Section Mouceron, Fries
“Senza dubbio uno de’ migliori funghi indigeni.”
—Vitt.
“Esculentus!”
—Ibid.
This is a very delicate mushroom; it grows either solitary or in company, and sometimes in rings, succeeding occasionally a crop of Ag. oreades and Ag. prunulus which had recently occupied the same site. Its general appearance, once recognized, is such as to render the mistaking it for any other species afterwards unlikely, whilst the least attention to its botanical characters makes it impossible to do so. Its irregular lobed pileus with smooth undulated borders, its decurrent gills, and short solid stem are so many particulars in which at first it might seem to resemble in outline the Canth. cib., with which it has, however, nothing else in common. It bears a nearer general resemblance to several of the section Lactifluus of Persoon, but the exudation, or not, of milk would be conclusive in any doubtful case, to say nothing of its peculiar smell of cucumber rind, or syringa leaf,183 in which respect it resembles no other fungus. The surface is as soft and smooth to the touch as kid, except in wet weather, when it becomes more or less sticky; the size, which does not admit of much variation, is from two to three inches across; whilst young the borders are rolled inwards towards the gills, the stalk is in the centre, and somewhat enlarged at the base; but as the fungus grows the borders unroll themselves, one side grows more rapidly than the other, the stalk becomes, in consequence, eccentric, and this eccentricity is often rendered greater by a lateral twist towards the base. The gills, which at first are white, assume later a pale salmon hue; Berkeley adds that “they are more or less forked, covered with very minute conical papillæ ending in four spiculæ;” those that are entire taper away posteriorly and terminate on the stalk, but the imperfect ones are rounded off midway; the spores are elliptic, and of the colour of brown-holland.184
This mushroom is found occasionally, throughout the summer, but autumn is the season to look for it, amidst the grass of woods and pastures, where it abounds. It should be eaten the day it is gathered, either stewed, broiled, or fried with egg and bread-crumbs, like cutlets. When dried, it loses much of its volume and acquires “a very sweet smell,”—“un’ aroma suavissimo” (Vitt.).
Helvella Crispa, Fries — Helvella Lacunosa, Afz
Tribe Mitrati, Fries.
“Può essere con vantaggio raccolta ed agli stessi usi delle spugniole destinata.”
—Vitt.
All Helvellæ are esculent, have an agreeable odour, and bear a general resemblance in flavour to the Morell. The Helvella crispa, or pallid Helvella of Scopoli and Fries, is, it seems, “not uncommon,”185 and the Helvella lacunosa, or cinereous Helvella of Afzel (on each of whose heads respectively Sowerby and Schœffer place an inappropriate mitre), are both indigenous. They are thus succinctly but excellently described by Mr. Berkeley.
Helvella Crispa, Fries
Bot. Char. Pileus whitish, flesh-coloured or yellowish, deflexed, lobed, free, crisped, pallid; stem fistulose, costato-lacunose, 3-5 inches high, snowy-white, deeply lacunose and ribbed, the ribs hollow.
Helvella Lacunosa, Afzel
Bot. Char. Pileus inflated, lobed, cinereous,186 lobes deflexed, adnate, stem fistulose, costato-lacunose; stem white or dusky.
This Helvella is not so common as the last, neither is it so sapid. They both grow in woods and on the stumps of old trees. Bendiscioli places them, for flavour, before the Morell, but this is not the general opinion entertained of them.
Helvella Esculenta, Pers
Bot. Char. Pileus inflated, irregular, undulated, gyroso-rugose, of a rich dark-brown colour, margin united with the stem; stem white or dusky. In plantations of fir and chestnut adjoining Weybridge Heath, in Surrey. It has not yet been found elsewhere in Britain.
Verpa Digitaliformis, Persoon — Peziza Acetabulum, Linn
Tribe Cupulati.
These funguses are very similar in their properties to the Helvellæ; that is, are not to be despised when one cannot get better, nor to be eaten when one can. “The Verpa,” says Vittadini, “though sold in the market, is only to be recommended when no other esculent fungus offers, which is sometimes the case in spring.” The Peziza acetabulum is utterly insipid, and depends entirely for flavour upon the sauce in which it is served. As they are rare in England, I shall merely give the botanical character of each.
