distinct in their habitats.
SYNOPSIS OF THE GENERA.
HYDNUM. Page 494.
Sporophore fleshy, with a central stem or entirely resupinate, texture
compact, spines acute, distinct at the base.
CALDESIELLA.
Resupinate; texture floccose, spines acute; spores muriculate. (No
edible species reported.)
SISTOTREMA.
Pileate; fleshy, central-stemmed, teeth flattened, irregular, inferior.
(No edible species reported.)
IRPEX. Page 504.
Resupinate; teeth rather acute, springing from folds or ridges that
often anastomose irregularly.
RADULUM.
Resupinate; tubercles coarse, deformed, subcylindrical, obtuse. (No
edible species reported.)
PHLEBIA.
Resupinate; hymenium covered with folds or wrinkles, having the edge
entire or corrugated. (No edible species reported.)
GRANDINIA.
Resupinate; hymenium with crowded, globose, persistent, hemispherical,
minute granules, having their apices more or less excavated. (No edible
species reported.)
POROTHELIUM.
Resupinate; hymenium with scattered wart-like granules, which become
more or less elongated and excavated at the apices. (No edible species
reported.)
ODONTIA.
Resupinate; hymenium densely covered with small granules that are
divided at the apices in a penicillate manner. (No edible species
reported.)
KNEIFFIA.
Resupinate; hymenium covered with very minute, barren, acute spinules.
(No edible species reported.)
MUCRONELLA.
Spines slender, elongated, acute, not springing from a sporophore or
subiculum. (No edible species reported.)
=HYD´NUM.=
_Gr_—name for some edible fungus.
Hymenium inferior, bearing awl-shaped =Spines=, distinct at the base.
_Fries._
In this genus the spines proceed from an even surface, not folded or
wrinkled, and are covered with the spore-bearing surface.
The forms are extremely variable, the type of the first section, H.
repandum, being easily mistaken for one of the Agaricaceæ until
examined, the stem being nearly central and upright, while in other
forms it is lateral or absent. Some are dimidiate (as if part of the
pileus had been removed and the plant attached by the remaining
portion); the lower forms are resupinate.
ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.
MESOPUS (_Gr_—middle, a foot). Page 495.
Entire, simple, stem central.
On the ground, mostly in pine woods.
PLEUROPUS (_Gr_—the side; a foot).
Stem lateral.
None known to be edible.
MERISMA (_Gr_—to divide). Page 501.
Very much branched or of an irregular form without a distinct margin.
APUS (_Gr_—without; a foot). Page 503.
Stemless, dimidiate, margin distinct.
RESUPINATI (_resupino_, to throw on the back).
Without stem or distinct pileus.
None known to be edible.
MES´OPUS. _Gr_—middle; a foot.
(Entire, simple, stem central. On the ground, mostly in pine woods.)
=H. imbrica´tum= L.—_imbrex_, a tile. =Pileus= about 2–5 in. broad,
_umber_, zoneless, fleshy, rather plane, somewhat umbilicate,
_floccose_, tessulato-scaly. =Flesh= dingy whitish. =Stem= curt, 1–3 in.
long, 1–2 in. thick, even. =Spines= 4–6 lines long, decurrent,
ashy-white.
There are two forms; one with the pileus plane and with thick persistent
scales, another with the pileus somewhat infundibuliform, and with
thinner, at length separating scales. _Stevenson._
=Spores= pale yellow brown, rough, 6–7×5µ _Massee_; 6×5µ _W.G.S._
Fleshy. The numerous scales over lapping toward the center. The surface
of the cap often cracks in a tesselated manner. Flesh dingy, buffish or
reddish. =Spines= short, blunt, grayish-white and mostly of equal
length.
In pine and mixed woods. Autumn.
Of delicate taste. _Cordier._ Edible. _Curtis._
Fine specimens grew at Mt. Gretna, Pa., from September to November.
Until closely examined the cap may be mistaken for that of H. zonatum.
The zones of the latter and the pervading rust-color will distinguish
it. Both are edible, though H. zonatum is much tougher. H. imbricatum is
slightly bitter, raw. It must be sliced thin and well cooked.
