Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc. George Francis Atkinson
plants are scattered or clustered, several often joined at the base of the stem. They are 4–8 cm. high, the cap 2–5 cm. broad, and the stem 4–8 mm. in thickness.
Figure 28.—Hypholoma lacrymabundum (natural size). Cap and stem tawny or light yellowish, with intermediate shades or shades of umber, surface with soft floccose scales. Copyright.
The pileus is convex to expanded, sometimes broadly umbonate in age, and usually with radiating wrinkles extending irregularly. On the surface are silky or tomentose threads not much elevated from the surface, and as the plant ages these are drawn into triangular scales which are easily washed apart by the rains. The color is tawny or light yellowish with intermediate shades, darker on the umbo and becoming darker in age, sometimes umber colored, and stained with black, especially after rains where the spores are washed on the pileus. The flesh is tinged with light yellow, or tawny, or brown, soft, and easily broken. The gills are sinuate, adnate, somewhat ventricose, very rarely in abnormal specimens anastomosing near the margin of the pileus, at first light yellowish, then shading to umber and spotted with black and rusty brown as the spores mature, easily breaking away from the stipe, whitish on the edge. Drops of moisture sometimes are formed on the gills. Basidia abruptly clavate, 30–35 × 10–12 µ. Cystidia hyaline, thin walled, projecting above the hymenium 40 µ, and 14–15 µ broad. Spores black, purple tinged, broadly elliptical and somewhat curved, 9–11 × 7–8 µ.
The stem is fleshy to fibrous, the same color as the pileus, floccose scaly more or less up to the veil, smooth or white pruinose above the veil, straight or curved, somewhat striate below.
The veil in young plants is hairy, of the same texture as the surface of the pileus, torn and mostly clinging to the margin of the pileus, and disappearing with age.
The general habit and different stages of development as well as some of the characters of the plant are shown in Fig. 28 (No. 4620 Cornell University herbarium). The edible qualities of this plant have not been tested.
Hypholoma rugocephalum Atkinson.—This interesting species grows in damp places in woods. The plants are tufted or occur singly. They are 8–12 cm. high, the cap 6–10 cm. broad, and the stem 6–10 mm. in thickness.
The pileus is convex to expanded, and the margin at last revolute (upturned). The surface is marked by strong wrinkles (rugæ), which radiate irregularly from the center toward the margin. The pileus is broadly umbonate, fleshy at the center and thinner toward the margin, the flesh tinged with yellow, the surface slightly viscid, but not markedly so even when moist, smooth, not hairy or scaly, the thin margin extending little beyond ends of the gills. The color is tawny (near fulvus). The gills are adnate, slightly sinuate, 5–7 mm. broad, in age easily breaking away from the stem and then rounded at this end, spotted with the black spores, lighter on the edge. The spores are black in mass (with a suggestion of a purple tinge), oval to broadly elliptical, inequilateral, pointed at each end, echinulate, or minutely tuberculate, 8–11 × 6–8 µ. The basidia are short, cylindrical; cystidia cylindrical, somewhat enlarged at the free end, hyaline, delicate, thin-walled, in groups of two to six or more (perhaps this is partly responsible for the black spotted condition of the gills). The stem is cylindrical, even, somewhat bulbous, of the same color as the pileus, but lighter above the annulus, irregular, smooth, fleshy, hollow, continuous with the substance of the pileus. The annulus is formed of a few threads, remnants of the veil, which are stained black by the spores. Figure 29 is from plants (No. 3202 C. U. herbarium) collected near Ithaca, July 18, 1899.
Plate 8, Figure 29.—Hypholoma rugocephalum (⅞ natural size). Cap tawny, gills purple black, spotted. Copyright.
STROPHARIA Fr.
The genus Stropharia has purple-brown spores, the gills are attached to the stem, and the veil forms a ring on the stem.
Figure 30.—Stropharia semiglobata (natural size). Cap and stem light yellow, viscid, gills brownish purple. Copyright.
Stropharia semiglobata Batsch.—This species is rather common and widely distributed, occurring in grassy places recently manured, or on dung. The plants are scattered or clustered, rarely two or three joined at the base. They are 5–12 cm. high, the cap 1–3 cm. broad, and the stems 2–4 mm. in thickness. The entire plant is light yellow, and viscid when moist, the gills becoming purplish brown, or nearly black. Stevenson says it is regarded as poisonous.
The pileus is rounded, then hemispherical (semi-globate), smooth, fleshy at the center, thinner toward the margin, even, very viscid or viscous when moist, light yellow. The gills are squarely set against the stem (adnate), broad, smooth, in age purplish brown to blackish, the color more or less clouded. The spores in mass, are brownish purple. The stem is slender, cylindrical, becoming hollow, straight, even or bulbous below, yellowish, but paler at the apex where there are often parallel striæ, marks from the gills in the young stage. The stem is often viscid and smeared with the glutinous substance which envelopes the plant when young, and from the more or less glutinous veil. The ring is glutinous when moist.
Figure 30 is from plants (No. 4613 C. U. herbarium) collected on one of the streets of Ithaca.
Stropharia stercoraria Fr., is a closely related plant, about the same size, but the pileus, first hemispherical, then becoming expanded and sometimes striate on the margin, while the stem is stuffed. The gills are said to be of one color and the ring floccose, viscose, and evanescent in drying. It occurs on dung, or in grassy places recently manured.
Stropharia æruginosa Curt., the greenish Stropharia, is from 6–8 cm. high, and the pileus 5–7 cm. broad. The ground color is yellowish, but the plant is covered with a greenish slime which tends to disappear with age. It is found in woods and open places during late summer and in autumn. According to Stevenson it is poisonous.
FOOTNOTES:
[B] For analytical key to the genera see Chapter XXIV.
CHAPTER V.
THE BLACK-SPORED AGARICS.
The spores are black in mass, not purple tinged. For analytical keys to the genera see Chapter XXIV.