Verpa Digitaliformis, Persoon
Pileus campanulate, three-quarters of an inch high, more or less closely pressed to the stem, but always free, wrinkled, but not reticulated, under side slightly pubescent, sporidia yellowish, elliptic, stem three inches high, half an inch thick, equal or slightly attenuated downwards, loosely stuffed, by no means hollow, transversely squamulose.187 Season, spring.
Peziza Acetabulum, Linn. Series Aleuria, Section Helvella, Fries
Bot. Char. Deeply cup-shaped, two inches broad, one and a half deep, externally floccose, light-umber, darker within, mouth puckered, tough; stem half to one inch high, smooth, deeply but irregularly costato-lacunose, ribs solid “branching at the top and forming reticulations on the outside of the cup, so as to present the appearance of a cluster of pillars supporting a font or roof, with fret-work between them” (Berkeley). Season, spring.
Polyporus Frondosus, Schrank
There are many species of Polyporus eaten on the Continent; among the more common kinds to be mentioned are P. frondosus and P. tuberaster, Persoon, P. corylinus, Mauri, P. subsquamosus, Pers., P. giganteus, ibid., P. fomentarius, ibid., which last is the Amadou, or German tinder fungus. Two of these are local; the P. tuberaster, which occurs principally in the kingdom of Naples, and the P. corylinus or that of the cob-nut tree, which (though it might perhaps be cultivated elsewhere) is at present restricted to Rome; both these are excellent for food.
As to the Polyporus squamosus, which is as common in England as abroad, in substance it cannot be masticated, and its expressed juice is exceedingly disagreeable; I should not think the P. fomentarius, to judge from its texture, promised much better; nor P. giganteus, of which the flesh is sometimes so tough as to creak under the knife.
The true P. frondosus is probably rare in England, that which I have met with and have had cooked, without being able to say much in its favour, is the P. intybaceus of Fries, which Mr. Berkeley says is distinguished from the other by having larger pores. Vittadini has not included it among the esculent funguses in his work; Persoon does not recommend it for weak stomachs on account of its toughness.188 Paulet, indeed, is of a different opinion, telling us that in place of its being heavy for the stomach, he will feel all the lighter who sups upon it. The people in the Vosges seem to have an equal affection for it with this writer, giving it the somewhat whimsical, though really most graphic sobriquets of the Hen-of-the-Woods and the Breeding Hen (Mougeot). Professor Sanguinetti informs me that it sells for six or seven baiocchi in the Roman market, the finer specimens being sent as surprise presents, “per meraviglia,” from poor tenants to hard landlords.
Bot. Char. “Pilei very numerous, dimidiate, condensed into a convex tuft from half a foot to a foot broad, imbricated, variously confluent, irregular, at first downy, dusky, then smooth, livid grey; disk depressed, dilated above, from half to one inch broad, convex, the base confluent with the compound stem” (Fries).
Clavaria Coralloides, Linn
Subgenus Ochrosporea, Fries.
“Esculenta deliciosa.”
—Vitt.
All the funguses of this genus being esculent, enter more or less largely into the supplies of the Italian markets. Roques describes seven species; Persoon five; Vittadini gives a detailed account and drawings of three, selecting those principally for the superiority of their flavour over the rest, and because of their greater abundance in the Milanese district. Mr. Berkeley, in a list with which he has favoured me, enumerates four British species as esculent, C. coralloides, C. grisea, C. cristata, and C. rugosa; as, however, he has no personal experience of any of these as articles of food, I shall merely give the botanical character of the C. coralloides, the most abundant of all the species (for the excellent qualities of which I can myself vouch), furnishing the reader with one or two drawings of other sorts, in further illustration of this elegant genus.
Clavaria Coralloides
Bot. Char. Pileus erect, white; stem rather thick, branches unequal, elongated, mostly acute, pure white, sometimes violet at the base.
Mode of Dressing
Having thoroughly cleansed away the earth, which is apt to adhere to them, they are to be sweated with a little butter, over a slow fire, afterwards to be strained, then (throwing away the liquor) to be replaced to stew for an hour, with salt, pepper, chopped chives and parsley, moistening with plain stock, and dredging with flour occasionally. When sufficiently cooked, to be thickened with yolks of eggs and cream.
Another Mode
Proceed as before; after sweating the Clavarias, wrap them in bacon and stew in a little broth seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley, and ham; cook for an hour, then serve in white sauce, or with a fricassée of chicken.
