1. Pholiota.
2. Inocybe.
3. Hebeloma.
4. Flammula.
5. Naucoria.
6. Pluteolus.
7. Galera.
8. Tubaria.
9. Crepidotus.
10. Cortinarius.
11. Acetabularia.
12. Paxillus (spores are ferruginous or dingy white).
13. Bolbitius (ferruginous spores).
1. Chitonia.
2. Psalliota.
3. Stropharia.
4. Hypholoma.
5. Psilocybe.
6. Psathyra.
7. Panæolus.
8. Psathyrella.
10. Gomphidius.
11. Anellaria.
Having arranged these lists of mushrooms by their different characteristics, and then by the color of the spores, we will give a list of fungi familiar to most persons, classified according to the colors of the cap. The far greater number have been analyzed by the writers, and a full description is given to enable the beginner more easily to identify them.
The reader will notice that in the lists of fungi given above there are certain genera not elsewhere mentioned in this book. He will understand that it is inadvisable in a short primer to allude to all the genera that exist. It was, however, impossible to give a complete table without including them in it.
photograph
Russula pectinata.
Photographed by C. G. Lloyd.
The genus Russula probably contains the largest number of mushrooms with reddish caps, the word Russula meaning reddish.
Cap bright blood red, at first rosy, then blood color, tawny when old, 3 to 4 inches broad, first bell-shaped, then flattened or depressed, polished, margin at length grooved (sulcate), flesh white, reddish under the cuticle. Stem 1½ to 3 inches long, ¾ of an inch thick, white or with a reddish hue, spongy, stuffed, stout, elastic when young, fragile when old, even, tapering slightly upward. Gills free, broad, rather distant, white.
This is found on the ground among dead leaves, in the woods and open places from July to December. It has a bitter taste, and is said to be poisonous. Those eating it are often affected as if they had taken an emetic. It is easily distinguished by the fact of the flesh turning red immediately under the skin when it is peeled off. There are numerous varieties of it, in one the stem has minute wrinkles running lengthwise. We found it in different localities. The taste was acrid. It was one of the first and the last mushrooms that we gathered. (Poisonous.)
Cap blood red, becoming pale at margin, 2 to 3 inches broad, at first convex, then depressed, and funnel-shaped (infundibuliform), irregularly swollen in the centre, polished, even, margin acute, moist in damp weather. Flesh firm, cheesy, white. Stem stout, spongy, stuffed, at first contracted at apex, then equal, slightly marked with lines white or reddish. Gills at first fastened to stem and then decurrent, crowded, narrow, connected by veins, fragile, somewhat forked, shining white, afterward turning ochraceous color. The taste is acrid and peppery. It is found in woods from August to September, and is not common. (Poisonous.)
This is a striking-looking mushroom. The colors are pretty, and the tinge of red in the stem adds to its beauty. There are other species of Russula that also have red tints in the stem. Cap rosy red, with pink and orange hues, 1 to 2 inches broad, convex, becoming nearly plane or slightly depressed; at first viscid, soon dry, slightly marked with lines on the thin margin, taste mild. Gills moderately close, nearly entire, rounded behind and slightly adnexed, swollen in the middle, whitish, becoming yellow. Stem 1 to 2 inches long, 3 to 4 lines thick, slightly tapering upward, stuffed or hollow, white, tinged with red. It is distinguished from other species by its mild taste, rosy cap, commonly dry and but slightly striate on margin, its gills changing from white to yellow or slightly ochraceous, and being partially attached to the stem, and its stem being slightly stained with rosy red. It grows in pine and hemlock woods, and is found in July and August. (Edible.)
Cap at first is a bright red, but becomes a dull reddish-pink, paler at the disc, 3 inches broad, dry, fleshy, convex; then expanded, scarcely depressed, obtuse and polished, afterward cracked (rimose), and with minute scales (squamulose). The margin spreading and rounded, obtuse, not striate. Stem about 3 inches long, from 1 to 1½ inch thick, even, solid, white, or rose color. Gills rounded behind, rather thick, somewhat crowded, often forked, connected by veins, white, often red at edge. Taste mild. We found our specimen in mixed woods. The stem was only tinged with pink. (Edible.)
