Common Edible Mushrooms

WHITE SPORE PRINT
Vadnais, on the outskirts of St. Paul, with caps more than 8 inches
wide and with stems i inch thick and more than 12 inches long.
Those found in grassy places around old oak stumps are likely to
be rather squat, with stems from 2 to 4 inches long, and these usually
grow so close together that many of the caps are distorted. Because
large quantities of this mushroom appear in the fall, it is a favorite
for canning. A winter's supply often springs up around an old
stump or above dead roots in the yard or garden. It often appears
after rather severe frosts, being one of the last to be found abundantly
in the fall.
GENUS Cantharellus
This generic name, taken from a Greek word meaning vase, is
an apt one because of the narrow, flaring shape of the common
species. All species of Cantharellus are edible; in Europe some are
collected in quantity and sold in the public markets.
The gills run a good way down the stem, are prominently and
irregularly forked, and in several species are so thick that they are
little more than ridges. Only the two species common enough and
large enough to be of importance from a standpoint of edibility
will be described.
Edible: CANTHARELLUS AURANTIACUS
The caps and gills are orange-yellow or golden yellow, the cap
being from 2 to 4 inches wide and shaped like an irregular, shallow
funnel (Figure 14). The gills are forked even more than appears
in the picture. The stem is reddish brown, short, and rather thick.
It is fairly common in the fall, arising singly and in groups of two
or three from the ground or from very rotten wood.
Eminently edible: CANTHARELLUS CIBARIUS
The funnel-shaped cap, with the margin curved down, the thick,
much forked gills, the short, tapering stem, and the bright chrome-
39