Polyporaceæ and Agaricaceæ. The genus Craterellus is closely allied to
Cantharellus, and, though the spore surface is much less wrinkled or
veined, resembles it in several of its species. Other types show
likeness to Merulius in Polyporaceæ; others to Tremellineæ and
Clavariaceæ. Many puzzles are presented by its species, but the solving
is interesting.
Though populous it contains but few edibles. The best of them is
Craterellus cornucopoides.
SYNOPSIS OF GENERA.
_A._ SPORES COLORED.
_Spores smooth._
CONIOPHORA.
Resupinate, dry and pulverulent. (No edible species reported.)
ALDRIDGEA.
Resupinate, soft and subgelatinous. (No edible species reported.)
_Spores warted or echinulate._
THELEPHORA.
Dry and fibrous, hymenium rugulose. (No edible species reported.)
SOPPITTELLA.
Subgelatinous, effused or variously incrusting, hymenium even. (No
edible species reported.)
_B._ SPORES COLORLESS.
_Parasitic on living leaves or stems._
EXOBASIDIUM.
Saprophytes growing on dead wood, branches, etc. Hymenium minutely
setulose with projecting cystidia.
PENIOPHORA.
Cystidia colorless, rough at the tip with particles of lime. (No edible
species reported.)
HYMENOCHÆTE.
Cystidia brown, smooth. (No edible species reported.)
_Hymenium glabrous._
CORTICIUM.
Entirely resupinate, hymenium usually cracked when dry. (No edible
species reported.)
STEREUM.
Effuso-reflexed, pileus silky or strigose, hymenium even. (No edible
species reported.)
CLADODERRIS.
Horizontal and attached by a narrow point behind, hymenium
radiato-rugulose. (No edible species reported.)
CRATERELLUS. Page 508.
Large, erect, funnel-shaped.
CYPHELLA.
Minute, cup-shaped, mouth open. (No edible species reported.)
SOLENIA.
Minute, cylindrical, gregarious or crowded, tubular, mouth contracted.
(No edible species reported.)
=CRATEREL´LUS= Fr.
_Crater_, a bowl.
=Hymenium= waxy-membranaceous, distinct but adnate to the hymenophore,
inferior, continuous, smooth, even or wrinkled. =Spores= white. _Fries._
This, the only genus of Thelephoraceæ containing edible fungi, has the
form and general appearance of Cantharellus to which it is allied, but
it is distinguished by its nearly even hymenium, which in Cantharellus
has the form of gills, fold-like and thick but still distinctly gills.
The species vary from fleshy to membranaceous, all having a
funnel-shaped pileus and stem merging into it. On the ground. Autumn.
The slightly veined surface where the spores are borne, and the spores
themselves, when a microscope is brought to bear upon them, distinguish
this genus from Cantharellus; and its thin flesh and funnel-shape from
the large forms of Pistillaria. Several of the species are edible. It is
probable that all are.
Toadstools, despite their name, are more popularly associated with
fairies than with toads. “Fairy rings,” “Fairy Bread” and “Fairy Clubs”
are titles belonging to them, and these link us to the pretty belief of
childhood—a belief we often do not outgrow. A group of C. lutescens or
C. cornucopoides may well be likened to fairy trumpets, or to a tiny
orchestrion thrusting its horns through wood earth where roots of stumps
abound.
=C. cantharel´lus= Schw. (Plate XLVI, fig. 3.) =Cap=n. across, convex,
often becoming depressed and funnel-shaped, glabrous, yellowish or
pinkish-yellow. =Flesh= white, tough, elastic. =Hymenium= slightly
wrinkled, yellow or faint salmon color. =Stem= 1–3 in. high, 3–5 lines
thick, glabrous, solid, yellow. =Spores= on white paper yellowish or
pale salmon.
=Spores= 7.5–10×5–6µ _Peck_.
West Virginia, _McIlvaine_.
No one not looking for minute botanic details would separate this
species from Cantharellus cibarius, especially if found growing near or
with it. The pinkish tinge sometimes present in C. cantharellus I have
never observed in C. cibarius. The present species is of equal
excellence.
