Common Edible Mushrooms

COMMON EDIBLE MUSHROOMS
The young plants are already formed when they first appear
above the ground, but the caps are so small that they are scarcely
visible. The caps of mature specimens are from 1/2 inch to 2 inches
wide, ivory-colored or tan, smooth, with their rounded centers
raised above the margins. The flesh is firm and white. The gills are
white and far apart. The stems are from 2 to 4 inches long, slender
but tough.
This species springs up everywhere in grassy lawns, fields, and
orchards, literally thousands of them appearing in partial or complete
rings. After one has located a few large rings he can be certain
of a good supply of the mushrooms because several crops are
borne each year, from spring until fall, and they continue to come
up in the same place from year to year as long as the soil is left
undisturbed. Insects seldom invade them, so even if the caps are
withered and shrunk they are still perfectly good to eat, although
if moist weather continues after a plant matures it may eventually
decay and thus become inedible.
Fresh specimens can be dried in the sun or in a dry room and
kept in this way indefinitely, needing only to be soaked in water
half an hour before cooking to be as good as new. They are not at
all tough, and the flavor is excellent. The recognition of this small
but delectable and common fungus should be a "must" for those
who are interested in eating wild mushrooms.
GENUS Panus
Edible but tough: PANUS RUDIS
This plant (Figure 35, page 64) is related to Lentinus and has
the same leathery toughness but not to so great a degree. The cap
is merely an extension of one side of the stem, and its surface is
covered with a dense reddish -fuzz that fades to tan in weathered
specimens. The gills are pale tan and run down almost to the base
of the stem. These are comparatively small mushrooms, being at
the most 2 inches wide, but they arise in clumps that sometimes
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