Part 16

Copyright, 1897, by Thomas Taylor, M. D., and A. R. Taylor.

ASCOMYCETES.

Fruit, consisting of sporidia, mostly definite, contained in asci, springing from a naked or enclosed stratum of fructifying cells, and forming a hymenium.--Cooke and Berkeley.

Prof. J. de Seyne states that the three elements which form the hymenium in the families Hymenomycetes and Gasteromycetes are (1) the normal basidium, that is, the fruitful club-shaped cell which supports the naked spores, (2) the cystidium or sterile cell, an aborted or atrophied basidium, and (3) the paraphyses, hypertrophied basidium, the one organ, the basidium, being the basis of it all, according as it experiences an arrest of development, as it grows and fructifies, or as it becomes hypertrophied.

In the family Ascomycetes a minute ascus or spore case envelops the sporidia, and takes the place of the basidium, and the hymenium consists of (1) the asci containing the sporidia, (2) the paraphyses, and (3) a colorless or yellowish mucilage which envelops the paraphyses and asci. The asci are present in all species. In some species, however, the paraphyses are rare, and the mucilaginous substance is entirely wanting. The asci differ in shape and size, according to the species. The paraphyses, when present, are at first very short, but they rapidly elongate, and are wholly developed before the appearance of the asci. They are linear, simple or branched according to the species of plant, usually containing oily granules. There is some difference of opinion among mycologists as to the special functions of the paraphyses, some considering them as abortive asci, and others, like Boudier, as excitatory organs for the dehiscence of the asci, by which the spores are liberated.

The family Ascomycetes is rich in genera and species.

It consists largely of microscopic fungi, however, and the only group which will be considered here is that which includes plants of the mushroom family which are edible and indigenous to this country, viz., the sub-family Discomycetes.

DISCOMYCETES.

The name Discomycetes, "disk-like fungi," does not give an accurate idea of the distinguishing characteristics of this sub-family, the discoid form only belonging to the plants of one of its groups. In the Discomyceteae the hymenium is superior, that is, disposed upon the upper or exterior surface of the mushroom cap. The sporidia are produced in membraneous asci, usually four or eight, or some multiple of that number, in each ascus; Cooke says "rarely four, most commonly eight." The sporidia are usually hyaline, transparent; colored sporidia are rare.

The asci are so minute as to be imperceptible to the naked eye; but if a small portion of the upper surface of the cap is removed with a pen knife and placed under a microscope having a magnifying power of from 400 to 800 diameters, the asci, or spore sacks, can be separated and their structure studied.

Of the genera included in the Discomycetes the genus Peziza comprises by far the largest number of described species. The plants in this genus are generally small, thin, and tough. A few of them have been recorded as edible by European authors, but not specially commended; one form, Peziza cochleata, has been spoken of by Berkeley as being gathered in basketfuls in one county in England, where it is used as a substitute, though a very indifferent one, for the Morel.

Vittadini says the Verpa digitaliformis Persoon, a small brownish-colored mushroom, is sold in Italian markets for soups, but that, "although sold in the markets, it is only to be recommended when no other fungus offers, which is sometimes the case in the spring." P. aurantia Vahl., a small Peziza growing in clusters in the grass, is reported as edible by a member of the Boston Mycological Club, who speaks well of it.

The genera Morchella, Gyromitra, Helvella, and Mitrula contain, however, what may be considered the most desirable edible species. Types of these four groups are represented in Figs. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10, Plate C.

The plants of these genera have a stem and cap. The cap, however, differs very much from that of the ordinary mushroom. In the genus Morchella the cap is deeply pitted and ridged so that it presents a honeycombed appearance. In Gyromitra the cap is convolutely lobed but not pitted. In Helvella the cap is very irregular and reflexed, and in Mitrula the cap is ovate or club shaped and smooth. In all four of these genera the hymenium is superior, i. e., it is on the upper and outer surface of the cap, the interior surface being barren.

In Plates C and D are figured 9 types of edible fungi included in the family Ascomycetes, sub-family Discomycetes.

