Among the Mushrooms: A Guide For Beginners

Key to Gasteromycetes and Ascomycetes.

Section A. Fungi that have the spores inside the cap. (Stomach fungi or Gasteromycetes.)

Section B. Fungi that have the spores in delicate sacs. (Spore sac fungi or Ascomycetes.)

SECTION A.

1.	Fungi covered with a hard rind,	Scleroderma.
2.	In which the spores when ripe turn to dust,	4.
	Where spores are at first closed in a cup-like sac that resembles a bird’s-nest,	3.
3.	Fungi with the outside covering bowl-shaped of one cottony layer,	Crucibulum, the Crucible.
	Outside covering tubular, trumpet-shaped, of 3 layers,	Cyathus, the cup.
	Outside covering opening with a torn mouth,	Nidularia, bird’s-nest.
4.	Outer covering splitting into star-like points,	Geaster, earth star.
	Outer covering opening by a single mouth at the top,	Lycoperdon, puff-ball.
	Spores at first borne in an egg-like sac, when ripe elevated on a cap at the top of the stem, no veil, has an odious smell,	Phallus, stink-horn fungus.

SECTION B.

1.	Where the sacs soon become free, no special covering, mostly fleshy, cup-like fungi,	Peziza, cup fungus.
	Sacs opening from the first, caps pitted or furrowed,	2.
2.	Cap lobed, irregular, saddle-shaped,	Helvella, yellowish fungus.
	Cap oval or conical, upper surface with deep pits formed by long ridges,	Morchella or Morel, honey-combed fungus.

(The genera described under Section B. all belong to the order of Discomycetes, fungi that have the spore sacs collected in a flattened disc.)

GLOSSARY.

Acute´. Gills when called acute have sharp edges or are pointed at either end.

Adnate´. Spoken of gills when they are firmly attached to the stem.

Adnex´. A less degree of attachment of gills than adnate.

A´garic. A mushroom that bears gills.

Aluta´ceous. A light leather color.

Anas´tomosing. Interlacing of veins, spoken of gills that are united by cross veins or partitions.

An´nulus. The ring on the stem of a mushroom, formed by the separation of the veil from the margin of the cap.

A´pex. The top. The end of the stem nearest to the gills.

Ap´ical. Relating to the apex.

Appendic´ulate. Hanging in small fragments.

Arach´noid. Like a cobweb.

Ar´cuate. Shaped like a bow.

Are´olate. Any surface divided into little areas or patches.

Axis. Stipe or stalk.

Band. A broad bar of color.

Basid´ium (plural basidia). Mother cells in the hymenium.

Behind. Posterior, the end of a gill next to the stem is said to be the posterior end.

Bifur´cate. Two-forked.

Bulbous. Spoken of the stem when it has a bulb-like swelling at the base.

Cæs´pitose. Growing in tufts.

Campan´ulate. Bell-shaped.

Cap. The pileus.

Cartilag´inous. Gristly, tough.

Casta´neus. Chestnut color.

Cell. A mass of protoplasm, with or without an enclosing wall.

Chlorophyll. The green coloring-matter contained in plants.

Cla´vate. Club-shaped.

Close. Crowded together—term used in describing gills.

Cohe´rent. Sticking together.

Con´cave. Having a rounded inwardly curved surface.

Concen´tric. With a common centre, as a series of rings, one within the other.

Con´nate. Growing together from the first.

Constric´ted. Contracted.

Contin´uous. Without interruption.

Convex. Elevated and regularly rounded.

Con´volute. Covered with irregularities on the surface, like the human brain.

Coria´ceous. Leathery in texture.

Cor´rugated. Wrinkled.

Corti´na. A veil of cobwebby texture. It gives the name to the genus Cortinarius.

Cre´nate. In wavy scallops.

Cu´ticle. Pellicle, a skin-like layer on the outside surface of the cap and stem.

Cy´athiform. Cup-shaped.

Decid´uous. Falling off when mature at the end of the season.

Decur´rent. Gills that run down the stem are called decurrent.

Dehis´cence. The opening of a peridium, when ripe, to discharge the spores.

Deliques´cent. Turning to liquid when mature.

Dichot´omous. Two-forked, regularly dividing by pairs from below upward.