[Illustration: Grouped by Val Starnes—Studies by C. McIlvaine.
PLATE CXXXVI.]
FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.
1. SPATHULARIA CLAVATA, 549 6. HYGROPHORUS COCCINEUS, 156
2. PEZIZA COCCINEA, 559 7. CRATERELLUS SINUOSUS, 510
VAR. CRISPUS,
3. PEZIZA AURANTIA, 557 8. CRATERELLUS 509
CORNUCOPOIDES,
4. CANTHARELLUS AURANTIACUS, 216 9. CANTHARELLUS LUTESCENS, 218
5. HYPOMYCES LACTIFLUORUM, 562
=C. cornucopoi´des= Pers.—_cornu_ and _copiæ_, horn of plenty. (Plate
CXXXVI, fig. 8, p. 508.) =Cap= dark sooty shades of gray or brown—shades
of well-worn velveteen—1–2 in. across, whole plant from 2–4 in. high,
trumpet-shaped, or like a funnel with its open mouth, plane, wavy, split
or in folds. Substance very thin and either brittle or tough. The inside
is sometimes minutely scaly, the opening extending to the base; outside,
where the spores are borne, it has neither gills, pores nor
protuberances, but a slightly uneven surface varying little in color.
=Stem= obsolete or seldom noticeable. =Odor= slight.
=Spores= pointed, 11–12×7–8µ _Massee_.
Grows single, clustered or in troops along shaded roads, or from leaf
mold and ground in woods. July to frost.
Large patches, clustered, grow near stumps in moist places on Botanic
Creek, West Philadelphia. It is plentiful near Haddonfield, N. J., at
Mt. Gretna, Pa., and many other places in the United States.
It is not pleasant to look upon, because of its peculiar color, but when
one gets used to it it has an attractiveness of its own. Its graceful
shape, even its funereal hue and name—Trompet du Morte—are alluring.
It dries well, and when moistened expands to its normal size. It is a
first-class edible fungus. It should be stewed slowly until tender.
=C. clava´tus= Fr.—_clava_, a club. =Pileus= 2 in. broad, somewhat
light-yellowish, fleshy, _top-shape, truncate_ or depressed, flexuous,
unpolished, _attenuated into the solid stem_. =Flesh= thick, white.
=Hymenium= even, then corrugated, purplish then changing color. _Fries._
=Spores= elliptical, pale-yellow, 10–12×4–5µ _Massee_.
Professor Peck notes that the species so closely resembles Cantharellus
cibarius that it might easily be mistaken for a deformed condition of
it.
The resemblance to the yellow forms of Clavaria pistillaria is marked.
Massachusetts, _Sprague_, _Farlow_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 32; West
Virginia, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.
An excellent species. Its scarcity is regrettable.
=C. du´bius= Pk. =Pileus= infundibuliform, subfibrillose, lurid-brown,
pervious to the base, the margin generally wavy and lobed. =Hymenium=
dark cinereous, rugose when moist, the minute crowded irregular folds
abundantly anastomosing, nearly even when dry. =Stem= short. =Spores=
broadly elliptical or subglobose, 6–7.5µ long.
=Plant= simple or cespitose, 2–3 in. high. =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad.
Ground under spruce trees. Adirondack mountains. August.
In color this species bears some resemblance to Cantharellus cinereus.
From Craterellus sinuosus it is separated by its pervious stem, and from
C. cornucopoides by its more cespitose habit, paler color and smaller
spores. _Peck_, 31st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.
Its edible qualities are in every way equal to those of C.
cornucopoides.
=C. sinuo´sus= Fr.—_sinus_, a curve. Strong scented. =Pileus=
funnel-shaped, downy, grayish-brown, margin undulated. =Stem= pale
yellow, elongated, stuffed. =Hymenium= with anastomosing ribs, grayish.
=Spores= elliptical, pale yellow, 8–9×5µ.
In woods. =Pileus= ½-1 in. high and broad. =Stem= about 1 in. high,
sometimes very short. =Smell= strong, musky. =Hymenium= becoming
tan-color when dry. =Pileus= more or less villose. _Massee._
The above description is given so that Var. crispus which follows may be
compared with it. Fries considered var. crispus a good species.
