soft, subumbonate, fibrillose-scaly, tawny-brown, sometimes tinged with
reddish or purplish. =Flesh= yellowish. =Tubes= slightly decurrent, at
first pale-yellow, then darker and tinged with green, becoming
dingy-ochraceous with age. =Stem= equal or slightly tapering upward,
somewhat fibrillose or floccose, slightly ringed, _hollow_, tawny-brown
or yellowish-brown, yellowish at the top and marked by the decurrent
dissepiments of the tubes, white within. =Veil= whitish, partly adhering
to the margin of the pileus, soon disappearing. =Spores= 8–10×4µ.
=Pileus= 1.5–4 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–3 in. long, 3–6 lines thick. Swamps
and damp mossy ground under or near tamarack trees. New York, _Peck_;
New England, _Frost_.
The pileus is clothed with a fibrillose tomentum which becomes more or
less united into floccose tufts or scales. The umbo is not always
present and is generally small. The young stem may sometimes be stuffed,
but, if so, it soon becomes hollow, though the cavity is irregular. The
freshly shed spores have a greenish-yellow or olivaceous hue, but in
time they assume a pale or yellowish-ochraceous hue. This species is
apparently northern in its range. It loves cold sphagnous swamps in
mountainous regions. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.
West Virginia mountains under spruce trees. Haddonfield, N.J., among
scrub pines. Mt. Gretna, Pa., among pines.
It is of excellent consistency and of mild pleasant flavor. It is at its
best in patties, croquettes and escallops.
=B. appendicula´tus= Pk. =Pileus= fleshy, convex, glabrous,
ochraceous-yellow, the margin appendiculate with an incurved membranous
veil. =Flesh= pale-yellow, unchangeable. =Tubes= rather small, yellow,
their mouths angular, unequal, becoming darker or brownish where
wounded. =Stem= solid, slightly thickened at the base, yellow. =Spores=
pale-yellow, oblong, 10–12×4µ. =Pileus= 4–8 in. broad. =Stem= 2–3 in.
long, 4–6 lines thick.
Under or near fir trees. Washington. September to December. _Yeomans._
_Peck_, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 23, No. 10.
=B. pic´tus= Pk. =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, at first covered with
a _red fibrillose tomentum which soon divides into small scales
revealing the yellow color of the pileus beneath_. =Flesh= yellow, often
slowly changing to dull pinkish or reddish tints where wounded. =Tubes=
tenacious, at first pale yellow, becoming darker or dingy ochraceous
with age, sometimes changing to pinkish-brown where bruised, concealed
in the young plant by the copious whitish webby veil. =Stem= equal or
nearly so, solid, _slightly_ and somewhat evanescently annulate, clothed
and colored like or a little paler than the pileus, yellowish at the
top. =Spores= ochraceous, 9–11×4–5µ.
=Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–3 in. long, 3–6 lines thick.
Woods and mossy swamps. New York, _Peck_; New England, _Frost_; North
Carolina, _Curtis_. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.
West Virginia mountains, 1882. Haddonfield, N.J., Angora, West
Philadelphia, Mt. Gretna, Pa. August and September. In mixed woods,
principally oak. Leominster, Mass. _C.F. Nixon_, Ph. G.
It is sometimes found upon much decayed chestnut stumps.
The caps of some species are so cracked as to appear distinctly
areolate. The white webby veil is often persistent. The fungus is one of
the handsomest. Its rich variegated colors impress it upon eye-memory.
It is one of the very best edible species.
(Plate CXII_a_.)
[Illustration:
BOLETINUS PALUSTER.
Natural size. (After Peck.)
]
=B. palus´ter= Pk.—=Pileus= thin, broadly convex, plane or slightly
depressed, sometimes with a small umbo, floccose-tomentose, _bright
red_. =Tubes= very large, slightly decurrent, yellow, becoming
ochraceous or dingy ochraceous. =Stem= slender, solid, subglabrous, red,
yellowish at the top. =Spores= pinkish-brown, 8–9×4µ.
=Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= 1–2 in. long, 2–3 lines thick.
Wet places and sphagnous mossy swamps. New York, _Peck_. Maine,
_Harvey_. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.
