Toadstools, mushrooms, fungi, edible and poisonous; one thousand American fungi

VAR., =PLU´TEUS= Fr. (_Pluteus_, a shed. From the conical shape of the pileus.) =Stem= fleshy, distinct from the pileus. =Gills= free, rounded behind (never emarginate), at first cohering, white, then colored by the spores. Generally growing on or near trunks of trees. Resembling Volvaria in all respects but the volva. =Spores= rosy. Several of the genus are edible. Pluteus cervinus is one of our earliest, persistent, plentiful, delicious food species. The caps of those tested are tender, easily cooked and best fried. ANALYSIS OF SPECIES. * Cuticle of the pileus separating into fibrils or down, which at length disappear. ** Pileus frosted with atoms, somewhat powdery. *** Pileus naked, smooth. * _Cuticle of pileus fibrillose, etc._ =P. cervi´nus= Schaeff.—_cervus_, a deer. (Plate LXI, fig. 1, p. 242.) =Pileus= fleshy, at first campanulate, then convex or expanded, _even, glabrous, generally becoming fibrillose or slightly floccose-villose_ on the disk, occasionally cracked, variable in color. =Lamellæ= broad, somewhat ventricose, at first whitish, then flesh-colored. =Stem= equal or slightly tapering upward, firm, solid, fibrillose or subglabrous, variable in color. =Spores= broadly elliptical, 6.5–8×5–6.5µ. =Plant= 2–6 in. high. =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 3–6 lines thick. The typical form has the pileus and stem of a dingy or brown color and adorned with blackish fibrils, but specimens occur with the pileus white, yellowish, cinereous, grayish-brown or blackish-brown. I have never seen it of a true cervine color. It is sometimes quite glabrous and smooth to the touch and in wet weather it is even slightly viscid. It also occurs somewhat floccose-villose on the disk, and the disk, though usually plane or obtuse, is occasionally slightly prominent or subumbonate. The form with the surface of the pileus longitudinally rimose or chinky is probably due to meteorological conditions. The gills, though at first crowded, become more lax with the expansion of the pileus. They are generally a little broader toward the marginal than toward the inner extremity. Their tendency to deliquesce is often shown by their wetting the paper on which the pileus has been placed for the purpose of catching the spores. The stem is usually somewhat fibrous and striated but forms occur in which it is even and glabrous. When growing from the sides of stumps and prostrate trunks it is apt to be curved. Two forms deserve varietal distinction. Var. _al´bus_. Pileus and stem white or whitish. Var. _al´bipes_. Pileus cinereous yellowish or brown. Stem white or whitish, destitute of blackish fibrils. In Europe there are three or four forms which have been designated as species under the names of A. rigens, A. patricius, A. eximius and A. petasatus, but Fries gives them as varieties or subspecies of A. cervinus, though admitting that they are easily distinguished. None of these have occurred in our state. _Peck_, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot. Var. _visco´sus_. The normal character of the cuticle of the species is slightly viscid in wet weather, but the specimens we collected and photographed were exceedingly viscid. They also differed from the normal form in their lighter color, flesh much thicker at the disk and thin at the margins, and cuticle not appearing fibrillose. It is close to petasatus, but differs, however, in its narrower gills and in having no striæ. It is a good variety if it is not a good species. _Lloyd_, Myc. Notes. =Spores= 7–8×5–6µ _K._; 6–8×4–5µ _B._; 4×5µ _W.G.S._; 5.8×4.6µ _Morgan_. Frequent on decaying stumps, roots and wood, May to frost. _McIlvaine._ Its free gills should distinguish it from any Entoloma, though both have pink spores and eventually pink gills. Among the earliest of large species. The sight of it is stimulating to the mycophagist. He then knows the toadstool season to be truly opened. Caps only are tender. The stems are edible, but they are not of the same consistency as the caps, therefore will not cook with them. Fried in a buttered pan or broiled, they are exceedingly toothsome. In October, 1898, a beautiful variety (see Plate LXI, fig. 2, p.