shaded with red, 1–3 in. high. =Stem= or trunk thin, smooth, variable in
length, dividing into many erect forked branches, which are cup-shaped
at the tips. The margins of these tips have slender branchlets issuing
from them (proliforme).
Distinguished by the cup-like tips. =Spores= white, 4×3µ _Massee_.
On rotten wood, on rotten roots in ground. June and into the autumn.
North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.
Specimen sent by writer to Prof. Peck, June, 1897, and identified by
him. Not tested by writer, but is in Dr. Curtis' list of edible species.
=C. subtil´is= Pers. Scattered, slender, subtenaceous, pallid-white,
bases smooth and of equal thickness, branches few, forked,
subfastigiate.
North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania.
Edible. _Curtis._
=C. den´sa= Pk. =Tufts= 2–4 in. high, nearly as broad, whitish or
creamy-yellow, branching from the base. =Branches= very numerous, nearly
parallel, crowded, terete, somewhat wrinkled when dry, the tips dentate,
concolorous. =Spores= slightly colored, elliptical, 7.5–10×5–8.5µ.
Ground in woods. Selkirk. August.
Apparently closely allied to C. condensata, but differing decidedly in
color. _Peck_, 41st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Specimens identified by Professor Peck.
Large masses of it grew at Mt. Gretna, Pa., July, August and September,
1898, in mixed woods.
Brittle; when young it is very compact. It is without much flavor, but
stews tender and makes a good dish.
_B._ SPORES OCHRACEOUS OR CINNAMON.
** _Plant yellow or dingy ochraceous._
=C. au´rea= Schaeff.—_aurum_, gold. (Plate CXXXIX, fig. 2, p. 516.)
=Trunk= thick, elastic, pallid. =Flesh= white, dividing into numerous
thick branches that become repeatedly divided in a dichotomous manner
upward, and terminate in slender, erect, round, yellow branchlets.
=Spores= pale ochraceous, elliptical, 10–11×5–6µ.
In woods. Forming large tufts 2–3 in. high, colorless or almost so
below, tips yellow. _Massee._
North Carolina, _Curtis_; Ohio, Alabama. Found in West Virginia, 1882;
Devon, Angora, Eagle’s Mere, Mt. Gretna, Pa.; Haddonfield, N.J. August
and September. _McIlvaine._
Eaten in Europe. Edible. _Curtis._
In structure it reminds one of a miniature cropped Lombardy poplar. The
color is not bright, but dingy-yellow. Resembles C. flava; distinguished
by different color of spores. The branches (not stem) are tender and
good.
Var. _rufes´cens_ Schaeff.
This plant occurs after heavy rains. It sometimes grows in continuous
rows several feet in extent. The pinkish-red tips of the branches fade
with age. The axils are rounded and the plant is quite fragile. Fries
considers it a variety of C. aurea. _Peck_, 25th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Found at Springton, Chester county, Pa., August, 1887. It is edible and
good. The plant is tender and easily cooked.
=C. formo´sa= Pers.—_formosus_, finely formed. (Plate CXXXIX, fig. 3, p.
416.) =Height= 2–4 in. =Trunk= 1 in. and more thick, whitish or
yellowish, elastic. =Branches= numerous, crowded, elongated, divided at
ends into yellow branchlets which are thin, straight, obtuse or toothed.
=Spores= ochraceous 9×3–4µ _Massee_; elongated, oval, rough, 16×8µ
_W.G.S._
On ground in woods, in large tufts, frequently in rows several feet
long.
North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
_McIlvaine_.
Esteemed in Europe. Edible. _Dr. Curtis._
Common in the United States in woods. Variable. An orange-rose color is
sometimes prominent on the tips. The tenderer portions of the plant are
excellent, but must be well cooked.
=C. spinulo´sa= Pers.—spined. =Height= 2–3 in. high. =Stem= ½-1 in.
thick. =Trunk= stout, short, whitish. =Branches= numerous, crowded,
erect, tense, elongated, tapering upward. =Color= cinnamon-brown or
darker.
=Spores= ochraceous, elliptical, 11–13×5–6µ _Massee_.
On ground in pine woods. August to October.
New York, _Peck_, 24th Rep.; New Jersey, _Sterling_; Pennsylvania,
_McIlvaine_.
Of same edible quality as C. aurea, which it resembles, excepting that
it is darker and less abrupt in the ending of its clusters.
=C. flac´cida= Fr.—_flaccidus_, flaccid. =Height= 1–3 in., bright
ochraceous, slender. =Stem= short, smooth, sometimes wanting, thin, 1–2
lines thick, repeatedly branched. =Branches= crowded, unequal, flaccid,
upper ones forcep-shaped, pointed. Does not turn green when bruised like
C. abietina. The whitish mycelium creeps over the leaves on which it
grows. Brittle, tender, flesh white.