N.B.—The saucepan should be covered with a sheet of paper under the lid, which keeps the Clavarias white and also preserves their flavour.
There can be little doubt that our woods, properly explored, would be found to abound in funguses hitherto considered rare, and this would probably be one of them. At present the weald of Kent, within forty miles of London, remains, so far as Mycology is concerned, nearly as unexplored as the interior of Africa.
Plate V. fig. 2, represents Clavaria amethystina, Bull. Plate V. fig. 5, represents C. cinerea, Bull. Plate V., fig. 6, represents C. rugosa, Bull.
Lycoperdon Plumbeum, Nob
Puff-balls.
Subdivision Gasteromycetes, Fries.
Tribe 3. Trichospermi.
Family 1. Trichogastres. Genus 1. Lycoperdon, Tournef.
“Il Licoperdo piombino è uno dei funghi mangiativi più delicati che si conoscano. Il suo uso è pressochè generale.”
—Vitt.
All these more or less spherical white funguses furnished with a membranaceous covering, and filled when young with a white, compact, homogeneous pulp, which we call Puff-balls, are good to eat; those in most request for the table abroad, and the best, have no stem, i. e. no sterile base, but are prolific throughout their whole substance. One of the most common of these is the Lycoperdon plumbeum, of which the following excellent description is chiefly taken from Vittadini.
Bot. Char. Body globose; when full-grown about the size of a walnut, invested with two189 tunics, the outer one white, loosely membranaceous and fragile, sometimes smooth, at others furfuraceous; the innermost one (peridium) very tenacious, smooth, of a grey-lead colour externally, internally more or less shaggy with very fine hairs; these hairs occupy the whole cavity, and in the midst of them a prodigious number of minute granular bodies, the sporules (each of which is furnished with a long caudiform process), lie entangled. The whole plant, carefully removed from the earth, with its root still adhering, is in form not unlike one of its own seeds vastly magnified.
The L. plumbeum abounds in dry places, and is to be found in spring, summer, and autumn, solitary or in groups. “This,” says Vittadini, “is one of our commonest Puff-balls, and after the warm rains of summer and of autumn, myriads of these little plants suddenly springing up will often completely cover a piece of ground as if they had been sown like grain, for a crop; if we dig them up we shall find that they are connected with long fragile threads, extending horizontally underground and giving attachment to numerous smaller Puff-balls in different stages of development, which, by continuing to grow, afford fresh supplies as the old ones die off.”
Lycoperdon Bovista, Linn
Subdivision Gasteromycetes, Fries.
Tribe 3. Trichospermi. Family 1. Trichogastres.
“Vescie buone da friggere” (Tuscan vernacular name).
“La sua carne candida compatta si presta facilemente a tutte le speculazioni del cuoco.”
—Vitt.
This differs from the last-mentioned Puff-ball in many particulars; in the first place it is much larger (sometimes attaining to vast dimensions), its shape is different, being that of an inverted cone; never globular, the flesh also is more compact, while the membrane which holds what is first the pulp and afterwards the seed, is very thin and tender; the seed, moreover, has no caudal appendage; and finally, a considerable portion of the base is sterile, in all which additional particulars it is unlike the Lycoperdon plumbeum. The plant is sessile, a purple-black fragile membrane contains the spores, which are also sessile,190 and of the same colour as the peridium.
No fungus requires to be eaten so soon after gathering as this; a few hours will destroy the compactness of the flesh and change its colour from delicate-white to dirty-yellow;191 but when perfectly fresh and properly prepared, it yields to no other in digestibility. It may be dressed in many ways, but the best method is to cut it into slices and fry these in egg and bread-crumbs; so prepared, it has the flavour of a rich, light omelette.192
Agaricus Melleus
Subgenus 3. Amillaria.
This is a nauseous, disagreeable fungus, however cooked, and merely finds mention here, as its omission in a work on the esculent funguses of England might seem strange to those unacquainted with its demerits; it is really extraordinary how some Continental writers, speaking from their own experience, should ever have recommended it for the table. Pliny’s general apage against all funguses really finds an application to this, which is so repugnant to our notions of the savoury, that few would make a second attempt, or get dangerously far in a first dish. Not to be poisonous is its only recommendation; for as to the inviting epithet melleus, or honeyed, by which it is designated, this alludes only to the colour, and by no means to the taste, which is both harsh and styptic.