Cap 3 to 5 inches broad, reddish-orange color, becoming pale, compact, rigid, obtuse, with the margin bent inward, depressed, at length marked with lines like a river (rimose). Flesh white, turning brown. Stem 2 to 3 inches long, ¾ to 1¼ inch thick, stout, stuffed, then hollow, paler at apex, with a bloom, same color as cap, with lengthwise lines. Gills adnato-decurrent, yellowish turning ochraceous, broad, thin, crowded, milk sweet and plentiful. Stevenson says that the taste of this Lactarius is delicious, that it is savory even when raw. It should not be kept too long before cooking, or it will emit a strong, unpleasant odor. It is abundant in chestnut or oak woods from July to September. Our specimen was much wrinkled on the margin. The milk was abundant. (Edible.)
The name of this species is given on account of the color of the milk (Stevenson). Cap a tawny pinkish-red color, 3 to 4 inches broad, zoned, plano-depressed, margin often wavy, dry, flesh creamy white or pallid. Stem 1½ to 3 inches long, thick, solid, afterward spongy, equal, smooth, the same color as the cap, lighter at the apex. Gills adnate, slightly decurrent, not crowded, creamy white, turning ochraceous. Milk white, sweet. It has a strong smell. In the specimen we found the stem was slightly marked with lines and the milk plentiful. It is not spoken of as edible.
The name only applies to the taste of the milk. (Stevenson.)
Cap a light, bright reddish-orange, golden tawny color, 1 to 4 inches broad, even, then depressed, smooth, sticky when moist, flesh whitish, turning yellow. Stem 1 to 4 inches long, thick, stuffed, then hollow, even, smooth, same color as cap. Gills slightly running down the stem, rounded at one end, broad, yellowish. Milk mild, then bitterish and plentiful. It is found in pine and mixed woods from August until November. It has a beautiful color, and resembles in that particular L. volemus.
Cap a tawny reddish-yellow, brick red, 2 to 5 inches broad, fleshy, bell-shaped or almost conical, then convex, dry, smooth, marked with reddish specks, darker toward the centre, flesh white, turning red and narrowing toward the margin. Stem 3 to 6 inches long, ½ inch thick, solid, firm, slightly tapering toward the apex, very bulbous at base, same color as cap, stuffed with brown pith inside. There are two or three reddish oblique zones encircling the stem. Gills adnate, swollen in the middle, distant, variable, at first pale cinnamon color, and then dark brown. We found them at the end of August in great numbers, sometimes united in tufts (cæspitose) in all stages of growth, the younger ones covered with a cobwebby veil, which is paler in color than the zones. They grow in mixed woods.
This species is small in size. Cap is about 1 inch broad, thin, convex and almost plane. Sometimes with a depression (umbilicate). When moist it has a water-soaked look, and becomes pale in drying. When wet it has a peculiar flesh color, but when dry it is a pale yellowish-red hue. Stem is long and slender, tough and of same color as cap, 2 lines thick, fibrous, stuffed, often twisted and white, with soft, weak hairs at base (villous). Gills are attached to stem with a decurrent tooth, broad, distant, of a peculiar flesh color. We found several varieties. One had gills of a beautiful violet color (Var. amethystina), in another the gills were pale (Var. pallidifolia). (Peck.) A small form with radiating lines extending from near the centre to the margin (Var. striatula), Peck, is an interesting species and often seen. They grow closely together on the sides of roads, in groups, all through the season. Sometimes the cap is very small, ¼ inch across. It often grows in arcs of circles.
Cap a pale red color, 2 to 3 inches broad, convex when young, then slightly raised in the middle, umbonate, afterward the margin is elevated and the cap becomes funnel-shaped and the margin wavy. Flesh thin and white. Stem 1½ to 3 inches long, 2 to 3 lines thick, smooth, paler colored than the cap, tapering upward. Gills rather decurrent, arc-shaped, broad, distant, whitish, not yellow, netted with veins. This is also a variable species and grows in woods. It is pretty, and is easily known by its shape.
Cap dark red, 1 to 3 inches broad, granulated, convex, with a slight mound or umbo, margin turned upward, flesh yellow. Stem ½ inch long, yellow. Tubes lemon color, angular and round, irregular. The stem in our specimen was granulated like the cap.