Dimid´iate. Divided into two equal parts, applied to gills that only reach half-way to the stem, and to the cap when it is semi-circular or nearly so.

Disc. The central part of the upper surface of the cap.

Distant. Gills when they are far apart.

Emar´ginate. A gill which has a sudden curve in its margin close to the stem.

Entire. An edge that is straight, has no notch.

Ep´iphytal. Growing on the outside of another plant.

Equal. A stem is equal when it is of uniform thickness, gills when they are of equal length.

Eccen´tric. A stem which is not in the centre, but is attached to the cap between the margin and centre.

Fascic´ulate. Growing in clusters.

Ferru´ginous. Color of iron rust.

Fi´brous. Composed of fibres.

Fis´tulose. Tubular, hollow.

Fleshy. Composed of juicy cellular tissue.

Floccose. Woolly, downy.

Free. Gills when not attached to the stem.

Fungus (plural Fungi). A plant that has no chlorophyll, and obtains its nourishment from dead or living organic matter.

Fus´cous. Dingy dark-brown, or gray color,

Gelat´inous. Of the nature of jelly.

Genus. A number of species that have the same principal characteristics.

Gib´bous. Swollen unequally—applied to the cap.

Gill. Lamella, a radiating plate under the cap of an Agaric.

Gla´brous. Smooth.

Glo´bose. Nearly round.

Gran´ular. Consisting of or covered with grains.

Grega´rions. Growing in groups.

Hab´itat. Place of growth.

Homoge´neous. Of like nature.

Hyme´nium. The fruit-bearing surface, a continuous layer of spore mother cells.

Hy´phæ (singular Hypha). Elementary threads of a fungus, cylindrical, thread-like bodies, developing by growth at the apex.

Im´bricated. Overlapping like the tiles of a roof.

Incras´sated. Thickened.

Inferior. Applied to a ring that is far down on the stem.

Infundibuliform. Funnel-shaped.

Involute. Rolled inward.

Labyrin´thine. Like a labyrinth.

Lac´erate. Torn.

Lamel´la. See gill.

Line. 1/12 of an inch.

Mac´ulate. Spotted.

Me´dial or median. When the ring is situated in the middle of the stem.

Membrana´ceous. Thin, soft, like a membrane.

Mica´ceous. Covered with shining particles, like mica.

Mother cell. A cell from which another is derived.

Myce´lium. The vegetative part of fungi, commonly called the spawn.

Mycol´ogist. One who is versed in the study of fungi.

Obo´vate. Having the broad end turned toward the top.

Ob´solete. Nearly imperceptible.

Obtuse. Blunt.

Ochra´ceous. Light brownish-yellow.

Ovate. Egg-shaped.

Par´asite. A plant growing on another living body, from which it gains its nourishment.

Pel´licle. See cuticle.

Peren´nial. Growing from year to year.

Perid´ium. The outer covering of the spores in some fungi, as in puff-balls.

Peridi´olum. The inside peridium containing the spores.

Pi´leus. See cap.

Pir´iform or pyriform. Pear-shaped.

Plane. Level surface.

Pores. The tubes in Polyporei.

Poste´rior. Term applied to the end of the gill next to the stem.

Pru´inose. Covered with a bloom or powder.

Pulver´ulent. Covered with powder or dust.

Putres´cent. Decaying.

Rad´icating. Taking root.

Retic´ulated. Marked with cross lines like a net.

Rev´olute. Rolled upward or backward.

Ri´mose. Cracked.

Rim´ulose. Covered with small cracks.

Ring. Annulus.

Riv´ulose. Marked with lines like rivers in maps.

Rotund´. Round.

Ru´gose. Wrinkled.

Sap´id. Agreeable to the taste.

Sap´rophyte. A plant that lives on decaying matter.

Scab´rous. Rough.

Scis´sile. Easily split.

Sep´arating. Spoken of gills when they easily separate from the stem.

Ses´sile. Stemless.

Sin´uate. Wavy, A gill that has a sudden curve near the stem.

Sor´did. Dingy.

Spore. The same body that answers to the seed of flowering plants.

Spo´rophore. That part which bears the spores or spore mother cells.

Squa´mose. Scaly.

