s it is pleasant both in taste and odor. It is
spoken of by French authors as of delicate flavor, and as well known in
some parts of France. In preparing for the table bring the mushroom to a
quick boil and pour off the first water, then stew with flavoring to
suit the taste.

The specimens of this species represented in Plate XIV were collected in
the woods of Forest Glen, Maryland. They are often found of much larger
size and much lighter in coloring, with the stains upon the gills redder
in color. The very young plants as they burst through the surface of
the soil show a distinct volva at the base of the stem. In the mature
plant this disappears, often leaving the slightly bulbous base quite
smooth.

[Illustration: Plate XIV-1/2.
Agaricus (Amanita) strobiliformis, Vitt. "Fir-Cone Mushroom."
Edible.
From Nature.
_T. Taylor, del._]

PLATE XIV-1/2.

=Ag. (Amanita) strobiliformis= Fries (=Amanita strobiliformis=).
"_Fir-cone Mushroom_."

EDIBLE.

Cap fleshy, convex at first, then expanded, covered with persistent
white warts, margin even, white; flesh white, firm and compact; gills
rounded behind and free from the stem, white; stem solid, the bulbous
base tapering, furrowed with concentric and longitudinal channels at the
root, and extending well into the ground, white; ring large, soon
splitting; volva breaking up and appearing in concentric ridges upon the
stem. Spores white.

This mushroom is very pleasant to the taste when raw as well as when
cooked. It is found in light woods or on the borders of woods where the
soil is somewhat friable, generally solitary, but sometimes two or three
are found clustered together. The plants are sometimes so large that two
or three of them would make a very good meal. Specimens have been found
with the cap measuring 8 to 9 inches across when expanded, the stem
varying from 6 to 8 inches in height, and from 1 to 3 inches in
thickness. When young the plants are generally snowy white throughout,
changing with age to a dingy white or cinereous hue. The specimens
figured in the plate formed one of a cluster of three mushrooms of this
species found growing in the fir woods of the District of Columbia.

During some seasons I have found the _strobiliformis_, or "Fir-cone
mushroom," fairly plentiful in some parts of Maryland, and in other
seasons it has been rare. The whole plant when young is enclosed in a
white membranous wrapper.