THE WHITE-SPORED AGARICS.
The species bearing the white spores seem to be higher in type than
those producing colored spores. Most of the former are firmer, while the
black spored specimens soon deliquesce. The white spores are usually
oval, sometimes round, and in many cases quite spiny. All white-spored
specimens will be found in clean places.
_Amanita. Pers._
_Amanita_ is supposed to be derived from Mount Amanus, an ancient name
of a range separating Cilicia from Syria. It is supposed that Galen
first brought specimens of this fungus from that region.
The genus _Amanita_ has both a volva and veil. The spores are white and
the stem is readily separable from the cap. The volva is universal at
first, enveloping the young plant, yet distinct and free from the
cuticle of the pileus.
This genus contains some of the most deadly poisonous mushrooms,
although a few are known to be very good. There is a large number of
species--about 75 being known, 42 of which have been found in this
country--a few being quite common in this state. All the Amanita are
terrestrial plants, mostly solitary in their habits, and chiefly found
in the woods, or in well wooded grounds.
In the button stage it resembles a small egg or puff-ball, as will be
seen in Figure 6, page 11, and great care should be taken to distinguish
it from the latter, if one is hunting puff-balls to eat; yet the danger
is not great, since the volva usually breaks before the plant comes
through the ground.
_Amanita phalloides. Fr._
THE DEADLY AMANITA.
[Illustration: Figure 11.--Amanita phalloides. Fr. Showing volva at the
base, cap dark.]
[Illustration: Figure 12.--Amanita phalloides. Fr. White form showing
volva, scaly stem, ring.]
_Phalloides_ means phallus-like. This plant and its related species are
deadly poisonous. For this reason the plant should be carefully studied
and thoroughly known by every mushroom hunter. In different localities,
and sometimes in the same locality, the plant will appear in very
different shades of color. There are also variations in the way in which
the volva is ruptured, as well as in the character of the stem.
The beginner will imagine he has a new species often, till he becomes
thoroughly acquainted with all the idiosyncrasies of this plant.
The pileus is smooth, even, viscid when young and moist, frequently
adorned with a few fragments of the volva, white, grayish white,
sometimes smoky-brown; whether the pileus be white, oyster-color or
smoky-brown, the center of the cap will be several shades darker than
the margin. The plant changes from a knob or egg-shape when young, to
almost flat when fully expanded. Many plants have a marked umbo on the
top of the cap and the rim of the cap may be slightly turned up.
The gills are always white, wide, ventricose, rounded next to the stem,
and free from it.
The stem is smooth, white unless in cases where the cap is dark, then
the stem of those plants are apt to be of the same color, tapering
upward as in the specimen (Fig. 11); stuffed, then hollow, inclined to
discolor when handled.
The volva of this species is quite variable and more or less buried in
the ground, where careful observation will reveal it.
One need never confound this species with the meadow mushroom, for the
spores of that are always purple-brown, while a spore-print of this will
always reveal white spores. I have seen a slight tint of pink in the
gills of the A. phalloides but the spores were always white. Until one
knows thoroughly both Lepiota naucina and A. phalloides before eating
the former he should always hunt carefully for the remains of a volva
and a bulbous base in the soil.
This plant is quite conspicuous and inviting in all of its various
shades of color. It is found in woods, and along the margin of woods,
and sometimes on lawns. It is from four to eight inches high and the
pileus from three to five inches broad. There is a personality about the
plant that renders it readily recognizable after it has once been
learned. Found from August to October.
_Amanita recutita. Fr._
THE FRESH-SKINNED AMANITA. POISONOUS.
Recutita, having a fresh or new skin. Pileus convex, then expanded, dry,
smooth, often covered with small scales, fragments of the volva; margin
almost even, gray or brownish.
The gills forming lines down the stem.
The stem stuffed, then hollow, attenuated upward, silky, white, ring
distant, edge of volva not free, frequently obliterated.
Rather common where there is much pine woods. August to October.
This species differs from A. porphyria in ring not being brown or
brownish.
_Amanita virosa. Fr._
THE POISONOUS AMANITA.
Virosa, full of poison. The pileus is from four to five inches broad;
the entire plant white, conical, then expanded; viscid when moist;
margin often somewhat lobed, even.
The gills are free, crowded.
The stem is frequently six inches long, stuffed, round, with a bulbous
base, attenuated upward, squamulose, ring near apex, volva large, lax.
The spores are subglobose, 8-10u. This is probably simply a form of A.
phalloides. It is found in damp woods. August to October.
_Amanita muscaria. Linn._
THE FLY AMANITA. POISONOUS.
[Illustration: Figure 13.--Amanita muscaria.--_Linn._ Cap reddish or
orange, showing scales on the cap and at base of stem.]
Muscaria, from musca, a fly. The fly Amanita is a very conspicuous and
handsome plant. It is so called because infusions of it are used to kill
flies. I have frequently seen dead flies on the fully developed caps,
where they had sipped of the dew upon the cap, and, like the
Lotos-eaters of old, had forgotten to move away. It is a very abundant
plant in the woods of Columbiana county, this state. It is also found
frequently in many localities about Chillicothe. It is often a very
handsome and attractive plant, because of the bright colors of the cap
in contrast with the white stem and gills, as well as the white scales
on the surface of the cap. These scales seem to behave somewhat
differently from those of other species of Amanita. Instead of
shrivelling, curling, and falling off they are inclined to adhere firmly
to the smooth skin of the pileus, turning brownish, and in the maturely
expanded plant appear like scattered drops of mud which have dried upon
the pileus, as you will observe in Figure 13.
The pileus is three to five inches broad, globose at first, then
dumb-bell in shape, convex, then expanded, nearly flat in age; margin in
matured plants slightly striate; the surface of the cap is covered with
white floccose scales, fragments of the volva, these scales being easily
removed so that old plants are frequently comparatively smooth. The
color of the young plant is normally red, then orange to pale yellow;
late in the season, or in old plants, it fades to almost white. The
flesh is white, sometimes stained yellow close to the cuticle.
The gills are pure white, very symmetrical, various in length, the
shorter ones terminating under the cap very abruptly, crowded, free, but
reaching the stem, decurrent in the form of lines somewhat broader in
front, sometimes a slight tinge of yellow will be observed in the gills.
The stem is white, often yellowish with age, pithy and often hollow,
becoming rough and shaggy, finally scaly, the scales below appearing to
merge into the form of an obscure cup, the stem four to six inches long.
The veil covers the gills of the young plant and later is seen as a
collar-like ring on the stem, soft, lax, deflexed, in old specimens it
is often destroyed. The spores are white and broadly elliptical.
The history of this plant is as interesting as a novel. Its deadly
properties were known to the Greeks and Romans. The pages of history
record its undoing and its accessory to crime. Pliny says, alluding to
this species, "very conveniently adapted for poisoning." This was
undoubtedly the species that Agrippina, the mother of Nero, used to
poison her husband, the Emperor Claudius; and the same that Nero used in
that famous banquet when all his guests, his tribunes and centurions,
and Agrippina herself, fell victims to its poisonous properties.
However, it is said this mushroom is habitually eaten by certain people
as an intoxicant; indeed, it is used in Kamchatka and Asiatic Russia,
generally, where the Amanita drunkard takes the place of the opium fiend
and the alcohol bibber in other countries. By reading Colonel George
Kennan in his "Tent-life in Siberia," and Cooke's "Seven Sisters of
Sleep," you will find a full description of the toxic employment of this
fungus which will far surpass any possible imagination.
It caused the death of the Czar Alexis of Russia; also Count de Vecchi,
with a number of his friends, in Washington in 1896. He was in search of
the Orange Amanita and found this, and the consequences were serious.
In size, shape, and color of the cap there is similarity, but in other
respects the two are very different. They may be contrasted as follows:
Orange Amanita, edible.--Cap _smooth_, gills _yellow_, stem _yellow_,
wrapper _persistent_, _membranaceous_, _white_.
Fly Amanita, poisonous.--Cap _warty_, gills _white_, stem _white_, or
slightly _yellowish_, wrapper _soon breaking_ into _fragments or
scales_, white or sometimes yellowish brown.
Found along roadsides, wood margins, and in thin woods. It prefers poor
soil, and is more abundant where poplar and hemlock grow. From June to
frost.
[Illustration: Figure 14.--Amanita muscaria.--_Linn._ One-half natural
size, showing development of the plant.]
_Amanita Frostiana. Pk._
FROST'S AMANITA. POISONOUS.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._
Figure 15.--Amanita Frostiana.]
Frostiana, named in honor of Charles C. Frost.
The pileus is convex, expanded, bright orange or yellow, warty,
sometimes smooth, striate on the margin, pileus one to three inches
broad.
The gills are free, white, or slightly tinged with yellow.
The stem is white or yellow, stuffed, bearing a slight, sometimes
evanescent, ring, bulbous, at the base, the bulb slightly margined by
the volva. The spores globose, 8-10u in diameter. _Peck._
Great care should be taken to distinguish this species from A. caesarea
because of its often yellow stem and gills. I found some beautiful
specimens on Cemetery Hill and on Ralston's Run. It is very poisonous
and should be carefully avoided, or rather, it should be thoroughly
known that it may be avoided. The striations on the margin of its yellow
tinge might lead one to mistake it for the Orange Amanita. It is found
in shady woods and sometimes in open places where there is underbrush.
June to October.
_Amanita verna. Bull._
THE SPRING AMANITA. POISONOUS.
[Illustration: Figure 16.--Amanita verna. Two-thirds natural size,
showing the volva cup and the ring.]
Verna, pertaining to spring. This species is considered by some only a
white variety of Amanita phalloides. The plant is always a pure white.
It can only be distinguished from the white form of the A. phalloides by
its closer sheathing volva and perhaps a more ovate pileus when young.
The pileus is at first ovate, then expanded, somewhat depressed, viscid
when moist, even, margin naked, smooth. The gills are free.
The stem is stuffed, with advancing age hollow, equal, floccose, white,
ringed, base bulbous, volva closely embracing the stem with its free
margin, ring forming a broad collar, reflexed. The spores are globose,
8u broad.
This species is very abundant on the wooded hills in this section of the
state. Its pure white color makes it an attractive plant, and it should
be carefully learned. I have found it before the middle of June.
_Amanita magnivelaris. Pk._
THE LARGE VEILED AMANITA. POISONOUS.
Magnivelaris is from _magnus_, large; _velum_, a veil.
The pileus is convex, often nearly plane, with even margin, smooth,
slightly viscid when moist, white or yellowish-white.