=H. læviga´tum= Swartz—_lævis_, smooth. =Pileus= 4–6 in. broad, _umber_,
fleshy, _compact_, firm, regular, plane, _even, very smooth_, margin
circinate (not repand). =Flesh= whitish, compact, but by no means
fibrous, soft when fresh, pliant when dry. =Stem= short, thick, even,
pallid-brown. =Spines= thin, pallid-brown.
Its size is that of H. imbricatum, but it occurs twice as large, with
the pileus minutely rimuloso-rivulose, by no means scaly. The stem
varies curt and unequal or longer and equal. Quite distinct from H.
fragile. _Stevenson._
=Spores= 10–15µ long, _Massee_; globose, warted, pale lemon-yellow, 7µ
_Q._
In pine woods. August to October.
Edible, _Curtis_; edible, _Leuba_. “Eaten in Alpine districts.” _Barla._
(Plate CXXXI.)
[Illustration:
HYDNUM SCABROSUM.
Natural size.
]
=H. scabro´sum= Fr.—_scabrosus_, rough. =Pileus= about 1½-4 in. broad,
_brownish-yellow_, compactly fleshy, at first top-shaped, then plane
above, very convex beneath, at first tomentose, then rough with flocci
which are fasciculate in the form of minute crowded squamules, slightly
repand at the margin. =Flesh= very thick, white, descending into the
stem. =Stem= very curt, 1 in. long, and equally thick, round or
compressed, dotted with the rudiments of spines decurrent upon it,
ash-color, attenuated downward, roundish and blackish at the base.
=Spines= 4 lines long, equal, awl-shaped, dingy-rust color, whitish at
the apex, at first sight grayish-brown. _Fries._
=Spores= 4–5µ diameter. _Massee._
Hydnum scabrosum is frequently found in Pennsylvania, among pines and in
mixed woods where pines grow. It occurs at Mt. Gretna, Pa., and on
Springton Hills under hemlocks.
The caps are soft, fleshy, and equal to H. repandum in quality.
=H. squamo´sum= Schaeff.—_squama_, a scale. =Pileus= 1½-3 in. across,
reddish-brown, fleshy, irregular, depressed, _smooth_, breaking up into
_irregular scales_. =Flesh= whitish. =Stem= curt, attenuated downward,
white. =Spines= grayish-brown, whitish at the apex. _Stevenson._
=Spores= subglobose, 5–6µ diameter. _Massee._
=Pileus= smooth and even when young. =Flesh= whitish. =Spores=
grayish-brown. =Spines= whitish, giving the lower surface a much lighter
appearance than the upper.
Under hemlock and spruce in West Virginia, 1884. _McIlvaine._
Caps are good when sliced thin and well cooked.
=H. subsquamo´sum= Batsch. =Pileus= fleshy, somewhat convex,
subumbilicate, brownish-rust color, superficial scales soon dropping
off; spotted with brown. =Stem= stout, unequal, smooth. =Spines=
whitish, becoming brown, apex remaining whitish. North Carolina,
_Curtis_; Alabama, _Peters_; Massachusetts, _Sprague_. Edible. _Curtis._
Edible. _Cordier._
(Plate CXXXII.)
[Illustration: HYDNUM REPANDUM.]
=H. repan´dum= L.—_repandus_, bent backward (of the cap, upward).
=Pileus= 2–6 in. broad, _pallid_, etc., fleshy, fragile, _somewhat
repand_, rather smooth. =Stem= 2–5 in. long, ½-1½ in. thick, irregularly
shaped, _pallid_. =Spines= 4 lines long, unequal, of the same color.
_Stevenson._
=Spores= pointed, 5–8µ _Massee_.
=Pileus= sometimes depressed, often turned upward at margin, often
waved, sometimes tomentose. Color variable—light-buff, brown, pinkish,
reddish. =Flesh= whitish, compact, fragile. =Spines= conical, up to ¼
in. in length, whitish but rich creamy shades, mostly pointed, but
sometimes appearing to be hollow. =Stem= central or eccentric, sometimes
covered with white down, thick, uneven, usually crooked, solid, fleshy,
light in color.
July to November.