=Spores= ochraceous, broadly elliptical 4–5×3µ _K._
Received from E.B. Sterling, Trenton, N.J.
Two specimens eaten. These were quite dry. After soaking they were
tender and had good flavor.
(Plate CXLII.)
[Illustration:
CLAVARIA CIRCINANS.
(After Peck.)
]
=C. cir´cinans= Pk.—_circino_, to make round. (Plate CXLII.) =Stem=
short, solid, dichotomously or subverticillately branched. =Branches=
slightly diverging or nearly parallel, nearly equal in length, the
ultimate ones terminating in two or more short acute concolorous ramuli.
=Spores= ochraceous.
=Plant= 1–2 in. high, obconic in outline, flat-topped, appearing almost
as if truncated, pallid or almost whitish in color, generally growing in
imperfect circles or curved lines.
Under spruce and balsam trees. Adirondack mountains. August. _Peck_,
39th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Where pines have grown, but where now oak and chestnut trees make rather
open woods, it grows at Mt. Gretna, Pa. A stumpy fungus impressing one
as stunted. Its texture is solid. It does not cook tender, but yields a
fungus flavor to the cooking medium.
** _Growing on wood._
=C. stric´ta= Pers.—_stringo_, to draw tight. =Height= 2–3 in. =Color=
pale dull-yellow becoming brown when bruised. =Stem= distinct, thick,
short. =Branches= numerous, repeatedly forked, straight, closely
pressed, tips pointed.
=Spores= dark cinnamon, _Fries_; creamy yellow 4×6µ _W.G.S._
Var. _fu´mida_. The whole plant is a dingy, smoky-brownish hue,
otherwise of the typical form. Catskill mountains. September. In the
fresh state the specimens appear very unlike the ordinary form, but in
the dried state they are scarcely to be distinguished. _Peck_, 41st Rep.
N.Y. State Bot.
Eaten in Germany.
This form occurs in West Virginia mountains and at Mt. Gretna, Pa.,
Trenton, N.J., in August and September, among leaves in mixed woods. It
compares favorably with the ordinary run of Clavaria.
=C. dicho´toma= God.—dividing by pairs. Cespitose, white; branches
regularly dividing by pairs, elongated, flexuous, diverging, somewhat
compressed, extremities obtuse, rounded at or just below the apex
broadly compressed.
On the ground, under beeches.
“Notwithstanding its beauty this is dangerous. In 1883, when it was very
plentiful, I saw entire families sick from it and in 1888 there was a
repetition with new victims. “It produces nausea, vertigo and violent
diarrhea.” _Leuba._
I have not seen the plant.
SYNCO´RYNE. _Gr_—together, a club.
Clubs almost simple, tufted at the base.
[Illustration: Grouped by F.D. Briscoe—Studies by C. McIlvaine.
PLATE CXXXVIII.]
FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.
1. CLAVARIA FUSIFORMIS, 523 3. CLAVARIA PISTILLARIS 524
(DARK VAR.),
2. CLAVARIA PISTILLARIS 524
(YELLOW VAR.),
=C. fusifor´mis= Sow.—_fusus_, a spindle. (Plate CXXXVIII, fig. 1, p.
522.) _Yellow_, cespitoso-connate, slightly firm, soon hollow. =Clubs=
somewhat fusiform, simple and toothed, even, attenuated to the base
which is of the same color. _Stevenson._
=Spores= pale yellow, globose, 4–5µ _Massee_.
Closely resembles C. inæqualis Fl. Dan.
Woods and pastures. August to November.
Received from _E.B. Sterling_, Trenton, N.J., August, 1897.
The clubs are 1⁄16 in. through, 4 in. high, light clear yellow,
translucent, clustered in groups of four or five united at the base.
Tender, well flavored, cooks easily.
=C. auran´tio-cinnabari´no= Schw.—_aurantius_, orange; _cinnabaris_,
vermilion. Orange-red; base white with a sub-hairy powder; clubs simple,
flexuous, fleshy, somewhat tenacious, fasciculate, thickened in the
middle and attenuated toward either end, at first cylindrical then
compressed, 6–7 mm. thick, 2–4 in. high.
Pennsylvania. On the ground among rhododendrons.
Received from _E.B. Sterling_, Trenton, N.J.
