Part 6

AGARICINI. Fries.

LEUCOSPORI (SPORES WHITE, OR YELLOWISH).

Genus Russula Fr. The Russulae bear some resemblance to the Lactars, their nearest allies, but are at once distinguished from them by their want of milk.

They are very abundant in the forests and open woods. The genus is cited by some authors as the most natural of the agarics, but, as many of the species very closely resemble each other, it requires careful analysis to determine them. The plants of this genus are not volvate, and have neither veil nor ring. The hymenophore is not separate from the trama of the gills. Although some are pure white, the caps are usually brilliant in coloring, but the color is very susceptible to atmospheric changes, and after heavy rains the bright hues fade, sometimes only leaving a slight trace of the original coloring in the central depression of the cap.

The cap in youth is somewhat hemispherical, afterwards expanding, becoming slightly depressed in the centre, somewhat brittle in texture; gills rigid, fragile, with acute edge; stem thick, blunt, and polished, usually short. The spores are globose, or nearly so, slightly rough, white or yellowish, according to the species. In R. virescens the spores are white, while in R. alutacea the spores are an ochraceous yellow in tint.

A number of the species are of pleasant flavor, others peppery or acrid. Out of seventy-two described by Cooke, twenty-four are recorded as acrid. With some of these the acridity is said to disappear in cooking, and a few mycophagists claim to have eaten all varieties with impunity. We have recorded, however, some well authenticated cases of serious gastric disturbance, accompanied by acute inflammation of the mucous membrane, caused by the more acrid of these, notably R. emetica and R. foetens, and in view of this fact it would seem a wise precaution for the amateur collector to discard or at least to use very sparingly all those which have an acrid or peppery taste, until well assured as to their wholesomeness.

The genus Russula has been divided into the following tribes or groups:--Compactae, Furcatae, Rigidae, Heterophylla, and Fragiles. The species Russula (Rigidae) virescens, illustrated in Plate I, belongs to the tribe Rigidae. In the plants of this group, the cap is absolutely dry and rigid, destitute of a viscid pellicle; the cuticle commonly breaking up into flocci or granules; the flesh thick, compact, and firm, vanishing near the margin, which is never involute, and shows no striations. The gills are irregular in length, some few reaching half way to the stem, the others divided, dilated, and extending into a broad rounded end, stem solid.

PLATE I.

=Russula virescens= Fries. "The Verdette" or "Greenish Russula."

EDIBLE.

The cap of this species is fleshy and dry, the skin breaking into thin patches. The margin is usually even, but specimens occur which show striations. The color varies from a light green to a grayish or moldy green, sometimes tinged with yellow; gills white, free from the stem or nearly so, unequal, rather crowded; stem white, stout, solid, smooth, at first hard, then spongy; spores white, nearly globose.

One writer speaks of the "warts" of the cap, but the term warts, used in this connection, refers merely to the patches resulting from the splitting or breaking up of the epidermis of the cap, and not to such excrescences called warts, as are commonly observed on the cap of Amanita muscaria, for instance, which are remnants of the volva.

The R. virescens is not as common as some others of the Russulae, in some localities, and hitherto seems to have attracted but little attention as an edible species in this country, although highly esteemed in Europe. It has been found growing in thin woods in Maryland and in Virginia from June to November, and we have had reports of its growth from New York and Massachusetts. The peasants in Italy are in the habit of toasting these mushrooms over wood embers, eating them afterwards with a little salt. Vittadini, Roques, and Cordier speak highly of its esculent qualities and good flavor. We have eaten quantities of the virescens gathered in Washington, D. C., and its suburbs, and found it juicy and of good flavor when cooked.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE I.

Plate I exhibits four views of this mushroom (R. virescens) drawn and colored from nature. Fig. 1, the immature plant; Fig. 2, advanced stage of growth, cap expanded or plane; Fig. 3, section showing the unequal length of the gills and manner of their attachment to the stem; Fig. 4, surface view of the cap showing the epidermis split in characteristic irregular patches; Fig. 5, spores, white.

AGARICINI.

COPRINARII (SPORES BLACK OR NEARLY SO).

Genus Coprinus Fries. Hymenophore distinct from the stem. Gills membranaceous, at first coherent from the pressure, then dissolving into a black fluid. Trama obsolete. Spores, oval, even, black. M. C. Cooke.

The plants of this genus have been divided into two tribes, viz., Pelliculosi and Veliformis. In the Pelliculosi the gills of the mushrooms are covered with a fleshy or membranaceous cuticle, hence the cap is not furrowed along the lines of the gills, but is torn and revolute. In this tribe are included the Comati, Atramentarii, Picacei, Tomentosi, Micacio and Glabrati. In the tribe Veliformis the plants are generally very small, and the cap much thinner than in those of the Pelliculosi, soon showing distinct furrows along the back of the gills, which quickly melt into very thin lines. The stem is thin and fistulose.

Cordier states that all the species of Coprinus are edible when young and fresh. This is probably true, but most of them have so little substance and are so ephemeral as to be of small value for food purposes. C. comatus, C. atramentarius, C. micaceus, and C. ovatus have the preference with most mycophagists, but even these soon melt, and should be gathered promptly and cooked immediately to be of use for the table.

PLATE II.

=Coprinus comatus= Fries. Maned or Shaggy Coprinus.

EDIBLE.

Cap at first oblong or cylindrical, then campanulate, the cuticle breaking into shaggy fibrous scales, color whitish, the scales generally yellow or yellowish, margin revolute and lacerated, soon becoming black. Gills linear, free, and close together, at first white, then pink or purplish, turning to black. Stem hollow or slightly stuffed, nearly equal, somewhat fibrillose, with bulb solid; the ring movable or very slightly adherent, generally disappearing as the plant matures. Spores oval, black, .0005 to .0007 in. long.

This species is found in abundance in different parts of the United States, generally in rich soil, in pastures, by roadsides, in dumping lots, etc. Of late years quantities have been gathered in the lawn surrounding the Capitol grounds, and in the parks of the District of Columbia, as well as in the debris of the wooden block pavements used for surface soiling gardens in vicinity of the capital. They have been offered for sale in open market as low as 25 cents per pound.

A correspondent from Rochester, New York, states that in a patch of his grounds which had been quarried out and filled with street sweepings the Coprinus comatus appeared in such quantities as to make it impossible to walk over the space without stepping upon them, and that he was able to gather from this small space from one to two bushels at a time in the spring and the fall. In flavor the C. comatus resembles the cultivated mushroom, though perhaps more delicate.

The Coprinus ovatus, "Oval Coprinus," a closely allied species, is similar to the comatus, but smaller, more ovate in shape and delicate in flavor, less deliquescent; stem usually 3/4 of an inch long. The Coprinus atramentarius has a mouse-gray or brownish cap with irregular margin, slightly striated. It is not shaggy, but is spotted with minute, innate punctate scales. The stem is hollow, somewhat ringed when young. Spores elliptical, black.

Coprinus micaceus is a very common species, and is found generally in clusters on old tree stumps or on decaying wood. The cap is thin and of a reddish buff or ochraceous tint, often showing a sprinkling of glistening micaceous scales or granules; gills crowded, whitish. It is at first ovate or bell-shaped, then expanding; striated. The stem is white, slender, and hollow, not ringed. The spores in this species are a very dark brown, which is unusual in the genus Coprinus.