Angora, West Philadelphia and Mt. Gretna, Pa. September. _McIlvaine._
A few specimens found at Mt. Gretna had stems slightly reticulated. Its
taste is sweet, smell mild, and cooked it is of excellent body and
flavor.
=B. deci´piens= (B. and C.) Pk. =Pileus= dry, minutely silky,
_whitish-yellow or pale-buff_, flesh buff, one-third in. thick;
hymenium plane or somewhat concave, yellow, consisting of large,
unequal, flexuous radiating tubes resembling multiseptate lamellæ.
=Stem= equal, solid but spongy. Veil floccose, evanescent, adhering
for a time to the margin of the pileus. =Spores= rather minute,
oblong, _ochraceo-ferruginous_ (rusty yellow), 8–10×3.5–4µ.
=Pileus= 2 in. broad. Stem 2–2.5 in. long, 3–4 lines thick.
Thin woods. North and South Carolina. _M.A. Curtis._
Specimens of this species have not been seen by me. The authors remark
that its affinities are clearly with Boletinus flavidus and its allies,
from which it is distinguished by its large radiating pores. They also
say that when dry it is scarcely distinguishable from Paxillus porosus
Berk., except by its spores. This would imply that its stem is eccentric
or lateral, and I have been informed by Mr. Ravenel that it is sometimes
so. But specimens of this kind, labeled Boletinus decipiens B. and C.,
have been received, which show by their spores that they are Paxillus
porosus. Besides, Professor Farlow informs me that authentic specimens
of B. decipiens in the Curtisian Herbarium have only central stems, from
which things I suspect that the two species have been confused. The
spore dimensions here given are derived from a specimen in the Curtis
Herbarium, through the kindness of Professor Farlow. _Peck_, Boleti of
the U.S.
I have not recognized this Boletinus. Its affinities are with excellent
edible species.
[Illustration:
Photographed by Dr. J.R. Weist. PLATE CXIII.
BOLETINUS POROSUS.
]
=B. poro´sus= (Berk.) Pk. (Plate CXIII.) =Pileus= fleshy, viscid when
moist, shining, reddish-brown. =Flesh= 3–9 lines thick, the margin thin
and even; hymenium porous, yellow, formed by radiating lamellæ a line to
half a line distant, branching and connected by numerous irregular veins
of less prominence and forming large angular pores. =Stem= lateral,
tough, diffused into the pileus, reticulated at the top by the decurrent
walls of the tubes, colored like the pileus. =Spores= semi-ovate.
=Pileus= 2–5 in. broad. =Stem= 6–16 lines long, 4–6 lines thick.
Var. _opa´cus_ (Paxillus porosus Berk., Bull. N.Y. State Mus. 2, p. 32).
=Pileus= dry, glabrous or subtomentose, not shining, brown or
tawny-brown. =Spores= brownish-ochraceous, 9–11×6–8µ.
Damp ground in woods and open places. Ohio, _Lea_, _Morgan_; North
Carolina, _Curtis_; New England, _Frost_, _Farlow_; Wisconsin, _Bundy_;
New York, _Peck_.
This species is remarkable for its lateral or eccentric stem. There is
often an emargination in the pileus on the side of the stem which gives
it a kidney shape. In the typical form it is described as viscid when
moist, and the Wisconsin plant is also described as viscid, but in all
the New York specimens that I have seen it is dry and sometimes minutely
tomentose. I have, therefore, separated these as a variety. The color of
the pileus varies from yellowish-brown to reddish-brown or umber. A
disagreeable odor is sometimes present. The tubes are rather short and
tough and do not easily separate from the hymenophore and from each
other. In the young plant they are not separable. They sometimes become
slightly blue where wounded. As in other species they are pale yellow
when young, but become darker or dingy-ochraceous with age. The spores
have been described as bright yellow, but I do not find them so in the
New York plant. The plant is incongruous among the Paxilli by reason of
its wholly porous hymenium, but in this place it seems to be among its
true allies. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.
Fine specimens were sent to me by Mr. H.I. Miller, Terre Haute, and Dr.
J.R. Weist, Richmond, Ind. They were in condition to be eaten and
enjoyed. No disagreeable odor was perceptible.
