Viscid White Mushroom. Fig. 23.
(Hygrophorus virgineus.)470.
This species, exquisite in form and flavour, is one of the prettiest ornaments of our lawns, downs, and short pastures at the fall of the year. In these situations it may be found in every part of the kingdom. It is essentially waxy, and feels and looks precisely as if made of the purest virgin wax. The stem is firm, stuffed, and attenuated, and the gills (singularly distant from each other) run far down the stem; it changes colour a little when getting old, at which time it is unfit for culinary purposes.
A batch of fresh specimens, broiled or stewed with taste and care, will prove agreeable, succulent, and flavorous eating, and may sometimes be obtained when other species are not to be had.
Several allied species enjoy the reputation of being esculent, notably H. pratensis and H. niveus; and my friend Mr. F. C. Penrose has eaten, and speaks favourably of, H. psittacinus—a highly ornamental yellow species, with a green stem, sometimes common enough in rich pastures (and generally said to be very suspicious).