The gills are free, close, white.
The stem is long, nearly equal, white, smooth, furnished with a large
mebranaceous volva, the bulbous base tapering downward and rooting. The
spores are broadly elliptical.
This species very closely resembles Amanita verna, from which it can be
distinguished by its large, persistent annulus, the elongated
downward-tapering bulb of its stem, and, especially, by its elliptical
spores.
It is found solitary and in the woods. I found several on Ralston's Run
under beech trees. Found from July to October.
_Amanita pellucidula. Ban._
Pileus at first campanulate, then expanded, slightly viscid, fleshy in
center, attenuated at the margin; color a smooth bright red, deeper at
the top, shaded into clear transparent yellow at the margin; glossy,
flesh white, unchanging.
The gills are ventricose, free, numerous, yellow.
The stem is stuffed, ring descending, fugacious. Peck's 44th Report.
This species differs from Amanita caesarea in having an even margin and a
white stem. It is only a form of the caesarea. The white stem will
attract the attention of the collector.
_Amanita solitaria. Bull._
THE SOLITARY AMANITA.
[Illustration: Figure 17.--Amanita solitaria. Two-thirds natural size,
showing the peculiar veil.]
[Illustration: Figure 18.--Amanita solitaria. Two-thirds natural size,
showing scaly cap and stem.]
[Illustration: Plate II. Figure 19.--Amanita solitaria.
Natural size, showing scaly cap and stem, plant white.]
Solitary, growing alone. I have found this plant in various parts of the
state and have always found them growing alone. In Poke Hollow, where I
found the specimens in the illustrations, I found several on the
hillside on different occasions, but I have never found them growing in
groups. It is quite large in size, white or whitish, very woolly or
floccose. Usually the cap, stem, and the gills are covered with a
floccose substance which will serve to identify the species. This fluffy
exterior adheres readily to your hands or clothing. The cap is sometimes
tinged with brown, but the flesh is white and smells quite strong, not
unlike chloride of lime. The annulus is frequently torn from the stem
and is found adhering to the margin of the cap.
The pileus is from three to five inches broad, or more, when fully
expanded, at first globose to hemispherical, as will be seen in Figures
17 and 18, convex, or plane, warty, white or whitish, the pointed scales
being easily rubbed off, or washed off by heavy rains, these scales
varying in size from small granules to quite large conical flakes, and
differing in condition and color in different plants.
The gills are free, or are not attached by the upper part, the edges are
frequently floccose where they are torn from the slight connection with
the upper surface of the veil; white, or slightly tinged with
cream-color, broad.
The stem is four to eight inches high, solid, becoming stuffed when old,
bulbous, rooting deep in the soil, very scaly, ventricose sometimes in
young plants, white, very mealy. Volva friable. Ring, large, lacerated,
usually hanging to the margin of the cap, but in Figure 19 it adheres to
the stem.
This is a large and beautiful plant in the woods, and easily identified
because of its floccose nature and the large bulb at the base of the
stem. It is not so warty and the odor is not nearly so strong as the
Amanita strobiliformis. It is edible but very great caution should be
used to be sure of your species. Found from July to October in woods and
roadsides.
_Amanita radicata. Pk._
[Illustration: Figure 20.--Amanita radicata. Two-thirds natural size,
showing scaly cap, bulbous stem and root broken off and peculiar veil.]
Radicata means furnished with a root. The root of the specimen in Figure
20 was broken off in getting it out of the ground.
The pileus is subglobose, becoming convex, dry, verrucose, white, margin
even, flesh firm, white, odor resembling that of chloride of lime.
The gills are close, free, white.
The stem is solid, deeply radicating, swollen at the base or bulbous,
floccose or mealy at the top, white; veil thin, floccose, or mealy,
white, soon lacerated and attached in fragments to the margin of the
pileus or evanescent. The spores are broadly elliptic, 7.5-10u long,
6-7u broad. _Peck._
This is quite a large and beautiful plant, very closely related to
Amanita strobiliformis, but readily distinguished from it because of its
white color, its clearly radiating stem, and small spores. The stem
shows to be bulbous and the cap covered with warts. I found the plant
frequently in Poke Hollow and on Ralston's Run. July and August.
[Illustration: Figure 21.--Amanita radicata.]
_Amanita strobiliformis. Fr._
THE FIR-CONE AMANITA.
[Illustration: Plate III. Figure 22.--Amanita strobiliformis.
Young plant showing veil covering the entire gill-surface of the plant.
Cap covered with persistent warts, stem rough and rooting, odor strong
of chloride of lime.]
[Illustration: Plate IV. Figure 23.--Amanita strobiliformis.
Showing long root.]
Strobiliformis means fir-cone form; so called from the similarity of its
undeveloped form to that of the strobile of the pine.
The pileus is six to eight inches broad, when young, subglobose, then
convex, expanded, nearly plane, with persistent warts, white, ash-color,
sometimes yellow on the cap, the margin even and extending beyond the
gills; warts hard, angular, pointed, white; flesh white, compact.
The gills are free, crowded, rounded, white, becoming yellow.
The stem is five to eight inches long, frequently longer, tapering
upward, floccosely scaly, bulbous, rooting beyond the bulb; ring large,
torn; volva forming concentric rings. The spores are 13-14x8-9u.
This is one of the most stately plants in the woods. It is said to be
edible, but the strong pungent odor, like chloride of lime, has deterred
me from eating it. This, however, is said to disappear in cooking. It
grows to be very large. Dr. Kellerman and I found a specimen in Haynes's
Hollow whose stem measured over eleven inches, and cap nine inches. It
is found in open woods and wood margins. Great caution should be used
before the plant is eaten to know it beyond doubt. Found July to
October.
_Amanita mappa. Fr._
THE DELICATE AMANITA. POISONOUS.
[Illustration: Figure 24.--Amanita mappa. Natural size, showing long
smooth stem, cap yellowish-white and ring.]
Mappa means a napkin, so called from the volva. The pileus is two to
three inches broad, convex, then expanded, plane, obtuse or depressed,
without separable cuticle; margin nearly even; white or yellowish,
usually with patches of the volva dry.
The gills are adnexed, close, narrow, shining, white.
The stem is two to three inches long, stuffed, then hollow, cylindrical,
nearly smooth, bulbous, nearly globose at the base, white, almost equal
above the bulb.
The volva with its free margin is acute and narrow. The ring is
membranaceous, superior, soft, lax, ragged.
Its color is quite as variable and its habits are much like A.
phalloides, from which it can only be distinguished by its less
developed volva, which, instead of being cup-shaped, is little more than
a mere rim fringing the bulb. The odor at times is very strong. It is
found in open woods and under brush. Label it poisonous.
_Amanita crenulata. Pk._
[Illustration: Figure 25.--Amanita crenulata.]
Crenulata means bearing notches, referring to the crenulate form of the
gills, which are very distinct.
The pileus is thin, two to two and a half inches broad, broadly ovate,
becoming convex, or nearly plane, somewhat striate on the margin,
adorned with a few thin whitish floccose warts or with whitish
flocculent patches, whitish or grayish, sometimes tinged with yellow.
The gills are close, reaching the stem, and sometimes forming decurrent
lines upon it, floccose crenulate on the edge, the short ones truncate
at the inner extremity, white.
The stem is equal, bulbous, floccose mealy above, stuffed or hollow,
white, the annulus slight, evanescent. Spores broadly elliptic or
subglobose, 7.5-10 long, nearly as broad, usually containing a single
large nucleus. _Peck_, Bull. Tor. Bot. Club.
The stem is bulbous at the base but the volva is rarely seen upon it
although slight patches are frequently seen on the pileus. The ring is
very evanescent and soon disappears. The specimens I have received from
Mrs. Blackford look good enough to eat and she speaks highly of the
edible qualities of this species. So far as I know this plant is
confined to the New England states. Found from September to November. It
grows in low damp ground under trees.
_Amanita cothurnata. Atkinson._
THE BOOTED AMANITA.
[Illustration: Figure 26.--Amanita cothurnata. Slightly reduced from
natural size, showing different stages of development.]
Cothurnata means buskined; from corthunus, a high shoe or buskin worn by
actors. This species is easily separated from the other Amanitas. I
shall give Prof. Atkinson's description of it in full: "The pileus is
fleshy and passes from nearly globose to hemispherical, convex,
expanded, and when specimens are very old sometimes the margin is
elevated. It is usually white, though specimens are found with a tinge
of citron yellow in the center or of tawny yellow in the center of other
specimens. The pileus is viscid, strongly so when moist. It is finely
striate on the margin, and covered with numerous, white, floccose scales
from the upper half of the volva, forming more or less dense patches,
which may wash off in heavy rains.
The gills are rounded next the stem, and quite remote from it. The edge
of the gills is often eroded or frazzly from the torn-out threads with
which they were loosely connected to the upper side of the veil in the
young or button stage. The spores are globose or nearly so, with a large
"nucleus" nearly filling the spore.
The stem is cylindrical, even, and expanded below into quite a large
oval bulb, the stem just above the bulb being margined by a
close-fitting roll of the volva, and the upper edge of this presenting
the appearance of having been sewed at the top like the rolled edge of a
garment or buskin. The surface of the stem is minutely floccose, scaly
or strongly so, and decidedly hollow even from a very young stage or
sometimes when young with loose threads in the cavity.
A. cothurnata resembles in many points A. frostiana and it will afford
the collector a very interesting study to note the points of difference.
I found the two species growing on Cemetery Hill. Figure 26 is from
plants collected in Michigan and photographed by Dr. Fisher. Found in
September and October.
_Amanita rubescens. Fr._
THE REDDISH AMANITA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 27.--Amanita rubescens. One-third natural size,
caps a dingy reddish-brown, stains reddish when bruised.]
Rubescens is from _rubesco_, to become red. It is so called because of
the dingy reddish color of the entire plant, and also because when the
plant is handled or bruised it quickly changes to a reddish color. It is
often a large bulky plant and rather uninviting.
The pileus is four to six inches broad, dingy reddish, often becoming
pale flesh color, fleshy, oval to convex, then expanded; sprinkled with
small pale warts, unequal, mealy, scattered, white, easily separating;
margin even, faintly striate, especially in wet weather; flesh soft,
white, becoming red when broken.
The gills are white or whitish, free from the stem but reaching it and
forming at times decurrent lines upon it, thin, crowded.