Stalk. A stipe or stem.

Stel´late. Star-shaped.

Stipe. See stalk.

Strobil´iform. Shaped like a pine-cone.

Stuffed. When a stem is filled with pith or a spongy substance.

Suc´culent. Juicy, fleshy.

Sul´cate. Grooved.

Supe´rior. Spoken of a ring that is high up on the stem.

Tes´sellated. In small squares, or checkered.

To´mentose. Covered with matted wool.

Tra´ma. The substance proceeding from and of like nature with the part that bears the hymenium—the framework of the gills.

Trem´elloid. Jelly-like.

Tu´bæform. Trumpet-shaped.

Umbil´icate. Having a central depression.

Um´bo. Arising or mound in the centre of the cap.

Veins. Swollen wrinkles on the sides and at the base between the gills.

Ven´tricose. Swelling in the middle.

Ver´nicose. Varnished.

Vil´lose. Covered with weak, soft hairs.

Vires´cent. Greenish.

Vir´gate. Streaked.

Vis´cid. Sticky.

Vis´cous. Gluey.

Zones. Circular bands of color.

INDEX TO DESCRIPTIONS OF FUNGI.

GENUS.	ENGLISH OR COMMON NAMES.	GREEK OR LATIN NAMES.	PAGE.
Agaricus.	The flat-capped mushroom,	A. placomyces.	104
Agaricus.	The common or edible mushroom,	A. campestris.	103
Amanita.	The death cup,	A. phalloides.	108
Amanita.	The fly Amanita,	A. muscaria.	89
Amanita.	Frost’s Amanita,	A. Frostiana.	90
Amanita.	The poisonous Amanita,	A. virosa.	107
Amanita.	The shining Amanita,	A. nitida.	109
Amanita.	The sheathed Amanita,	A. vaginata.	101
Amanita.	The warted Amanita,	A. strobiliformis.	100
Boletus.	The bitter Boletus,	B. felleus.	102
Boletus.	The bluing Boletus,	B. cyanescens.	96
Boletus.	The chestnut Boletus,	B. castaneus.	123
Boletus.	The chrome-footed Boletus,	B. chromapes.	85
Boletus.	The dingy Boletus,	B. sordidus.	126
Boletus.	The edible Boletus,	B. edulis.	121
Boletus.	The golden Boletus,	B. chrysenteron.	123
Boletus.	The granulated Boletus,	B. granulatus.	96
Boletus.	The gray Boletus,	B. griseus.	103
Boletus.	The half-golden Boletus,	B. hemichrysus.	95
Boletus.	Murray’s Boletus,	B. Murrayi.	85
Boletus.	The ornate stemmed Boletus,	B. ornatipes.	119
Boletus.	The peppery Boletus,	B. piperatus.	126
Boletus.	The deceiving Boletus,	B. illudens.	124
Boletus.	The yellow-cracked Boletus,	B. subtomentosus.	125
Boletus.	The related Boletus,	B. affinis.	128
Boletus.	The rough Boletus,	B. scaber.	122
Boletus.	The short-stemmed Boletus,	B. brevipes.	120
Boletus.	The small yellowish Boletus,	B. subluteus.	127
Boletus.	The thick-stemmed Boletus,	B. pachypus.	124
Boletus.	The white Boletus,	B. albus.	113
Cantharellus.	The Chantarelle,	C. cibarius.	88
Cantharellus.	The funnel-shaped Chantarelle,	C. infundibuliformis.	94
Cantharellus.	The golden Chantarelle,	C. aurantiacus.	94
Clitocybe.	The waxy Clitocybe,	C. laccata.	83
Clavaria.	The club-shaped Clavaria,	C. pistillaris.	138
Clavaria.	The constricted Clavaria,	C. stricta.	137
Clavaria.	The pale yellow Clavaria,	C. flava.	138
Clavaria.	The unequal Clavaria,	C. inequalis.	139
Collybia.	The oak-loving Collybia,	C. dryophila.	118
Collybia.	The tufted Collybia,	C. acervata.	115
Coprinus.	The inky Coprinus,	C. atramentarius.	105
