Part 50

Prof. Kobert writes of a number of cases of poisoning in the Baltic provinces of Russia by the mushroom Helvella esculenta Persoon, sometimes called the Lorchel. It should be here stated that the Helvella esculenta of Persoon is the Gyromitra esculenta of Fries. This mushroom is described as edible and placed in the edible lists by Dr. M. C. Cooke, Prof. Peck, and other distinguished mycologists, who have tested it and found it edible when perfectly fresh.

The poisonous principle of this mushroom was isolated and analyzed by Prof. R. Boehm, of Russia, in 1885. It was by him designated as "helvellic acid," and found to be soluble in hot water. Profs. Eugene Bostroem and E. Ponfick, after giving some study to the effects of this mushroom poison, agreed in their report concerning it, which is to the effect that the quickly dried H. esculenta (Gyromitra esculenta) is not poisonous, and that the poisonous acid of the fresh ones may be extracted by means of hot water, so that while the decoction is poisonous the mushroom is not at all so, after the liquid is pressed out. Experiments with this mushroom were made by both authors on dogs, which ate them greedily, but without exception the dogs were very sick afterwards. The symptoms were nausea, vomiting, jaundice, stoppage of the kidneys, and haemaglobinuria. The symptoms observed in man correspond to those manifested by the lower animals. Dissection showed the dissolution of innumerable blood corpuscles.

Prof. Kobert, commenting on the experiments made by Bostroem and Ponfick, states that he himself had been furnished yearly with fresh specimens of "H. esculenta" (G. esculenta) specially gathered for him at Dorpat, and after making various experiments with the freshly expressed juice he became convinced that the poisonous principle greatly varies, the juice sometimes operating as very poisonous, and sometimes as only slightly so. He states also that the proportion of poison in the mushroom varies with the weather, location, and age of the mushroom. The inhabitants of Russia do not eat this mushroom, but in Germany it is eaten dried or when perfectly fresh, after cooking, and after the first water in which it is boiled is removed.

Helvellic acid is not found in Morchella esculenta (the true Morel), nor is it known to exist in any other species except G. esculenta. It has been stated that there is no antidote for helvellic poisoning after the symptoms have appeared.

A specimen of Gyromitra esculenta was forwarded to me from Portland, Maine, by a member of a mycological club of that city, who stated that this mushroom was quite abundant in the early spring in the woods near Portland and that the plants were eaten by the members of the club, care being taken to use them only when perfectly fresh. Indigestion and nausea followed the eating of old specimens, but the general opinion was "favorable to the Gyromitra as an addition to the table." (See page 6, part 2, of this series.)

Prof. Chas. H. Peck, of Albany, while placing this mushroom in his edible list as one which he had repeatedly tested, advises that it should be eaten only when perfectly fresh, as nausea and sickness had been known to result from the eating of specimens which had been kept twenty-four hours before cooking.

I forwarded a number of drawings of the American species of G. esculenta, together with a dried specimen of the same received from Maine, to Prof. Kobert, who identified both drawings and specimen as the Gyromitra esculenta of Fries, synonymous with the Helvella esculenta of Persoon. Prof. Kobert also informs me that he finds the fresh G. esculenta perfectly harmless when freed of the water of the first boiling. He says: "My wife and I eat it very often, when in fresh condition, and after the first water in which it is boiled is poured off." The active poisonous principle of this mushroom is the helvellic acid, which is soluble in hot water. When the mushroom is gathered fresh and quickly dried it is then also innoxious. In this respect it differs from the species A. muscaria, in which the poisonous alkaloid muscarin is not destroyed in the drying, but remains unchanged for years in the dried mushroom.

The fact that there have been seemingly well-authenticated cases of fatal poisoning in the eating of this mushroom shows that if used at all it should be eaten only when the conditions essential to safety are most carefully observed, and as these mushrooms show varying qualities, according to local conditions of soil and climate, etc., amateurs finding it in localities where it has not been heretofore used should proceed tentatively and with much care before venturing to eat it freely.

POISONOUS AND DELETERIOUS MUSHROOMS OF THE LACTAR, RUSSULA, AND BOLETUS GROUPS.

Lactarius torminosus Fries contains in its milky juice an acrid resin which causes inflammation of the stomach and of the alimentary canal. When parboiled and the first water removed, it has been eaten without injurious effects. Lactarius plumbeus Bull., Lactarius uvidus Fries, Lactarius turpis Weinn., and Lactarius pyrogalus Bull., all acrid mushrooms, according to Kobert, are similarly poisonous.

Of the "Erdschieber" (Lactarius vellereus) and the "Pfefferling" (Lactarius piperatus Scop.) Kobert says they are eaten in parts of Russia and in some places in Germany, but that neither is very safe.

There is a species of Russula (R. emetica) very common in woods, easily recognized by its smooth scarlet top, white gills, and white stem and by its biting acridity, which, though recorded as poisonous by some authors, is considered edible by others. This mushroom, R. emetica, has been subjected to chemical analysis by Kobert, who finds in it muscarin, cholin, and pilz-atropin in varying proportions. Kobert states that in Germany it is "rightly" considered poisonous, though eaten in Russia, and ascribes the fact that it is not deemed poisonous in the latter country to the manner in which it is there prepared, the poisonous alkaloid being in greater part eliminated by parboiling the mushrooms, and not merely pouring off the water, but carefully squeezing it out of the parboiled fungi.