The stem is four or five inches long, nearly cylindrical, solid, though
inclined to be soft within, tapering from the base up, with a bulbous
base which often tapers abruptly below, containing reddish scales, color
dull red. It has seldom any distinct evidence of a volva at the base but
abundant evidence on the cap. Ring large, superior, white, and fragile.
The plant is quite variable in color, sometimes becoming almost white
with a slight reddish or brownish tint. The strong distinguishing
character of the species is the almost entire absence of any remains of
the volva at the base of the stem. By this, and by the dull red hues and
the bruised portions quickly changing to a reddish color, it is easily
distinguished from any of the poisonous Amanitas.
According to Cordier it is largely used as an article of food in France.
Stevenson and Cooke speak well of it. I noticed the small Bohemian boys
gathered it about Salem, Ohio, not having been in this country more than
a week and not being able to speak a word of English. It convinced me
that it was an article of diet in Bohemia and that our species is
similar to theirs. I have found the plants in woods about Bowling Green
and Sidney, Ohio. The plants in Figure 27 were collected on Johnson's
Island, Sandusky, Ohio, and photographed by Dr. Kellerman. It is found
from June to September.
_Amanita aspera. Fr._
ROUGH AMANITA.
Aspera means rough. The pileus is convex, then plane; warts minute,
somewhat crowded, nearly persistent; margin even, rather thin,
increasing in thickness toward the stem; scarcely umbonate, reddish with
various tints of livid and gray; flesh rather solid, white, with tints
of reddish-brown immediately next to the epidermis.
The gills are free, with sometimes a little tooth behind, running down
the stem, white, broad in front.
The stem is white, squamulose, bulb rugulose, ring superior and entire.
The spores are 8x6u.
When the flesh is bruised or eaten by insects it assumes a reddish-brown
color, and in this respect it resembles A. rubescens. The odor is strong
but the taste is not unpleasant. In woods from June till October. The
collector should be sure he knows the plant before he eats it.
_Amanita caesarea. Scop._
THE ORANGE AMANITA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 28.--Amanita caesarea. From a drawing showing the
different stages of the plant. Caps, gills, stem and collar yellow,
volva white.]
[Illustration: _Photo by H. C. Beardslee._
Figure 29.--Amanita caesarea.]
The Orange Amanita is a large, attractive, and beautiful plant. I have
marked it edible, but no one should eat it unless he is thoroughly
acquainted with all the species of the genus Amanita, and then with
great caution. It is said to have been Caesar's favorite mushroom. The
pileus is smooth, hemispherical, bell-shaped, convex, and when fully
expanded nearly flat, the center somewhat elevated and the margin
slightly curved downward; red or orange, fading to yellow on the margin;
usually the larger and well-developed specimens have the deeper and
richer color, the color being always more marked in the center of the
pileus; margin distinctly striate; gills rounded at the stem end and not
attached to the stem, yellow, free and straight. The color of the gills
of matured plants usually is an index to the color of the spores but it
is an exception in this case as the spores are white.
The stem and the flabby membranaceous collar that surrounds it toward
the top are yellow like the gills, the depth of the color varying more
with the size of the plant than is the case with color of the cap.
Sometimes in small and inferior plants the color of both stem and gills
is nearly white, and if the volva is not distinct it is difficult to
distinguish it from the fly mushroom, which is very poisonous. The stem
is hollow, with a soft cottony pith in the young plants.
In very young plants the edge of the collar is attached to the margin of
the cap and conceals the gills, but with the upward growth of the stem
and the expansion of the cap the collar separates from the margin and
remains attached to the stem, where it hangs down upon it like a ruffle.
The expanded cap is usually from three to six inches broad, the stem
from four to six inches long and tapering upward.
When in the button stage, the plant is ovate; and the white color of the
volva, which now entirely surrounds the plant, presents an appearance
much like a hen's egg in size, color, and shape. As the parts within
develop, the volva ruptures in its upper part, the stem elongates and
carries upward the cap, while the remains of the volva surrounds the
base of the stem in the form of a cup.
When the volva first breaks at the apex, it reveals the point of the cap
with its beautiful red color and in contrast with the white volva makes
quite a pretty plant, but with advancing age the red or orange red fades
to a yellow. In drying the specimens the red often entirely disappears.
In young, as well as in old plants, the margin is often prominently
marked with striations, as will be seen in Figures 28 and 29. The flesh
of the plant is white but more or less stained with yellow next to the
epidermis and the gills, which are of that color.
The plant grows in wet weather from July to October. It grows in thin
woods and seems to prefer pine woods and sandy soil. I have found it
from the south tier of counties to the north of our state. It is not,
however, a common plant in Ohio.
From its several names--Caesar's Agaric, Imperial Mushroom, Cibus Deorum,
Kaiserling--one would infer that for ages it had been held in high
esteem as an esculent.
Too great caution cannot be used in distinguishing it from the very
poisonous fly mushroom.
_Amanita spreta. Pk._
HATED AMANITA. POISONOUS.
Spreta, hated. The pileus at first is nearly ovate, slightly umbonate,
then convex, smooth, sometimes fragments of the volva adhering, the
margin striate, whitish or pale-brown toward and on the umbo, soft, dry,
more or less furrowed on the margin.
The flesh is white, thin on the edges, and increasing in thickness
toward the center. Gills close, white, reaching the stem.
The stem is equal, smooth, annulate, stuffed or hollow, whitish, finely
striate at the top from the decurrent lines of the gills, not bulbous at
the base, the volva rather large and inclined to yellowish color. The
spores are elliptical.
The plant resembles the dark forms of the Amanitopsis in having the
marked striations and the entire and closely fitting volva at the base,
but can be easily distinguished by its ring. I found it on Cemetery Hill
in company with the Amanitopsis. It does not seem to root as deep in the
ground as the Amanitopsis. It is very poisonous and should be carefully
studied so that it may be readily recognized and avoided.
It is found in open woods from July to September.
_Amanitopsis. Roze._
Amanitopsis is from _Aminita_ and _opsis_, resembling; so called because
it resembles the Amanita. The principal feature wherein the genus
differs from the Amanita is the absence of a collar on the stem. Its
species are included among the Amanita by many authors. The spores are
white. The gills are free from the stem, and it has a universal veil at
first completely enveloping the young plant, which soon breaks it,
carrying remnants of it on the pileus, where they appear as scattered
warts. It differs from the Lepiota in having a volva.
_Amanitopsis vaginata. Bull._
THE SHEATHED AMANITOPSIS. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 30.--Amanita vaginata. One-third natural size.
Notice a portion of the volva adhering to the cap.]
Vaginata--from _vagina_, a sheath. The plant is edible but should be
used with very great caution. It is quite variable in color, ranging
from white to mouse color, brownish or yellowish.
The pileus is ovate at first, bell-shaped, then convex and expanded,
thin, quite fragile, smooth, when young with a few fragments of the
volva adhering to its surface, deeply and distinctly striate.
The gills are free, white, then pallid, ventricose, broadest in front,
irregular. The flesh is white, but in the darker forms stained under the
easily separating skin. The spores are white and nearly round, 7-10u.
The stem is cylindrical, even or slightly tapering upward, hollow or
stuffed, smooth or sprinkled with downy scales, not bulbous at the base.
The volva is long, thin, fragile, forming a permanent sheath which is
quite soft and readily adheres to the base of the stem.
The striations on the margin are deep and distinct, as in the Orange
Amanita. The cup is quite regular but it is fragile, easily broken and
usually deep in the ground. In some plants a slight umbo is developed at
the center.
The mushroom-eater wants to distinguish very carefully between this
species and Amanita spreta, which is very poisonous.
It is found in woods, in open places where there is much vegetable
mould, sometimes found in stubble and pastures, especially in meadows
under trees. Found from June to November.
The plant varies considerably in color, and there are several varieties,
separable by means of their color:
A. vaginata, var. alba. The whole plant is white.
A. vaginata var. fulva. The cap tawny yellow or pale ochraceous.
A. vaginata var. livida. The cap leaden brown; gills and stem tinged
with smoky brown.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._
Plate V. Figure 31.--Amanita vaginata]
_Amanitopsis strangulata. Fr._
THE GRAY AMANITOPSIS. EDIBLE.
Strangulata means choked, from the stuffed stem. The pileus is two to
four inches broad, soon plane, livid-bay or gray, with patches of the
volva, margin striate or grooved.
The gills are free, white, close.
The stem is stuffed, silky above, scaly below, slightly tapering
upwards. The volva soon breaking up, forming several ring-like ridges on
the stem. The spores are globose, 10-13u.
This is a synonym for A. ceciliae. B. and Br. and perhaps nothing more
than a vigorous growth of Amanitopsis vaginata. It has almost no odor
and a sweet taste and cooks deliciously.
Found in the woods and in open places from August to October.
_Lepiota. Fr._
Lepiota means a scale. In the Lepiota the gills are typically free from
the stem, as in Amanita and Amanitopsis, but they differ in having no
superficial or removable warts on the cap, and no sheathing or scaly
remains of a volva at the base of the stem. In some species the
epidermis of the cap breaks into scales which persistently adhere to the
cap, and this feature, indeed, suggests the name of the genus, which is
derived from the Latin word _lepis_, a scale.
The stem is hollow or stuffed, its flesh being distinct from the pileus
and easily separable from it. There are a number of edible species.
_Lepiota procera. Scop._
THE PARASOL MUSHROOM. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._
Plate VI. Figure 32.--Lepiota procera.]
Procera means tall.
The pileus is thin, strongly umbonate, adorned with brown spot-like
scales.
The gills are white, sometimes yellowish-white, free, remote from the
stem, broad and crowded, ventricose, edge sometimes brownish.
The stem is very long, cylindrical, hollow or stuffed, even, very long
in proportion to its thickness and is, therefore, suggestive of the
specific name, procera. The ring is rather thick and firm, though in
mature plants it becomes loosened and movable on the stem. This and the
form of the plant suggest the name, parasol. The cap is from three to
five inches broad and the stem from five to nine inches high. I found
one specimen among fallen timber that was eleven inches tall and whose
cap was six inches broad.
It has a wide distribution. It is found in all parts of Ohio but is not
abundant anywhere. It is a favorite with those who have eaten it, and,
indeed, it is a delicious morsel when quickly broiled over coals,
seasoned to taste with salt and pepper, butter melted in the gills and
served on toast. This mushroom is especially free from grubs and it can
be dried for winter use.
There is no poisonous species with which one is likely to confound it.
The very tall, slender stem with a bulbous base, the very peculiar
spotted cap with the prominent dark colored umbo and the movable ring on
the stem, are ear-marks sufficient to identify this species.
