Flowerless plants; ferns, mushrooms, mosses, lichens, and seaweeds

MUSHROOMS
tells of taking a large bunch of Amanita? to an artist
friend. He carried them in his hand and, though
wrapped in a paper, they made him feel quite ill. At
another time he had all the symptoms of mushroom
poisoning from smelling of two fine specimens sent him
by a friend.
The beautiful orange mushroom is also quite common.
It is found mostly in open woods or groves where
the soil is poor. The bright coloring of the cap in
contrast with the white stem and gills makes it a very
showy plant. It is sometimes called the fly mushroom.
There is something about it that attracts flies,
but to taste its juices means death to them. Dead flies
are often found on the ground under it. It has been
used for many centuries in making fly-poisons.
From earliest times the poisonous character of this
plant has been well known. The Roman emperor,
Claudius, was given poisonous mushrooms to eat and
died from the effects.
Notwithstanding its poisonous character this mushroom
is eaten by people of Russia and Siberia. It is
thought that in those places there is something about
the plant that prevents it from being so poisonous as it
is here. Instead of killing the people, it intoxicates
them.
Another poisonous Amanita is seen in the brown
mushroom. The gills are white, as in other members of
the family, but the stem is light brown.
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