Cap tawny red, 2 to 4 inches broad, convex or nearly plane, flesh white. Tubes almost attached (subadnate), depressed around the stem, whitish, turning a pinkish-brown color. Stem equal or tapering upward, rough whitish color, with reddish specks upon it, but chrome yellow at the base, both outside and inside, and spongy within. Stem 2 to 4 inches long, about ½ inch thick. This is not a hard boletus to distinguish on account of the yellow color at the base of the stem. The Boleti seem to be most abundant from the beginning of July until early in September. There are many varieties of beautiful colors, and they are a most interesting group, especially to beginners. This may be partly owing to the fact that Professor Peck’s pamphlet on “Boleti” is clearly expressed, and the descriptions so vivid and plain that one has less trouble in naming them than any other class of fungi.
Cap 1 inch broad, at first vermilion color and then paler, broad, flattened and then even, depressed in centre by the margin becoming elevated. It is thin and fragile at first, even, smooth, and then scaly. Stem from 1 to 2 inches long, slender, 1 line thick, a little paler than the cap, equal, round, somewhat stuffed, smooth, shining. Gills attached, seldom decurrent, distant, distinct, yellow color, shaded with red. This species is very fragile. It grows in woods or in open country, on mosses or on dead leaves. It may be cæspitose, or grows singly from July to October.
Cap, first bright scarlet and then changing to a paler hue. One to 2 inches broad and even more, convex, plane, often unequal, obtuse, sticky, and even, smooth, flesh of the same color as cap. Stem 2 inches long, 3 to 4 lines thick, hollow, then compressed and rather even, scarlet color like cap, but always yellow at the base. Gills wholly attached, decurrent, with a tooth, distant, connected by veins, soft, watery, when full grown, purplish at the base, light yellow in the middle, powdery at the edge, fragile. This species grows in pastures, and is common. It is found from August to November.
Cap 2 to 4 inches broad, glittering blood scarlet, when older becomes paler, at first bell-shaped, obtuse, commonly spread out or lobed, irregular, even, smooth, sticky. Flesh of the same color as cap, fragile. Stem 3 inches long, 1 to 1½ inch thick. Solid when young, at length hollow, very stout, swollen in middle, thinner at both ends, marked with lines and generally scaly at apex; when dry either yellow or same color as the cap, always white at first, and often incurved at the base. Gills ascending, swollen in middle, 2 to 4 lines broad, distant, thick, white or light yellow, or yellow, and often reddish at base. This is a very handsome species. It is found in pastures from July to November.
Cap bright orange or egg color, first convex, and then depressed, at length top-shaped and smooth. The margin lobed and turning under (involute). Flesh thick and white. Stem 1 to 1½ inch long, thickened upward, solid, fleshy. Gills running down the stem, thick, distant, fold-like. Stevenson does not give the size of the cap, but our specimen measured 2 inches in breadth. It had an odor like ripe apricots, and a pleasant taste. It is often tufted in its growth. It is found in woods from July to December. This is a very striking looking mushroom and easily distinguished. It often grows in rings or arcs of circles. (Edible.)
Cap a beautiful reddish color, like a peach; the disc darker, about 2 inches broad, fleshy, thin, convex, then plane, with a slight mound or umbo, even, smooth, dry; flesh a light yellow. Stem variable in length, 2 to 9 inches long, 2 lines thick, hollow, thin, incurved or curved, covered with fibres of same color as cap. Gills adnate, very crowded, linear, somewhat liquid when mature (deliquescent), sulphur yellow, and then becoming green, taste bitter. It grows in crowded clusters. It is said to be poisonous.
Cap at first red, then orange, then becoming pale, about 4 inches broad, convex, and then flat, covered with thick fragments of volva; margin when grown slightly marked with lines; flesh white, yellow under the cuticle. Stem white, sometimes yellowish, 2 inches long, torn into scales, at first stuffed, then hollow; the attached base of the volva forms an oval-shaped bulb, which is bordered with concentric scales, that is, having a common centre, as a series of rings one within the other. Ring very soft, torn, even, inserted at the apex of the stem, which is often dilated. Gills free but reaching the stem, decurrent, in the form of lines, crowded, broader in front, white, rarely becoming yellow. It grows in woods from July to November. This mushroom is easily identified by its orange-colored cap, covered with white warts and pure white stem and gills. We found several specimens in the woods, all of a most beautiful striking color. (Poisonous.)