Coprinus.	The glistening Coprinus,	C. micaceous.	100
Cortinarius.	The cinnamon-colored Cortinarius,	C. cinnamomeus.	115
Cortinarius.	The violet-colored Cortinarius,	C. albo violaceous.	129
Cortinarius.	The wrinkled Cortinarius,	C. corrugatus.	102
Cortinarius.	The zoned Cortinarius,	C. armillatus.	82
Crucibulum.	The common crucible,	C. vulgare.	141
Cyathus.	The varnished cup,	C. vernicosus.	142
Fistulina.	The beefsteak mushroom,	F. hepatica.	131
Geaster.	The wandering earth star,	G. hygrometricus.	143
Helvella.	The cap-shaped Helvella,	H. infula.	146
Hirneola.	The Jew’s ear,	H. auricula Judae.	140
Hygrophorus.	The blood-red Hygrophorus,	H. puniceus.	87
Hygrophorus.	The scarlet color Hygrophorus,	H. coccineus.	87
Hygrophorus.	The vermilion Hygrophorus,	H. mineatus.	86
Hypholoma.	The gray-gilled mushroom,	H. capnoides.	117
Hypholoma.	The perplexing mushroom,	H. perplexum.	118
Hypholoma.	The tufted mushroom,	H. fasciculare.	89
Lactarius.	The delicious Lactarius,	L. deliciosus.	92
Lactarius.	The colorless Lactarius,	L. ichoratus.	81
Lactarius.	The fleecy Lactarius,	L. vellereus.	112
Lactarius.	The mild Lactarius,	L. mitissimus.	82
Lactarius.	The orange brown Lactarius,	L. volemus.	80
Lactarius.	The peppery Lactarius,	L. piperatus.	111
Lepiota.	The smooth Lepiota,	L. naucinoides.	110
Lepiota.	The tall Lepiota,	L. procera.	120
Lycoperdon.	The cup-shaped puff-ball,	L. cyathiforme.	142
Lycoperdon.	The pear-shaped puff-ball,	L. pyriforme.	143
Marasmius.	The fairy ring mushroom,	M. oreades.	99
Morchella.	The edible Morel,	M. esculenta.	146
Paxillus.	The thin stemmed Paxillus,	P. leptopus.	128
Peziza.	The golden cup-shaped mushroom,	P. aurantia.	145
Phallus.	The fetid wood witch,	P. impudicus.	144
Pholiota.	The fat Pholiota,	P. adiposa.	97
Pholiota.	The showy Pholiota,	P. spectabilis.	98
Pleurotus.	The elm Pleurotus,	P. ulmarius.	113
Pleurotus.	The palatable Pleurotus,	P. sapidus.	114
Pluteus.	The fawn-colored Pluteus,	P. cervinus.	105
Polyporus.	The birch Polyporus,	P. betulinus.	132
Polyporus.	The black-stemmed Polyporus,	P. picipes.	134
Polyporus.	The changeable Polyporus,	P. versicolor.	136
Polyporus.	The elegant Polyporus,	P. elegans.	136
Polyporus.	The perennial Polyporus,	P. perennis.	133
Polyporus.	The sulphury Polyporus,	P. sulphureus.	134
Polyporus.	The shining Polyporus,	P. lucidus.	135
Psathyrella.	The widely-spread Psathyrella,	P. disseminata.	116
Russula.	The blood-red Russula,	R. sanguinea.	78
Russula.	The elegant Russula,	R. lepida.	80
Russula.	The forked Russula,	R. furcata.	107
Russula.	The green Russula,	R. virescens.	106
Russula.	The nauseating Russula,	R. emetica.	77
Russula.	The rosy-stemmed Russula,	R. roseipes.	79
Schizophyllum.	The common Schizophyllum,	S. commune.	140
Scleroderma.	The hard-skinned mushroom,	S. vulgare.	141
Stropharia.	The dry Stropharia,	S. siccapes.	93
Tricholoma.	The canary-colored Tricholoma,	T. equestre.	91
Tricholoma.	The imbricated Tricholoma,	T. imbricata.	119
Tricholoma.	The sulphury Tricholoma,	T. sulphureum.	91
Typhula.	The reed mace mushroom,	T. phacorrhiza.	139

APPENDIX.

