The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise / Its Habitat and its Time of Growth

by Miron Elisha Hard

Hymenium, normally inferior—
Hymenium with gills	Agaricaceæ.
Hymenium with pores	Polyporaceæ.
Hymenium with teeth	Hydnaceæ.
Hymenium even	Thelophoraceæ.
Hymenium, superior—
Hymenium on smooth surface, club-shaped,	Clavariaceæ.
Hymenium lobed, convolute, gelatinous,	Tremellaceæ.

Family 1—Agaricaceae.

Hymenium inferior, pileus more or less expanded, convex, bell-shaped. Gills radiating from the point of attachment of the pileus with the stem, or from a lateral stem to other parts of the cap, simple or branched.

I. Spores white or slightly tinted.
	A. Plants fleshy, more or less firm, decaying soon.
		a. Stem fleshy, pileus easily separating from the stem.
			Volva present and ring on the stem.
			Pileus bearing warts or patches free from the cuticle			Amanita.
			Volva present, ring wanting			Amanitopsis.
			Pileus scaly, scales concrete with cuticle,
			Volva wanting, ring present			Lepiota.
			Hymenophore confluent,
			Without cartilaginous bark,
		b. Stem central, ring present (sometimes vague),
			Volva wanting, gills attached			Armillaria.
			Without a ring,
				Gills sinuate		Tricholoma.
				Gills decurrent,
					Edges acute	Clitocybe.
					Edges swollen	Cantharellus.
				Gills adnate,
					Parasitic on other mushrooms	Nyctalis.
					Not parasitic,
					Milky	Lactarius.
					Not exuding juice when bruised,
					Rigid and brittle	Russula.
					Quite viscid, waxy consistency	Hygrophorus.
		c. Stem lateral or none, rarely central				Pleurotus.
		d. Stem with cartilaginous bark,
			Gills adnate			Collybia.
			Gills sinuate			Mycena.
			Gills decurrent			Omphalia.
		Plants tough, fleshy, membranaceous, leathery,
		Stem central,
			Gills simple			Marasmius.
			Gills branched			Xerotus.
	B. Plants gelatinous and leathery					Heliomyces.
		Stem lateral or wanting,
			Edge of gills serrate			Lentinus.
			Edge of gills entire			Panus.
			Gills fold-like, irregular			Trogia.
			Edge of gills split longitudinally			Schizophyllum.
	C. Plants corky or woody,
		Gills anastomosing.				Lenzites.
II. Spores rosy or salmon color.
	A. Stem central.
		Gills free, stem easily separating from pileus.
		Without cartilaginous stem,
		Volva present and distinct, no ring				Volvaria.
		Without a volva, with a ring				Annularia.
		Without a volva and without a ring				Pluteus.
	B. Stem fleshy to fibrous, margin of pileus at first incurved,
		Gills sinuate or adnate				Entoloma.
		Gills decurrent				Clitopilus.
	C. Stem eccentric or none, pileus lateral					Claudopus.
		Gills decurrent, pileus umbilicate				Eccilia.
		Gills not decurrent, pileus torn into scales, and slightly convex, margin at first involute				Leptonia.
	Pileus bell-shaped, margin at first straight					Nolanea.
III. Spores rusty-brown or yellow-brown.
	A. Stem not cartilaginous,
		a. Stem central,
			With a ring,
			Ring continuous			Pholiota.
			Veil arachnoid,
			Gills adnate, powdery from spores			Cortinarius.
			Gills decurrent or adnate, mostly epiphytal			Flammula.
			Gills somewhat sinuate, cuticle of the pileus silky, or bearing fibrils			Inocybe.
			Cuticle smooth, viscid			Hebeloma.
			Gills separating from the hymenophore and decurrent			Paxillus.
		b. Stem lateral or absent				Crepidotus.
	B. Stem cartilaginous,
		Gills decurrent				Tubaria.
		Gills not decurrent,
		Margin of the pileus at first incurved				Naucoria.
		Margin of pileus always straight,
		Hymenophore free				Pluteolus.
		Hymenophore confluent				Galera.
		Gills dissolving into a gelatinous condition				Bolbitius.
IV. Spores purple-brown.
	A. Stem not cartilaginous,
	Pileus easily separating from the stem,
		Volva present, ring wanting				Chitonia.
		Volva and ring wanting				Pilosace.
		Volva wanting, ring present				Agaricus.
		Gills confluent, ring present on stem				Stropharia.
		Ring wanting, veil remaining attached to margin of pileus				Hypholoma.
	B. Stem cartilaginous,
		Gills decurrent				Deconia.
		Gills not decurrent, margin of pileus at first incurved				Psilocybe.
		Margin of pileus at first straight				Psathyra.
V. Black spored mushrooms.
	Gills deliquescent					Coprinus.
	Gills not deliquescent,
	Gills decurrent					Gomphidius.
	Gills not decurrent, pileus striate					Psathyrella.
	Pileus not striate, ring wanting, veil often present on margin					Panæolus.
	Ring wanting, veil appendiculate					Chalymotta.
	Ring present					Anellaria.

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CHAPTER II.
THE WHITE-SPORED AGARICS.

The species bearing the white spores seem to be higher in type than those producing colored spores. Most of the former are firmer, while the black spored specimens soon deliquesce. The white spores are usually oval, sometimes round, and in many cases quite spiny. All white-spored specimens will be found in clean places.

Amanita. Pers.

Amanita is supposed to be derived from Mount Amanus, an ancient name of a range separating Cilicia from Syria. It is supposed that Galen first brought specimens of this fungus from that region.

The genus Amanita has both a volva and veil. The spores are white and the stem is readily separable from the cap. The volva is universal at first, enveloping the young plant, yet distinct and free from the cuticle of the pileus.