Cap a bright yellow, almost orange color, 1½ inch broad, convex or expanded, covered with warts, but sometimes nearly smooth, the margin marked with lines (striate.) Gills white or tinged with yellow, free from the stem. Stem 2 to 3 inches long, white or yellowish, stuffed, slender, bearing a slight evanescent ring; bulbous at the base, bulb slightly margined by the volva. We found several specimens growing in mixed woods. It is smaller than A. muscaria, more slender, with a beautiful color.
Cap pale yellow, 3 to 5 inches broad, darker at disc, tinged with a brick red hue, and yellow near margin, convex, then plane, wavy, irregular; flesh white, thick. Stem 1 to 2 inches long, and ½ to ⅔ inch thick, generally white, sometimes yellow, stout and solid. Gills close, deeply notched near the stem, a beautiful pale yellow color, scarcely adnexed, broad, somewhat swollen in middle. It grows in pine woods and appears in the autumn.
Cap dingy sulphur yellow color, ½ to 4 inches broad, at first round with a slight umbo, at length depressed, rather silky, then smooth and even. Stem 2 to 4 inches long, 3 to 4 lines thick, stuffed, somewhat equal but often curved, rather smooth, striate, sulphur yellow, of same color as cap. Gills adnexed, narrowed behind, rather thick, distant, distinct, brighter than the cap. This is also found in autumn in the woods, and is quite common. It has a strange disagreeable odor.
Cap orange brick color, 2 to 6 inches broad, becoming pale, fleshy, when young depressed in centre, margin turned under (involute), then flat and depressed, or funnel-shaped, with margin unfolded, smooth, zoned, slightly sticky. The zones become faded in the old plants. The flesh is whitish or tinged with yellow. Stem a little paler than the cap, with spots of deeper orange, 1 to 4 inches long, ⅓ to ⅔ of an inch thick, stuffed, then hollow, fragile. Gills running down the stem (decurrent), orange color, crowded, narrow, becoming pale and green when wounded. The milk is orange color. It grows in pine woods and in wet, mossy swamps. It resembles the orange brown Lactarius in size and shape, but the color is different, so we have placed it in the orange-colored section and L. volemus in the red division of colors.
photograph
Lactarius insulsus.
Photographed by C. G. Lloyd.
Stropharia is taken from a Greek word meaning sword belt, referring to its ring (Stevenson). Siccapes is from two words meaning dry and foot. It grows on horse manure. Stevenson does not mention this species. It is described by Mr. Peck in the State reports. Cap is a light yellow, darker in the centre, ¼ inch to 1 inch broad, bell-shaped, sticky, shiny when dry, even. Stem sometimes 4 inches long, slender, straight, dry, base almost club-shaped. Ring scarcely perceptible, but forming a whitish zone, shining, persistent, apex of stem whitish, and slightly striate. Gills dark gray, almost blackish, the margin paler, adfixed, thin. We found a great many in one place, of all sizes, from 1 line across cap to 1 inch. In some specimens the ring was wanting, but in others it was apparent.
This species takes its name from its color. Cap is orange yellow, 2 to 3 inches broad, fleshy, soft, depressed, often eccentric, with the stem between centre and margin, and wavy, somewhat tomentose and involute at the margin. Stem 2 inches long, stuffed, and then hollow, somewhat incurved and unequal, yellowish. Gills decurrent, tense, and straight, repeatedly dividing by pairs from below upward (dichotomous) and crowded, often crisped at base, orange color. This species grows in woods, and is often found there during the months of autumn. Some consider it poisonous.
Cap yellow when moist, 1 to 2 inches broad, umbilicate, then funnel-shaped, wrinkled on the surface, at length wavy at margin. Stem 2 to 3 inches long, 2 lines thick, hollow (fistulose), a little thickened at the base, even, smooth, always a light yellow. Gills decurrent, thick, distant, dichotomous, straight, light yellow; when old, ash color (cinereous.) This is found in the woods from July to October.
