An edible variety; very common.
2. Horse Mushroom (Agaricus Arvensis).—This species may be considered with the foregoing, but it differs in being considerably larger (measuring four to ten inches across) and in having a more shiny cap, of a white or brown hue. The ring about the stem is noticeably wider and thicker, and is composed of two distinct layers. The gills are white at first, turning dark brown comparatively late, and the stem is a little hollow as it matures. In some localities it is more common than the campestris in fields and pastures, while in other places it is found only in rich gardens, about hot beds, or in cold frames. It is not distinguished from the campestris by market people, but is often sold with the latter.
Fig. 36.
THE HORSE MUSHROOM.
(Agaricus Arvensis.)
This variety is edible.
3. Shaggy Mane, Ink Cap, or Horsetail Fungus (Coprinus Comatus).—This mushroom possesses the most marked characteristics of any of the edible species; it would seem impossible to mistake its identity from written descriptions and illustrations. It is considered by many superior in flavor to the campestris.
The top or cap does not expand in this mushroom, until it begins to turn black, but remains folded down about the stem like a closed umbrella. Mature specimens are usually three to five, occasionally from eight to ten, inches high. The stem is hollow. The inside of the cap or gills and the stem are snow white. The outer surface of the cap, which is white in young plants, becomes of a faint, yellow-brown or tawny color in mature specimens, and also darker at the top. Delicate scales often rolled up at their lower ends are seen on the exterior of the cap, more readily in mature mushrooms, hence the name "shaggy mane." There is a ring around the stem at the lower margin of the cap, and it is so loosely attached to either the cap or stem that it sometimes drops down to the base of the latter.
The most salient feature of shaggy mane is the change which occurs when it is about a day old; it turns black and dissolves away into an inky fluid, whence the other common name "ink cap." The mushroom should not be eaten when in this condition. The ink cap is usually found growing in autumn, rarely in summer, in richer earth than the common mushroom. One finds it in heaps of street scrapings, by roadsides, in rich lawns, in soils filled with decomposing wood and in low, shaded, moist grounds.