, either
standing or as roots in the ground, or from ground heavily laden with
woody material. They grow singly, in groups, or in densely-tufted or
overlapping masses. The several species vary in shades of yellow, red,
orange, brick-color and brown; their caps are from 1–6 in. across; their
stems are short or long, as the number in the cluster permits; when
growing singly the stems are short and sturdy. There is a floccose veil,
or remnants of one, about the stem. The gills are yellowish, greenish,
olivaceous or greenish shades of yellow, gray, purple, almost black.
They are showy, easily recognized and are found from September until
mid-winter. I have gathered them when frozen hard. The flesh is solid,
or spongy, flexible or fragile, white or yellowish; the tastes are
sweet, nutty, bitter and saponaceous. Patches of them—and they are
frequent in almost every woods in the land—often yield several bushels.
Tons of them annually go to waste.
Old authors and some copyists say “the species are not edible, the tough
ones being bitter, the fragile ones almost void of flesh.” Eighteen
years of experience with them warrants my saying that there is not a
single wild genus approaching it in economic value, and when its most
prominent species are properly cooked, few equal it in consistency and
flavor. As a pickle the Hypholomas have no superior.
Half a dozen or more of the species are exceedingly difficult to
separate. Professor Peck has happily made a new species, H. perplexum,
which is well named. For all culinary purposes these affiliated species
may be gathered under that convenient name; for botanic purposes his
description covers several perplexing characteristics common to what
have been written as separate species, and covers a composite species.
The occasional bitter taste of some species is not constant, and can not
be relied upon as a distinguishing mark. In the same tufts some
individuals may be mild, others bitter; some individuals in groups are
in a position and of an age to absorb water; others are not. There will
be a marked difference in their taste raw. A few in the same group may
have been infested by insects; others not. Those infested are often
intensely bitter, while their companions are of pleasant flavor. The
same remarks apply to neighboring clusters and individuals. I am of the
opinion, from long observation, that the bitter is largely due to the
injury and excrement of larvæ. Changes of taste occur in toadstools in a
most marked and rapid manner. Apples from the same tree, chestnuts from
the same tree, acorns from the same oak, radishes from the same seed,
blackberries from the same bush, differ widely in taste. Why not
toadstools of the same species?
I have often seen species of this genus, described as having stems up to
5 in. long, stretch and twist their stems to over a foot in order to get
their caps from the inside of, or from a crack in a decaying stump, out
into the light; and I have seen stems of the same species stout, solid
and sturdy when individuals grew upright and singly. But wherever and
however they grow, Hypholomas are safe. I have eaten them
indiscriminately since 1881, and as long ago as 1885 published their
edibility.
FASCICULA´RES. Pileus smooth, etc.
=H. perplex´um= Pk.—_perplexus_, perplexed. Perplexing Hypholoma. (Plate
XCVII, fig. 2, p. 352.) =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, glabrous,
sometimes broadly and slightly umbonate, reddish or brownish-red fading
to yellow on the margin, the flesh white or whitish. =Lamellæ= thin,
close, slightly rounded at the inner extremity, at first pale-yellow,
then tinged with green, finally purplish-brown. =Stem= nearly equal,
firm, hollow, slightly fibrillose, whitish or yellowish above,
rusty-reddish or reddish-brown below. =Spores= elliptical,
purplish-brown, 8×4µ.
The Perplexing hypholoma has received the name because it is one of a
group of five or six very closely allied species, whose separation from
each other is somewhat difficult and perplexing. Of these six species
three have a decidedly bitter, unpleasant flavor, and three are mild, or
not decidedly bitter, if we may rely on the published descriptions of
them. The three bitter ones, also, have no purplish tints to the mature
gills; but two of the mild ones have. By using these and other
distinguishing characters the six species may be tabulated and their
several peculiarities more clearly shown.