=B. borea´lis= Pk. =Pileus= fleshy, convex, obtuse or subumbonate,
brownish-yellow, obscurely and somewhat reticulately streaked with
reddish-brown lines. =Pores= large, angular, unequal, slightly
decurrent, brownish-yellow. =Stem= short, equal or slightly tapering
upward, brownish-yellow with a whitish myceloid tomentum at the base.
=Spores= oblong, 10–12.5×4–5µ.
=Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= about 1 in. long.
Sandy soil. Capstan Island, Labrador. October. _Waghorne._
The markings of the pileus appear as if due to the drying of a glutinous
substance. The radiating lamellæ and the transverse partitions of the
interspaces are very plainly shown. Described from two dried specimens.
_Peck_, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 22, No. 5.
=BOLE´TUS= Dill.
_Gr_—a clod.
The name of a fungus considered a great delicacy among the Romans,
derived from _bolos_, a clod, probably to denote the round figure of the
plant.
=Hymenium= wholly composed of small tubes, connected together in a
stratum, the surface of which is dotted with their poriform mouths, and
which is distinct from the hymenophore on account of the latter not
descending into a trama. =Tubes= packed close together, easily
separating from the hymenophore and from one another. =Pores= or mouths
of the tubes round or angular (in the subgenus Gyrodon sinuous or
gyroso-plicate). =Spores= normally fusiform, rarely oval or somewhat
round. _Growing on the ground, fleshy, putrescent, with central stems.
Mostly edible, and of importance as articles of food; a few poisonous._
_Fries._
No American species in Gyrodon. It is therefore omitted in synopsis of
tribes. _C.M._
This genus abounds in species and is related to Boletinus on one hand
and to Polyporus on the other. From the latter it is distinguished by
the absence of a trama and from both by the tubes being easily separable
from the hymenophore and from each other. Some of the species are very
variable, others are so closely allied that they appear to almost run
together.
The species are generally terrestrial, but B. hemichrysus is habitually
wood-growing, and others are occasionally so.
The spores vary so much in color in such closely related species that
this character is scarcely available for general classification, but it
is valuable as a specific character and should always be noted.
SYNOPSIS OF THE TRIBES.
Pileus and stem yellow-pulverulent, stem
not reticulated with veins (p. 421.) Pulverulenti
Pileus and stem not yellow-pulverulent, or if so then
the stem reticulated with veins 1
1. Tubes yellowish with reddish, or
reddish-brown mouths (p. 453.) Luridi
1. Tubes of one color, or mouths not reddish. 2
2. Stem lacunose-reticulated and
lacerated. (p. 436.) Laceripedes
2. Stem reticulated with veins, not lacerated. 3
2. Stem not reticulated. 5
3. Tubes white, becoming flesh-colored. (p. 466.) Hyporhodii
3. Tubes not becoming flesh-colored. 4
4. Tubes free, or if adnate then
stuffed when young. (p. 444.) Edules
4. Tubes adnate, not stuffed when
young. (p. 438.) Calopodes
5. Pileus viscid or glutinous when moist. 6
5. Pileus dry. 7
6. Tubes adnate. (p. 406.) Viscipelles
6. Tubes free or nearly so,
yellowish. (p. 444.) Edules
6. Tubes free or nearly so, whitish. (p. 459.) Versipelles
7. Stem solid. 8
7. Stem spongy within, soon cavernous
or hollow. (p. 471.) Cariosi
8. Tubes becoming flesh-colored. (p. 466.) Hyporhodii
8. Tubes not becoming flesh-colored. 9
9. Tubes adnate. 10
9. Tubes free or nearly so. 11
10. Pileus subtomentose. (p. 430.) Subtomentosi
10. Pileus glabrous or pruinose. (p. 423.) Subpruinosi
11. Tubes yellowish or stuffed when
young. (p. 444.) Edules
11. Tubes whitish, not stuffed. (p. 459.) Versipelles
_Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.
