Common Edible Mushrooms

COMMON EDIBLE MUSHROOMS
mushroom cap, and when several are growing close together in
a clump the upper ones often make good spore deposits on the
caps or stems of the lower. Look for these spore deposits when
you pick the mushrooms; they often save time in identifying the
fungus.
A spore print is made (see diagram) by cutting off the stem of
a mushroom just beneath the cap and placing the cap, gills
down, on a piece of paper, covering it with an inverted glass or
any other vessel that will keep the air moist and quiet around the
cap. It is best to cut the cap into two pieces and place one on
black paper and one on white, or to place both black and white
paper under the cap. If the cap is dry it must be moistened with
water, and in any case it is a good practice to place a piece of wet
cotton or paper inside the vessel to keep the cap from drying out
while the spores are being deposited.
In an hour or two enough spores usually will have fallen from
the gills to make a visible print. The color of the spores often
differs from the color of the gills; hence the color of the latter
is not a reliable guide. Anyone just beginning to become acquainted
with some of the common edible mushrooms will find
such spore prints a most valuable aid in identification, and well
worth the bother involved in making them. The gilled mushrooms
are divided arbitrarily into five groups according to the
color of their spores. These colors are white, yellow to yellowbrown,
pink, purple to purple-brown, and black. Representatives
of all five groups are taken up in this book, in that order. Mushrooms
without gills are discussed under the common names of the
groups with which they are associated.
Gathering Them
Before starting on your mushroom hunt you should study the
pictures and descriptions of at least a number of the common
groups and individual kinds described in the book thoroughly
enough to know the characters by which they are recognized.
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