Edible. _Curtis._
Common to most countries, and, although given as a ground-growing
species, it is rather indiscriminate in its habitats. Woods, fields,
leaf-covered or bare places, much decayed wood and stumps are its living
places. Dr. Cooke thinks it irreproachable. Popularly it goes by the
name of the Hedgehog mushroom.
H. repandum varies greatly in shape, color and texture. In the open it
is usually symmetrical and tough; when clustered it is irregular, often
fanciful and quite brittle—tender.
When sliced thin an hour’s slow cooking is sufficient. All writers
commend it, and properly.
=H. rufes´cens= Pers.—_rufus_, red. =Pileus= 2–3 in. across, thin,
fragile, usually regular, pubescent, reddish. =Spines= 1–3 lines long,
regular. =Stem= 1–3 in. long, commonly thin, nearly equal, reddish.
The whole plant is reddish. In all other respects it resembles H.
repandum. Usually more regular.
Commonly found in woods. New York, _Peck_; North Carolina, _Curtis_,
_Schweinitz_.
Edible, _Curtis_. Edible, _Leuba_.
Fries considered H. rufescens a variety of H. repandum, and the writer
agrees with him. It is given distinct place here because Massee and
Stevenson—books in the hands of many students of fungi—give it
importance.
It is quite as good as H. repandum.
=H. ferrugi´neum= Fr. =Pileus= 1–4 in. across, corky, soft, convex, then
plane or depressed, irregularly pitted, ferruginous, at first with
whitish tomentum. =Flesh= ferruginous. =Spines= thin, acute, about 2
lines long, rusty-brown. =Stem= firm, 2–3 in. long, unequal,
rusty-brown. =Spores= subglobose, 4µ diameter.
In fir woods. Often gregarious; soft when young, corky and dry at
maturity. _Massee._
Mt. Gretna, Pa. November to December, 1898. Among pine leaves.
Taste mild, mealy. Tough, but when young it cooks tender.
=H. zona´tum= Batsch. Ferruginous. =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad, _equally
coriaceous_, thin, expanded, somewhat infundibuliform, _zoned, becoming
smooth, radiately-wrinkled_, the paler margin sterile beneath. =Stem=
½-¾ in. long, 2–3 lines thick, slender, somewhat equal, floccose, base
tuberous. =Spines= 1–1½ lines long, slender, pallid, then rust-color.
_Stevenson._
=Spores= rough, globose, pale watery brown, 4µ diameter _Massee_.
New York, _Peck_, 24th Rep. Mt. Gretna, Pa. Abundant among hemlocks;
West Virginia. _McIlvaine._
Coriaceous. Edible. It will not cook tender, but yields a pleasant
flavor to a gravy made of its juices.
=H. albo´nigrum= Pk. =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, broadly obconical,
tough but soft and densely tomentose on the upper surface, buff-brown or
smoky brown, often wholly covered with a whitish downy tomentum,
sometimes on the margin only, substance within soft tomentose and
buff-brown in the upper stratum, the lower half hard and black. =Spines=
short, at first white, then whitish or grayish. =Stem= short, often
irregular, compressed or growing together, blackish when moist,
buff-brown when dry, covered with a thick dense tomentum, which is
frequently more abundant toward the base, hard and black within.
=Spores= white, globose, 4–5µ.
=Pileus= 1–3 in. broad, sometimes 2 or 3 confluent. =Stem= 1–2 in. long.
Ground in mixed woods. Gansevoort. August. _Peck_, 50th Rep. N.Y. State
Bot.
Specimens from pine woods New Jersey, _T.J. Collins_, September, 1897.
1½ in. across. Frequent at Mt. Gretna, Pa.
Edible. Good flavor, but tough.
=H. velle´reum= Pk. This species appears to be very much like the
preceding one (H. albonigrum Pk.) from which it is separated by its
smaller size and the paler brownish or rusty-brown substance of its
pileus and stem. _Peck_, 50th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
At Mt. Gretna, Pa., the species grows with H. albonigrum. In quality it
is the same.
(Plate CXXXIII.)
[Illustration: HYDNUM ALBIDUM.]
=H. al´bidum= Pk. =Pileus= fleshy, thin, broadly convex or nearly plane,
subpruinose, white. =Flesh= white. =Spines= short, white. =Stem= short,
solid, central or eccentric, white. =Spores= subglobose, 4–5µ broad.
