Helvellic Acid.—This very deadly poison is sometimes found in Helvella esculenta Persoon (Gyromitra esculenta), particularly in old or decaying specimens. It has been studied and named by Boehm. It is quite soluble in hot water, and in some localities this species of Helvella is always parboiled—the water being thrown away—before it is prepared for the table. It seems to be quite generally agreed that young and perfectly fresh specimens are free from the poison. As the poison is very violent, however, this plant should be carefully avoided.
The symptoms resemble in a very marked degree those of the deadly phallin, the dissolution of the red corpuscles of the blood being one of the most marked and most dangerous; this is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, jaundice, and stoppage of the kidneys. There is no known antidote for this poison, hence the little that can be done would be similar to that mentioned under phallin.
When poisoning by mushrooms is suspected, one cannot too strongly urge that the services of a competent physician should be secured with the least possible delay.
CHAPTER XXIII.
DESCRIPTION OF TERMS APPLIED TO CERTAIN STRUCTURAL CHARACTERS OF MUSHROOMS.
By H. HASSELBRING.
In fungi, as in higher plants, each organ or part of the plant is subject to a great number of variations which appeal to the eye of the student, and by which he recognizes relationship among the various individuals, species, and genera of this group. For the purpose of systematic studies of mushrooms or even for the recognition of a few species, it is of primary importance to be acquainted with terms used in describing different types of variation. Only a few of the more important terms, such as are employed in this book, together with diagrams illustrating typical cases to which they are applied, will be given here.
The pileus.—The pileus or cap is the first part of a mushroom which attracts the attention of the collector. It is the fleshy fruit body of the plant. This, like all other parts of the mushroom, is made up, not of cellular tissue as we find it in flowering plants, but of numerous interwoven threads, called hyphæ, which constitute the flesh or trama of the pileus. Ordinarily, the filamentous structure of the flesh is very obvious when a thin section of the cap is examined under the microscope, but in certain genera, as Russula and Lactarius, many branches of the hyphæ become greatly enlarged, forming little vesicles or bladders. These vesicles lie in groups all through the flesh of the pileus, sometimes forming the greater part of its substance. The filamentous hyphæ pass around and through these groups, filling up the interstices. In cross section this tissue resembles parenchyma, and appears as if it were made up of rounded cells. Such a trama is said to be vesiculose to distinguish it from the ordinary or floccose trama. The threads on the outer surface of the pileus constitute the cortex or cuticle. They are thick walled and often contain coloring matter which gives the plants their characteristic color. In many species their walls become gelatinized, covering the outside of the pileus with a viscid, slimy, or glutinous layer, often called pellicle. In other instances the corticle layer ceases to grow with the pileus. It is then torn and split by the continued expanding of the rest of the plant, and remains on the surface in the form of hairs, fibers, scales, etc.