—), occurred which I had not previously seen. It was sent by me to Professor Peck. The plants grew in large clusters from rotting, refuse straw in the ruin of a stable; the white, cottony mycelium running upon and through the straw. The solid stems of some were straight, others curved, ranging from 2–6 in. long, the taller ones tapering from base to spindling apex, the shorter ones decidedly bulbous and ending abruptly. They were twisted and delicately marked. These markings break up into dark thread-like fibrils, leaving the stem striate and satin-glossy. =Pileus= from 2–4 in. across, dark Vandyke-brown when young, lighter in age, streaked, glossy. =Gills= at first white, tardily changing to light salmon color, broad, ventricose, free. Taste and smell pleasant of almonds. Good, delicious. Professor Peck wrote of it: “It has the general appearance of Pluteus cervinus, but these specimens seem to depart from the usual form of growing in clusters from the ground, and in having an almond flavor. Without knowing more about it I would scarcely feel justified in separating it from such a variable species. As Fries sometimes remarks concerning variable species: Perhaps several species are concealed under the one name, but a pretty full and accurate knowledge of them is desirable if one is to split them up.” This is excellent judgment. While I believe the above to be a distinct species, the disposition to make new species of varieties is regrettable in many botanists. Var. _Bul´lii_ Berk., MS. =Pileus= 4–6 in. across, flesh thick, convex then expanded, smooth, even, pallid, the disk darker. =Gills= free, rounded behind, rather distant from the stem, crowded, ½ in. broad, pale salmon-color. =Stem= 3–4 in. long, 1 in. and more thick, slightly swollen at the base, fibrillose, pale brown, darkest at the base, solid. _Massee._ =Pileus= 6 in. across, expanded from bell-shape, ashy-white (oyster color), glossy, like floss silk, silky fibrillose, irregularly corrugated. =Skin= separable. =Flesh= spongy, pure white, like shreds of cotton, separable into plates, very brittle, ½ in. thick at stem, immediately thinning to ⅛ in., very thin toward margin. =Gills= thin, elastic, rounded behind, close to stem, free, ½ in. wide, close, alternate short and long, white, then tinged and spotted pink with spores which when cast in mass are a pinkish-brown with slight lavender shade. =Stem= 5 in. long, ½-¾ in. thick, subequal, spreading at top, white, silky-fibrillose, changing to very light yellowish brown from center to base, exterior hard, skin thin, tough, interior filled with continuous, cottony fibers, snow-white, brittle, watery, slightly swollen at base. Taste pleasant. Mt. Gretna, Pa., July, 1898, on chestnut stump and in woods on ground among leaves. Leaves adhere to base of stem which is powdery-white. _McIlvaine._ Cooked, it is as good as P. cervinus. Var. _petasa´tus_ Fr. =Pileus= 3–4 in. across, flesh rather thick, campanulate then expanded, umbonate, grayish-white, very smooth, with a viscid cuticle, at length striate to the middle. =Gills= free, ½ in. and more broad, crowded, becoming dry, white then reddish. =Stem= 4–5 in. long, ½-⅔ in. thick, rigid, very slightly and equally attenuated from the base, whitish, fibrillosely striate, solid. On heaps of straw and dung, sawdust, etc. Color verging on bay when old. Stem and margin of gills at length with a tawny tinge. _Fries._ Haddonfield, New Jersey, Bell’s Mill, sawdust, 1890; Mt. Gretna, Pa., August, 1898, among sawdust from ice-house. =Caps= 6 in. across. =Stem= easily split, exterior hard, fibrillose, streaked, whitish, shining, stuffed with cottony fibers. =Spores= dark pink. _McIlvaine._ Equal to P. cervinus. =P. umbro´sus= Pers.—shady, from its dark color. =Pileus= fleshy, at first bell-shaped, then convex or expanded, _roughly wrinkled_ and more or less villose on the disk, fimbriate on the margin, _blackish-brown_. =Gills= broad, somewhat ventricose, at first whitish, then flesh-colored, _blackish-brown and fringed or toothed on the edge_. =Stem= solid, colored like or paler than the pileus, fibrillose or villose-squamose. =Spores= elliptical, 8×5µ. Decaying woods and swamps, especially of pine, both in shaded and open places. Not rare. _Peck_, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot. =Spores= broadly elliptical, smooth, 6–7×5µ; cystidia ventricose, 65–75×18–20µ _Massee_. New York, _Peck_, Rep. 32, 38; West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, frequent