The fairy-ring mushroom or champignon, Marasmius Oreades, is more universally used in France and Italy than in England, although it is well known and frequently used both in a fresh and in a dry state in England. It is totally different in appearance from the pasture mushroom, and, like it, its characters are so distinct that there is hardly a possibility of making a mistake when its peculiarities are once comprehended. It has more than one ad vantage over the meadow mushroom in its extreme commonness, its profuse growth, the length of the season in which it may be gathered, the total absence of varietal forms, its adaptability for being dried and preserved for years, and its persistent delicious taste. It is by many esteemed as the best of all the edible fungi found in Great Britain. Like the mushroom, it grows in short open pastures and amongst the short grass of open roadsides.
The fairy-ring mushroom is about one-half the size of the pas ture mushroom, and whitish-buff in every part, the gills always re taining this colour and never becoming salmon-coloured, brown or black. The stem is solid and corky, much more solid than the flesh of the cap, and perfectly smooth, never being furnished with the slightest trace of a ring. The buff gills are far apart, and in this they greatly differ from the somewhat crowded gills of the mush room; the junction of the gills with the stem also differs in char acter from the similar junction in the mushroom. The mushroom is a semi-deliquescent fungus which rapidly falls into putridity in decay, whilst the champignon dries up into a leathery substance in the sun, but speedily revives and takes its original form again after the first shower. To this character the fungus owes its generic name (Marasmius) as well as one of its most valuable qualities for the table, for examples may be gathered from June to November, and if carefully dried may be hung on strings for cul inary purposes and preserved without deterioration for several years; indeed, many persons assert that the rich flavour of these fungi increases with years. Champignons are highly esteemed for flavouring stews, soups and gravies.
A fungus which may carelessly be mistaken for the mushroom is M. peronatus, but this grows in woods amongst dead leaves, and has a hairy base to the stem and a somewhat acrid taste. Another is M. urens ; this also generally grows in woods, but the gills are not nearly so deep, they soon become brownish, the stem is downy, and the taste is acrid. Agaricus dryophilus has sometimes been gathered in mistake for the champignon, but this too grows in woods where the champignon never grows; it has a hollow in stead of a solid stem, gills crowded together instead of far apart, and flesh very tender and brittle instead of tough. Another small and common species, M. porreus, is pervaded with a garlic flavour; a third species, M. alliaceus, is also strongly impregnated with the scent and taste of onions or garlic. Two species, M. impudicus and
M. foetidus, are in all stages of growth highly foetid. The curious little edible Agaricus esculentus, although placed under the sub genus Collybia, is allied by its structure to Marasmius. It is a small bitter species common in upland pastures and fir plantations early in the season. Although not gathered for the table in Eng land, it is greatly prized in some parts of the Continent.
In the United States and Canada many hundred species of edible fungi occur, many of which are highly prized for their delicious flavour. In the moister districts, especially in the east ern States and Provinces, numerous choice species are found in abundance, including several of the best-known Old World mush rooms, as the meadow mushroom (Psalliota campestris), the fairy ring (Marasmius Oreades) and the chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius). However, owing to the wide prevalence of the deadly amanita or death angel (Amanita phalloides), the fly mushroom (A. muscaria), and other dangerously poisonous species, extreme caution must be exercised in gathering native mushrooms for the table. Because of the frequency of fatal cases of mushroom poisoning, sometimes 3o a year in New York city and vicinity, wild mushrooms should never be eaten, even in the smallest quantities, until their identification as wholesome species has been determined with absolute certainty. Poisoning by the deadly amanita, even when it is eaten in minute quantities, has been almost invariably fatal despite all medical treatment. Recently, however, an antiphallinic serum, prepared by the Pasteur Insti tute of Paris, has proved so effective as a remedy that the French government requires by law each departement to keep a supply of it available for use by physicians.
There are, however, many wholesome wild species, of excellent quality and flavour, that are readily distinguishable from the noxious kinds. Among the easily recognized edible species are the shaggy mane (Coprinus comatus), the inky cap (Coprinus atramentarius), the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), the honey agaric (Armillaria mellea) and the parasol mushroom (Lepiota procera), regarded by many authorities as the best edible mushroom. Besides the foregoing all morels, coral fungi and puff balls, if used when fresh, are edible. See FUNGI; MOREL; PUFF-BALL ; TRUFFLE.
See W. G. Smith, Mushrooms and Toadstools (1879) ; W. Falconer, Mushrooms; How to Grow Them (1891, 1925) ; M. C. Cooke, Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms (1894) ; G. F. Atkinson, Edible and Poison ous Mushrooms (1903) ; N. L. Marshall, The Mushroom Book (19o5, 1923) ; R. L. Castle, Mushrooms (Iwo) ; E. L. T. Cole, Guide to the Mushrooms (1914) ; W. B. McDougall, Mushrooms (1925) ; W. S. Thomas, Field Book of Common Gilled Mushrooms (1928).