Var. _cris´pus_—_crispus_, curled. (Plate CXXXVI, fig. 7, p. 508.)
Margin of hymenium sinuous and crisped. =Pileus= pervious. =Stem=
stuffed at base only. =Hymenium= almost even. _Massee._
Solitary and cespitose in mixed woods.
Found by _Dr. S.C. Schmucker_ near West Chester, Pa., 1896; _Wm. H.
Rorer_, Mt. Gretna, Pa., August, 1897.
=Cap= varies in color from dark to light brownish-gray. =Gills=
brownish-gray, almost even. =Stem= hollow, dark yellow. =Smell= strong,
musky, much like A. silvicola.
Substance tender and of markedly high and pleasant flavor.
[Illustration]
FAMILY V.—=CLAVARIA´CEÆ.=
=Hymenium= not distinct from the hymenophore, covering entire outer
surface. Somewhat fleshy, not coriaceous, vertical, simple or branched.
_Fries._
For the most part growing upon the ground.
In this family there is no separation into stem and pileus, with the
spore-bearing surface restricted to gills or tubes, but the substance of
the plant is continuous, and the spores are produced on the clubs or
branches.
But three genera—Clavaria, Sparassis and Pistillaria—include species of
food value. They are easily recognized.
The genus Calcocera resembles Clavaria in form, but is very different in
material, being a jelly-like viscid, cartilaginous substance, horny when
dry, resembling that of Tremella.
SYNOPSIS OF GENERA.
SPARASSIS. Page 512.
Very much branched, branches compressed, plate-like, crisped.
TYPHULA.
Simple or club-shaped, with a thread-like stem.
CLAVARIA. Page 513.
Fleshy, simple or branched, branches typically round, some forms
club-shaped.
PISTILLARIA.
Club-shaped, simple, rigid when dry; usually minute.
PTERULA.
Branches numerous, slender, forming a tuft, or single, leathery, round
or compressed.
=SPARAS´SIS= Fr.
_Gr_—to tear in pieces.
Fleshy, branched, with flat leaf-like branches, composed of two plates,
fertile on both sides, with four-spored sporophores. _Fries._
Very beautiful plants of striking appearance.
Unfortunately they are not common, although they generally occur yearly
in the same locality.
=S. Herb´stii= Pk. Plants much branched, forming tufts 4–5 in. high and
5–6 in. broad, whitish, inclining to creamy-yellow, tough, moist, the
branches numerous, thin, flattened, concrescent, dilated above and
spatulate or fan-shaped, often somewhat longitudinally curved or wavy,
mostly uniformly colored, rarely with a few indistinct, nearly
concolorous, transverse zones near the broad, entire apices.
=Spores= subglobose or broadly elliptical, 5–6×4–5µ.
Trexlertown. August.
Closely allied to S. spathulata Schw., but differs in its paler color
with no rufescent hues, more branching habit and absence of any distinct
zones.
Four specimens were found at Mt. Gretna, Pa., during August, 1898. These
were not as symmetrical as S. crispa, which they closely resembled in
fold and texture. They were of equal excellence cooked.
=S. lamino´sa= Fr.—a thin plate. =Base= branching, straw-color.
=Branches= erect, crowded, growing together, straight at the top,
zoneless, entire.
North Carolina, _Curtis_. On oak log.
Edible, _Curtis_. “Deliciosa,” _Fries_.
[Illustration:
Photographed by Luther G. Harpel, Lebanon, Pa. PLATE
CXXXVII.
SPARASSIS CRISPA.
]
=S. cris´pa= Fr.—_crispus_, curly. (Plate CXXXVII.) =Height= 3–12 in.,
width 4–24 in. Tufts very handsome, whitish, oyster color or
pale-yellow, very much branched. =Branches= flat, leaf-like. Spore
surface on both sides, sometimes crimped on edges. Compacted into a
round mass, ending below in a solid rooting base.
=Spores= pale-ochraceous, 5–6×3–4µ _Massee_.