The whitish Hydnum is uniformly colored in all parts. It grows in groups
or in clusters. In the latter case the caps are sometimes irregular
because of the crowded mode of growth and the stems are occasionally
eccentric. It is a small species not liable to be mistaken for any other
except possibly for very small pale forms of the spreading Hydnum. But
wholly white examples of this species have never been seen by me.
The =caps= are 1–2 in. broad and the =stems= are generally about 1 in.
long and 3–5 lines thick.
The plants grow in thin woods or in open bushy places and appear in June
and July. It is not a common species, and though well flavored it is not
of very great importance as an edible mushroom, because of its scarcity
and small size. _Peck_, 51st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Port Jefferson. July. This fungus has been tested and found to be
edible. _Peck_, 50th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Mt. Gretna, Pa., 1897. Specimens identified by Professor Peck.
_McIlvaine._
The caps are edible and superior to H. repandum.
=H. fen´nicum= Karst. =Cap= fleshy, fragile, unequal, at first scaly, at
length breaking up, reddish-brick color becoming darker, margin
undulately lobed, 2–4 in. broad. =Flesh= white. =Stem= sufficiently
stout, unequal below, attenuated, flexuous or curved, smooth, of the
same color as the cap, base acute, light white tomentum outside, inside
light pale-blue or dark-gray (wood-ash), 1–3 in. long, .4–1 in. thick.
=Teeth= decurrent, equal, pointed, from white dusky, about 4 mm. long.
=Spores= ellipso-spheroidical or sub-spheroidical, rough, dusky, 4–6µ
long, 3–5µ broad.
Found in gravelly or sandy soil in woods.
Found at Angora near Philadelphia. Top cracked. Identified by Professor
Peck.
Occurs frequently at Mt. Gretna, Pa., ground in mixed woods. August to
September. The taste and smell are at first inviting, but the extreme
bitter which develops destroys all desire to eat it.
=H. spongio´sipes= Pk. =Pileus= convex, soft, spongy-tomentose, but
tough in texture, rusty-brown, the lower stratum more firm and fibrous.
but concolorous. =Spines= slender, 1–2 lines long, rusty-brown, becoming
darker with age. =Stem= hard and corky within, externally
spongy-tomentose, colored like the pileus, the central substance often
transversely zoned especially near the top. =Spores= subglobose,
nodulose, purplish-brown, 4–6µ broad.
=Pileus= 1.5–4 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–3 in. long, 4–8 lines thick.
Woods. Rensselaer and Saratoga counties. August.
This plant was formerly referred to Hydnum ferrugineum Fr. _Peck_, 50th
Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Found in pine woods, near Haddonfield, N.J., by T.J. Collins, September,
1897. =Cap= and =stem= dark brown. =Spines= darker. =Stem= swelling
toward base, which then tapers in a long rooting way. =Cap= umbilicate.
Specimens identified by Professor Peck.
Edible but tough and uninviting. Yields a good fungoid flavor to the
water in which it is boiled.
=H. gelatino´sum= Scop. Transferred to Tremelledon as T. gelatinosum,
under which heading it is described and its edible qualities noted.
[Illustration:
Photographed by Dr. J.R. Weist. PLATE CXXXIV.
HYDNUM CORALLOIDES.
]
MERIS´MA. _Gr_—a division.
(Very much branched or of an irregular form without a distinct margin.)
=H. coralloi´des= Scop. (Plate CXXXIV.) 6–18 in. across. Tufts on wood.
Pure shining white growing yellow with age, composed wholly of
attenuated interlacing branches ½ in. at base, tapering to a point.
=Spines= growing from one side of the branches, 3–4 lines in length,
awl-shaped.
=Spores= globose, 4–6µ diameter _Massee_.
_Peck_, Rep. 22; Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; Massachusetts, _Sprague_;
California; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.
Edible. _Curtis._
Grows upon standing and fallen timber which is attacked by decay. Fir,
oak, beech, ash, birch, hickory and other trees are inhabited by it.
August to frost.
This beautiful species can not be mistaken for any other. Its name is
the best guide to its identification. Dame Nature has made many
exquisite decorations for herself and this is one of them.