Bot. Char. In tufts, near or upon stumps of trees, or posts. Pileus dirty-yellow, more or less hairy; stem fibrous, varying greatly in length, from one inch to nine or ten; enlarged above and below, thinner in the middle; ring thick, spreading, rough or leathery; gills somewhat decurrent, deeper than the pileus; spores white, appearing like fine dust on the gills.
Agaricus Ulmarius, Bull
Subgenus Pleuropus. Subdivision Ægeritaria.
“Fungo mangiativo sommamente ricercato e di ottima qualità.”
—Vitt.
Bot. Char. Solitary or connected to others by a common root; the pileus presenting a dirty-white surface, turning afterwards to a pale rust-colour, and sometimes tessellated; varying like all parasitical funguses in shape, but generally more or less orbicular; flesh continuous with the stalk, white, compact; stalk very thick, solid, elastic, smooth towards the summit, tomentose at the base; gills of a yellowish tint, broad, thick, ventricose, emarginate, i. e. terminating upon the surface of the stem in a receding angle; the imperfect gills few; taste and smell agreeable; spores white.
This Agaric which takes its name from the tree where it is most commonly found, grows also, though less frequently, on the Poplar and Beech. Mr. Berkeley reports it rare; perhaps, however, as it is eminently local, it may here, as in Italy, be common in some places though of unfrequent general occurrence. No country being so rich in Elm-trees as our own, we should probably find A. ulmarius more often if the height at which it grows among the branches did not frequently screen it from observation.193 Though registered in the Flora of Tunbridge Wells, I have not met with a single specimen of it this autumn.
This Agaric dries well and may be kept (not, however, without losing some of its aroma) for a long time without spoiling; the gills, after a time, assume the same hue as the pileus.
Agaricus Fusipes, Bull
Subgenus Clytocybe. Subdivision Chondropodes.
“Il a le même goût quo le Champignon de Couche, quoique un peu plus prononcé.”
—Persoon.
Bot. Char. Gregarious; pileus fleshy, loose, of a uniform brown colour, sometimes marked with dark blotches, as if burnt; gills nearly free, serrated, at first dirty-white, afterwards a clear bistre; easily separable from the stalk; stalk hollow, ventricose, sulcate, rooting, spindle-shaped, slightly grooved, tapering at the base, sometimes cracked transversely, varying singularly both in length and breadth.
This excellent fungus is very abundant throughout summer and autumn, coming up in tufts at the roots of old Oak-trees after rain. It may be easily recognized by its peculiar spindle-shaped stalk.
Vittadini does not mention it, nor does its name occur in the list of esculent funguses in the Diz. di Med. Class.; notwithstanding which the young plants make an excellent pickle; while the full-grown ones may be stewed or dressed in any of the usual modes adopted for the common mushroom.
Agaricus Vaginatus, Bull
Series 1. Leucosporus. Subgenus 1. Amanita.
“La Coucoumèle grise (Ag. vag.) est une des espèces les plus délicates et les plus sûres à manger.”
—De Candolle.
Bot. Char. “Margin of the pileus sulcate, gills white, stuffed with cottony pith, fistulose, attenuated upwards, almost smooth; volva like a sheath. Woods and pastures, August and October; not uncommon. Pileus four inches or more broad, plane, slightly depressed in the centre, scarcely umbonate, fleshy, but not at the extreme margin, which is elegantly grooved in consequence, viscid when moist, beautifully glossy when dry; epidermis easily detached, more or less studded with brown scales, the remnants of the volva, not persistent; gills free, ventricose, broadest in front, often imbricated, white; sporules white, round; stem six inches or more high, from half to an inch thick, attenuated upwards, obtuse at the base, furnished with a volva, this adnate below to the extent of an inch, with the base of the stem, closely surrounding it above as in a sheath, but with the margin sometimes expanded; within and at the base marked with the groovings of the pileus, brittle, sericeo-squamulose, scarcely fibrillose, but splitting with ease longitudinally, hollow, or rather stuffed with fine cottony fibres; the very base solid, not acrid, insipid. Smell scarcely any. It occurs of various colours, the more general one is a mouse-grey” (Berkeley).