Spores white and elliptical, 14x10u. Lloyd. It is found in pastures,
stubble, and among fallen timber. July to October.
I am indebted to C. G. Lloyd for the photograph given here.
_Lepiota naucina. Fr._
SMOOTH LEPIOTA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 33.--Lepiota naucina. The entire plant white.]
Pileus soft, smooth, white or smoky-white; gills free, white, slowly
changing with age to a dirty pinkish-brown color; stem annulate,
slightly thickened at the base, attenuated upward, clothed with fibres
pure white. The Smooth Lepiota is generally very regular in shape and of
a pure white color. The central part of the cap is sometimes tinged with
yellow or a smoky white hue. Its surface is nearly always very smooth
and even. The gills are somewhat narrower toward the stem than they are
in the middle. They are rounded and not attached to the stem.
Cap two to four inches broad; stem two to three inches long. It grows in
clean grassy places in lawn, pastures, and along roadsides. I have seen
the roadside white with this species around Sidney, Ohio. The specimens
represented in figure were found in Chillicothe, August to November.
This is one of the best mushrooms, not inferior to the meadow mushroom.
It has this advantage over the former that the gills retain their white
color and do not pass from a pink to a repulsive black. The halftone and
the description ought to make the plant known to the most casual reader.
_Lepiota americana. Pk._
THE AMERICAN LEPIOTA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 34.--Lepiota americana. Center of disk red or
reddish-brown, stem frequently swollen. Plant turning red when drying.]
This plant is quite common about Chillicothe, especially upon sawdust
piles. It grows both singly and in clusters. The umbonate cap is adorned
with reddish or reddish-brown scales except on the center where the
color is uniformly reddish or reddish-brown because the surface is not
broken up into scales; gills close, free, white, ventricose; stem
smooth, enlarged at the base. In some plants the base of the stem is
abnormally large; ring white, inclined to be delicate.
Wounds and bruises are apt to assume brownish-red hues. Dr. Herbst says:
"This is truly an American plant, not being found in any other country.
This is the pride of the family. There is nothing more beautiful than a
cluster of this fungi. To look over the beautiful scaly pileus is a
sight equally as fascinating as a covey of quail."
Found in grassy lawns and on old sawdust piles, in common with Pluteus
cervinus. It is found almost all over the state. It is quite equal to
the Parasol mushroom in flavor. It has a tendency to turn the milk or
cream in which it is cooked to a reddish color. It is found from June to
October. Mr. Lloyd suggests the name Lepiota Bodhami. It is the same as
the European plant L. haematosperma. Bull.
_Lepiota Morgani. Pk._
IN HONOR OF PROF. MORGAN.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._
Plate VII. Figure 35.--Lepiota morgani.
Entire plant white or brownish-white. Gills white at first then
greenish.]
Pileus fleshy, soft, at first subglobose, then expanded or even
depressed, white, the brownish or yellowish cuticule breaking up into
scales on the disk; gills close, lanceolate, remote, white, then green;
stem firm, equal or tapering upward, subbulbous, smooth, webby-stuffed,
whitish tinged with brown; ring rather large, movable as you will
observe in Figure 35. Flesh of both pileus and stem white, changing to a
reddish, then to yellowish hue when cut or bruised. Spores ovate or
subelliptical, mostly uninucleate, sordid green. 10-13x7-8. Peck.
This plant is very abundant about Chillicothe and I found it equally so
at Sidney. I have known several families to eat of it, making about half
of the children in each family sick. I regard it as a dangerous plant to
eat. It grows very large and I have seen it growing in well marked rings
a rod in diameter. If you are in doubt whether the plant you have is
Morgani or not, let it remain in the basket over night and you will
plainly see that the gills are turning green. The gills are white until
the spores begin to fall. The plant is found in pastures and sometimes
in pasture woods. June to October.
_Lepiota granulosa. Batsch._
GRAINY LEPIOTA. EDIBLE.
Granulosa--from granosus, full of grains. Pileus thin, convex or nearly
plain, sometimes almost umbonate, rough, with numerous granular 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 and evanescent. Spores
elliptical, .00016 to .0002 inch long, .00012 to .00014 inch broad.
Plant one to two and one-fifth inches high; pileus one to two and
one-fifth inches broad; stem one to three lines thick. Common in woods,
copses, and waste places. August to October.
"This is a small species with a short stem and granular reddish-yellow
pileus, and gills slightly attached to the stem. The annulus is very
small and fugacious, being little more than the abrupt termination to
the coating of the stem. The species was formerly made to include
several varieties which are now regarded as distinct."--Peck's Report.
Found in the open woods about Salem, Ohio. The plant is small but quite
meaty and of a pleasing quality.
_Lepiota cristatella. Pk._
Pileus thin, convex, subumbonate, minutely mealy, especially on the
margin, white disk slightly tinged with pink.
Gills close, rounded behind, free, white; stem slender, whitish, hollow;
spores subelliptical, .0002 inch long.
Mossy places in woods. October.--_Peck's Report_. No one will fail to
recognize the crested Lepiota the moment he sees it. It has many of the
ear marks of the Lepiota family.
_Lepiota granosa. Morg._
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._
Plate VIII. Figure 36.--Lepiota granosa.]
Granosa means covered with granules.
The pileus is convex, obtuse or umbonate, even, radiately
rugose-wrinkled, generally even and regular on the margin,
reddish-yellow or light bay.
The gills are attached to the stem, slightly decurrent, somewhat
crowded, whitish, then reddish-yellow.
The stem is thickened at the base, tapering toward the cap, flesh of the
stem is yellow. The veil is membranous and forms a persistent ring on
the stem.
It grows on decayed wood. I found it in large quantities, and tried to
make it L. granulosa, but I found it fit better L. amianthinus, which it
resembles very closely, but it is much larger and its habit is not the
same. I was not satisfied with this description and sent the specimens
to Prof. Atkinson, who set me right. It is a beautiful plant found on
decayed wood in September and October.
_Lepiota cepaestipes. Sow._
THE ONION STEMMED LEPIOTA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 37.--Lepiota cepaestipes. Pileus thin, white or
yellowish.]
Cepaestipes is from cepa, an onion and stipes, a stem, Pileus is thin at
first ovate, then bell-shaped or expanded, umbonate, soon adorned with
numerous minute brownish scales, which are often granular or mealy,
folded into lines on the margin, white or yellow, the umbo darker.
The gills are thin, close, free, white, becoming dingy with age or
drying.
The stem is rather long, tapering toward the apex, generally enlarged in
the middle or near the base, hollow. The ring is thin and subpersistent.
The spores are subelliptical, with a single nucleus, 8-10x5-8u.
The plants often cespitose, two to four inches high. Pileus is one to
two inches broad. It is found in rich ground and decomposing vegetable
matter. It is also found in graperies and conservatories. _Peck._
This plant derives its specific name from the resemblance of its stem to
that of the seed-stalk of an onion. One form has a yellow or yellowish
cap, while the other has a white or fair cap. It seems to delight to
grow in well rotted sawdust piles and hot houses. The specimens
represented in Figure 37 were collected in Cleveland and photographed by
Prof. H. C. Beardslee.
_Lepiota acutesquamosa. Wein._
THE SQUARROSE LEPIOTA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 38.--Lepiota acutesquamosa. Two-thirds natural
size, showing small pointed scales.]
Acutesquamosa is from _acutus_, sharp, and _squama_, a scale; so called
from the many bristling, erect scales on the pileus. The pileus is two
to three inches broad, fleshy, convex, obtuse, or broadly umbonate; pale
rusty with numerous small pointed scales, which are usually larger and
more numerous at the disk.
The gills are free, crowded, simple, white or yellowish.
The stem is two to three inches or more long; stuffed or hollow,
tapering upward slightly from a swollen base; below the ring rough or
silky, pruinose above, ring large. The spores are 7-8x4u.
They are found in the woods, in gardens, and frequently in greenhouses.
There is a slight difference between the specimens growing in the woods
and those in the greenhouse. In the latter the pubescent covering is
less dense and the erect scales are more numerous than in the former. In
older specimens these scales fall off and leave small scars on the cap
where they were attached. The specimens in Figure 38 were gathered in
Michigan and were photographed by Dr. Fisher of Detroit.
_Armillaria. Fr._
Armillaria, from armilla, a bracelet--referring to the ring upon the
stem. This genus differs from all the foregoing white-spored species in
having the gills attached to the stem by their inner extremity. The
spores are white and the stem has a collar, though a somewhat evanescent
one, but no wrapper at the base of the stem as in the Amanita and
Amanitopsis. By the collar the genus differs from the other genera which
are to follow.
The Amanita and Lepiota have the flesh of the stem and the pileus not
continuous, and their stems are, therefore, easily separated from the
cap, but in the Armillaria the gills and the pileus are attached to the
stem.
_Armillaria mellea. Vahl._
THE HONEY-COLORED ARMILLARIA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 39.--Armillaria mellea. Two-thirds natural size.
Honey colored. Tufted with dark-brown fugitive hairs. Flesh white.]
Mellea, from melleus, of the color of honey. Cap fleshy, honey colored,
or ochraceous, striate on the margin, shaded with darker brown toward
the center, having a central boss-like elevation and sometimes a central
depression in full grown specimens, tufted with dark-brown fugitive
hairs. Color of the cap varies, depending upon climatic conditions and
the character of the habitat. Gills distant, ending in a decurrent
tooth, pallid or dirty white, very often showing brown or rust colored
spots when old. Spores white and abundant. Frequently the ground under a
clump of this species will be white from the fallen spores. Stem elastic
and scaly, four inches or more in length. Ring downy. Diameter of cap
from two to five inches. Manner of growth is frequently in tufts, and,
as with most of the Armillarias, generally parasitic on old stumps.
The veil varies greatly. It may be membranaceous and thin, or quite
thick, or may be wanting entirely, as will be seen in Figure 39; in
Figure 40 only a slight trace of the ring can be seen. The two plants
grew under very different environment; the last grew in the woods and
Figure 39 on a lawn in the city. The species is very common and grows
either in thin woods or in cleared lands, on the ground or on decaying
wood. Its favorite habit is about stumps. It is either solitary,
gregarious, or in dense clusters. It is very abundant about Chillicothe,
where I have seen stumps literally surrounded with it. It has a slight
acridity while raw, which it seems to lose in cooking. Those who like it
may eat it without fear, all varieties being edible.
