AGARICALES

(Top to bottom) Cortinarius cinnamomeus occurs singly or in small groups under conifers; the also called gill fungi a large and important order of fungi (division Mycota) in the class Basidiomycetes (q.v.). The group contains about 16 families and 4,000 species. The best known family, Agaricaceae, has spore-bearing cells (basidia) located on thin sheets called gills. The familiar commercially grown mushroom is a representative example: its fruiting structure (the mushroom proper) typically consists of a stalk (stipe) and a cap (pileus), which bears the gills on its underside. Best known of the agarics is the genus Agaricus (Psalliota), with some 60 species (see mushroom). The most prominent of the agarics are the edible meadow or field mushroom A. campestris and the common cultivated mushroom A. bisporus.The family Amanitaceae contains many species which are poisonous (see Amanita). (Top to bottom) A mushroom growing in groups or tufts, Mycena leaiana has a sticky cap and Among the remaining families, the following members are of interest. Clitocybe is a cosmopolitan genus and contains with the poisonous C. illudens, the jack-o-lantern, which glows in the dark. This orange-yellow fungus of woods and stumps resembles the sought after edible species of Cantharellus, the chanterelle; the similarity emphasizes the need for careful identification by the mushroom gatherer. Russula has 275 species, many with caps of red, orange, yellow, or green. Lactarius has milky (hence the name) or bluish juice; the genus contains the edible L. deliciosus as well as several poisonous species. Coprinus, the ink caps, characteristically grow in clumps at the sides of roads and at the base of old stumps. They are characterized by bullet-shaped caps, black spores (which make the gills appear black), and their habit of liquefying when mature, leaving an inky mass. The majority are edible, a few are somewhat poisonous, and some are mildly toxic only when alcoholic beverages are consumed with the mushrooms. Scaly pholiota (Pholiota squarrosa) Armillaria is a genus of about 40 cosmopolitan species. A. mellea, the edible honey mushroom, causes root rot in trees. Its yellowish clusters are often found at the bases of trees and stumps, and black shoe-stringlike fungal filaments can be found in the decaying wood. Armillaria ponderosa, an edible mushroom with an interesting cinnamon flavor, is found in Northwest coastal forests; it is avidly collected by Japanese-Americans, who call it matsutake, after the matsutake of Japan (Tricholoma matsutake). Tricholoma also contains a number of inedible forms, including the very poisonous T. pardinium. Pholiota is found almost exclusively on wood. Some species are known to cause heartwood rot in trees. The cap and stalk of P. squarrosa, an edible mushroom, are covered with dense, dry scales (see photograph). Among the shelf or bracket fungi growing from tree trunks is the oyster cap, Pleurotus ostreatus, so called because of its appearance. It is edible when young, but, as with most shelf and bracket fungi, it tends to become hard or leathery with age. The small Marismium oreades appears frequently in lawns (see fairy ring).