on decaying logs, stumps, pine and other woods. _McIlvaine._ At times the caps are a deep sepia-brown. It is readily distinguished from P. cervinus by the wrinkled, downy disk of the cap and the gills having dark-brown edges. Smell rather strong. Professor Peck says he has not seen it with the margin fimbriate. Neither have I, though this is prominent in the European species. P. umbrosus is a fine species, equal in every way to P. cervinus, which is seldom excelled. Caps only are tender. =P. pelli´tus= Fr. =Pileus= 1–2 in. across. =Flesh= thin, soft, white, convex then plane, somewhat umbonate, regular, silky-fibrous, dry, white. =Gills= free, rounded behind, crowded, 1½ line broad, ventricose, white then flesh-color, margin slightly toothed. =Stem= about 2 in. long, 2–3 lines thick, slightly thickened at the base, even, glabrous, shining, white, stuffed. =Spores= elliptical, smooth, 10×6µ. Among grass at the roots of trees, etc. Our only Pluteus with a pure white, even pileus and stem. Superficially resembling Entoloma prunuloides, which differs in the broadly emarginate—not free—gills, and in the strong smell of new meal. _Massee._ Mt. Gretna, Pa., October, 1898. _McIlvaine._ =Pileus= up to 3 in. across. =Gills= ¼ in. broad, free, moist, imbricated. =Stem= up to 5 in. long, easily detachable from cap, solid, juicy, solitary and cespitose. On very old sawdust, upon which grass was growing. Tender, excellent. ** _Pileus frosted, etc._ =P. granula´ris= Pk.—sprinkled with grains. =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, subumbonate, _rugose-wrinkled, granulose or granulose-villose_, varying in color from yellow to brown. =Lamellæ= rather broad, crowded, ventricose, whitish, then flesh colored. =Stem= equal, solid, colored like the pileus, often paler at the top, _velvety-pubescent_, rarely scaly. =Spores= subglobose or broadly elliptical, 6.5–8×5–6.5µ. =Plant= 1.5–3 in. high. =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= 1–2 lines thick. Decaying wood and prostrate trunks in woods. Hilly and mountainous districts. June to September. The species is closely related to P. cervinus and P. umbrosus, but is readily distinguished from them by the peculiar vesture of the pileus and stem. The granules are so minute and so close that they form a sort of plush on the pileus, more dense on the disk and radiating wrinkles than elsewhere. The clothing of the stem is finer, and has a velvety-pubescent appearance, but in some instances it breaks up into small scales or squamules. The color of the pileus and stem is usually some shade of yellow or brown, but occasionally a grayish hue predominates. The darker color of the granules imparts a dingy or smoky tinge to the general color. The disk is often darker than the rest of the pileus. _Peck_, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot. West Virginia mountains. Eagle’s Mere and Springton Hills, Pa. Frequent. July to October, on decaying wood. _McIlvaine._ P. granularis is a much smaller species than P. cervinus and its allies. At Eagle’s Mere, Pa., August, 1898, it was quite plentiful in mixed woods. Its caps are excellent. *** _Pileus naked._ =P. admira´bilis= Pk.—admirable. =Pileus= thin, convex or expanded, generally broadly umbonate, glabrous, _rugose-reticulated_, moist or hygrophanous, striatulate on the margin when moist, often obscurely striate when dry, yellow or brown. =Lamellæ= close, broad, rounded behind, ventricose, whitish or yellowish, then flesh-colored. =Stem= slender, glabrous, _hollow_, equal or slightly thickened at the base, yellow or yellowish white, with a white mycelium. =Spores= subglobose or broadly elliptical, 6.5–8×6.5µ. Var. _fus´cus_. =Pileus= brown or yellowish-brown. =Plant= 1–2 in. high. =Pileus= 6–10 lines broad. =Stem= .5–1 line thick. Decaying wood and prostrate trunks in forests. Common in hilly and mountainous districts. July to September. This beautiful Pluteus is closely related to P. chrysophlebius B. and R., a southern species, which, according to the description, has the veins of the pileus darker colored than the rest of the surface and the stem enlarged above and hairy at the base, characters not shown by our plant. In our plant small young specimens sometimes have the stem solid, but when fully developed it is hollow, though the cavity is small. This character, with its small size, distinguishes it from P. leoninus. _Peck_, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot. Springton Hills, Chester county, Pa., Mt. Gretna, Pa. Frequent. June to frost. _McIlvaine._ Possesses the same rare edible qualities as P. cervinus, P. umbrosus. The caps, only, are tender. =P. chrysophæ´us= Schaeff. _Gr_—gold. =Pileus= 1–2½ in. across. =Flesh= very thin except at the disk, bell-shaped then expanded, glabrous, naked, slightly wrinkled, margin striate, cinnamon-color. =Gills= free, 2–3 lines broad, whitish then pale salmon-color. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 2–3 lines thick, whitish, glabrous, equal, more or less hollow. On beech trunks, etc. Resembling P. leoninus in size, but differing in the cinnamon color of the pileus, which is often obtusely umbonate. _Massee._ =Spores= 5µ _W.P._ Haddonfield, N.J. June to October, beech roots and trunks. _McIlvaine._ Excellent. =ENTOLO´MA= Fr. _Gr_—within; _Gr_—a fringe. (Probably referring to the innate character of the pseudo veil.) =Pileus= rather fleshy, margin incurved, without a distinct veil. =Stem= fleshy or fibrous, soft, sometimes waxy, continuous with the flesh of the pileus. =Gills= _sinuate_, adnexed, often separating from the stem. =Spores= rosy, elliptical, smooth or subglobose and coarsely warted. Corresponding in structure with Tricholoma, Hebeloma and Hypholoma; separated from other rosy-spored genera by the sinuate gills. About twenty species of Entoloma are given in the states; of them seventeen are described by Professor Peck, as found in New York. I have not found a single species in sufficient quantity to test its edibility. Two of the European species, E. sinuata Fr. and E. livida Bull., are reputed to be very poisonous, producing headache, dizziness, vomiting, etc. Worthington Smith ate ¼ oz., which nearly proved fatal. Professor Peck reports a species, E. grande Pk., which he considers suspicious. Even the reported poisonous species have a pleasant odor corresponding to those of the esculent species. This makes them the more deceptive and dangerous. The pinkish or flesh-colored spores and gills distinguish Entoloma from Hebeloma, which has brown spores, and Tricholoma, which has white. Pluteus, which has pink spores and gills, is readily separated from it. Great caution should be observed. Entolomas should be thrown away or carefully tested. ANALYSIS OF TRIBES. GENUI´NI (genuine, typical species). Page 251. Pileus smooth, moist or viscid; not hygrophanous. LEPTONI´DEI (inclining to Leptonia). Pileus flocculose or squamulose; absolutely dry. NOLANI´DEI (inclining to Nolanea). Page 252. Pileus thin, hygrophanous, somewhat silky when dry. I.—GENUI´NI. =E. gran´de= Pk.—=Pileus= fleshy, thin toward the margin, glabrous, nearly plane when mature, commonly broadly umbonate and rugosely wrinkled about the umbo, moist in wet weather, dingy yellowish-white verging to brownish or grayish-brown. =Flesh= white, odor and flavor farinaceous. =Lamellæ= broad, subdistant, slightly adnexed, becoming free or nearly so, often wavy or uneven on the edge, whitish becoming flesh-colored with maturity. =Stem= equal or nearly so, solid, somewhat fibrous externally, mealy at the top, white. =Spores= angular, 3–10µ. =Pileus= 4–6 in. broad. =Stem= 4–6 in. long, 8–12 lines thick. Thin mixed woods. Menands. August. The flavor of this mushroom is not at first disagreeable, but an unpleasant burning sensation is left in the mouth for a considerable time after tasting. It is therefore to be regarded with suspicion. _Peck_, 50th Rep. N.Y. State Bot. SUSPICIOUS. I have not seen this species. It is given that it may be guarded against until tested for edibility. (Plate LXII.) [Illustration: ENTOLOMA SINUATUM. About one-fourth natural size. ] =E. sinua´tum= Fr.