Taste bitter 1
Taste mild, or not clearly bitter 3
1. Stem solid or stuffed, flesh whitish, gills sublateritium
whitish, then sooty-olive
1. Stem hollow, flesh yellow 2
2. Cap yellow or tinged with tawny, stem yellow, fasciculare
gills yellow, becoming greenish
2. Cap brick-red, stem ferruginous, gills green, elæodes
becoming olive
3. Cap red or brick-red, with a yellow margin; gills perplexum
yellow, then greenish, finally
purplish-brown
3. Cap yellow, or slightly tawny on the disk only 4
4. Gills gray, becoming purplish-brown capnoides
4. Gills yellow, becoming gray, neither green nor epixanthum
purplish
Probably in general appearance the Perplexing hypholoma most nearly
resembles the brick-red Hypholoma, H. sublateritium; but it has often
been mistaken for the tufted Hypholoma, H. fasciculare. From this it may
be separated by the more red cap, the whitish flesh, the purplish-brown
color of the mature gills, and the mild flavor. From H. sublateritium it
is distinguished by its usually smaller size, more slender hollow stem,
the yellow greenish and purplish tints of the gills, and the absence of
a bitter flavor. Some may prefer to consider it a variety of this
fungus, rather than a distinct species.
Its cap is 1–3 in. broad, its stem 2–3 in. long and 2–4 lines thick. It
commonly grows in clusters, though sometimes singly, on or about old
stumps or prostrate trunks of trees, in woods or open places. The caps
of the lower ones in a cluster are often defiled and apparently
discolored by the spores that have lodged on them from the upper ones.
It appears in autumn, and continues until freezing weather stops its
growth. It is a very common species, as well as a late one, and may
often be gathered in large quantity. Its flavor is not first quality,
but with good preparation it makes a very acceptable dish. It has been
tested by myself and correspondents several times, and has been proved
harmless. _Peck_, 49th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
West Virginia, 1881–1885; New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
October to January. On stumps, roots, ground containing decayed woody
matter. _McIlvaine._
H. perplexum is abundant in most if not all the states. I have eaten it
and its allied species since 1881; dried them, pickled them, and fed
them to many. If the collector gets puzzled, as he will, over one or all
of these species, because no description fits, he can whet his patience
and appetite by calling it H. perplexum and graciously eating it.
=H. capnoi´des= Fr. _Gr_—like smoke, from the color of the gills.
=Pileus= 1 in. sometimes 3 in. broad, _ochraceous-yellowish_, fleshy,
convex, then flattened, obtuse, dry, _smooth_. =Flesh= somewhat thin,
white. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 2–4 lines thick, growing together at the
base, _hollow_, equal, often curved and flexuous, _becoming silky-even_,
pallid, whitish at the apex, here and there striate, becoming
rust-colored under the surface-covering when old. Cortina appendiculate,
white, then becoming brownish-purple. =Gills= adnate, easily separating,
somewhat crowded, rather broad, arid, _at first bluish-gray then
becoming brownish-purple_.
Cespitose, fasciculate; odor and taste mild. On pine-stumps. Uncommon.
_Fries._
=Spores= ellipsoid-spheroid, 7×5µ _K._; elliptical, brownish-purple,
8×4µ _Massee_.
California, _H. and M._; Minnesota, not necessarily in fir-woods,
_Johnson_; New York, on or about stumps or decaying wood of spruce.
_Peck_, 50th Rep.
Haddonfield, N.J., 1894. Pine roots and stumps, and on ground.
Cespitose. September to frost. _McIlvaine._
A pretty species with caps up to 1½ in. across. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, ¼-⅜
in. thick, growing together (connate). The taste and smell are pleasant.
The basket is soon filled from its clusters. There is not a better
Hypholoma. The slightly soapy taste which attaches to most of the
abundant and better known species is absent in this.
=H. fascicula´ris= Huds.—_fasciculus_, a small bundle. (Plate XCVIII, p.
