Edible and poisonous fungi.

Date:
1945
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Edible and poisonous fungi. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    FOREWORD articles of food from very early times. The Greeks and Romans have left records showing that they were acquainted with Truffles, Puffballs and various kinds of Mushrooms, and also that the last- named were among the greatest luxuries indulged in by the wealthy Romans. Visitors to the continent of Europe before the war must have seen many kinds of fungi, besides the common mushroom, offered for sale in the markets. Yet in this country, except among a few knowledgeable people, the general attitude has been one of sus- picion. For the majority of English-speaking people there has been but one edible fungus, the Mushroom (and that usually the cultivated variety), all others being classed as “‘ toadstools,” tc be avoided or even destroyed. With the recent influx of refugees and armed forces of all the Allied Nations our country folk have seen the despised “ toadstools ” being collected eagerly for food, and this, coupled with the desire for variety in the restricted war-time diet, has led to a greatly increased demand for information on the subject of edible fungi. As far back as 1910 the Ministry (then Board) of Agriculture, in order to assist the public to distinguish some of the more common kinds of edible and poisonous fungi, published a booklet containing 25 coloured plates, with descriptions of the species depicted. There was a steady and continued demand for this work, and up to 1940 five editions and one reprint had been required. In the later editions new plates were substituted for some of the old ones which were not up to modern standards. The stock of the fifth edition of this Bulletin having been destroyed by enemy action, it was decided to publish a sixth completely revised edition. The lifelike illustrations are all from paintings by Miss E. M. Wakefield, the distinguished Mycologist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The text also was revised and rewritten by Miss Wakefield, additional matter being incorporated which has made the Bulletin more generally useful. In a handbook such as this, intended to provide a popular and reliable guide at a reasonable price, it is impracticable to figure more than a selection of the most common forms of edible and poisonous fungi. There are many other edible species which have had to be omitted, and for information as to these the reader must refer to . more extensive works*. The selection has been made from among Sr of the larger fungi have been known and esteemed as If