To the presence in this mushroom of the neutralizing alkaloid "pilz-atropin" in varying proportions may also be attributed in some measure the safety with which it has been eaten under certain conditions. R. foetens and other acrid Russulas, as well as Lactars, have been known to produce severe gastro-enteritis.

Considering the foregoing, it would seem the part of prudence at least to avoid such of the Lactars and Russulas as have an acrid or peppery taste.

I think it would be a wise precaution to pour off the water of the first boiling in the case of all mushrooms about which there is a particle of doubt, whether recorded as poisonous or not.

Lactarius torminosus Fries. Cap fleshy, at first convex, then expanded, at length depressed in the center, slightly zoned, margin turned inwards, pale ochraceous yellow, with flesh-colored mottlings; downy or hairy; gills whitish, changing to pinkish yellow, narrow and close together; stem equal, stuffed or hollow, pallid or whitish; milk persistently white and acrid. In woods and fields. Specimens have been collected in New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virginia. Cap 3 to 5 inches, stem 2-1/2 to 4 inches.

Lactarius pyrogalus. Cap fleshy, slightly zoned, smooth, even, and moist, depressed in the center, grayish, or cinereous; gills white or yellowish, thin, not crowded; stem short, stout, stuffed, or hollow, sometimes slightly attenuated towards the root, pallid; flesh white or whitish; milk white and extremely acrid, copious. Borders of woods and meadows. This mushroom is sometimes called the "Fiery Milk Mushroom."

Lactarius uvidus Fries. Cap thin, convex, then plane, and slightly depressed in the center, sometimes showing slight umbo, viscid, zoneless, smooth, dingy gray or pallid brown, margin turned inwards; gills narrow and close together, white or yellowish, when cut or bruised turning a purplish hue; stem stuffed or hollow, viscid, smooth, equal or slightly tapering towards the cap, white; milk white, changing to lilac, acrid. Height 2 to 4 inches. Cap 2 to 4 inches broad. In woods.

Lactarius turpis Fries. Cap viscid, compact, zoneless, greenish umber, margin clothed with yellowish down; gills thin, paler than the cap; stem hollow or stuffed, stoutish, short, viscid, olive color, slightly attenuated towards the base; milk white, acrid. Fir woods.

Lactarius plumbeus Fries. Cap fleshy, firm, dry, somewhat hairy, varying in color, usually some shade of brown; gills yellowish, thin, and close together; stem solid, equal, lighter in color than the cap; flesh white; milk white and acrid.

Lactarius vellereus Fries. Fleecy Lactarius. Cap compact, convex or umbilicate, zoneless, minutely downy; margin reflexed, gills white, distant, arcuate; stem short, solid, pubescent; milk white, acrid, somewhat scanty. In woods. Whole plant white.

Lactarius piperatus Scop. Peppery Lactarius. Cap fleshy, compact, convex and slightly umbilicate, at last deeply depressed, becoming funnel-formed, smooth and even; gills decurrent, very narrow, thin, even and close together, dichotonous, white; flesh white; milk white, extremely acrid, copious; stem very short, stout, solid. Whole plant white.

Lactarius blennius Fries. Cap depressed, slimy or glutinous, greenish-gray; margin incurved and somewhat downy. Gills narrow, white or whitish; stem stuffed or hollow, viscid, and of same color as the cap or paler; milk white and very acrid.

M. C. Cooke divides the genus Lactarius into 4 "Tribes": (1) Piperites, in which the stem is central, gills unchangeable, naked, neither discolored nor pruinose, milk at first white and commonly acrid; (2) Dapetes, in which the stem is central, gills naked, milk from the first deeply colored; (3) Russulares, in which the stem is central, gills pallid, then discolored, becoming darker, changing when turned to the light, at length pruinose, with milk at first white and mild and sometimes becoming acrid; (4) Pleuropos, in which the stem is concentric or lateral.

To the first of these subdivisions, Piperites, belong all of the Lactars enumerated above. The Russians eat the Piperites only after the water of the first boiling has been taken off.

Lactarius rufus Scop., a very acrid species of large size, having reddish ochraceous gills and zoneless cap of reddish yellow with white milk, belongs to the subdivision Russulares. Common in fir woods. Dangerous.

Lactarius volemus Fries, a tawny yellow-capped mushroom with white gills changing to a yellowish hue, and copious sweet white milk, belongs also to the latter subdivision. Edible.

Russula (Fragiles) emetica Fries. Cap fleshy, at first convex, then expanded or depressed, smooth, polished, red, margin sulcate; gills free, equal and broad, white; stem solid but somewhat spongy in the center, smooth, short, stoutish, white or stained reddish; flesh white, sometimes slightly tinted red, under the thin red cuticle. The cap of this mushroom varies from a deep rich crimson to a pale pinkish red, being very subject to atmospheric changes. Specimens are often found with the cap washed almost white after heavy rains, or with but a slight red spot in the center. The gills and spores are pure white, and the flesh peppery to the taste. If tasted when raw the juice should not be swallowed.