The perfect accuracy of the above description will strike every one familiar with this species. Vittadini speaks of it as a solitary fungus, but I have found it on more than one occasion in rings. Its flesh, being very delicate and tender, must not be over-dressed. When properly fried in butter or oil, and as soon after gathering as possible, the Ag. vaginatus will be found inferior to but few Agarics in its flavour.
Agaricus Violaceus, Linn
Subgenus 18. Inoloma.
Bot. Char. Pileus from four to six inches broad, obtuse, expanded, covered with soft hairs, colour deep violet; stem spongy, grey, tinged with violet, minutely downy, about four inches high; veil fugacious, composed of fine threads; gills deep violet when young, but turning tawny in age; flesh thick, juicy.
This is a handsome fungus, not very common, but plentiful where it occurs; it grows in woods, particularly under Pine and Fir trees, and may be dressed either with a white or a brown sauce.
Agaricus Castaneus, Bull
Subgenus 19. Dermocybe.
Bot. Char. Pileus slightly fleshy, convex when young, at length umbonate, chestnut colour, from one to three inches broad, glabrous; gills rather broad, easily detached from the stem, ventricose, changing from light-purple to a ferruginous hue; stem rather thin, from one and a half to three inches long, hollow, silvery, light-lilac or white; veil delicate, composed of floccose threads; in taste, when raw, it somewhat resembles the Ag. oreades, but it has no smell.
This Agaric may be distinguished from others by its chestnut or bistre colour; it is probably not uncommon; growing all the summer and autumn in woods, and under trees in meadows. Mr. Berkeley reports it esculent; I have no experience of it.
Agaricus Piperatus, Scop
Subgenus 7. Galorrheus.
“Ed è veramente commestibile e saporoso quando se ne levi il latte.”
—Bendiscioli.
Bot. Char. “Pileus infundibuliform, rigid, smooth, white; gills very narrow, close; milk, and the solid blunt stem, white. In woods, July and August. Pileus 3-7 inches broad, slightly rugulose, quite smooth, white, a little clouded with umber, or stained with yellow where scratched or bruised, convex, more or less depressed, often quite infundibuliform, more or less waved, fleshy, thick, firm but brittle; margin involute at first, sometimes excentric, milk-white, hot. Gills generally very narrow (1/20 of an inch broad), but sometimes much broader, cream-colour, repeatedly dichotomous, very close, ‘like the teeth of an ivory comb,’ decurrent from the shape of the pileus, when bruised changing to umber. Stem 1-3 inches high, 1½-2 inches thick, often compressed, minutely pruinose, solid, but spongy within, the substance breaking up into transverse cavities.”194
Though very acrid when raw, it loses its bad qualities entirely by cooking, and is extensively used on the Continent, prepared in various ways. It is preserved for winter use by drying or pickling in a mixture of salt and vinegar (Berkeley).
I have frequently eaten this fungus at Lucca, where it is very abundant, but as it resembles the Ag. vellereus in appearance, with the properties of which we are unacquainted, too much caution cannot be exercised in learning to discriminate it from this and neighbouring species.
Agaricus Virgineus, Wullf
Subgenus 8. Clitocybe. Subdivision Camarophylli.
White Field-Agaric.
Bot. Char. Pileus from one to two inches broad, margin involute when young, then expanded, depressed in the centre. Gills deep, connected with veins, sometimes forked, broadly adnate, but breaking away from the stem as the pileus becomes depressed. Stem six lines broad at the top, tapering downwards, not more than two at the base; at first stuffed with fibres, then hollow, excentric; the whole plant white, with occasionally a tinge of pink. Taste pleasant, odour disagreeable.
These graceful little Agarics grow in pastures, and are extremely common in the autumn. They are so small that it requires a great many of them to make a dish, but as they occur frequently in the same fields with puff-balls, and may be dressed in the same manner, it is not unusual when the supply is scarce to serve them together, with the same sauce. The flavour of Ag. virgineus is not unlike that of Ag. oreades.
Tuber Æstivum, Vitt
Peridium warty, of a blackish-brown colour, the warts polygonal and striate, flesh traversed by numerous veins; asci 4-6-spored; spores elliptical, reticulated.
This plant, the common truffle of our markets, is abundant in Wiltshire and some other parts of England, and probably occurs in many places where it escapes observation, from its subterranean habit.