It is generally eaten, but is rare. Professor Peck speaks affectionately
of it as a gratuitous adjunct to his bill of fare when on botanical
tramps in the Adirondacks.
=H. caput-ur´si= Fr.—bear-head. 6–8 in. high, 6–8 in. across. Tufts
usually pendulous, compact, white, becoming yellow and brownish.
=Spines= up to 1 in. long, round, pointed. =Branches= in every
direction, short.
Closely resembling H. coralloides and in small forms with shorter spines
easily mistaken for it. Position of growth has much to do with its shape
and appearance. On fallen timber the branchlets and spines may be erect.
New York, _Peck_, 44th Rep.; North Carolina, _Curtis_; West Virginia,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.
Edible. _Curtis._ Edible. _Peck._
Hydnum caput-ursi is common in West Virginia forests. It is conspicuous
on standing oaks, and at a distance a puzzling object to one not
familiar with such excrescences. It grows on standing oaks near
Haddonfield, N.J., and sparsely at Mt. Gretna, Pa.
It is more compact, and is tougher than H. coralloides and H. Medusæ,
but cooks tender and is very good.
[Illustration:
Photographed by Dr. J.R. Weist. PLATE CXXXV.
HYDNUM CAPUT-MEDUSÆ.
]
=H. caput-Medu´sæ= Bull.—head of Medusæ. (Plate CXXXV.) 3–18 in. across,
2–8 in. high. Tufts pendulous. White then grayish. Body compact,
tapering to a solid base, more or less stem-like. =Spines= covering
entire surface. Those upon top are long, thin, straight or distorted,
growing shorter around and to the under side where they are short and
straight. The wavy appearance of the slender spines remind of the snaky
locks of Medusa, hence the name.
Edible. _Curtis._ Edible. _Leuba._
On elms at Haddonfield, N.J.; on oaks at Mt. Gretna, Pa., and in
Woodland Cemetery, and on elms in Washington Square, Philadelphia, Pa.
_McIlvaine._
Commonly eaten in Italy and parts of Austria; rare elsewhere in Europe.
Occurring over the United States. Specimens eighteen inches across were
seen by the writer in the West Virginia mountains.
Mr. H.I. Miller, Terre Haute, Ind., sent me a fine specimen weighing 10½
pounds.
The American species, as far as seen by the writer, changes to a light
yellow when ageing. The entire fungus is edible and excellent, but the
tender spines and more delicate parts make a dish equaled by few fungi.
=H. erina´ceum= Bull.—_erinaceus_, a hedgehog. 2–8 in. and more across.
Tufts pendulous. White and yellowish-white becoming yellow-brownish,
fleshy, elastic, tough, sometimes emarginate (broadly attached as if
tuft was cut in two, sliced off where attached), a mass of latticed
branches and fibrils. =Spines= 1½-4 in. long, crowded, straight, equal,
pendulous. =Stem= sometimes rudimentary.
On trunks of oak, beech, etc. July to October.
=Spores= subglobose, 5–6µ diameter _Massee_; white, plain, 5×6µ _W.G.S._
Alabama, _Miss K. Skehan_; Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_; Massachusetts,
_Sprague_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 22.
Eaten in Germany and France. _Cooke._
A dead beech trunk at Eagle’s Mere, Pa., in August, 1898, bore at least
fifty pounds of it. It draped one side of the tree from root to top with
yellowish, pendulous tufts, with spines up to 3 in. long, which waved in
the wind. The spines and tender parts were stewed, and enjoyed by many.
It shrinks very much in drying, becoming sour.
A´PUS. _Gr_—without; a foot.
(Stemless, dimidiate, margin distinct.)
=H. septentriona´le= Fr.—Northern. Fleshy-fibrous, becoming pale,
imbricated. =Pilei= not numerous, growing one above the other, plane,
behind thick, consolidated, margin straight, whole. =Spines= very
crowded, slender, equal.
The largest known Hydnum.
Received from E.B. Sterling, Trenton, N.J., September, 1897. The
specimens formed part of a dense fasciculate mass weighing over 20
pounds, growing on a beech stump. Edges of the young plant are edible,
but have little taste.