Very variable in size. On ground in woods and grassy places in open
woods. Summer, autumn. North Carolina, _Curtis_; West Virginia, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.
Have seen it 2 ft. across. “Delicosissima.” _Fries._
A perfect specimen of S. crispa resembles a huge rosette, round and
many-folded in tortuous design. The folds are wide, flattened branches
springing from a common base, thin, semi-transparent, not unlike damp
sheets of gelatine although thicker. Surfaces of the leaves are dull,
like the flattened seaweeds and the light-colored sea-rock mosses. S.
crispa may be easily dried, and though shrinking much in size, retains
its shape, forming a very pretty ornament for the desk of the
mycologist. It is not common. Where it has chosen a habitat several
tufts may be found during the moderate season. The writer found three
specimens ranging from 6–12 in. in diameter near Haddonfield, N.J.,
others, not as large, in West Virginia and in Chester county, Pa.
It has long been known as edible. It makes an ever-to-be-remembered
dish.
=CLAVA´RIA= L.
_Clava_, a club.
Fleshy, branched or simple, somewhat round, without a distinct stem.
=Hymenium= continuous, dry, homogeneous. _For the most part growing on
ground._ _Fries._
The members of this genus vary greatly in form, which in some is that of
a club growing singly or cespitose, while others present a more or less
bush-like appearance, being slightly or excessively branched.
The color of the plant covers a wide range, as it may be white, red,
yellow, violet or their various shades, and to be in harmony the spores
do not confine themselves to one color, but are white, ochraceous or
cinnamon. In cases where the plant is not otherwise well defined the
spore colors will be found a valuable aid in placing it.
ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.
RAMARIA (_ramus_, a branch). Page 514.
Branched, branches attenuated upward.
_A._ SPORES WHITE OR PALLID.
* Plant, color bright, red, yellow or violet.
** Plant white, gray or yellowish.
_B._ SPORES OCHRACEOUS OR CINNAMON.
* Plant yellow or dingy ochraceous.
** Growing on wood.
SYNCORYNE (_Gr_—together; a club). Page 523.
Clubs almost simple, tufted at the base.
HOLOCORYNE (_Gr_—entire; a club). Page 524.
Clubs almost simple, distinct at the base.
Excepting to toadstool hunters the Clavaria, though numerous, are not
known to those who “Know a toadstool when they see it.” They bear no
semblance to the stereotyped toadstool. They seem to possess an
imitative faculty. Those growing among grasses harmonize with the faded
stalks under debris or the bleached surfaces of blades famishing for
sunlight; those of the woods take on the color of the leaf mat or of the
lichens, and shapes of club and deer-horn mosses, or assemble in groves
as pigmy trees, boled and sturdy-branched in mimicry of their giant
protectors towering above them. In their forms many are delicate,
graceful, beautiful, others are intricate. There is fascination for eye
and brain in looking through the vistas and labyrinths of their
branches.
A few species are tough as shoe-strings; a few bitter; one, C.
dichotoma, on the authority of Leuba, contains a minor poison. The genus
is plentiful and reliable. Many individuals are of marked excellence. In
soups, stews, patties, they remind one of noodles; sometimes of
macaroni. The hard parts of the stem should be removed, the branches
broken or cut in ½ in. lengths. If stewed, they require time and slow
cooking; if fried in butter they are crisp, choice bits.
RAMA´RIA—_ramus_, a branch.
Branched, branches attenuated upward.
_A._ SPORES WHITE OR PALLID.
* _Plant, color bright, red, yellow or violet._
=C. fla´va= Schaeff.—yellow. Fragile, trunk thick, fleshy, white, very
much branched. =Branches= even, round, fastigiate, obtuse, yellow.
_Fries._
=Height= 2–4 in., 2–4 in. across; pale-yellow, dingy-yellow. =Stem= or
trunk short, robust, whitish. =Branches= very numerous, dense, fragile,
erect, straight, lighter than the yellow tips (fading with age) which
are toothed. =Flesh= white. =Spores= white. Taste and odor pleasant.
Woods and open places. June to frost.
Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
_McIlvaine_.
