Edible and poisonous mushrooms of Canada

IDENTIFICATION
rooms and no one person can, with certainty, identify every mushroom he
finds. Much remains to be learned about the species comprising our mushroom
flora, and for the amateur the identification of mushrooms offers a chal-
lenge and an interest that he can pursue as far as he wishes.
Probably the most usual way for a beginner to start learning to identify
mushrooms is by association with some more experienced collector who can
point out the common species and the characters by which they are recognized.
This is a good way for the beginner to start and it often results in arousing his
interest and curiosity to the point where he will want to be able to identify
other species for himself.
At this point the necessity for consulting books on mushrooms will
become apparent and these books usually contain keys, descriptions and
illustrations to aid in identification. A key is a guide to identification that is
constructed by presenting a choice between two characters or groups of
characters. The student decides which of the characters is possessed by the
fungus under study, and by ehminating the species not possessing the charac-
ters, he eventually narrows the choice to one species. Difficulties may arise
because the characters are not clear-cut, or the specimen is inadequate to show
all the characters, or the species under investigation is not found in the key
being used. It is sometimes impossible to decide with certainty which choice
should be made and both will have to be followed up until a definite ehmina-
tion can be made.
Some keys are designed to show relationships so that related forms key
out close to each other but, since relationships are indicated by similarities, and
ehminations are usually made by noting differences, keys of this type are often
difficult to use in making identifications. The keys in this book are intended
primarily to aid in identification and are not designed to indicate relationships.
When a specimen keys out it should then be compared with the detailed
description of the species and, if possible, with good illustrations. It is not
recommended that identification of mushrooms be attempted by simply comparing
the specimens with illustrations . Undoubtedly many correct identifica-
tions of mushrooms have been made in this way but there are so many species
of mushrooms that are superficially similar in appearance that this method is
likely to lead to serious errors.
In making an identification of a species, the first thing that must be
determined is the color of the spores. This can best be seen in a spore deposit
or spore print (Figure 45). To obtain a spore print cut off the stipe close to the
pileus, lay the pileus on a piece of white paper with the lamellae downward and
leave it for several hours. Better results will be obtained if it is covered with a
glass or dish of some sort to protect it from air currents. Some people have
used black paper in order to better show up white spore deposits, but pale
cream, pale pink, or Hlac spores may appear to be white if deposited on black
paper, and since white spores can always be seen on white paper if viewed at an
angle, only white paper should be used. Satisfactory spore prints of some of
the firmer species can be obtained in the field by cutting off the stipe, laying the
15