[Illustration]
=IR´PEX= Fr.
A harrow.
Hymenium inferior, toothed from the first. Teeth firm, somewhat
coriaceous, acute, concrete with the pileus, arranged in rows or like
network, connected at the base by folds, which are gill-like (in sessile
species) or resemble honeycomb (in resupinate ones). Sporophores
4-spored. Growing on wood, somewhat growing from the side or upon the
back, approaching Lenzites and Dædaleæ.
Irpex differs from Hydnum in having the spines connected at the base,
and in their being less awl-shaped and pointed.
It is reported as found well up in the northern States, but its species
prefer warm climates. Irpex contains no choice species, but all I have
tested can be eaten.
=I. obli´quus= Fr.—oblique. White, inclining to pale, effused (spread),
forming an adnate crust, circumference flaxy. Teeth _extended from a
base resembling honeycomb, compressed, unequal, incised_, oblique, 2–3
lines long.
At first abundantly porous, but toothed from the first, at length quite
as in Hydna.
On stumps and dead branches. November to February. _Stevenson._
This spreads in irregular patches on the surface of decaying wood. The
pores for a small space round the margin are round and distinct, but
toward the center are greatly lengthened out, lying one upon another in
an imbricated manner. The color is white at first, when old it changes
to a yellow-brown, and at last to a dirty fuscous black. _Bolton._
At first it looks more like a small white orbicular resupinate Polyporus
than an Irpex. _Peck._
The species is common and can be collected at most times of the year.
When fresh and moist it can be shaved from its host plant. Goodly
quantities can thus be obtained. It stews to a firm gelatinous mass of
pleasant flavor. The lost hunter need not die of starvation in any woods
if he will but study the tree-growing fungi, and especially the small
species, hitherto insignificant in food circles.
=I. car´neus= Fr.—resembling the color of flesh. Reddish, effused, 1–3
in. long, _cartilaginous-gelatinous_, membranaceous, adnate. Teeth
obtuse and awl-shaped, entire, united at the base.
It inclines to Radula and Phlebia. _Stevenson._
On tulip poplar, Haddonfield, N.J., September, 1892; on hickory, Angora,
Philadelphia, September, 1897. _McIlvaine._
The entire fungus is good, cooking like a Hydnum.
=I. defor´mis= Fr.—deformed. White, effused, crustaceous, thin,
circumference pubescent, somewhat flaxy. Teeth _extended in awl-shape
from a minutely porous base, thin_, somewhat digitato-incised (cut in
finger-shape), 1–2 lines long. _Fries._
It approaches the Polypori. Grows on wood. _Stevenson._
North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Massachusetts, _Frost_.
Common on stumps and trees. The awl-shaped teeth, which have the
appearance of shreds, can be scraped from the fresh plant, or if dried
plants are moistened, the teeth are detachable, and are food-giving.
=I. fusco-vioia´ceus= Fr.—_fuscus_, brown; _violaceous_, violet.
=Pileus= 2 in. long, more than 1 in. broad, _white inclining to hoary_,
effuso-reflexed, coriaceous, silky, zoned. Teeth in rows in the form of
plates, _brownish-violet_, incised at the apex. _Fries._
On pine trunks. _Stevenson._
Decaying trunks of spruce, abies nigra. Adirondack mountains. July.
Our specimens are not “silky,” as required by the description, but
villose or tomentose-villose as in Polyporus hirsutus and P. abietinus,
the latter of which this species closely resembles. The hymenium,
however, is coarser, more highly colored and lamellated to such an
extent that young specimens might easily be taken for a Lenzites.
_Peck_, 30th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Found in West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.
_McIlvaine._
Very common on logs of coniferous trees. It is difficult to collect it
entirely free from resin, which as a seasoning is not recommended.
FAMILY IV.—=THELEPHORA´CEÆ= Fr.
_Gr_—a teat; _Gr_—to bear.
=Sporophore= erect and stipitate, with a central stem, effused, with the
upper portion free and bent backward, or entirely resupinate. =Hymenium=
perfectly even or radiately wrinkled, glabrous or minutely bristled with
projecting cystidia; basidia normally 4-spored. =Spores= without a
division, colorless or colored. _Massee._