The descriptions of the Boleti are all written after comparing the specimens we found with those described in Professor Peck’s work on Boleti. We examined and analyzed all those placed on the list. The descriptions written by Professor Peck are so clear and faithful to nature that it makes the task of calling them by name much easier than any other fungi we have studied. Cap bright golden yellow, 1½ to 2½ inches broad, convex plane and depressed, with minute wooly scales (floccose squamulose), and covered with a yellow powder (pulverulent), sometimes with cracks (rimose). Flesh thick and yellow. Tubes decurrent, yellow, becoming brown; mouths large, angular. Stem short, about 1 inch long, 3 to 6 lines thick, irregular, narrowing toward the base, sprinkled with a yellowish dust, tinged with red. We found it growing on an old stump, in pine woods, in the month of August.
This Boletus varies much in color. In our specimen it was a pinkish-yellow, and covered with yellow spots of a darker shade. We found it in all sizes, from 2 to 4 inches broad. Cap was convex, nearly plane, viscid when moist. It became more of a yellow color when it was dry. Flesh pale yellow. The tubes were adnate, short and yellowish. Stem 1 to 2 inches long, 4 to 6 lines thick. Some were united in tufts (cæspitose), others were gregarious (in groups) or solitary. They grew on the edge of pine woods, and near the roadside. The stem was dotted in the upper part with glandules and was pale yellow.
Cap a light pale brownish-yellow, or a light yellow color (alutaceous), 2 to 5 inches broad, with minute wooly scales, convex or nearly plane. Flesh white, changing quickly to blue when cut. Tubes free, white, afterward yellow; mouths small, round. Tubes change also to a bluish-green when bruised. Stem 2 to 4 inches long, ¾ to ½ inch thick, swollen in the middle (ventricose), covered with a bloom (pruinose), stuffed and then hollow, tapering toward the apex, colored like the cap. This is a very easy Boletus to distinguish from others, and interesting to the beginner on account of the striking and beautiful change of color. Found in hemlock and pine woods toward the end of August.
Cap bright yellowish or orange color, 3 to 7 inches broad, convex, then flattened, gibbous, that is, more convex on one side than on the other; viscid, covered with woolly (floccose) scales, which often separate. Flesh whitish. Stem 3 to 6 inches long, ½ to 1 inch thick, solid, large at base, first white and then light yellow, with darker scales. Ring yellow, and then ironrust color (ferruginous.) Gills adnate, slightly rounded, broad at first, yellow and then darker. We were driving through a thick woods when we saw the bright yellow cap of this mushroom peering among the bushes. There was no apparent ring and few scales except on the margin. It was irregularly shaped, fleshy and thick. It was not a typical specimen, and a beginner would have found it difficult to name. The then recent hard rains had washed nearly all the scales from the cap, and the ring was hardly to be seen. It grew on the trunk of a tree in the month of September. Not edible.
This Pholiota was found much later in the season. Cap is from 2 to 5 inches broad, a golden yellow, then growing paler, fleshy, torn into squamules, dry, flesh thick, hard, sulphur yellow. Stem about 3 inches long and 1 inch thick, solid, hard, swollen in the middle, and extending into a spindle-shaped root. It is sometimes smooth and shining and sometimes scaly, sulphur yellow color and mealy above the ring. Gills adnate, crowded, narrow, at first pure yellow and afterward ironrust color. Gills have sometimes a small decurrent tooth (Stevenson), but our specimen had none. It grew together (cæspitose) on a stump. Not edible.
Cap when young and moist is of a pale yellowish-red, but fades when dry to pale yellow. It is from 1 to 2 inches broad, fleshy, tough, convex, then plane, somewhat umbonate, even, smooth, slightly striate at margin when moist. Stem 1 to 2 inches long and less than ¼ inch thick; slender, solid, tough, equal, sometimes cartilaginous, straight, covered with a close woven skin that can be rubbed off. Gills free or slightly attached, whitish or creamy yellow, broad, distant, the alternate ones shorter, rounded, or deeply notched at inner end. These mushrooms grow in circles and are called fairy rings. They are found chiefly on lawns and pastures from May till October. We saw one specimen in October. It grew in a waste lot at Kaighn’s Point, Camden, N. J. It was solitary, of a brownish-yellow color, the cap 1 inch broad, and the stem 1 inch long. It was growing amidst some ballast plants, the only mushroom there.
