3. Fungi (Fungals), including Mushrooms, &c.
Eatable Mushroom (Agaricus campestris).
The Fungi comprise a great variety of vegetable growths, from the mould which grows on any animal or vegetable substance, to the mushroom. Some of the moulds or mildews found on various decaying substances are peculiar to them, and in many cases exceedingly destructive. The microscopic fungus Puccinea graminis, is the parasite which fixes itself to corn and produces the disease known as mildew, and the Uredo segetum (another microscopic fungus) causes the "smut;" the "bunt" is caused by the Uredo fœtida, and the "spur," or "ergot," which attacks rye, is caused by the Acinula clavis. These fungi completely destroy the grain of corn, in which they form, and propagate in the most rapid manner; the ergot is moreover a dangerous poison to those who eat the bread made of rye infected by it. The Truffle (Tuber cibarium) is a kind of underground fungus, and is esteemed a dainty. Mushrooms are also fungi, and several species are sufficiently wholesome; these are the Field Mushroom (Agaricus campestris) and the Fairy-ring Mushroom (Agaricus pratensis).
4. Lichenes (Lichens),
Lichen.
Are those dry scaly growths forming grey, green, or yellow spots on the barks of trees and in various other places, and they grow in a sort of leaf or scale called a "thallus." They are used as articles of food and as "dye-stuffs;" the Cetraria Icelandica is the "Iceland Moss" used here for making a sort of nutritious drink or jelly, the natives of Iceland, however, use it as common food; the Cladonia rangifarina, or Reindeer Moss, is the chief food of that useful creature which forms the whole property of the Laplander; and the Roccella tinctoria is the substance from which the dye called "archil" is procured.
5. Filices (Ferns).
