_Agaricus (Lepiota) procerus_
[Sidenote: =Description=]
One of the most readily recognized of our wild mushrooms is the
pasture or parasol Agaric (_Agaricus procerus_), a cluster of which in
various stages of development is shown in Plate 10. It is frequently
abundant in pasture-lands, and is occasionally found in woods. Its
conspicuous cap sometimes measures six inches or more in diameter,
the centre being abruptly raised in a mound. The pileus is at first
egg-shaped. The color of the full specimen is pale-brown or buff,
more or less spotted with darker brown shaggy patches, generally
arranged in somewhat concentric order. The skin of the cap is thick
and somewhat tough, especially in drying. The gills are almost pure
white in early specimens, slightly creamy later, and unequal in length.
Stem, often six or eight inches high, proportionately slender, and of
equal diameter, bulbous at base, but without a cup, hollow, fibrous,
finely speckled or streaked with brown, and deeply inserted in the cap,
at which juncture, by a narrow flat space, as shown in the section
drawing below, it is _distinctly free_ from contact with the gills. The
remnants of the veil are in the form of a more or less detachable ring
encircling the stem. The spores are white and odorous. The flavor, when
raw, is distinctly nutty, aromatic, sweet, and palatable; when dry,
slightly pungent.
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Simple recipe=]
This species is cosmopolitan, and is a great favorite on the
Continent--in France being known as the _Coulemelle_, in Italy as
_Bubbola maggiore_, and in Spain as _Cogomelos_. It is by many
considered as the choicest of all mushrooms, and is indeed a delicious
morsel when quickly broiled over coals, seasoned to taste with salt
and pepper and butter melted in the gills, and served hot on buttered
toast. Other recipes are noted in a later chapter. The scurfy spots and
stems should be removed before cooking.
[Illustration: _Agaricus procerus_]
_PLATE X_