Cap varies from buff to tawny yellow, 1 to 2 inches broad, bell-shaped (campanulate) or conical (cone-shaped), thin, marked with lengthwise lines, which extend half-way up from the margin. The disc is even and is more highly colored. It is often sprinkled with shiny atoms when young. Gills at first whitish, then brown or black. Stem 1 to 3 inches long, slender, hollow and white. The spores are dark brown. We found it in great numbers growing on the ground amidst the grass in September and October. It may be seen as early as April. It is a pretty species. (Edible.)
photograph
Amanita vaginata.
Photographed by C. G. Lloyd.
Cap light gray, or dingy white when young; 7 to 9 inches broad when expanded fully. It is covered with large pyramidal, persistent warts. The margin is even, and extends beyond the gills. Flesh firm and white. Stem 6 to 8 inches long, 1 to 3 inches thick, solid, scaly, tapering upward, with a bulbous base and marked with a series of rings near the root, which extends deep into the ground. Ring large, torn. Gills white, free, rounded near the stem, ⅜ inch broad. This is said to be rather rare. We found it twice in August growing solitary on the roadside in the grass. It was large-sized, measuring 7 inches across cap, of a grayish-white color, with prominent warts; the stem was mealy, the volva was large. It was marked with distinct rings near the base. When kept many hours the smell becomes disagreeable. The name is given on account of the shape of the warts, which are conspicuous.
Cap gray, mouse color, sometimes slate-colored gray, and even brownish, 2 to 4 inches broad. It is thin and fragile, convex, and then nearly flat, with a slight mound or umbo, but sometimes none. It is deeply striate or grooved (sulcate) on the margin. Stem is white and often covered with mealy particles. It is slender, either hollow or stuffed, 3 to 5 inches long, ⅓ to ½ inch thick. It is not bulbous, but is sheathed quite high in a loose, soft wrapper, the remains of the volva. There is no ring. Gills are whitish, free from the stem, and rounded. It is easily broken. There are several varieties (Peck). In one the plant is white, Var. alba. In Var. livida the cap is a leaden brownish color, and in the Var. fulva the cap is tawny yellow and ochraceous. The mouse-colored form is the most common. We found many specimens in July and August.
Cap gray, with a pinkish-yellowish tint, 2 inches broad, campanulate, sticky, broken up into squamules, pellicle scaling, margin thin. Stem slender, 5 inches long, shiny, mealy at apex, slightly bulbous. Gills gray color, adnexed, distant, ventricose. This is a pretty mushroom. The shade of color of the pileus is delicate. We found it in August in the woods.
This Boletus varies much in color; our plant was a brownish-gray, a dingy color. Cap 3 to 8 inches broad, convex or nearly plane, glabrous, even, flesh white, turning to flesh or pink color when wounded. Taste bitter, tubes adnate, long, depressed around the stem, crowded. Stem variable, 2 to 4 inches long, about ½ to 1 inch thick, equal or tapering, reticulated above, bulbous or enlarged at base, a little paler than the pileus. The Boleti we found grew in great numbers, in different localities, and were of all sizes. The color of the reticulations was a brownish-gray.
Cap dark gray, 2 to 4 inches broad, broadly convex, smooth, soft, silky, flesh whitish. Tubes adnate, slightly depressed, mouths small. Stem 2 to 4 inches long, 3 to 6 lines thick, yellowish, much reticulated, sometimes reddish toward the base. Our plant was of a brownish color at base, and grew in the month of September.
There are several edible species of the genus Psalliota, chiefly the Field or Common Mushroom, which is constantly seen on our tables. Cap varies from white and gray to brown. It is 2 to 4 inches broad, fleshy, convex, then flattened, dry, sometimes covered with silky fibrils, and when old smooth. The margin of the cap generally extends beyond the gills. Flesh white. Stem rather short, 1 to 3 inches long, ⅓ to ⅔ inch thick, white or whitish, slender, stuffed and then hollow, nearly even. Ring distant, simple. Gills free, ventricose, narrowing at both ends, thin, first a pink color, then afterward brown or blackish-brown. It grows in rich pastures or in meadows, and is found in autumn. It has a most delicious flavor.