—waved. =Pileus= 6 in. broad, _becoming yellow-white_, very fleshy, _convex then expanded_, at first gibbous, at length depressed, repand and sinuate at the margin. =Stem= 3–6 in. long, 1 in. thick, _solid_, firm, stout, equal, compact, _at first fibrillose_, then smooth, naked, shining white. =Gills= _emarginate_, slightly adnexed, ½-¾ in. broad, crowded, distinct, pale yellowish-red. _Fries._ Gregarious, compact, handsome. Odor _strong, pleasant, almost like that of burnt sugar_, not of new meal. The pileus becomes broken into squamules when dry. There is a variety with a shorter stem. In mixed woods. Uncommon. July to October. The gills are often irregular in their attachment. Very poisonous; producing headache, swimming of the brain, stomach pains, vomiting, etc. Worthington Smith, who first experimented with it, ate about ¼ oz., which very nearly proved fatal. _Stevenson._ =Spores= 9µ _W.G.S._ Rhode Island, _Olney_ (Curtis Am. Jour.); Massachusetts, _Sprague_; Connecticut, _Wright_; Minnesota, _Johnson_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 35. “This and E. fertilis, which are closely allied, are deserving of more than suspicion, for they are veritably dangerous.” _Cooke._ “Wholesome and very good to eat.” _Cordier._ In the presence of such opposite opinions it is better to choose the safer. Do not eat it. =E. prunulo´ides= Fr.—_prunus_, a plum. =Pileus= 2 in. and more broad, whitish, becoming yellow or livid, fleshy, _bell-shaped then convex_, at length flattened, somewhat umbonate, unequal (but not repand), even, _viscid_, smooth, at length longitudinally cracked, at length slightly striate at margin. =Stem= 3 in. long, 3–4 lines thick, fibrous-fleshy, solid, equal, even or slightly striate, smooth, naked, white. =Gills= somewhat free, emarginate, rarely rounded, at first only slightly adnexed, 3–4 lines broad, crowded, ventricose, white then flesh-color. _Fries._ _Odor strong of new meal_, wholly that of A. prunulus. Very scattered in growth. Like A. lividus, but very different, thrice as small. It differs entirely from A. cervinus. On the ground in woods. Autumn. =Spores= subglobose, coarsely warted, 10µ _Massee_; regularly six-angled or one angle more marked, 8µ _B._; 9µ _W.P._ North Carolina, dry swamps, _Curtis_; Minnesota, _Johnson_. POISONOUS. _Roze._ I have not seen this species. Do not eat it before carefully testing. III.—NOLANI´DEI. _Pileus thin, hygrophanous, repand, etc._ =E. clypea´tum= _Linn._—resembling a shield. =Pileus= as much as 3 in. broad, _lurid_ when moist, when dry gray and _variegated or streaked with darker spots or lines_, fleshy, _bell-shaped then flattened_, umbonate, smooth, fragile. =Flesh= thin, white when dry. =Stem= almost 3 in. long, 3–4 lines and more thick, stuffed, at length hollow, _wholly fibrous_, equal, round, fragile, _longitudinally fibrillose_, becoming ash-colored, pulverulent at the very apex. =Gills= _rounded-adnexed_, separating-free, 3–4 lines broad, ventricose, somewhat distant, dingy, then red-pulverulent with the spores, serrulated at the edge chiefly behind. It has occurred in May cespitose; better developed and solitary in the end of August. In woods, gardens and waste places. Frequent. Spring, autumn. _Stevenson._ North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Ohio, _Morgan_; New England, _Frost_; California, _H. and M._; Rhode Island, _Bennett_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 23. POISONOUS. _Leuba._ I have not seen this species. It should not be eaten before careful testing. =E. rhodopo´lium= Fr. _Gr_—rose; _Gr_—gray. =Pileus= 2–5 in. broad, hygrophanous, when moist dingy-brown (young) or livid, becoming pale (when full grown), _when dry isabelline-livid, silky-shining_, slightly-fleshy, bell-shaped when young, then expanded and somewhat umbonate or gibbous, at length rather plane and sometimes depressed, _fibrillose_ when young, _smooth when full grown_, margin at the first bent inwards and when larger undulated. =Flesh= white. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, 3–5 lines thick, _hollow_, equal when smaller, when larger attenuated upwards and _white-pruinate at the apex_, otherwise _smooth_, slightly striate, _white_. =Gills= adnate then separating, somewhat sinuate, slightly distant, 2–4 lines broad, _white then rose-color_. _Fries._ Fragile, commonly large and often handsome, almost inodorous. In mixed woods. Frequent. August to October. =Spores= pretty regular, 8–10×6–8µ _B._; 7µ _W.G.S._ New England, _Frost_; Minnesota, _Johnson_; Iowa, _Br[oe]ndle_; Rhode Island, _Bennett_; Ohio, _Morgan_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 23d, 38th, A. rhodopolius, var. umbilicatus Pk., the same as Clitopilus subvilis Pk., Rep. 40. Edible. _Paulet._ Edible. _Cooke._ [Illustration: Grouped by F.D. Briscoe—Studies by C. McIlvaine. PLATE LXIII.] FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.