Prof. Peck gives the following varieties:
A. mellea var. obscura--has the cap covered with numerous small black
scales.
A. mellea var. flava--has a cap yellow or reddish-yellow, otherwise
normal.
A. mellea var. glabra--has a smooth cap, otherwise normal.
A. mellea var. radicata--has a tapering root penetrating the soil.
A. mellea var. bulbosa--has a bulbous base.
A. mellea var. exannulata--has the cap smooth and even on the margin,
and the stem tapering at the base.
[Illustration: Figure 40.--Armillaria mellea. Two-thirds natural size,
showing double ring present.]
_Armillaria bulbigera. A. & S._
MARGINATE-BULBED ARMILLARIA.
[Illustration: Figure 41.--Armillaria bulbigera. Reddish-gray caps and
short bulbous stems.]
Bulbigera is from _bulbus_, a bulb, and _gero_, to bear.
The pileus is fleshy, three to four inches across, convex, then
expanded, obtuse, even, brownish, gray, sometimes reddish, dry,
fibrillose near the margin.
The gills are notched at the stem, pallid, crowded at first, at length
rather distant, becoming slightly colored.
The stem is distinctly bulbous, two to three inches long, stuffed,
pallid, fibrillose, ring oblique, fugacious. The spores are 7-10x5u.
I have found some very fine specimens in Poke Hollow, near Chillicothe.
The stems were short and very bulbous, having hardly any trace of the
ring on the older specimens. The caps were obtusely convex and of a
grayish rufescent color. This species can readily be distinguished by
the distinctly marginate bulb at the base of the stem. The specimens in
Figure 41 were found in Poke Hollow, near Chillicothe, October 2d. I
have no doubt of their edibility but I have not eaten them.
_Armillaria nardosmia. Ellis._
SPIKENARD-SMELLING ARMILLARIA. ELLIS.
[Illustration: Figure 42.--Armillaria nardosmia. One-half natural size,
showing the veil and incurved margin.]
Nardosmia is from _nardosmius_, the odor of nardus or spikenard.
The pileus is quite thick, firm and compact, thinner toward the margin,
strongly involute when young, grayish white and beautifully variegated
with brown spots, like the breast of a pheasant, rather tough, with a
separable epidermis, flesh white.
The gills are crowded, slightly notched or emarginate, somewhat
ventricose, white.
The stem is solid, short, fibrous, sheathed by a veil forming a ring
more or less evanescent. The spores are nearly round, 6u in diameter.
This is the most beautiful species of the genus, and from its
pheasant-like spotted cap, as well as its strong odor and taste of
spikenard or almonds, it is easily determined. The almond taste and odor
disappears in cooking. I found some very fine specimens around a pond in
Mr. Shriver's woods, east of Chillicothe. In older specimens the
cuticule of the caps frequently breaks into scales. Found in woods in
September and October.
_Armillaria appendiculata. Pk._
Appendiculata, bearing small appendages. Pileus is 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 membraneous or webby, white, commonly adhering
in fragments to the margin of the pileus. Spores subelliptical, 8x5.
Pileus two to four inches broad. Stem 1.5-3.5 inches long; 5-10 lines
thick.
The general appearance of this species is suggestive of Tricholoma
album, but the appearance 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's
Report.
I have found this at Salem and Chillicothe.
_Tricholoma. Fr._
Tricholoma is from two Greek words meaning hair and fringe. This genus
is known by its stout, fleshy stem, without any evidence of a ring, and
by the gills being attached to the stem and having a notch in their
edges near or at the extremity. The veil is absent, or, if present, it
is downy and adherent to the margin of the cap. The cap is generally
quite fleshy; the stem is homogeneous and confluent with the pileus,
central and nearly fleshy, without either ring or volva, and with no
distinct bark-like coat. The spores are white or grayish-white.
The distinguishing features are the fleshy stem, continuous with the
flesh of the pileus, and the sinuate or notched gills. This is quite a
universal genus. All the species grow on the ground, so far as I know
them.
There are many edible species under this genus, there being only two, so
far as I know, not edible; and no one is likely to touch those on
account of their strong odor. They are T. sulphureum and T. saponaceum.
_Tricholoma transmutans. Pk._
THE CHANGING TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
Transmutans means changing, from changes of color in both stem and gills
in different stages of the plant. This species has a cap two to four
inches broad, viscid or sticky when moist. It is at first tawny-brown,
especially with advancing age. The flesh is white and has a decided
farinaceous odor and taste.
The gills are crowded, rather narrow, sometimes branched, becoming
reddish-spotted with age.
The stem is equal or slightly tapering upward; bare, or slightly
silky-fibrillose; stuffed or hollow; whitish, often marked with reddish
stains or becoming reddish-brown toward the base, white within. Spores
subglobose, 5u.
The species grows in woods and open places, also in clover pastures,
either singly or in tufts. I have seen large tufts of them, and in that
case the caps are more or less irregular on account of their crowded
condition. I found it frequently about Salem, and this fall, 1905, I
found it quite plentiful in a clover pasture near Chillicothe. Found in
wet weather from August to September.
_Tricholoma equestre. Linn._
THE KNIGHTLY TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 43.--Tricholoma equestre.]
Equestre means belonging to a horseman; so called from its distinguished
appearance in the woods.
The pileus is three to five inches broad, fleshy, compact, convex,
expanded, obtuse, viscid, scaly, margin incurved at first, pale
yellowish, with sometimes a slight tinge of green in both cap and gills.
Flesh white or tinged with yellow.
The gills are free, crowded, rounded behind, yellow.
The stem is stout, solid, pale yellow or white, white within. The spores
are 7-8x5u.
It differs from T. coryphaeum in having gills entirely yellow, while the
edges only of the latter are yellow. It differs from T. sejunctum in the
latter having pure white gills and a more slender stem.
It is found but occasionally here, and then only a specimen or two. It
is an attractive plant and no one would pass it in the woods without
admiring it. Found from August to October.
_Tricholoma sordidum. Fr._
[Illustration: Figure 44.--Tricholoma sordidum.]
Sordidum means dingy, dirty.
The pileus is two to three inches broad, rather tough, fleshy, convex,
bell-shaped, then depressed, subumbonate, smooth, hygrophanous, margin
slightly striate, brownish lilac, then dusky.
The gills are rounded, rather crowded, dingy violet then dusky, notched
with a decurrent tooth.
The stem is colored like the pileus, fibrillose striate, usually
slightly curved, stuffed, short, often thickened at the base.
The spores are 7-8x3-4, minutely rugulose.
This species differs from T. nudum in being smaller, tougher, and often
hygrophanous.
It is found in richly manured gardens, about manure piles, and in
hot-houses. The specimens in Figure 44 were found in a hot-house near
Boston, Mass., and sent to me by Mrs. E. Blackford. They are found in
September and October.
_Tricholoma grammopodium. Bull._
THE GROOVED STEM TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 45.--Tricholoma grammopodium. Natural size.]
Grammopodium is from two Greek words meaning _line_ and _foot_.
The pileus is three to six inches broad, flesh thick at the center, thin
at the margin, solid yet tender; brownish, blackish-umber, almost a
dingy-lavender when moist, whitish when dry; at first bell-shaped, then
convex, sometimes slightly wavy, obtusely umbonate; margin at first
inclined to be involute, and extending beyond the gills.
The gills are attached to the stem, broadly notched as will be seen in
the specimen, closely crowded, quite entire, shorter ones numerous, a
few branched, white or whitish.
The stem is three to four inches long, thickened at the base, smooth,
firm, longitudinally grooved from which it gets its specific name,
whitish.
The spores are nearly round, 5-6u.
It closely resembles T. fuligineum but can be distinguished by the
grooved stem and crowded gills. The specimens in Figure 45 were found
near Boston, and were sent to me by Mrs. Blackford. The plants keep well
and are easily dried. They were found the first of June. They have an
excellent flavor.
_Tricholoma paedidum. Fr._
Paedidum means nasty, stinking.
The pileus is small, about one and a half inches broad, rather fleshy,
tough; convex, then flattened, soon depressed around the conical umbo;
fibrillose, becoming smooth; smoky gray, somewhat streaked; moist;
margin involute, naked.
The gills are adnexed, crowded, narrow, white, then grayish, somewhat
sinuate with a slight decurrent tooth.
The stem is short, slightly striate, dingy gray, thickened at the base.
The spores are elliptical or fusiform, 10-11x5-6u.
The specific name, "nasty" or "stinking," has really no application to
the plant. It is said to be very good when cooked. It is found in well
manured gardens and fields, or about manure piles.
It differs from T. sordidum in having no trace of violet color. T.
lixivium differs in the free truncate gills.
_Tricholoma lixivium. Fr._
Lixivium means made into lye; hence, of the color of ashes and water.
The pileus is two to three inches broad; flesh thin; convex then plane;
umbonate, never depressed; even; smooth; grayish-brown when moist, then
umber; margin membranaceous, at length slightly striate, sometimes wavy.
The gills are rounded behind and adnexed, free, soft, distant, often
crisped, gray.
The stem is about two inches long, fibrous, hollow, or stuffed, equal,
at first covered with a white down, fragile, gray.
The spores are elliptical, 7x4-5u.
The umbonate pileus and the nearly free, broad, gray gills will
distinguish it. They are a late grower and are found under pine trees in
November.
_Tricholoma sulphureum. Bull._
SULPHURY TRICHOLOMA. POISONOUS.
[Illustration: Figure 46.--Tricholoma sulphureum.]
Sulphureum, sulphur; so called from the general color of the plant.
The pileus is one to three inches broad, fleshy, convex, then expanded,
plane, slightly umbonate, sometimes depressed, or flexuous and
irregular, margin at first involute, dingy or reddish-yellow, at first
silky, becoming smooth and even.
The gills are rather thick, narrowed behind, emarginate or acutely
adnate, sulphur-colored.
The stem is two to four inches long, somewhat bulbous, sometimes curved,
frequently slightly striate; stuffed, often hollow; sulphur-yellow,
yellow within; furnished at the base occasionally with many rather
strong, yellow, fibrous roots. Odor strong and disagreeable. Flesh thick
and yellow. Spores are 9-10x5u.
It grows in mixed woods. I find it frequently where logs have decayed.
The specimen in Figure 46 was found in Haynes' Hollow and photographed
by Dr. Kellerman. Found in October and November.
_Tricholoma quinquepartitum. Fr._
Quinquepartitum means divided into five parts. There is no apparent
reason for the name. Fries could not identify Linnaeus' Agaricus
quinquepartitus and he attached the name of this species.