Cap a whitish-gray, about 3 inches broad, convex, and then expanded and flat. It is covered with small, distinct, brown, persistent scales, except on the disc, where they are so close together that they appear of a brown color. Stem is long and slender, 3 inches and more, stuffed and then hollow, equal and bulbous at the base. It is whitish, but sometimes has yellowish stains toward the base. Gills are first white, then pink, and lastly a blackish-brown. It grows under trees, and is found in summer and autumn.
Cap gray or grayish-brown, smooth, except a slight scaly appearance on the disc. It is silky near the margin, and the margin is irregular. When young it is often egg-shaped. Gills crowded, whitish, soon becoming brown and then deliquescent. Stem smooth, hollow, white. It grows in clusters until late in the autumn. We found our plants on a lawn in great profusion in the month of October.
Cap about 3 inches broad, whitish-gray color, at first bell-shaped, then expanded, smooth, even, but afterward broken up into fibrils, margin entire; flesh soft, white. Stem 3 to 6 inches long, nearly equal and solid, whitish, striate with black fibrils. Gills rounded behind, free, crowded, ventricose, white, then flesh color as the spores mature. This is a common species, appearing early in the season—April to November. It usually grows from stumps and old logs. It can be easily known by its gills, being quite free from the stem, where it joins the pileus.
Cap of a grayish-green color. It is 2 to 4 inches broad, dry and broken up into small warts, the margin straight, obtuse, even; flesh white. Stem 2 inches long and ½ inch thick, solid, spongy inside, firm, white, sometimes marked with lines (rivulose.) Gills free, whitish, narrowed toward the stem, somewhat crowded, sometimes equal and forked, with a few shorter ones between. It is easily distinguished by the dull green pileus, being without a cuticle, and scaly in the form of patches. It is found in woods in July and September. We have not seen a specimen of R. virescens, so have used Stevenson’s description. Edible, taste mild.
Cap from 3 to 5 inches broad, of an olive green color, sometimes greenish umber, covered with a silky bloom, fleshy, gibbous, then plano-depressed and funnel-shaped, cuticle here and there separable; margin at first inflexed, then spreading. Flesh firm, thick, white. Stem 2 to 3 inches long, solid, firm, stout, white. Gills adnato-decurrent, thick, distant, broad, narrowed at both ends, often forked, white. Our specimen was 5 inches broad, and the margin slightly striate, and when the cuticle was removed it was purplish underneath. It was found in August, in woods. Poisonous, taste bitter.
Cap shining white, from 2½ to 4 inches broad, fleshy, at first conical and acute, afterward bell-shaped and expanded, viscous in wet weather, shining when dry, margin even, sometimes unequal, spreading and inflexed, flesh white. Stem 4 to 6 inches long, wholly stuffed, almost solid, split up into lengthwise fibrils, cylindrical from a bulbous base, surface torn into scales, springing from a loose, thick, wide volva which bursts open at apex. Ring large, loose, silky, splitting into pieces. Gills free, thin, a little broader toward margin, crowded, not decurrent, though the stem is sometimes striate. This is a poisonous species, but striking in appearance from the shining white of the whole fungus. Found in the woods in August.
This species is considered the most deadly of all the poisonous mushrooms, and yet it is one of the most beautiful. We place it in the section of white-colored mushrooms, though the cap is sometimes tinged with light yellow and delicate green. Cap 2 to 4 inches broad, ovate, campanulate, then spreading, obtuse, with a cuticle, sticky in moist weather, rarely sprinkled with one or two fragments of the volva, the margin regular, even. Stem 3 to 5 inches long, ½ inch thick, solid, bulbous and tapering upward, smooth, white. Ring superior, reflexed, slightly striate, swollen, white. Volva more or less buried in the ground, bursting open in a torn manner at the apex, with a loose border. Gills free, ventricose, 4 lines broad, shining white. This species, as well as A. virosa, has a fetid odor when kept. We found it oftener than any other species of Amanita.
Cap whitish, 3 to 4 inches broad, somewhat compact, at first hemispherical, covered with angular, adhering warts, which become a dark color (fuscous.) It is dry, shining, the margin even; flesh white. Stem 3 inches long, 1 inch thick, solid, firm, with a bulb-shaped base, scaly, white. Ring superior, thin, torn, slightly striate, covered with soft weak hairs beneath, which at length disappear. Gills free, crowded, wide, nearly ½ inch broad, ventricose, shining white. This was also found in August. There is nothing more beautiful than these white poisonous Amanitas.
