Common Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms in South Africa by Miss AM Bottomley and PHB Talbot (1953).pdf

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Bulletin
No.
324
COMMON EDIBL,E AND
POISONOUS
MUSHROOMS
IN·
SOUTH
AFRICA
by
Miss
A.
M. BOTTOMLEY
and
P. H. 8. TALBOT
(Botany and Plant Pathology Series No. 77)
1953
UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
COMMON EDIBLE AND POISONOUS MUSHROOMS
IN SOUTH AFRICA.
Miss A. M. Bottomley and P. H. B. Talbot.
•
For many years .there has been a public demand for a
pamphlet illustr.ating some of the commoner South Mrican
mushrooms .. Not unnaturally, the emphasis has always been
on a ready means of distinguishing edible and poisonous
species.
Mushrooms gre)w poorly in large areas of the Union of
South Mrica, but in the south-western Cape Province,. and
particularly in the Cape Peninsula, conditions of temperature
and humidity are ideal for their growth. In the summer-
rainfall areas of the Union it is usually only during rainy spells
in the early and late summer that mushrooms appear, and
then only for a short time. Much of the work of studying and
classifying fungi is done in those areas where mushrooms occur
only sporadically, and so our knowledge of the edible and
poisonous kinds found in South Mrica is still very incomplete.
Probably for this reason, as well as natural prejudice, many
South Mricans look upon all mushrooms with suspicion. This
bulletin deals with only a few
ki~ds
which are common and
easily recognised, but care has been taken to chpose examples
of some of the best edible species and to contrast them with
some
Of
the most poisonous species known to us here.
POPULAR PREJUDICE AGAINST MUSHROOMs.
When one is accustomed to handling mushrooms and
other fungi, their wonderful construction becomes apparent,
and there is difficulty in appreciating the repugnance with
which these plants have been associated in
folk-Ior~
and
writings from classical times down tq the present day. Fiction
and literature abound in references to mushrooms, very often
used skilfully to build up a tense atmosphere in the mind of
the reader. Many such references could be quoted, but surely
no better example than the following from Shelley
(The
Sensitive Plant,
1820, iii, 62) could be chosen to illustrate the
general impression of evil and decay:-
., And plants, at whose names the verse feels lo<1th,
Filled the place with a monstrous undergrowth,
Prickly and pulpous, and blistering. and blue·
Livid, and starred with a lurid dew.
And agarics and fungi. with mildew
~nd
moilld
Started like mist from the wet ground cold;
Pale. fleshy. as
if
the decayed dead
With a spirit of growth had been animated!
Their moss rotted
off
them, flake by flake..
Till the thick stalk stuck like a murderer's stake
Where rags of loose flesh yet tremble on high,
Infecting the winds that wander by."
Perhaps it is the apparently mysterious way in which
mushrooms thrive on decaying substances and grow "over-
night" from unnoticed beginnings that has surrounded them
with suspicion. Then, too, there is sometimes a deep-rooted
fancy associating them with reptiles and supernatural forces.
The whole subject is popularly interwoven with fantasy which
is difficult to dispel. Certainly there are some mushrooms
which are deadly poisonous, but considered objectiyely there
is nothing in their shape, colour or other properties, that is
repugnant. Reported cases of mushroom
poisoning~
ought to
ex~ite
no more horror than similar accidents caused by other
pOIsons.
Not only is a real knowledge of the development and
structure of mushrooms interesting, but it undoubtedly affords
a measure of safety for the would-be eater. Even those time-
honoured tests for edibility which appear in reputable cookery
books should not be trusted. The only true test for edible
species is a sound knowledge of their characteristic shape,
colour, and general botanical characteristics which will enable'
them to be classified with certainty. The average person does
not reckon to know the names and uses of many trees, but
can differentiate between those he knows at a glance. There
should be no greater difficulty in learning the characteristics of
a few edible species of mushrooms so that they too may be
recognised instantly.
There are relatively few poisonous species of mushrooms
and almost all fatalities are caused by species of the genus
Amanita.
Nevertheless, although unknown species may be
interesting objects, they should never be used in culinary
experiments.
It
is downright stupidity to eat an unfamiliar
mushroom and hope for the best.
I
2
In this paper we have not differentiated between" mush-
rooms" and
~'toadstools".
There is no botanical difference
between the two, both belonging to a single family of fungi,
the
Agaricaceae.
Poisonous fungi are often referred to as
" toadstools", but it is a fact that many fungi which would
unhesitatingly be
cla~sed
as toadstools by the majority of
people, are actually good edible species.
. THE, STRUCTURE OF MUSHROOMS.
Mushrooms are usually .shaped like an umbrella,
composed of a cap and a stem. They are of a somewhat soft,
fleshy consistency. The stem is usually placed centrally
ben~ath
the cap, but in some species it is excentric, i.e. placed
towards the margin. In still other species it may be shortened
so that it is practically absent. On the lower side of the cap
are gills which radiate from the stem to the edge of the cap.
The gills may be whitish or variously coloured. Their colour,
and the colour of the other parts of the mushroom is more
or less characteristic for each species, and helps to distinguish
the different kinds. The colour of anyone kind may vary
with the age of the specimen. Also, handling the mushroom
tends to change the colour rapidly. Some mushrooms if cut or
bruised, assume brilliant colours when the flesh is exposed to
air. The spores (or" seeds ") of the mushroom are produced
on the gills, and if unhindered will drop by the thousand and
be carried away by wind currents. The individual spores are
so small that they cannot be seen dropping, but they may be
seen if they are allowed to accumulate in a mass.
It
is
important to know the colour of the massed spores, as they
may often be different in colour from the gills themselves. To
determine their colour a spore-print should be made.
What is seen as a mushroom is only a small part of the
whole plant, the remainder being underground and composed
of innumerable, very inconspicuous, whitish or faintly coloured
fungus threads
(hyphae)
which are interwoven and permeate
the soil and humus. Such a collection of hyphae is called the
spawn,
or
mycelium,
of the mushroom.
DEVELOPMENT OF MUSHROOMS.
There are variations in development of mushrooms
~ccording
to the species, but the following will give a general
Idea of the process:-
Under appropriate weather conditions the spawn grows
vigorously, becoming heaped up into small pellets from which
the mushroom will eventually grow out. These pellets expand
very rapidly but may become quite large before showing the
3

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