The pileus is three or four inches broad, slightly fleshy; convex,
rather involute, then flattened, somewhat repand; viscid, smooth, even,
pale yellowish.
The gills are notched at the point of attachment to the stem, broad,
white.
The stem is three to four inches long, solid, striate or grooved,
smooth. The spores are 5-6x3-4.
This species differs from T. portentosum in the pileus not being
virgate, and from T. fucatum in the smooth, striate or grooved stem.
This plant is found in thin woods where logs have decayed. I have not
eaten this species but I have no doubt of its edibility. The taste is
pleasant. Found in October and November.
_Tricholoma laterarium. Pk._
[Illustration: Figure 47.--Tricholoma laterarium.]
Laterarium is from _later_, a brick; so called because there is nearly
always a slight tinge of brick red on the disk.
The pileus is two to four inches broad, convex, then expanded, sometimes
slightly depressed in the center; pruinose, whitish, the disk often
tinged with red or brown, the thin margin marked with slight subdistant,
short, radiating ridges.
The gills are narrow, crowded, white, prolonged in little decurrent
lines on the stem. The stem is nearly equal, solid, white. The spores
are globose, .00018 inch in diameter. _Peck's_ 26th Rep.
This plant is quite widely distributed in the United States. It is found
quite frequently in Ohio and is rather abundant on the hillsides about
Chillicothe, where it is frequently somewhat bulbous. The tinge of
brownish-red on the disk, and the short radiating ridges on the margin
of the pileus will serve to identify the plant. It is edible and fairly
good. Found on leaf-mold in rather damp woods from July to November.
_Tricholoma panaeolum. Fr._
[Illustration: Figure 48.--Tricholoma panaeolum.]
Panaeolum, all variegated. The pileus is from three to four inches broad,
deeply depressed, dusky with a gray bloom, hygrophanous; margin at first
inrolled, sometimes wavy or irregular when fully expanded.
The gills are quite crowded, adnate, arcuate, white at first, turning
to a light gray tinged with an intimation of red, notched with a
decurrent tooth.
The stem is short, slightly bulbous, tapering upward, solid, smooth,
about the same color as the cap. The spores are subglobose, 5-6.
I found the specimens in Figure 48 under pine trees, growing on a bed of
pine needles, on Cemetery Hill. They were found on the 9th of November.
Var. calceolum, Sterb., has the pileus spongy, deformed, thin, soft,
expanded, edge incurved, sooty-gray; gills smoky; stem excentric,
fusiform, very short.
_Tricholoma columbetta. Fr._
THE DOVE-COLORED TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 49.--Tricholoma columbetta. One-third natural
size. Caps white. Stems bulbous.]
Columbetta is the diminutive of _columba_, a dove; so called from the
color of the plant. The pileus is from one to four inches broad, fleshy,
convex, then expanded; at first smooth, then silky; white, center
sometimes a dilute mouse color shading to a white, frequently a tinge of
pink will be seen on the margin, which is at first inrolled, tomentose
in young plants, sometimes cracked.
The gills are notched at the junction of the stem, crowded, thin, white,
brittle.
The stem is two inches or more long, solid, white, cylindrical, unequal,
often compressed, smooth, crooked, silky especially in young plants,
bulbous. Spores .00023 by .00018 inch. Flesh white, taste mild.
This is a beautiful plant, seeming to be quite free from insects, and
will remain sound for several days on your study table. I had no end of
trouble with it till Dr. Herbst suggested the species. It is quite
plentiful here. Dr. Peck gives quite a number of varieties. Curtis,
McIlvaine, Stevenson, and Cooke all speak of its esculent qualities.
Found in the woods in September and October.
_Tricholoma melaleucum. Pers._
THE CHANGEABLE TRICHOLOMA.
[Illustration: Figure 50.--Tricholoma melaleucum. Two-thirds natural
size.]
Melaleucum, black and white; from contrasted colors of the cap and
gills.
This Tricholoma grows in abundance in northern Ohio. I have found it in
the woods near Bowling Green, Ohio. The specimens in the halftone were
found near Sandusky, Ohio, and were photographed by Dr. Kellerman. It is
usually found in sandy soil, growing singly in shady woods.
The pileus fleshy, thin, from one to three inches broad, convex, rather
broadly umbonate, smooth, moist, with variable color, usually pale,
nearly white at first, later much darker, sometimes slightly wavy.
The gills are notched, adnexed, ventricose, crowded, white.
The stem is stuffed, then hollow, elastic, from two to four inches long,
somewhat smooth, whitish, sprinkled with a few fibrils, usually
thickened at the base. The flesh is soft and white. There is no report,
so far as I know, regarding its edibility, and I have no doubt as to
this, but would advise caution.
_Tricholoma lascivum. Fr._
THE TARRY TRICHOLOMA.
Lascivum, playful, wanton; so called because of its many affinities,
none of which are very close. The pileus is fleshy, convex, then
expanded, slightly obtuse, somewhat depressed, silky at first, then
smooth, even. The gills are notched, adnexed, crowded, white; the stem
is solid, equal, rigid, rooting, white, tomentose at the base. Found in
the woods, Haynes' Hollow near Chillicothe. September and October.
_Tricholoma Russula. Schaeff._
THE REDDISH TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 51.--Tricholoma Russula. Natural size. Caps
reddish or flesh color.]
Russula is so named because of its likeness in color to some species of
the genus Russula.
The pileus is three to four inches broad, fleshy, convex, then
depressed, viscid, even or dotted with granular scales, red or flesh
color, the margin somewhat paler, involute and minutely downy in the
young plant.
The gills are rounded or slightly decurrent, rather distant, white,
often becoming red-spotted with age.
The stem is two to three inches long, solid, firm, whitish rosy-red,
nearly equal, scaly at the apex. The spores are elliptical, 10x5u.
This plant is quite variable in many of its peculiar characteristics,
yet it usually has enough to readily distinguish it. The cap may be
flesh-color and the stem rosy-red, the cap may be red and the stem white
or whitish with stains of red. During wet weather the caps of all are
viscid; when dry, all may be cracked more or less. The stems may not be
scaly at the apex, often rosy when young. They are found in the woods
solitary, in groups, or frequently in dense clusters. The specimens in
Figure 51 were found in Michigan and photographed by Dr. Fischer.
I found this plant in Poke Hollow. The gills were quite decurrent.
_Tricholoma acerbum. Bull._
THE BITTER TRICHOLOMA.
Acerbum means bitter to the taste.
The pileus is three to four inches broad, convex to expanded, obtuse,
smooth, more or less spotted, margin thin, at first involute, rugose,
sulcate, viscid, whitish, often tinged rufous, or yellow, quite bitter
to the taste.
The gills are notched, crowded, pallid or rufescent, narrow.
The stem is solid, rather short, blunt, yellowish, squamulose above or
about the apex. The spores are subglobose, 5-6u.
These plants were found growing in a thick bed of moss along with
Armillaria nardosmia. They were not perfect plants but I judged them to
be T. acerbum from their taste and involute margin. I sent some to Prof.
Atkinson, who confirmed my classification. They grow in open woods in
October and November.
_Tricholoma cinerascens. Bull._
Cinerascens means becoming the color of ashes.
The pileus is two to three inches broad, fleshy, convex to expanded,
even, obtuse, smooth, white, then grayish, margin thin.
The gills are emarginate, crowded, rather undulate, dingy, reddish often
yellowish, easily separating from the pileus.
The stem is stuffed, equal, smooth, elastic.
They grow in clusters in mixed wood. They are mild to the taste.
_Tricholoma album. Schaeff._
THE WHITE TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 52.--Tricholoma album. Entirely white.]
Album means white.
The pileus is two to four inches broad, fleshy, entirely white, convex,
then depressed, obtuse, smooth, dry, disc frequently tinged with yellow,
margin at first involute, at length repand.
The gills are rounded behind, rather crowded, thin, white, broad.
The stem is two to four inches long, solid, firm, narrowed upwards,
smooth.
This plant is quite plentiful in our woods, growing usually in groups.
It grows upon the leaf mould and is frequently quite large. It is quite
acrid to the taste when raw, but this is overcome in cooking. It is
found from August to October.
These plants are quite plentiful on the wooded hillsides about
Chillicothe. Those in Figure 52 were found on Ralston's Run and
photographed by Dr. Kellerman.
_Tricholoma imbricatum. Fr._
THE IMBRICATED TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd_
Figure 53.--Tricholoma imbricatum.]
Imbricatum means covered with tiles, _imbreces_, referring to the
lacerated condition of the cap. This species is very closely related to
T. transmutans in size, color and taste. It is, however, easily
separated by its dry cap and solid stem. Its cap is reddish-brown or
cinnamon-brown, and its surface often presents a somewhat scaly
appearance because the epidermis becomes lacerated or torn into small
irregular fragments which adhere and seem to overlap like shingles on a
roof. The flesh is firm, white, and has a farinaceous taste as well as
odor. The gills are white, becoming red or rusty spotted, rather close,
and notched. The stem is solid, firm, nearly equal, except slightly
swollen at the base, colored much like the cap but usually paler. When
old it is sometimes hollow on account of the insects mining it. The
spores are white and elliptical, .00025 inch long.
I found this mushroom near Salem, Ohio, Bowling Green, Ohio, and on
Ralston's Run near Chillicothe. Found in mixed woods from September to
November.
_Tricholoma terriferum. Pk._
THE EARTH-BEARING TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
Terriferum, earth-bearing, alluding to the viscid cap's holding
particles of loam and pine needles to it as it breaks through the soil.
This is a meaty mushroom, and when properly cleaned makes an appetizing
dish.
The pileus is convex, irregular, wavy on the margin and rolled inward,
smooth, viscid, pale yellow, sometimes whitish, generally covered with
loam on account of the sticky surface of the cap, flesh white.
The gills are white, thin, close, slightly adnexed.
The stem is short, fleshy, solid, equal, mealy, very slightly bulbous at
the base.
Found near Salem, Ohio, on Hon. J. Thwing Brooks' farm September to
October.
_Tricholoma fumidellum. Pk._
THE SMOKY TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
Fumidellum--smoky, because of the clay-colored caps clouded with brown.
The pileus is one to two inches broad, convex, then expanded,
subumbonate, bare, moist, dingy-white or clay-color clouded with brown,
the disk or umbo generally smoky brown.
The gills are crowded, subventricose, whitish.