PLATE C.

FIG. 1. =Morchella esculenta= Pers. "Common Morel."

EDIBLE.

Genus Morchella Dill. Receptacle pileate or clavate, impervious in the centre, stipitate, covered with hymenium, which is deeply folded and pitted.--Cooke.

In this genus the species have a general resemblance to each other in size, color, form, texture, and flavor. The cap is usually a dull yellow, sometimes slightly olive-tinted, darkening with age to a brownish leather tinge. The stems are stout and hollow, white or whitish. This genus has a very wide geographical distribution, but the species are not numerous. Cooke describes twenty-four, some of them found in India, Java, Great Britain, Central and Northern Europe, Australia, and North America. Peck describes six species found in New York State. The lines of demarcation between species are not very decided; but as none of the species are known to be poisonous, it may be considered a safe genus to experiment with.

In the Morchella esculenta the cap is ovate, in one variety rotund, the margin attaching itself to the stem; ribs firm and anastomosing, forming deep hollows or pits; color yellowish tan, olivaceous; spores hyaline, colorless; asci very long. The Morel, though rare in some localities, is found in large quantities in some of the midwestern States, sometimes in the woods along the borders of streams, often in peach orchards, at the roots of decaying trees.

I am informed by correspondents who have collected and eaten them that the Morels can be gathered in abundance in the springtime along the banks of the Missouri and tributary streams. A lieutenant in the United States Army informs me that he found fine specimens of this species in the mountains of California, five or six thousand feet above sea-level. A correspondent, Mr. H. W. Henshaw, writes that he has made many excellent meals of them, finding them on the banks of Chico Creek, Sacramento Valley, California, on Gen. Bidwell's ranch, in April. A correspondent in Minnesota writes: "The Morel grows abundantly in some places here, but so prejudiced are many of the natives against 'toad-stools' that I had to eat the Morel alone for a whole season before I could induce any one else to taste it." Mr. Hollis Webster, of the Boston Mycological Club, reports the Morchella conica as appearing in abundance in eastern Massachusetts in May of this year. A correspondent in West Virginia reports that quantities of a large-sized Morel are found in the mountain regions there.

I have reports also of the appearance of the Morel in Western New York, and on the coast of Maine and of Oregon. A miner writes to me from Montana that he and several other miners, having lost their way in the mountains of that State during the spring of the year, subsisted entirely for five days on Morels which they collected.

The specimen represented in Plate C, Fig. 1, is figured from a Morchella esculenta which grew in the vicinity of Falls Church, Va., less than ten miles from the District of Columbia. The reports which I have received from correspondents in twenty States show that the Morel is not so rare in this country as was formerly supposed. The advantages which this mushroom possesses over some others are (1) the readiness with which it can be distinguished, (2) its keeping qualities, and (3) its agreeable taste. It is easily dried, and in that condition can be kept a long time without losing its flavor. Though it has not the rich flavor of the common field mushroom, it is very palatable when cooked, and when dried it is often used in soups. It is very generally esteemed as an esculent among mycophagists.

Fig. 2 represents the sporidia enclosed in the ascus, or spore sack, with accompanying paraphyses.

FIG. 3. =Gyromitra= esculenta Fries. "Esculent Gyromitra."

Genus Gyromitra Fries. This genus contains very few species, but all are considered edible, though differing somewhat in flavor and digestibility. Five or six species are figured by Cooke. Peck speaks of several species found in New York. One of these, G. curtipes Fries, is also figured by Cooke as found in North Carolina. This species Cooke regards as equal in flavor to G. esculenta. G. esculenta has a rounded, inflated cap, irregularly lobed and hollow, smooth and brittle in texture, reddish brown. It falls over the stem in heavy convolutions, touching it at various points. The stem is stout, stuffed, at length hollow, whitish or cinereous; spores elliptical with two nuclei, yellowish, translucent. The plant is usually from two to four inches in height, but larger specimens are found.

Fig. 4 represents the spore sack with enclosed sporidia.