Among the Mushrooms | Page 4

have existed from early geological ages. They flourished in the Carboniferous period, when the enormous beds of coal were formed, a space of time that occupied many millions of years. Bessey says that the oldest known member of the order of membrane fungi, Hymenomycetes, was called by the name of "Polyporites Bowmanii." During the Tertiary period members of the genera now known under the names of Lenzites, Polyporus, and Hydnum were all in existence. It is interesting to know that even before the Tertiary period the undergrowth consisted of ferns and fleshy fungi. What a time of delight for the botanist! But there were no human beings in those days to roam amongst that luxuriant undergrowth, and only the fossil remains in the deposits of coal and peat are left to tell of their former existence.
MANNER OF GROWTH.
Fungi are either solitary, grow in clusters, in groups, or in rings and arcs of circles.
The species called the Fairy mushroom, Marasmius oreades, is the most familiar of all those that grow in rings. Besides this there is the Horse mushroom, Agaricus arvensis; the Chantarelle, Cantharellus cibarius; the Giant mushroom, Clitocybe maximus, and St. George's mushroom, Tricholoma gambosa. The latter species is reproduced in rings every year. It is a popular saying that when the ring is unbroken there will be a plentiful harvest the following season. It is an early mushroom, appearing in April. It derives its name from the fact of its appearing about April 23d, which is St. George's day in the English calendar. Besides these mushrooms there is another Tricholoma, T. tigrinus, the Tiger mushroom, which sometimes appears in circles. The word tigrinus means a tiger. The cap is variegated with dark brown spots, hence the name. Then there is the Limp Clitocybe, C. flaccida, so called because flaccida means limp. It also appears in rings (according to Stevenson), while the stems are united under the soil.
The waxy Clitocybe, C. laccata, is not spoken of as having that mode of growth in circles, but we have seen many of these mushrooms appearing in arcs of circles, and forming almost perfect rings, particularly after showers of rain, and always on the sides of roads.
Many fairy rings have lasted for years and are very old. We have read of one, in the county of Essex, England, that measured 120 feet across. The grass that covered it was coarse and of a dark green color. What causes these fairy rings? An explanation is given in a newspaper extract from "Knowledge," in which it is said: "A patch of spawn arising from a single spore or a number of spores spreads centrifugally in every direction, and forms a common circular felt, from which the fruit arises at its extreme edge; the soil in the inner part of the disc is exhausted, and the spawn dies or becomes effete there, while it spreads all around in an outward direction and produces another crop whose spawn spreads again. The circle is thus continually enlarged, and extends indefinitely until some cause intervenes to destroy it. The peculiarity of growth first arises from a tendency of certain fungi to assume a circular form."
The perplexing mushroom, Hypholoma perplexum, often grows in clusters, and so does the inky Coprinus, C. atramentarius, also the glistening Coprinus, C. micaceus. The honey-colored mushroom, Armillaria melloea, is often found in crowded clusters, and this growth is common to many fungi.
ODOR.
Many mushrooms have distinct odors and are distinguished by this feature. The genus Marasmius may be known by the garlic-like smell peculiar to it, but it never has a mealy perfume. There is one species, the disgusting mushroom, M. impudicus, that Stevenson says has a strong, unpleasant odor; this is also the case in two other species, the ill-odored mushroom, M. foetidus, and the penetrating mushroom, M. perfurans.
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.
[Illustration: 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