_Agaricus (Russula) virescens_
[Sidenote: =Specific characters=]
Our first species, the green Russula, is to be found throughout the
summer in hard-wood groves, and is apt to frequent the same immediate
locality from year to year. I know one such veritable mushroom bed in
the woods near by, where I am almost certain of my mess of Russulæ
almost any day in their season. This species is shown in its various
stages of development and also in section in Plate 11. Its substance
is _firm_ and solid _creamy white_. The pileus, at first almost
hemispherical, as it pushes its way through the earth, at length
becomes convex, with a slight hollow at the centre, and later ascends
in a gentle slope from centre to rim. Its color is sage green, or
mouldy green, usually quite unbroken in tint at centre, but more or
less disconnected into spots as it approaches the circumference by
the gradual expansion of the cap, the creamy undertint appearing like
network between the separated patches of color. The substance of the
cap becomes gradually thinned towards the circumference, where the
mere cuticle connects the gills, the position of these gills being
observable from above in a faint fluting of the edge, a peculiarity
of all the Russulæ. The cuticle peels readily some distance from the
edge, leaving the projecting tips of the gills exposed in a row of
comb-like teeth, but usually adheres towards the centre of cap. The
gills, with rare exceptions, are _all of the same length_, white or
creamy in color, firm and thick, but _very brittle_, easily broken into
fragments by a rude touch, a characteristic of all the group; spores,
white. The stem is short, stout, and solid, and usually tapers towards
the base. There is no vestige of a cup or veil at _any_ stage of growth.
A fine specimen of the green Russula should measure five inches in
diameter when fully open, but three inches is probably the average size.
[Sidenote: =The noxious Russulæ=]
When once acquainted with the above as a _type_ of the Russula group,
noting the firm substance, straight, equal gills, and their brittle
texture; the sweet, nutty flavor common to all the edible species,
these become readily identified, the _noxious_ Russulæ, as in the
brilliant pink or scarlet _R. emetica_ (Plate 13), being _acrid_ and
_peppery_ to the taste.
[Sidenote: =Green Russula often sufficient=]
In an auspicious season and in a congenial habitat--usually an open
wood with scant undergrowth and preferably raked clean of dead
leaves--the green Russula is often abundant. Familiarity even with this
one species will often afford a sufficiency of fungus food during its
season. A lady amateur mycophagist of the writer's acquaintance, whose
home is located at the border of such a wood as is above described,
and who is especially fond of the green Russula, is never at a loss
for this especially prized tidbit as a reward for her daily stroll
among the trees. A visitor may often see upon her buffet a small glass
dish filled with the mushrooms, nicely scraped and cut in pieces--an
ever-present relish between meals. For even in their natural state, as
she discriminatingly says, they are "as sweet as chestnuts." This is
especially the case with the "buttons" or younger specimens.
[Illustration: _Russula virescens_]
_PLATE XI_