The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise. Miron Elisha Hard

Contents

      The Cartilaginous Tricholoma. Edible.

      Figure 57.—Tricholoma cartilagineum. Two-thirds natural size.

      Cartilagineum means gristly or cartilaginous.

      The pileus is two to three inches broad, cartilaginous, elastic, fleshy, convex, soon expanded, wavy, as seen in Figure 57, margin incurved, smooth, inclined to be blackish at first, then broken up into small black spots.

      The gills are slightly notched, adnexed, somewhat crowded, grayish.

      The stem is one to two inches long, rather firm, stuffed, equal, smooth, white, often striate and mealy. Taste and odor pleasant.

      A number of my friends ate it because of its inviting taste and odor. It grew in quantities among the clover in our city park during the wet weather of the last of May and the first of June.

Tricholoma squarrulosum. Bres.

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      Figure 58.—Tricholoma squarrulosum. Caps showing black squamules.

      Squarrulosum means full of scales.

      The pileus is two to three inches broad, convex, then expanded, umbonate, dry; fuscous then lurid tan, center black, with black squamules; edge fibrillose, exceeding gills.

      The gills are broad, crowded, whitish-gray, reddish when bruised.

      The stem is of the same color as the pileus, punctato-squamulose. The spores are elliptical, 7–9×4–5µ.

      This is a beautiful plant, growing in mixed woods among the leaves. The stem is short and apparently the same color as the pileus. The latter is covered with black squamules which give rise to the name of the species. I have succeeded in finding the plants only in October. The specimens in Figure 58 were found in Poke Hollow, near Chillicothe.

Tricholoma maculatescens. Pk.

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      Spotted Tricholoma.

      Figure 59.—Tricholoma maculatescens. One-third natural size.

      Maculatescens means growing spotted; so called because when the specimen is dried the cap becomes more or less spotted.

      The pileus is one and a half to three inches broad, compact, spongy, reddish-brown, convex, then expanded, obtuse, even, slightly viscid when wet, becoming rivulose and brown spotted in drying, flesh whitish, margin inflexed, exceeding the gills.

      The gills are slightly emarginate, rather narrow, cinereous.

      The stem is spongy-fleshy, equal, sometimes abruptly narrowed at the base, solid, stout, fibrillose, pallid or whitish. The spores are oblong or subfusiform, pointed at the ends, uninucleate, .0003 inch long, .00016 broad. Peck.

      I found the plant on several occasions in the month of November, but was unable to fix it satisfactorily until Prof. Morgan helped me out. The specimens in Figure 59 were found on Thanksgiving day in the Morton woods, in Gallia County, Ohio. I had found several specimens about Chillicothe, previous to this.

      This species seems to be very near T. flavobrunneum, T. graveolens, and T. Schumacheri, but may be distinguished from them by the spotting of the pileus when drying and the peculiar shape of the spores.

      It is found among the leaves in mixed woods even during freezing weather. It is no doubt edible, but I should try it cautiously for the first time.

Tricholoma flavobrunneum. Fr.

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      The Yellow-Brown Tricholoma. Edible.

      Flavobrunneum is from flavus, yellow; brunneus, brown; so called from the brown caps and yellow flesh.

      The pileus is three to four or more inches broad, fleshy, conical, then convex, expanded, subumbonate, viscid, brownish-bay, scaly-streaked, flesh yellow, then tinged with red.

      The gills are pale yellow, emarginate, slightly decurrent, somewhat crowded, and often tinged with red.

      The stem is three to four inches long, hollow, slightly ventricose, brownish, flesh yellow, at first viscid, sometimes reddish-brown. The spores are 6–7×4–5. Found in mixed woods among leaves.

Tricholoma Schumacheri. Fr.

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      Schumacheri in honor of C. F. Schumacher, author of "Plantarum Sællandiæ." The pileus is from two to three inches broad, spongy, convex, then plane, obtuse, even, livid gray, moist, edge beyond gills incurved.

      The gills are narrow, close, pure white, slightly emarginate.

      The stem is three to four inches long, solid, fibrillosely-striate, white and fleshy.

      This seems to be a domestic plant, found in greenhouses.

Tricholoma grande. Pk.

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      The Large Tricholoma. Edible.

      Grande, large, showy. This was quite abundant in Haines' Hollow and on Ralston's Run during the wet weather of the fall of 1905. It seems to be very like T. columbetta and is found in the same localities.

      The pileus is thick, firm, hemispherical, becoming convex, often irregular, dry, scaly, somewhat silky-fibrillose toward the margin, white, the margin at first involute. Flesh grayish-white, taste farinaceous.

      The gills are close, rounded behind, adnexed, white.

      The stem is stout, solid, fibrillose, at first tapering upward, then equal or but slightly thickened at the base, pure white. The spores are elliptical, 9–11×6µ.

      The pileus is four to five inches broad, the stem two to four inches long, and an inch to an inch and a half thick. Peck, 44th Rep.

      This is a very large and showy plant, growing among leaves after heavy rains. Both this and T. columbetta, as well as a white variety of T. personatum, were very plentiful in the same woods. They grow in groups so closely crowded that the caps are often quite irregular. The darker and scaly disk and larger sized spore will help you to distinguish it from T. columbetta. The very large specimens are too coarse to be good. Found in damp woods, among leaves, from August to November.

Tricholoma sejunctum. Sow.

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      The Separating Tricholoma. Edible.