C.H. Peck, N.Y. State Botanist, has contributed to Mycological
literature his careful arrangement and analysis of species of this
genus, in his “Boleti of the United States.” Species of the genus are
found in every state of the Union. Several species are common to all the
states. Comprehending, as do the states, all sorts of climates within
their vast range of latitude, differences in appearance and structure in
the same species must be expected, dependent largely, as they are in
most fungi, upon habitat and environment. These variations will
frequently suggest new species. Descriptions which are typical and which
can be recognized as standard are most desirable. Professor Peck’s are
accepted by the writer as such, that there may be uniformity, and are
quoted as fully as space will permit. Such variations as are
attributable to locality will be noted.
Since 1882 the writer has given great attention to the edible qualities
of the Boleti. He is convinced by many personal tests and those made by
his family and friends, that much, if not all, of the suspicion thrown
about Boleti is unjust and erroneous. He is able to state positively
that change of color when bruised or broken; bitter and pepperiness have
nothing whatever to do with the edible qualities of species exhibiting
them, excepting in B. felleus, which exhibits an intense bitter, not
lost in cooking. It is not poisonous.
The writer has the courage of his convictions, and has taken interest in
eating species with a bad reputation whenever opportunity afforded, that
their just dues might be given them. He has never experienced the
slightest inconvenience. But others may not be so fortunate.
Before cooking Boleti the stem, unless crisp and tender, should be
removed, as should the tubes unless young and fresh. They broil, fry,
stew, make good soups and dry well. See recipes.
It is believed that all species of Boleti up to this time found in
America are described in this volume. When no remarks of the writer
follow the descriptions, he has not had an opportunity to test the
edible quality of the species.
VISCIPELLES—_viscum_, bird lime; _pellís_, a skin.
=Pileus= covered with a viscose pellicle. =Stem= solid, neither bulbous,
lacerated nor reticulated with veins. =Tubes= adnate, rarely sinuate, of
one color.
The first four and several of the final species here described recede
somewhat from the character of the central or typical species of the
group.
Stem with an annulus 1
Stem without an annulus 9
1. Stem dotted both above and below the
annulus 2
1. Stem dotted above the annulus 3
1. Stem not dotted 4
2. Tubes salmon color B. salmonicolor
2. Tubes yellowish B. subluteus
3. Annulus entirely viscose B. flavidus
3. Annulus membranous, fugacious B. elegans
3. Annulus membranous, persistent B. luteus
4. Pileus squamose B. spectabilis
4. Pileus not squamose 5
5. Tubes whitish or grayish 6
5. Tubes yellow or yellowish 7
6. Flesh white, unchangeable B. Elbensis
6. Flesh white, changing to bluish B. serotinus
7. Spores globose or broadly elliptical B. sphærosporus
7. Spores much longer than broad 8
8. Annulus fugacious B. flavus
8. Annulus persistent B. Clintonianus
9. Stem dotted with glandules 10
9. Stem not dotted 16
10. Pileus some shade of yellow 11
10. Pileus some other color 15
11. Stem rhubarb color B. punctipes
11. Stem some other color 12
12. Stem four lines or more thick 13
12. Stem less than four lines thick B. Americanus
13. Pileus adorned with tufts of hairs or
fibrils B. hirtellus
13. Pileus glabrous 14
14. Stem yellow within B. subaureus
14. Stem whitish or yellowish-white
within B. granulatus
15. Pileus white B. albus
15. Pileus not white B. granulatus
16. Stem squamulose 17
16. Stem not squamulose 18
17. Pileus dull red B. dichrous
17. Pileus some other color B. collinitus
_W.G.S._us yellow 19
_W.G.S._us bay-red or chestnut 20
_W.G.S._us some other color 21
19. Flesh pale-yellow B. unicolor
19. Flesh white B. bovinus
20. Stem short, one inch or less B. brevipes
20. Stem longer, two inches or more B. badius
21. Tubes olivaceous or golden-yellow B. mitis
21. Tubes ferruginous 22
22. Taste mild B. rubinellus
22. Taste acrid or peppery B. piperatus
_Peck_, Boleti of the U.S., p. 83.
(Plate CXV.)
[Illustration:
BOLETUS SPECTABILIS.
Natural size.