The stem is one and a half to two and a half inches long, equal, bare,
solid whitish. The spores minute, subglobose, 4-5x4u. _Peck_, 44 Rep.
The specimens I found grew in a mixed woods in the leaf-mold. They are
found only occasionally in our woods in September and October.
_Tricholoma leucocephalum. Fr._
THE WHITE-CAPPED TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
Leucocephalum is from two Greek words meaning white and head, referring
to the white caps.
The pileus is one and a half to two inches across, convex, then plane;
even, moist, smooth when the silky veil is gone, water-soaked after a
rain; flesh thin, tough, smell mealy, taste mild and pleasant.
The gills are rounded behind and almost free, crowded, white.
The stem is about two inches long, hollow, solid at the base, smooth,
cartilaginous, tough, rooting. The spores are 9-10x7-8u.
It differs from T. album in having the odor of new meal strongly marked.
It is found in open woods during September and October.
_Tricholoma fumescens. Pk._
SMOKY TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 54.--Tricholoma fumescens.]
Fumescens means growing smoky.
Pileus convex or expanded, dry, clothed with a very minute appressed
tomentum, whitish.
The gills are narrow, crowded, rounded behind, whitish or pale cream
color, changing to smoky blue or blackish where bruised.
The stem is short, cylindrical, whitish. Spores are oblong-elliptical,
5-6x5u. Pileus is one inch broad. Stem one to one and a half inches
high. _Peck_, 44th Rep. N. Y. State Bot.
The caps are quite a bit larger in the specimens found in Ohio than
those described by Dr. Peck. So much so that I was in doubt as to the
correct identification. I sent some specimens to Dr. Peck for his
determination. The species will be readily identified by the fine
crowded gills and the smoky blue or blackish hue they assume when
bruised. The caps are frequently wavy, as will be seen in Figure 54.
I found the plants in Poke Hollow near Chillicothe, September to
November.
_Tricholoma terreum. Schaeff._
THE GRAY TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 55.--Tricholoma terreum. Cap grayish-brown or
mouse color.]
Terreum is from _terra_, the earth; so called from the color. This is
quite a variable species in color and size, as well as manner of growth.
The pileus is one to three inches broad, dry, fleshy, thin, convex,
expanded, nearly plane, often having a central umbo; floccose-scaly,
ashy-brown, grayish-brown or mouse-color.
The gills are adnexed, subdistant, white, becoming grayish, edges more
or less eroded. Spores, 5-6u.
The stem is whitish, fibrillose, equal, paler than the cap, varying from
solid to stuffed or hollow, one to three inches high.
I find this plant on north hillsides, in beech woods. It is not
plentiful. There are several varieties:
Var. orirubens. Q. Edge of gills reddish.
Var. atrosquamosum. Chev. Pileus gray with small black scales; g.
whitish.
Var. argyraceum. Bull. Entirely pure white, or pileus grayish.
Var. chrysites. Jungh. Pileus tinged yellowish or greenish.
The plants in Figure 55 were found in Poke Hollow near Chillicothe.
Their time is September to November.
_Tricholoma saponaceum. Fr._
[Illustration: Figure 56.--Tricholoma saponaceum.]
Saponaceum is from _sapo_, soap, so called from its peculiar odor.
The pileus is two to three inches broad, convex, then plane, involute at
first as will be seen in Figure 56, smooth, moist in wet weather but not
viscid, often cracked into scales or punctate, grayish or livid-brown,
often with a tinge of olive, flesh firm, becoming more or less red when
cut or wounded.
The gills are uncinately emarginate, thin, quite entire, not crowded,
white, sometimes tinged with green. Spores subglobose, 5x4u.
The stem is solid, unequal, rooting, smooth, sometimes reticulated with
black fibrils or scaly.
This species is found quite frequently about Chillicothe. It is quite
variable in size and color, but can be readily recognized from its
peculiar odor and the flesh's becoming reddish when wounded. It is not
poisonous but its odor will prevent any one from eating it. Found in
mixed woods from August to November.
_Tricholoma cartilagineum. Bull._
THE CARTILAGINOUS TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 57.--Tricholoma cartilagineum. Two-thirds natural
size.]
Cartilagineum means gristly or cartilaginous.
The pileus is two to three inches broad, cartilaginous, elastic, fleshy,
convex, soon expanded, wavy, as seen in Figure 57, margin incurved,
smooth, inclined to be blackish at first, then broken up into small
black spots.
The gills are slightly notched, adnexed, somewhat crowded, grayish.
The stem is one to two inches long, rather firm, stuffed, equal, smooth,
white, often striate and mealy. Taste and odor pleasant.
A number of my friends ate it because of its inviting taste and odor. It
grew in quantities among the clover in our city park during the wet
weather of the last of May and the first of June.
_Tricholoma squarrulosum. Bres._
[Illustration: Figure 58.--Tricholoma squarrulosum. Caps showing black
squamules.]
Squarrulosum means full of scales.
The pileus is two to three inches broad, convex, then expanded,
umbonate, dry; fuscous then lurid tan, center black, with black
squamules; edge fibrillose, exceeding gills.
The gills are broad, crowded, whitish-gray, reddish when bruised.
The stem is of the same color as the pileus, punctato-squamulose. The
spores are elliptical, 7-9x4-5u.
This is a beautiful plant, growing in mixed woods among the leaves. The
stem is short and apparently the same color as the pileus. The latter is
covered with black squamules which give rise to the name of the species.
I have succeeded in finding the plants only in October. The specimens in
Figure 58 were found in Poke Hollow, near Chillicothe.
_Tricholoma maculatescens. Pk._
SPOTTED TRICHOLOMA.
[Illustration: Figure 59.--Tricholoma maculatescens. One-third natural
size.]
Maculatescens means growing spotted; so called because when the specimen
is dried the cap becomes more or less spotted.
The pileus is one and a half to three inches broad, compact, spongy,
reddish-brown, convex, then expanded, obtuse, even, slightly viscid when
wet, becoming rivulose and brown spotted in drying, flesh whitish,
margin inflexed, exceeding the gills.
The gills are slightly emarginate, rather narrow, cinereous.
The stem is spongy-fleshy, equal, sometimes abruptly narrowed at the
base, solid, stout, fibrillose, pallid or whitish. The spores are oblong
or subfusiform, pointed at the ends, uninucleate, .0003 inch long,
.00016 broad. _Peck._
I found the plant on several occasions in the month of November, but was
unable to fix it satisfactorily until Prof. Morgan helped me out. The
specimens in Figure 59 were found on Thanksgiving day in the Morton
woods, in Gallia County, Ohio. I had found several specimens about
Chillicothe, previous to this.
This species seems to be very near T. flavobrunneum, T. graveolens, and
T. Schumacheri, but may be distinguished from them by the spotting of
the pileus when drying and the peculiar shape of the spores.
It is found among the leaves in mixed woods even during freezing
weather. It is no doubt edible, but I should try it cautiously for the
first time.
_Tricholoma flavobrunneum. Fr._
THE YELLOW-BROWN TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
Flavobrunneum is from flavus, yellow; brunneus, brown; so called from
the brown caps and yellow flesh.
The pileus is three to four or more inches broad, fleshy, conical, then
convex, expanded, subumbonate, viscid, brownish-bay, scaly-streaked,
flesh yellow, then tinged with red.
The gills are pale yellow, emarginate, slightly decurrent, somewhat
crowded, and often tinged with red.
The stem is three to four inches long, hollow, slightly ventricose,
brownish, flesh yellow, at first viscid, sometimes reddish-brown. The
spores are 6-7x4-5. Found in mixed woods among leaves.
_Tricholoma Schumacheri. Fr._
Schumacheri in honor of C. F. Schumacher, author of "Plantarum
Saellandiae." The pileus is from two to three inches broad, spongy,
convex, then plane, obtuse, even, livid gray, moist, edge beyond gills
incurved.
The gills are narrow, close, pure white, slightly emarginate.
The stem is three to four inches long, solid, fibrillosely-striate,
white and fleshy.
This seems to be a domestic plant, found in greenhouses.
_Tricholoma grande. Pk._
THE LARGE TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
Grande, large, showy. This was quite abundant in Haines' Hollow and on
Ralston's Run during the wet weather of the fall of 1905. It seems to be
very like T. columbetta and is found in the same localities.
The pileus is thick, firm, hemispherical, becoming convex, often
irregular, dry, scaly, somewhat silky-fibrillose toward the margin,
white, the margin at first involute. Flesh grayish-white, taste
farinaceous.
The gills are close, rounded behind, adnexed, white.
The stem is stout, solid, fibrillose, at first tapering upward, then
equal or but slightly thickened at the base, pure white. The spores are
elliptical, 9-11x6u.
The pileus is four to five inches broad, the stem two to four inches
long, and an inch to an inch and a half thick. _Peck_, 44th Rep.
This is a very large and showy plant, growing among leaves after heavy
rains. Both this and T. columbetta, as well as a white variety of T.
personatum, were very plentiful in the same woods. They grow in groups
so closely crowded that the caps are often quite irregular. The darker
and scaly disk and larger sized spore will help you to distinguish it
from T. columbetta. The very large specimens are too coarse to be good.
Found in damp woods, among leaves, from August to November.
_Tricholoma sejunctum. Sow._
THE SEPARATING TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 60.--Tricholoma sejunctum. One-half natural size.]
Sejunctum means having separated. It refers to the separation of the
gills from the stem. Pileus fleshy, convex, then expanded, umbonate,
slightly viscid, streaked with innate brown or blackish fibrils, whitish
or yellow, sometimes greenish-yellow, flesh white and fragile.
The gills are broad, subdistant, rounded behind or notched, white.
The stem is solid, stout, often irregular, white. The spores are
subglobose, .00025 inch broad. The pileus is one to three inches broad;
stem one to four inches long and from four to eight lines thick.
_Peck's_ Report.
This is quite common about Salem, Ohio; on the old Lake Shore line in
Wood County near Bowling Green, Ohio; and I have found it frequently
near Chillicothe. When cooked it has a pleasant flavor. It is always an
attractive specimen. I find it under beech trees in the woods, September
to November.
_Tricholoma unifactum. Pk._
UNITED TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
Unifactum means united or made into one, referring to the stems united
in one base root or stem.
The pileus is fleshy but thin, convex; often irregular, sometimes
eccentric from its mode of growth; whitish, flesh whitish, taste mild.
The gills are thin, narrow, close, rounded behind, slightly adnexed,
sometimes forked near the base, white.
The stems are equal or thicker at the base, solid, fibrous, white,
united at the base in a large fleshy mass.
