A treatise on the esculent funguses of England: containing an account of their classical history, uses, characters, development, structure, nutritious properties, modes of cooking and preserving, etc.Badham, David
Science
A treatise on the esculent funguses of England: containing an account of their classical history, uses, characters, development, structure, nutritious properties, modes of cooking and preserving, etc.
Badham, David
Mushrooms -- England
Nothing can be more accurate than Mr. Berkeley’s description of this
species, which I therefore subjoin:—“Woods. Summer and autumn. Common.
_Pileus_ two to six inches broad, convex, expanded, minutely tomentose,
olive, brick-red, pinkish, cream-coloured, or ferruginous-brown. _Flesh_
more or less yellow, changing to blue.[163] _Tubes_ free, yellow or
greenish; their orifices of a beautiful red or bright orange, quite
simple, round. _Spores_ olivaceous-ochre. _Stem_ very variable in length,
bulbous, tomentose, sometimes quite smooth, red with ferruginous or
the brightest yellow shades, solid, generally more or less marked or
reticulated with crimson-red, _very deleterious_”(?[164]).
AGARICUS PERSONATUS.
PLATE I. FIG. 2.
Subgenus TRICHOLOMA, _Fries_.
_Blewitts._
I never met with this fungus in Italy; it has not been described by
Vittadini, nor, that I am aware of, by any Italian mycologist; neither
is it mentioned by Cordier or Roques, in their treatises on the esculent
funguses of France. Extremely common in England, this species has already
found its way to Covent Garden, where, according to Sowerby, it is sold
under the name of “Blewitts.”[165] The favourite haunt of the Blewitt
is amidst grass, where it grows in clusters, or in large rings, seldom
appearing before October.
The botanical characters, as given by Mr. Berkeley, are as
follows:—“_Pileus_ from two to six inches broad, fleshy, firm; pale
bistre or purple-lilac, occasionally violet; convex, obtuse, very
smooth, and shining, as if oiled, but not viscid; margin involute,
pulverulento-tomentose. _Gills_ rounded; free, narrow in front, paler
than the pileus, sometimes violet, turning to a dirty flesh-colour,
especially when bruised; _stem_ from one to three inches high,
three-quarters of an inch thick, firm, bulbous, solid, mottled within
towards the apex, with watery spots; clothed more or less with villous
fibrillæ, tinged with violet; odour like that of _Oreades_, but rather
overpowering; taste pleasant.” As the “Blewitt” is apt to imbibe in wet
weather a great quantity of moisture, it should not be gathered during
rain; when not water-soaked it is a fine firm fungus with a flavour of
veal, like which it is to be dressed _en papillottes_ with savoury herbs
and the usual condiments, and the more highly seasoned the better.
AGARICUS OREADES, _Bolt_.
PLATE VII. FIG. 4.
Subgenus CLITOCYBE. Section SCORTEI, _Fries_.
_Scotch Bonnets._
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