Common Edible Mushrooms

WHITE SPORE PRINT
may be 8 inches long and 1/2 inch thick and typically is tapered
slightly or not at all. It bears a ring that is at first definite and distinct
but soon withers, and its enlarged base tapers to a blunt
point in the ground. Sometimes the margin of the cup is clear cut,
but more often it forms only broken rings on the stem.
GENUS Amanitopsis
Edible but not recommended: AMANITOPSIS
VAGINATA
The fact that the generic name means resembling Amanita is
a warning to all amateur mushroom enthusiasts. This genus differs
from Amanita chiefly in not having a ring on the stem, but since
this ring may disappear from the stem of overmature specimens
of Amanita, the two may be confused by beginners. Therefore
Amanitopsis, although edible, is not recommended for eating.
There are several species, of which A. vaginata (Figure 12) is
the most common, a plant of delicately graceful beauty, growing
almost throughout the country in wooded places during summer
and fall. Several varieties are known, differing in the color of the
cap, the more common one being white, another mouse-gray, another
orange. All have free gills and white gills and spores.
The cap is flat and from 2 to 4 inches wide, with prominent
ridges at the margin. The stem is from 4 to 8 inches long, white
and brittle. The base of the stem, with the surrounding sheath
that suggests the species name, is buried an inch or two in the soil,
and unless one suspects the presence of a volva and carefully digs
it up with a knife or trowel, it is likely to be missed.
GENUS Armillaria
Eminently edible: ARMILLARIA MELLEA (Honey,
or Shoestring, Fungus)
Armillaria is derived from a Latin word meaning a ring and
refers to the ring on the stem of mushrooms in this genus, but the
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