Note 138 — SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS (continued 9)

In story and tradition the fungus growing on trees and rocks was a favorite substance with which those who sought to deceive intended victims, in the matter of food, prepared dishes inviting to the eye but deadly when eaten. Puffballs, mushrooms, and lichens, especially Umbilicaria arctica, or rock tripe (i.e., the tripe de roche of the French voyageurs) were not infrequently made into stews and soups for food, and so they readily lent themselves as a means of deception of the unwary.