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EPPING FOREST
consist of minute articulated filaments. Their
highest developments are the brilliant domes and
minarets which are called Agarics, and which jewel
the mossy banks in September and October. They
are sought by many naturalists, not only for their
intrinsic beauty, but for their varied structure, and
the interesting problems which they present to the
botanist and the microscopist. The bolder spirits
try experiments in their edible qualities, but this
cannot be done with impunity, except by those
who have acquired intimate knowledge of the
varieties.
The Forest Field Club annually devotes a day
to a " fungus foray," and generally secures some
rare and beautiful specimens. Their habitats
vary greatly, but all derive their nourishment from
decaying animal or vegetable matter. It is diffi-
cult to localise the species, as, having found a
rare kind in a certain spot once is no guarantee
that it will reappear there the following year, and
it may even be many years before the conditions
favourable to its production will repeat themselves.
The vegetative system is the mycelium, or rooting
fibrils, which extend beneath the surface of the
soil, and may exist for years in that condition,
without producing the full development in stem,
branches, or cap, which produce the fructification
that is analogous to the flower or fruit of a flower-
ing plant. I am indebted to Dr. M. C. Cooke,
one of the greatest authorities on the subject, for
the following very interesting notes on the various
species most likely to be found in the Forest. He
writes :—
As not less than six hundred species of the
larger fungi have been found within the limits of
the Forest, it would only be embarrassing to give
a record of all their names. We shall rest content
with the enumeration of the most common, or
most remarkable.
EDIBLE FUNGI
Amanita rubescens. Growing on the ground to the height
of four or six inches, with a cap of four inches in