]
=B. specta´bilis= Pk.—_spectabilis_, distinguished. =Pileus= broadly
convex, _at first covered with a red tomentum, then scaly_, viscid when
moist, _red_, the tomentose scales becoming grayish-red, brownish or
yellowish. =Flesh= whitish or pale-yellow. =Tubes= at first yellow and
concealed by a reddish glutinous membrane, then ochraceous, convex,
_large, angular, adnate_. =Stem= nearly equal, annulate, yellow above
the annulus, red or red with yellow stains below. =Spores=
_purplish-brown_, 13–15×6–7µ.
=Pileus= 2–5 in. broad. =Stem= 3–5 in. long, 4–6 lines thick.
Thin woods in swamps. New York, _Peck_; Wisconsin, _Bundy_.
This is a rare and showy species which inhabits the cold northern swamps
of the country. It probably extends into Canada. When cut, the flesh
emits a strong, unpleasant odor. Wounds of the flesh made by insects or
other small animals have a bright-yellow color. When young, the
tomentose veil covers the whole plant, but it soon parts into scales on
the pileus and partly or wholly disappears from the stem. _Peck_, Boleti
of the U.S.
London, Can., _J. Dearness_; _Peck_, Rep. 44, N.Y. State Bot.
=B. Elben´sis= Pk. =Pileus= convex, glabrous, viscid when moist, dingy
gray or pinkish-gray inclining to brownish, obscurely spotted or
streaked as if with patches of innate fibrils. =Flesh= white. =Tubes= at
first whitish, becoming dingy or brownish-ochraceous, nearly plane,
adnate or slightly decurrent, rather large, angular. =Stem= nearly
equal, annulate, _whitish above the ring_, colored like the pileus
below, sometimes slightly reticulated at the top. =Spores=
_ferruginous_-brown, 10–12×4–5µ.
=Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 3–5 in. long, 4–6 lines thick. Thin woods
of tamarack, spruce and balsam. New York. _Peck._
Its locality is thus far limited to the Adirondack region of this state.
_Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.
=B. sero´tinus= Frost.—late. Bulletin Buffalo Soc. Nat. Sci., 1874.
=Pileus= flat or convex, viscid, sordid brown, streaked with the
remnants of the veil, especially near the margin, which is white, very
thin, and when partly grown singularly pendent. =Flesh= white, _changing
to bluish_. =Tubes= large, angular, unequal, slightly decurrent, at
first sordid white or gray, sometimes tinged with green near the stem,
afterward cinnamon-yellow. =Stem= reticulated above the ring which
adheres partly to it and partly to the margin of the pileus, white but
stained by the brownish spores and tinged with yellow at maturity.
=Spores= 10×6µ.
Shaded grassy ground. New England, _Frost_.
Probably this is only a variety of the preceding species. _Peck_, Boleti
of the U.S.
=B. salmoni´color= Frost. Bull. Buff. Soc. Nat. Sci., 1874. =Pileus=
convex, soft, very glutinous, brownish or tawny-white with a faint tinge
of red, wine-color when dry, the margin thin. =Flesh= _tinged with red_.
=Tubes= simple, even, angular, adnate, _pale salmon_ color. =Stem=
small, dotted above with bright ferruginous red, sordid below, annulus
_dingy salmon-color_. =Spores= 8×2.5µ.
Borders of pine woods. New England. _Frost._
Apparently a distinct species. No specimens seen. _Peck_, Boleti of the
U.S.
=B. el´egans= Schum. =Pileus= convex or plane, viscose, _golden-yellow
or somewhat rust-color_. =Flesh= pale-yellow. =Tubes= decurrent, golden
or sulphur-yellow, the mouths minute, simple. =Stem= unequal, firm,
golden or reddish, _dotted above the fugacious white or pale-yellowish
annulus_.
=Pileus= 3–4.5 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 in. long.
Woods, especially under or near larch trees. North Carolina, _Curtis_;
Wisconsin, _Bundy_; Minnesota, _Johnson_. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.
Cordier and Gillet give the species as edible though not delicate.
West Philadelphia on lawns under larches, 1887–1891. _McIlvaine._
The caps are of good flavor and consistency. They are best fried or
broiled.