352.) =Pileus= about 2 in. broad, _light yellow_, the disk commonly
darker, fleshy, thin, convex, then flattened, somewhat umbonate or
obtuse, even, smooth, dry. =Flesh= _light yellow_. =Stem= very variable
in length, hollow, thin, incurved or flexuous, fibrillose, of the same
color as the pileus and flesh. =Gills= adnate, very crowded, linear,
_somewhat deliquescent, sulphur-yellow then becoming green_.
It is very easily distinguished from the preceding species by its
_bitter odor and taste, light-yellow flesh, and somewhat deliquescent,
sulphur-yellow then green gills_. It forms also more crowded clusters.
There are many remarkable varieties; one _robustior_ (more robust), stem
thickened at the base, another _nana_ (dwarf), both on the ground.
Cespitose on old stumps and the ground. Extremely common. _Stevenson._
=Spores= elliptical, 7×4µ _Massee_; 6–7×4µ _K._; 6×4µ _W.G.S._;
ferruginous purple, 6×4µ _Morgan_.
“It is very usual to regard this as a poisonous species, but possibly it
is not so in reality.” _Cooke._
West Virginia, 1881, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina,
_McIlvaine_.
A very common species appearing in October and lasting until well into
the winter, growing in large, overlapping masses or in tufts from old
stumps or roots, and about trees where decay has begun. Sometimes
solitary. It is then short-stemmed and sturdy. There are several closely
allied species. To know the one from the other, a careful study of the
group is necessary. (See introduction to genus, H. epixanthum, H.
sublateritium, H. capnoides, H. elæodes, and H. perplexum.) Old authors
give it as bitter and poisonous. The bitter is not always present. Any
there is disappears in cooking. It is not poisonous, but one of our most
valuable species. I have eaten it since 1881. A little lemon juice or
sherry will cover the slightly saponaceous taste sometimes present. The
caps only are good. It makes a choice pickle and a good catsup.
=H. epixan´thum= Fr. _Gr_—_epixanthos_, yellowish-brown. =Pileus= 2–3
in. broad, light-yellow or becoming pale, the disk commonly darker,
fleshy, moderately thin, convexo-plane, obtuse or gibbous, even,
_slightly silky then becoming smooth_. =Flesh= white, becoming
light-yellow. =Stem= about 8 in. long, 3–4 lines thick, _hollow_,
attenuated from the thickened base or equal; _floccose-fibrillose, pale
rust color_ or becoming dingy-brown _below_, with a frosty bloom at the
apex; veil hanging from margin of pileus, white. =Gills= adnate,
crowded, _at first light yellow-white, at length becoming ash-colored_,
not deliquescent, and not becoming purple or green.
Strong smelling, odor acid; extremely variable in stature; not
hygrophanous. _Fries._
=Spores= elliptical, 7×4µ _Massee_.
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina. On oak,
chestnut stumps and growing from tree roots in ground. October to
December. _McIlvaine._
(See H. perplexum, H. sublateritium and compare descriptions.)
This species, in common with its allies, is extremely hard to determine.
When growing singly from roots or from ground heavily charged with
decaying wood, it is a sturdy, solid plant; when in clusters the stem is
longer, more flexible and the whole character of the plant is modified.
Except for botanic purposes there is no occasion to puzzle over it. It
is in every way an excellent and useful fungus.
=H. disper´sus= Fr.—_dispergo_, to scatter. =Pileus= 1–1½ in. broad,
_tawny-honey-color_, not hygrophanous, _slightly fleshy_, bell-shaped
then convex, at length expanded, even, _superficially silky round the
margin_ with the veil, or squamulose, otherwise even and smooth. =Flesh=
thin, a little paler than the pileus. =Stem= 2 in. or a little more
long, 2 lines thick, tubed, equal, _tense and straight_, tough,
_fibrilloso-silky_, somewhat rust-colored, becoming dingy-brown at the
base, pale at the apex. =Gills= adnate, thin, _ventricose, broad_, 3–4
lines, _crowded, at first pallid-straw color, at length crowded_,
obsoletely green. _Fries._
Gills broader than H. fascicularis, etc. Solitary, scarcely ever
cespitose. On pine stumps and the ground. April to November.
