The Chantarelle, Cantharellus cibarius, has the smell of a ripe apricot, a delicious odor and easily detected. One of the Lepiotas, the tufted Lepiota, L. cristata, has a powerful smell of radishes. Some Tricholomas have a strong odor of new meal. The fragrant Clitocybe, C. odora, has the smell of anise.
Coprinus atramentarius.
Photographed by C. G. Lloyd.
There is a very small white, scaly mushroom, never more than an inch across the cap, and with a stem hardly two inches high, that has the distinction of possessing the strongest smell of all the membrane fungi (Hymenomycetes). It is called the narcotic Coprinus, C. narcoticus, and it derives its name from its odor. It is very fragile and grows on heaps of manure.
[DURATION.]
There is another Coprinus, the radiating Coprinus, C. radiatus, so called from the radiating folds on the cap, that may carry off the honor of being the shortest-lived of all the membrane fungi. Stevenson says “it withers up with a breath.” It is often overlooked, as it perishes after sunrise. It grows in troops, and is perhaps the most tender of all mushrooms.
The genus Marasmius, belonging to the white spored Agarics, has the power of reviving under moisture after withering, so it may represent a genus that endures longest. None of the fleshy fungi have long lives.
[USES.]
Besides the uses of fungi as scavengers of creation, there are some which have a commercial