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hearly an inch thick, bulbous at the base. Feil annular, white. Folva
perfect only in extremely young plants, cracking immediately into pyramidal
warts, which become less elevated, and more distant as the pileus
expands, and generally leaving a few traces upon the bulb at the
base of the stem.
This most splendid chief of the agaricoid tribe, really deserves
the name of imperial, applied to it by B a t s c h ; for the
most indifferent person must be attracted by the glowing hues
of its ample pileus, its regular form, and tall pillar-like stipes:
—eminently conspicuous, even at a distance, in the shaded recesses
of its native woods. In the Highlands of Scotland, it is
impossible not to admire it, as seen in long perspective, between
the trunks of the straight fir-trees; and should a sunbeam
penetrate through the dark and dense foliage, and rest
on its vivid surface, an effect is produced by this chief of a
humble race, which might lower the pride of many a patrician
vegetable.
British botanists have described several distinct species under
the name of Ag. muscarius, especially A. asper, P e r s . ,
A. rubescens, P e r s . {verrucosus. C u r t . Fl. Fond.), A. va-
ginatus. B u l l . , and even A. Phalloides, F r i e s ; all of which
appear to be really distinct, and are retained as such by F r i e s .
They will be illustrated by correct figures in the course of this
work.
Our present plant is universally considered deleterious, and
instances are recorded of its having proved fatal to many who
have eaten it. A variety of it, which grows in Kamschatka,
is nevertheless constantly used to produce intoxication, which
is done by mixing it with the juice of the berries of Vaccinium
uliginosum, or the runners of Epilobium angustifolium. But
the most powerful effect is produced by drying the fungus and
swallowing it without mastication. This seems to bring on a
state of inebriation, closely bordering upon delirium, and is
usually accompanied more or less with spasmodic affections.—
See Dr L a n g s d o r f ’s account in Annalen der Wetterauischen
Gesellschaft für die gesammte Naturkunde, vol. i. p. 249-
Fig. 1. A young plant. Fig. 2. The same divided. Fig. 3. A mature plant.
Fig. 4. Section o f the pileus o f a larger specimen. Fig. 5. Sportdes.
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