however, a common plant in Ohio.

From its several names--Caesar's Agaric, Imperial Mushroom, Cibus Deorum,
Kaiserling--one would infer that for ages it had been held in high
esteem as an esculent.

Too great caution cannot be used in distinguishing it from the very
poisonous fly mushroom.

_Amanita spreta. Pk._

HATED AMANITA. POISONOUS.

Spreta, hated. The pileus at first is nearly ovate, slightly umbonate,
then convex, smooth, sometimes fragments of the volva adhering, the
margin striate, whitish or pale-brown toward and on the umbo, soft, dry,
more or less furrowed on the margin.

The flesh is white, thin on the edges, and increasing in thickness
toward the center. Gills close, white, reaching the stem.

The stem is equal, smooth, annulate, stuffed or hollow, whitish, finely
striate at the top from the decurrent lines of the gills, not bulbous at
the base, the volva rather large and inclined to yellowish color. The
spores are elliptical.

The plant resembles the dark forms of the Amanitopsis in having the
marked striations and the entire and closely fitting volva at the base,
but can be easily distinguished by its ring. I found it on Cemetery Hill
in company with the Amanitopsis. It does not seem to root as deep in the
ground as the Amanitopsis. It is very poisonous and should be carefully
studied so that it may be readily recognized and avoided.

It is found in open woods from July to September.

_Amanitopsis. Roze._

Amanitopsis is from _Aminita_ and _opsis_, resembling; so called because
it resembles the Amanita. The principal feature wherein the genus
differs from the Amanita is the absence of a collar on the stem. Its
species are included among the Amanita by many authors. The spores are
white. The gills are free from the stem, and it has a universal veil at
first completely enveloping the young plant, which soon breaks it,
carrying remnants of it on the pileus, where they appear as scattered
warts. It differs from the Lepiota in having a volva.

_Amanitopsis vaginata. Bull._

THE SHEATHED AMANITOPSIS. EDIBLE.

[Illustration: Figure 30.--Amanita vaginata. One-third natural size.
Notice a portion of the volva adhering to the cap.]

Vaginata--from _vagina_, a sheath. The plant is edible but should be
used with very great caution. It is quite variable in color, ranging
from white to mouse color, brownish or yellowish.

The pileus is ovate at first, bell-shaped, then convex and expanded,