The C. flava and C. botrytes have long been noted edible species,
liberally commended abroad and in the United States. Variations in their
structure are interchangeable; variations in their quality are due to
environment. There is a slight difference in the measurement of their
spores, but the difference is not so great as between spores of the same
specimen. Specific differences may exhibit themselves in young plants,
yet disappear with age.
Plants for the table should be young and fresh. When aged or when the
ravages of insects appear, they should not be used, as they then have an
unpleasant taste which will effect a whole dish.
They should be cut into small pieces and stewed slowly for fully thirty
minutes. They can be seasoned and eaten as a stew or made into patties.
=C. botry´tes= Pers. _Gr_—a cluster of grapes (from shape). =Height= 3–4
in., 3–6 in. across, white, yellow, pinkish, dingy in shades of these
colors. =Base= thick, short, fleshy, unequal. =Branches= many, swollen,
thick, crowded, unequal, enlarged at the ends and divided into several
small branchlets which are sometimes reddish at tips. =Flesh= white.
=Spores= ellipsoid, sub-transparent, white, 8×5µ _Massee_.
On wood earth. Common.
New York, _Peck_, Rep. 24; West Virginia, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.
A general favorite and highly esteemed in Europe. Edible. _Curtis._
“When old the branches both of this species and of C. flava become
elongated, obtuse, very fragile, and of a uniform color. The yellow tips
of the latter and the red ones of the former species wholly disappear.”
_Peck_, 32d Rep.
Excepting when young (not always then) the red tips to the branchlets
can not be relied upon as distinctive features of this species. The
place of its growth and the character of the soil have very much to do
with its size, and the color and quality of its flesh. A well-shaded
thin-soiled spot will, after a rain, grow pale, spindling, tender
bunches, having but a tinge of red upon the points; perhaps not any. A
rich, better lighted spot will produce more robust and highly colored
plants. The same can be said of C. flava. C. botrytes is plentiful in
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and like latitudes. It must be
well cooked.
=C. amethys´tina= Bull.—amethyst in color. (Plate CXXXIX, fig. 1, p.
516.) =Height= ½-3 in. =Color= violet, very much branched or almost
simple. =Branches= round, even, fragile, smooth, obtuse, known by its
color.
=Spores= elliptical, pale ochraceous, sub-transparent, 10–12×6–7µ
_Massee_.
Common in open woods and grassy places.
New York, _Peck_ 30th Rep.; West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
_McIlvaine_. August, September.
Eaten in Europe, and by some preferred to any other.
A handsome species, very brittle, and though large, delicate.
=C. fastigia´ta=—_fastigium_, the top. =Height= 1–2 in., tufted, yellow.
=Branches= numerous, flexible, tough, equal, fastigiate (branches
pointing upward), sometimes short and simple, when higher very much
branched.
=Spores= white, irregularly globose, 4–6µ _Massee_.
In pastures and grassy places, during warm months.
North Carolina, _Curtis_; California, West Virginia, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.
Commonly eaten throughout Europe. In Germany they call it
Ziegenbart—goat’s beard.
This is one of the species that has to be looked for. Grass tufts hide
it. Its yellowish stools are not unlike them in color. It is freely
found, and, though not of the best, well rewards the seeker.
[Illustration: Grouped by F.D. Briscoe—Studies by C. McIlvaine
PLATE CXXXIX.]
FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.
1. CLAVARIA AMETHYSTINA, 516 3. CLAVARIA FORMOSA, 520
2. CLAVARIA AUREA, 520
=C. muscoi´des=—_muscus_, moss. =Height= 1–1½ in., slightly tufted,
yellow. =Stem= slender, tomentose at base, becoming two or three times
forked. =Branchlets= thin, tapering, crescent-shaped, acute.
=Spores= white, subglobose, 5–6µ _Massee_.
In pastures.
North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Ohio; New York, _Peck_, 47th
Rep.
Edible. _Curtis_.
