Common Edible Mushrooms

WHITE SPORE PRINT
yellow color make this plant almost impossible to confuse with any
other (Figure 15 and Plate 40). It is found over a wide range in
both coniferous and hardwood forests, and in texture and flavor
it can be rated well above the average edible mushroom. It is a
prime favorite in both Europe and America.
GENUS Clitocybe
The genus name, meaning sloping head, describes the funnelshaped
cap of some species. It is distinguished by (i) white spores,
(2) unforked gills that run down the stem a short distance, and (3)
a somewhat tough or fibrous stem. No ring or cup is present. There
are many species, some of them abundant but of unknown edibility,
others known to be edible, and at least one known fairly certainly
to be poisonous.
Unwholesome or poisonous: CLITOCYBE ILLUDENS
(Jack-o'-Lantern)
Because of its luminescent glow at night this mushroom has been
given its common name. The plants are striking in appearance (Figure
16 and Plate 3A), the cap, gills, and stem being a bright orangeyellow,
later fading to yellow. Numerous tall fruit bodies arise in
a clump, the stems curving gracefully upward and outward from a
common point of origin on a stump or log, the whole making a gay
splash of color against the gray wood. As stated above, the fruit
bodies are luminescent, and on rainy nights clumps of them at the
bases of stumps can be seen for some distance, a sight not likely to
instill confidence into the hearts of those to whom the woods after
dark are strange and fearsome!
The caps are from 3 to 4 inches in diameter, slightly convex,
curving downward from the center toward the margin, often with
a little rounded or pointed bump in the center. The bright yellow
gills taper downward on the stem for 1/4 inch or more. The stem
is from 1/3 to 1/2 inch in diameter, 5 to 8 inches long, yellow or
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