A GUIDE FOR THE IDENTIFICATION AND
DIFFERENTIATION OF AGARICS, COMPRISED
IN FOUR TABLES, ARRANGED WITH
REFERENCE TO THE COLORS OF
THE SPORES, VIZ.:

Table I.	White spores.
Table II.	Red and pink spores.
Table III.	Ochraceous spores.
Table IV.	Dark purple and black spores.

NOTE.

In using this table the student should first ascertain the color of the spores of the specimen under investigation. This will determine the particular table to be applied to its further examination. If, for instance, he finds its spores to be white, he will know that Table I. is the one to be consulted. Turning to that table, he should recall the place of its growth, its habitat. Now, suppose it to have been found growing on a stump, he will, by looking at the first column, Habitat, of Table I., be informed that it must be one of the four genera named in the column with the heading “On Stumps.” Let him then examine its “gills.” If he finds them to be “adnate,” he will be assured that it must be an “Armillaria,” as no other genus is shown in the column as growing “on stumps” and which has gills that are adnate. But to make assurance doubly sure, he may proceed further to discover whether the specimen has also the ring called for in column headed “Ring.” If it has, and was found growing in the summer, he may feel quite safe in classifying it as Armillaria. Sometimes the same genus will be found in more than one column. This ought not to mislead or confuse the beginner. In Table I., column headed “Volva,” Amanita is mentioned, and also in the column headed “Ring,” but this indicates that an Amanita has both the Volva (the universal veil) and the Ring. So in the columns headed by “Stem,” Pleurotus is represented as having a lateral or eccentric stem, and also as having no stem. The meaning is, that some species of the genus have no stem, while there are others in which the stem is lateral or eccentric.

Transcriber’s Note:
Variations in spelling, wording and table format are as in the original.

Table I.—White Spores.

Size of plants, small.		Collybia,1 Mycena, Omphalia, Marasmius.
Plants deliquescent.
Time of growth, summer.		Amanita, Collybia, Mycena, Omphalia, Lepiota, Pleurotus, Russula,2 Lactarius.
Time of growth, autumn.		Amanita, Clitocybe, Collybia, Mycena, Omphalia, Hygrophorus, Lepiota, Marasmius, Armillaria, Pleurotus, Tricholoma, Russula, Cantharellus, Lactarius.3
Habitat	In woods, in uncultivated places, on ground.	Amanita, Armillaria, Tricholoma,4 Clitocybe, Collybia,5 Hygrophorus, Lactarius, Russula, Cantharellus.6
	In grass and fields, on ground.	Lepiota, Tricholoma.7
	On other plants—epiphytal.	Mycena, Omphalia, Marasmius, Collybia.
	On stumps.	Panus, Armillaria, Lenzites, Lentinus.
	On wood.	Trogia, Pleurotus, Schizophyllum,8 Cantharellus.9
	On manure. [Category missing in original.]
Gills,	free.	Amanita, Lepiota.
	adnate.	Armillaria, Clitocybe, Collybia.
	decurrent.	Omphalia, Clitocybe, Cantharellus, Hygrophorus, Lactarius.10
	serrated.	Lentinus.
	sinuous.	Tricholoma, Pleurotus.
	distant.	Marasmius, Clitocybe.
	in folds.	Cantharellus, Trogia.
Volva.		Amanita.
Veil adhering to margin of cap.		Tricholoma.
Ring.		Amanita, Armillaria, Lepiota.
Stem,	cartilaginous.	Marasmius, Mycena, Omphalia, Collybia.
	lateral, or eccentric.	Pleurotus, Panus.
	none.	Lenzites, Pleurotus, Trogia, Schizophyllum, Panus.
	brittle.	Russula.
Pileus,	scaly or warted.	Amanita, Lepiota.
	campanulate.	Mycena.
	silky, cracked or fibrillose.	Tricholoma, Clitocybe, Pleurotus.
	umbonate.	Mycena.
	umbilicate.	Omphalia, Lactarius.11
	striate.	Omphalia, Mycena.
Pileus and Gills milky.		Lactarius.

1. Some small.

2. In late summer.

3. Generally in autumn.

4. Large species.

5. Few.

6. Some.

7. Small species.

8. Sometimes on rotten wood.

9. Some on rotten wood.

10. Adnato decurrent.