=C. Her´veyi= Pk. Gregarious or subcespitose, simple or with a few
branches, often compressed or irregular, scarcely 1 in. high,
golden-yellow, sometimes brownish at the apex. =Flesh= white. =Branches=
when present, short, simple or terminating in few or many more or less
acute denticles. =Spores= globose, 7.5µ broad, minutely roughened;
mycelium white.
Ground under hemlock trees. Orono, Me. September. _F.L. Hervey._
Allied to C. fastigiata and C. muscoides, but distinct from both by its
more irregular and less branching character and by its larger spores.
_Peck_, 45th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Near Haddonfield, N.J., August, 1890, among scrub pines and spruce. A
pretty species of medium flavor.
** _Plant white, gray or yellowish._
=C. coralloi´des= Linn. =Height= 2–4 in., usually tufted, growing into
each other, white. =Trunk= thick, short, much branched. =Branches=
repeatedly forked, compressed, hollow within, fragile, dilated upward,
tips crowded acute.
Occasionally the branches do not develop entirely and are obtuse; they
then somewhat resemble in shape C. rugosa, but are not wrinkled.
=Spores= pale-ochraceous, pointed, 10×8µ _Massee_.
Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
_McIlvaine_.
A common edible species in Europe. Common in United States.
The writer has eaten it for many years. It is not always tender. It
should be young, fresh, and the branches alone cooked. It requires slow,
patient cooking if at all old. It does dry well, as stated by some
writers, but it does not wet well again.
(Plate CXL.)
[Illustration:
CLAVARIA CINEREA.
Two-thirds natural size.
]
=C. cine´rea= Bull.—_cinis_, ashes. (Plate CXL.) =Height= 1–3 in.,
gregarious or tufted, sometimes in rows. Gray. =Stem= either thin or
thick, short, lighter than branches. =Branches= very numerous
compressed, wrinkled, irregular, somewhat obtuse or flattened and
divided into slender points.
Its gray color easily distinguishes it from others. It is variable in
its mode of growth and in its shape.
On ground in woods. Common. June to frost.
Eatable, but injurious in quantities. _Cordier._ Edible, but provokes
indigestion in delicate stomachs. _Leuba._
Eaten generally in Europe. In France it is called _pied de coq_.
Plentiful in United States, in mixed woods. June to frost.
The writer and his friends have eaten it for fifteen years, and know of
no Clavaria equalling it.
=C. tetrago´na= Schw.—Four-angled. Very fragile, deep orange-yellow,
twice forked. =Stem= and =branches= quadrangular, 1–1½ in. tall.
Moist shady places.
New York. Ground in shaded places. August and September. Poughkeepsie,
_Gerard_, _Peck_, 24th Rep.; North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_;
Pennsylvania, _Schweinitz_.
Edible. _Curtis._
[Illustration:
Photographed by Dr. J.R. Weist. PLATE CXLI.
CLAVARIA CRISTATA.
]
=C. crista´ta= Pers.—_crista_, a crest. (Plate CXLI, p. 518.) =Height=
1–5 in., whitish, tufts of broad flattened branches cut on margins or
crested. =Base= short, stout. =Branches= numerous, irregular, flattened
upward and divided like moose horns, tough, stuffed, dingy. This
peculiarity distinguishes it and separates it from C. coralloides.
=Spores= pale ochraceous, pointed, 10×8µ _Massee_.
Woods. Common. Summer and autumn. Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; West Virginia,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.
Edible. _Curtis._
After a summer rain the crested Clavaria is usually abundant where there
is good encouragement of mossy beds or mats of rich wood-soil in woods
where leaves and mold accumulate. It is not as tender as many other
species, but chopped fine and stewed slowly for an hour it will be eaten
with enjoyment.
=C. rugo´sa= Bull.—_ruga_, a wrinkle. White or dingy, simple or tufted,
2–4 in. high, branched from the base with irregular blunt branches
wrinkled lengthwise, sometimes thickened upward.
Distinguished by the distinct, irregular, longitudinal wrinkles.
=Spores= white, irregularly globose, 8–10µ _Massee_.
In woods, solitary or gregarious. August to November.
North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_. Pennsylvania, Ohio.
It is reported edible by Dr. Curtis, M.C. Cooke and Dr. Badham.