Spores are white, subglobose, .00016 to .0002 of an inch broad. _Peck._
I found a beautiful specimen in Poke Hollow, in a beech woods with some
oak and chestnut. There was but one cluster growing from a large whitish
fleshy mass. There were fifteen caps growing from this fleshy mass. I
could not identify species until too late to photograph.
_Tricholoma albellum. Fr._
THE WHITISH TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
The pileus is two to three inches broad, becoming pale-white, passing
into gray when dry, fleshy, thick at the disk, thinner at the sides,
conical then convex, gibbous when expanded, when in vigor moist on the
surface, spotted as with scales, the thin margin naked, flesh soft,
floccose, white, unchangeable.
The gills are very much attenuated behind, not emarginate, becoming
broad in front; very crowded, quite entire, white.
The stem is one to two inches long, solid, fleshy-compact, ovate-bulbous
(conical to the middle, cylindrical above), fibrillose-striate, white.
Spores elliptical, 6-7x4u.
_Tricholoma personatum. Fr._
THE MASKED TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 61.--Tricholoma personatum. One-third natural
size. Caps usually tinged with lilac or violet. Stems bulbous.]
[Illustration: Figure 62.--Tricholoma personatum. Two-thirds natural
size. The entire plant white.]
Personatum means wearing a mask; so called because of the variety of
colors it undergoes. This is a beautiful mushroom, and is excellently
flavored; it has a wide range and is frequently found, in great
abundance. I have often seen it growing in almost a straight line for
over twenty feet, the caps so thoroughly crowded that they had lost
their form. When young the cap is convex and quite firm, with the margin
minutely downy or adorned with mealy particles, and incurved. In the
mature plant it is softer, broadly convex, or nearly plane, with the
thin margin spreading and more or less turned upward and wavy. When
young it is pale lilac in color, but with advancing age it changes to a
tawny or rusty hue, especially in the center. Sometimes the cap is
white, whitish or gray, or of a pale violaceous color.
The gills are crowded, rounded next to the stem, and nearly free but
approaching close to the stem, more narrow toward the margin, with a
faint tinge of lilac or violet tint when young, but often white.
The stem is short, solid, adorned with very minute fibers, downy or
mealy particles when young and fresh, but becoming smooth with
advancing age. The color of the stem is much like the cap but perhaps a
shade lighter.
The cap is from one to five inches broad, and the stem from one to three
inches high. It grows singly or in groups. It is found in thin woods and
thickets. It delights to grow where an old saw mill has stood.
The finest specimens of this species that I ever saw grew on a pile of
compost of what had been green cobs from the canning factory. They had
lain in the pile for about three years and late in November the compost
was literally covered with this species, many of whose caps exceeded
five inches while the color and figuration of the plants were quite
typical.
In English books this plant is spoken of as Blewits and in France as
Blue-stems, but the stems in this country are inclined to be lilac or
violet, and then only in the younger plants.
The spores are nearly elliptical and dingy white, but in masses on white
paper they have a salmon tint. Its smooth, almost shining, unbroken
epidermis and its peculiar peach-blossom tint distinguish it from all
other species of the Tricholoma. There is a white variety, very
plentiful in our woods, which is illustrated in Figure 62. They are
found only in leaf-mould in the woods. September to freezing weather.
_Tricholoma nudum. Bull._
THE NAKED TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
Nudum, naked, bare; from the character of the margin. The pileus is two
to three inches broad, fleshy, rather thin, convex, then expanded,
slightly depressed; smooth, moist, the whole plant violet at first,
changing color, margin involute, thin, naked, often wavy.
The gills are narrow, rounded behind, slightly decurrent when the plant
becomes depressed, crowded, violet at first, changing to a reddish-brown
without any tinge of violet.
The stem is two to three inches long, stuffed, elastic, equal, at first
violaceous, then becoming pale, more or less mealy. Spores 7x3.5u
I found some very fine specimens among the leaves in the woods in
Haynes' Hollow, near Chillicothe. October and November.
_Tricholoma gambosum. Fr._
ST. GEORGE'S MUSHROOM. EDIBLE.
Gambosum, with a swelling of the hoof, _gamba_. The pileus is three to
six inches broad, sometimes even larger; very thick, convex, expanded,
depressed, commonly cracked here and there; smooth, suggesting soft kid
leather; margin involute at first, pale ochre or yellowish white.
The gills are notched, with an adnexed tooth, densely crowded,
ventricose, moist, various lengths, yellowish white.
The stem is short, solid, flocculose at apex, substance creamy white;
swollen slightly at the base. The spores are white.
It is called St. George's mushroom in England because it appears about
the time of St. George's day, April 23d. It frequently grows in rings or
crescents. It has a very strong odor. Its season is May and June.
_Tricholoma portentosum. Fr._
THE STRANGE TRICHOLOMA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 63.--Tricholoma portentosum.]
Portentosum means strange or monstrous.
The pileus is three to five inches broad, fleshy, convex, then expanded,
subumbonate, viscid, sooty, often with purple tinge, frequently unequal
and turned up, streaked with dark lines, the thin margin naked, flesh
not compact, white, fragile, and mild.
The gills are white, very broad, rounded, almost free, distant, often
becoming pale-gray or yellowish.
The stem is three to six inches long, solid, quite fibrous, sometimes
equal, often tapering toward the base, white, stout, striate, villous at
base. The spores are subglobose, 4-5x4u.
The plants grow in pine woods and along the margins of mixed woods,
frequently by roadsides. It is usually found in October and November.
The plants in Figure 63 were found near Waltham, Mass., and were sent to
me by Mrs. E. B. Blackford. This is said to even excel T. personatum in
edible qualities.
_Clitocybe. Fr._
Clitocybe is from two Greek words, a hillside, or declivity, and a head;
so called from the central depression of the pileus.
The genus Clitocybe differs from Tricholoma in the character of the
gills. They are attached to the stem by the whole width and usually are
prolonged down the stem or decurrent. This is the first genus with
decurrent gills. The genus has neither a volva nor a ring and the spores
are white. The stem is elastic, spongy within, frequently hollow and
extremely fibrous, continuous with the pileus.
The pileus is generally fleshy, growing thin toward the margin, plane or
depressed or funnel-shaped, and with margin incurved. The universal
veil, if present at all, is seen only on the margin of the pileus like
frost or silky dew.
These plants usually grow on the ground and frequently in groups, though
a few may be found on decayed wood.
The Collybia, Mycena, and Omphalia have cartilaginous stems, while the
stem of the Clitocybe is extremely fibrous, and the Tricholoma is
distinguished by its notched gills.
This genus, because of the variations in its species, will always be
puzzling to the beginner, as it is to experts. We may easily decide it
is a Clitocybe because of the gills squarely meeting the stem, or
decurrent upon it, and its external fibrous stem, but to locate the
species is quite a different matter.
_Clitocybe media. Pk._
THE INTERMEDIATE CLITOCYBE. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 64.--Clitocybe media. One-half natural size.]
Media is from _medius_, middle; it is so called because it is
intermediate between C. nebularis and C. clavipes. It is not as
plentiful as either of the others in our woods.
The pileus is grayish-brown or blackish-brown, always darker than C.
nebularis. The flesh is white and farinaceous in taste.
The gills are rather broad, not crowded, adnate and decurrent, white,
with few transverse ridges or veins in the spaces between the gills.
The stem is one to two inches long, usually tapering upward, paler
than the pileus, rather elastic, smooth. The spores are plainly
elliptical, 8x5u.
This resembles very closely the two species mentioned above and is hard
to separate. I found the specimens in Figure 64 along Ralston's Run
where the ground is mossy and damp. Found in September and October.
_Clitocybe infundibuliformis. Schaeff._
THE FUNNEL-FORMED CLITOCYBE. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._
Plate IX. Figure 65.--Clitocybe infundibuliformis.]
Infundibuliformis means funnel-shaped. This is a beautiful plant and
very abundant in woods after a heavy rain. It grows upon the leaves and
especially among pine needles.
The pileus is at first convex and umbonate and as the plant advances in
age the margin becomes elevated until the plant becomes funnel-shaped.
The margin is frequently incurved and finally wavy. The flesh is soft
and white. The color of the cap is a pale tan. If the cap is examined
carefully it will be seen to be covered with a slight down or silky
substance, especially on the margin. The color of the cap is apt to fade
so that specimens will be found almost white.
The gills are thin, close, white or whitish, and very decurrent.
The stem is quite smooth, and generally tapers upward from the base. It
is sometimes white or whitish, but more frequently like the cap.
Mycelium will usually be found at the base on the leaves, forming a soft
white down. I have found this species in several parts of the state. It
is frequently found in clusters, when the caps will be irregular on
account of the crowded condition. They are very tender and of excellent
flavor. Found from August to October.
_Clitocybe odora. Bull._
SWEET-SMELLING CLITOCYBE. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 66.--Clitocybe odora. One-third natural size. Cap
pale green.]
Odora means fragrant. This is one of the easiest of the Clitocybes to
identify. The collector will very readily recognize it by its
olive-green color and its odor. The color in the old plant is quite
variable but in young plants is well marked. The pileus is one to two
and a half inches broad, flesh quite thick; at first convex, then
expanded, plane, often depressed, sometimes inclined to be wavy; even,
smooth, olive-green.
The gills are adnate, rather close, sometimes slightly decurrent, broad,
pallid.
The stem is one to one and a half inches long, often slightly bulbous at
the base.
These plants are found from August to October, in the woods, on leaves.
They are quite common about Chillicothe after a rain. When cooked by
themselves the flavor is a bit strong, but when mixed with other plants
not so strong in flavor, they are fine.
_Clitocybe illudens. Schw._
THE DECEIVING CLITOCYBE. NOT EDIBLE.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._
Plate X. Figure 67.--Clitocybe illudens.
Caps reddish-yellow to deep yellow. Gills yellow and decurrent.]
Illudens means deceiving. Pileus of a beautiful yellow, very showy and
inviting. Many a basketful has been brought to me to be identified with
the hope of their edibility. The cap is convex, umbonate, spreading,
depressed, smooth, often irregular from its crowded condition of growth;
in older and larger plants the margin of the pileus is wavy. The flesh
is thick at the center but thinner toward the margin. In old plants the
color is brownish.
The gills are decurrent, some much further than others; yellow; not
crowded; broad.
The stem is solid, long, firm, smooth tapering towards the base, as will
be seen by Figure 67, sometimes the stems are very large.