=Spores= elliptical, 7×3–4µ _Massee_.
North Carolina, in pine woods, _Curtis_; California, _H. and M._; West
Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.
Difficult to distinguish from H. fascicularis when growing solitary. Its
edible qualities are precisely the same.
=H. elæo´des= Fr. _Gr_—_an olive_; _Gr_—_eidos_, appearance. =Pileus=
brick-red or tan, fleshy, rather plane, somewhat umbonate, _dry,
smooth_, opaque. =Flesh= yellow. =Stem= stuffed then hollow, equal,
commonly slender, incurved or flexuous, fibrillose, of the same color as
the pileus, becoming rust-color. =Gills= adnate, crowded, thin, _green
then_ pure olivaceous.
Cespitose. Odor bitter. On trunks and on the ground. _Fries._
=Cap= 1–2 in. across. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, ¼-⅜ in. thick, stuffed then
hollow.
West Virginia, 1881–1885, Haddonfield, N.J.; Pennsylvania. On stumps,
roots and ground in woods, etc. _McIlvaine._ Not reported elsewhere.
Its habit is the same as H. fascicularis, to which it is closely allied,
and to me seems but a form of this very variable species. It is equally
good.
=H. sublateri´tium= Schaeff.—_sub_ and _later_, a brick. (Plate XCVII,
fig. 3, p. 352.) =Pileus= 2–3 in. and more broad, tawny-brick-red, but
paler round the margin and covered over with a superficial, somewhat
silky, whitish cloudiness (arising from the veil), fleshy,
convexo-plane, obtuse, _discoid_, _dry_, even, _becoming smooth_.
=Flesh= _compact_, white, then becoming yellow. =Stem= 3–4 in. long, 3–5
lines thick, _stuffed, stout_ and firm, commonly manifestly attenuated
downward, rarely equal, _scaly-fibrillose_, fibrils pallid, rust-colored
downward. =Cortina= superior, at first _white, at length becoming
black_. =Gills= adnate, more or less crowded according to stature,
narrow, at first _dingy yellowish_ and darker at the base, _then sooty_,
and at length inclining to olivaceous.
=Spores= brownish purple. Somewhat cespitose. =Stem= incurved from
position. There are many varieties: _B_, somewhat solitary, the pileus
and stem, which is thickened at the base, of the same color, reddish.
_C_, smaller, pileus light yellowish, the hollow stem equal. _Schaeff._
Var. _squamo´sum_, Cooke. Pileus convex, bright brick-red, shading to
yellow at the margin, spotted with superficial scales. Flesh very thick,
yellowish. Gills narrowish, adnate. Stem elongated, stout, pale above,
rust-colored below, hollow, veil hanging from the margin when young.
On trunks. A very beautiful variety, larger and more robust than the
typical form. _Massee._
=Spores= 6×3µ. _W.G.S._; elliptical, sooty-brown, 8×4µ _Massee_.
West Virginia, 1881–1885; Pennsylvania, New Jersey, densely cespitose on
stumps and roots. October to long after frosts. _McIlvaine._
Edible. _Dr. Taylor_, 1893. Dept. of Agr. Rep. No. 5.
H. sublateritium has many forms. Both Fries and Stevenson indicate this
as a variable species and my own observation confirms the truth of this.
This is a very common autumnal species, lasting into the winter. Old
authors give it as bitter and very poisonous. I tested it in 1881 and
have been eating it, in common with all Hypholomas I have found, ever
since. At times it is bitter. I believe this to be due to the passage of
larvæ through the flesh. Unattacked specimens are slightly saponaceous
to the taste while others in the same bunch are bitter.
VIS´CIDI. Pileus viscid, etc. (None known to be edible.)
Velutini. _Pileus silky, etc._