=B. Clin´tonianus= Pk. =Pileus= convex, very viscid or glutinous,
glabrous, soft, shining, _golden-yellow, reddish yellow or chestnut
color_, the margin thin. =Flesh= pale yellow, becoming less bright or
dingy on exposure to the air. =Tubes= nearly plane, adnate or
subdecurrent, _small_, angular or subrotund, pale-yellow, becoming
dingy-ochraceous with age, _changing to brown or purplish-brown where
bruised_. =Stem= equal or slightly thickened toward the base, straight
or flexuous, _yellow at the top_, reddish or reddish-brown below the
annulus, sometimes varied with yellow stains, the annulus white or
yellow, _persistent_, forming a thick band about the stem. =Spores=
_brownish-ochraceous_, 10–11×4–5µ.
=Pileus= 2–5 in. broad. =Stem= 2–5 in. long, 4–9 lines thick.
Mossy or grassy ground in woods or open places, especially under or near
tamarack trees. New York, _Peck_; New England, _Frost_.
This is apparently closely related to B. elegans, from which it differs
in its thick persistent ring, in its stem which is not at all dotted and
in its longer and darker-colored spores. Its smaller tubes and
persistent ring separate it also from B. flavus. In the typical form the
pileus is bay-red or chestnut color, but plants growing in open places
generally have it yellowish or reddish-yellow. It is mild to the taste
and I have eaten it sparingly. It sometimes grows in tufts. _Peck_,
Boleti of the U.S.
=B. inflex´us= Pk.—curving. =Pileus= convex, glabrous, viscid, yellow,
often red or reddish on the disk, the margin thin, inflexed, concealing
the marginal tubes. =Flesh= whitish, not changing color where wounded.
=Tubes= rather long, adnate, yellowish, becoming dingy-yellow with age,
the mouths small, dotted with reddish glandules. =Stem= rather slender,
not ringed, solid, viscid, dotted with livid-yellow glandules. =Spores=
yellowish, 10–12×4–5µ.
=Pileus= about 1 in. broad. =Stem= about 2 in. long, 2–4 lines thick.
Open woods. Trexlertown. September. _Herbst._
This Boletus belongs to the tribe Viscipelles. It is remarkable for and
easily recognized by the inflexed margin of the pileus, which imitates
to some extent the appendiculate veil of Boletus versipellis. It
sometimes grows in tufts. The paper in which fresh specimens were
wrapped was stained yellow. Boletus Braunii Bres. has an inflexed
margin, but that is a much larger plant with a yellowish-brown pileus, a
fibrillose stem and much smaller spores. _Peck_, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club,
Vol. 22, No. 5.
=B. fla´vus= With. =Pileus= convex, compact, covered with a brownish
separating gluten, _pale-yellow_. =Flesh= pale-yellow. =Tubes= large,
angular, adnate, yellow. =Stem= yellow, becoming brownish, reticulated
above the _membranous fugacious_ dirty yellowish annulus. =Spores=
8–10×3–4µ.
=Pileus= 2–5 in. broad. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 6–10 lines thick.
Woods. Minnesota, _Johnson_; Wisconsin, _Bundy_.
This is apparently a rare species in this country. I have not seen it.
It is said to resemble B. luteus, from which it is separated by the
large angular mouths of the tubes. In British Fungi the spores are
described as “spindle-shaped, yellowish-brown;” in Sylloge, as
“ovoid-oblong, acute at the base, granulose, pale ochraceous.” _Peck_,
Boleti of the U.S.
=B. fistulo´sus= Pk. =Pileus= convex, viscid, glabrous, yellow, the
margin at first incurved or involute. =Flesh= yellow. =Tubes= plane or
subventricose, medium size, round with thin walls, adnate or sometimes
depressed around the stem, yellow. =Stem= rather slender, subequal,
viscid, glabrous, hollow, yellow, with a white mycelioid tomentum at the
base. =Spores= elliptical, 13×6µ.
=Pileus= about 1 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, about 3 lines thick.
Grassy woods. Auburn, Ala. July. _Underwood._
A small but pretty species of a yellow color throughout. It is
remarkable for its hollow stem, which is suggestive of the specific
name. It is referable to the tribe Viscipelles. _Peck_, Bull. Torrey
Bot. Club, Vol. 24, No. 3.