Cap a clear white, with sometimes a brownish tint on the disc, 2 to 4 inches broad, smooth. Stem 1 to 3 inches long, ¼ to ⅓ inch thick, growing thicker toward the base, as if it had a bulb, white, hollow, but stuffed with a cottony pith. Gills white, when old they assume a pinkish-brownish hue. Ring has a thick, external edge, but its inner edge is so thin that it often breaks from the stem and becomes movable. It is found in the fields, by roadsides, or in the woods, from August to November. We have not seen a specimen of this mushroom, which is said to be nearly equal to the common mushroom in edible qualities. It is considered to resemble it also in appearance, but Professor Peck says the different color of the gills when the plants are both young will distinguish them, and the thin collar and stuffed stem of L. naucinoides is also different from thick-edged ring and hollow stem of A. campestris. (Psalliota.)
Cap white, 4 to 9 inches broad, fleshy, rigid, depressed in centre when young, reflexed margin, at first involute, when full grown the surface becomes funnel-shaped and regular, even, smooth, without zones; flesh white. Stem 1 to 2 inches long, 1 to 2 inches thick, solid, obese, equal or obconical, slightly covered with powder (pruinose), white. Gills decurrent, crowded, narrow, scarcely broader than one line, obtuse at edge, regularly dividing by pairs from below upward (dichotomous), curved like a bow (arcuate), then all extended upward in a straight line, white, with occasional yellow spots. The milk white, unchangeable, plentiful, and acrid. This is common in woods. The cap in one of our specimens turned yellow when old, and was slightly striate at the margin; it was dry and thick and had no odor. The flesh had a whitish-brownish tinge where the cuticle was peeled off. Found it only in August.
Cap white, 5 to 7 inches broad, fleshy, compact, convex, saucer-shaped, the margin for a long time sloping downward, with short, downy hairs (pubescent), dry, zoneless. Stem 2 to 3 inches long, 1 to 1½ inch thick, stout, solid, equal, covered with innate, thin pubescence. Gills arcuate, adnato-decurrent, rather thick, acute at the edge, somewhat distant, rather broad, connected by branches, pallid, watery, white. Milk scanty, white, very bitter. It is not said to be edible. The cap tends to become a pallid, reddish tan. This description is partially taken from Stevenson. The specimen we found had the margin revolute, it was 2½ inches broad, and the stem 2 inches long. The flesh was white and the cap was turning a brownish color. The stem slightly tapered toward the base. The milk was scanty and peppery. Found in the beginning of August in the woods. It resembles L. piperatus.
Cap white, from 1½ to 3 inches broad, convex, viscid when moist, flesh white or yellowish, tubes small, nearly round (subrotund), adnate, whitish, becoming ochraceous. Stem 1½ to 3 inches long, 3 to 5 lines thick, equal, white, sometimes tinged with pink near the base. We found only one specimen of the white Boletus in August. It grew in the woods. The flesh became yellow and the stem was 1¼ inch long, and it slightly tapered toward the base.
The word pleurotus is taken from two Greek words, meaning a side and an ear. It is given on account of the stem growing in a lateral or eccentric manner. The Elm Pleurotus, so called from growing on elm trees, is considered edible. Our specimen had the cap whitish, but stained in the centre with a rusty yellowish color, 3 to 5 inches broad, thick, firm, smooth, convex, then plane. The skin was cracked in a tessellated manner. Flesh was firm and white. Stem white, 2 to 4 inches long, 1½ to ¾ inch thick, firm, smooth, a little hairy at the base, and attached eccentrically to the cap. Gills white with a yellow hue, broad, rounded near the stem, slightly adnexed and not crowded. It was found in October, and is not common.
This species generally grows in clusters with the stem united at the base. Our specimen grew on a maple tree. The plants protruded from a large crack in the trunk of a tree, about four feet above the ground, and grew one above the other. They had not attained their full growth. During former seasons they had been seen of a large size. Pileus is from 2 to 5 inches broad, grayish-white, smooth. Caps often overlap one another. Flesh is white. Gills broad, whitish, decurrent, and often slightly connected by oblique branches. Stem is generally short and lateral. It grew in October. Professor Peck says that in edible qualities it resembles the oyster mushroom, P. ostreatus.