The plant when fresh is a beautiful rose color, inclining to orange at
the tips. It reminds one of the peach-blow vase color in some of its
shades. The single clubs, growing in cluster, to the height of four
inches, graceful in outline, exquisitely shaded, are a sight one lingers
over. While they invite the mycophagist to eat them, his voracity is
checked by their beauty. They are tender and delicious. It is
regrettable that thus far it has not been reported in quantity.
=C. inæqual´is= Fl. Dan.—unequal. =Height= 2–3 in. club-shaped, yellow,
gregarious, single or in loose tufts, fragile, _stuffed_. =Clubs=
club-shaped or almost equal, simple, sometimes forked or variously cut
at tip, one color.
=Spores= colorless, elliptical, 9–10×5µ _Massee_.
Woods and pastures. August to October.
Distinguished from C. fusiformis by the tips not being sharp-pointed and
colored.
North Carolina, _Schweinitz_; New Jersey, _Sterling_.
This Clavaria is quite common in New Jersey. Its clusters are clear
bright yellow and conspicuously pretty. The clubs are translucent and
smooth. Excepting in color it resembles C. aurantio-cinnabarino. In the
many specimens seen there was nothing to suggest the propriety of the
name, excepting height of clubs.
A dish of it is a delicacy.
=C. vermicula´ris= Scop.—_vermis_, a worm. =Height= 1–2½ in., white,
tufted. =Clubs= simple, quill-shaped, stuffed, awl-shaped, brittle,
pointed.
=Spores= white, elliptical, 4×3µ _Massee_.
New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio. Thin grassy woods and
among grass. July to October.
Edible. _Cordier._
Common in southern New Jersey, and in warm soils from June to frost.
When growing among grass it is not conspicuous and is often missed
unless specially sought for. Its purity, its choice of refreshing abode,
its excellent qualities, make it select among Clavaria.
HOLOCO´RYNE. _Gr_—entire; _Gr_—a club.
Clubs almost simple, distinct at the base.
=C. pistillar´is= L.—_pistillum_, a pestle. (Plate CXXXVIII, figs. 2, 3,
p. 522.) =Height= 2–12 in., up to 1 in. and more thick, color light
yellow, ochraceous, brownish, chocolate. =Clubs= Indian-club shape,
ovate-rounded, puckered at top, simple, fleshy, white within, spongy,
exterior smooth or more or less wrinkled, usually with smooth base.
=Spores= white, 10×5µ _W.G.S._; 9–11×5–6µ _Massee_.
Mixed woods, moss and grassy places. August until November.
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, California, Alabama.
Eaten in Poland, Russia and Germany.
The writer first found this truly club-like species in West Virginia in
1882, and ate it. But few specimens were found, and those of a dark
chocolate color. At Mount Gretna in 1897 and 1898 the yellow variety
grew in considerable quantity from July until after frost. The largest
specimen found measured 5½ in. and was 1 in. in diameter at its thickest
part. The average height is 2½ in. Both varieties grew in mixed woods
from the leaf-covered ground. They are often clustered, four or five
together, and of different sizes. The surface, especially of the dark
variety, is regularly, vertically wrinkled, truncated in few places,
very much resembling that of the Craterellus cantharellus. The stems of
both are white. The apex of the clubs is folded inward as though pulled
by drawing-strings.
The flesh is soft, white, fine grained. A slight bitter is present in
the dark variety, when raw, which entirely disappears upon cooking. This
is one of the best of Clavariæ.
=C. clava´ta= Pk. Simple, straight, clavate, obtuse, smooth, not hollow,
yellow when fresh, rugose-wrinkled and orange-colored when dry, 4–6
lines high.
Damp shaded banks by road-sides. Sandlake. June. _Peck_, 25th Rep. N.Y.
State Bot.
Patches of it are conspicuous—golden-hued upon somber background. They
are seen at Eagle’s Mere, Mt. Gretna, and on the Springton Hills, Pa.,
along wooded road-sides. Raw, they have a mild, pleasant flavor, and
have the same when cooked. A small species seldom found in sufficient
quantity to make a comforting dish.
[Illustration]
FAMILY VI.—=TREMELLA´CEÆ= Fr.
Whole fungus homogeneous, gelatinous, shrivelling when dry, reviving
when moistened, pervaded internally with branched filaments, terminating
toward the surface all round in sporophores. Spores transparent, from
globose to sausage-shape and curved, sometimes septate. _Fries._
The Tremellaceæ, as their name signifies, tremble, because jelly-like
when moist. They are hard, tough, horny when dry, but swell and become
gelatinous when wet. In the typical genus, Tremella, there is often but
little consistency. Whoever has climbed an old rail fence on a rainy day
has had the doubtful pleasure of acquaintance with some of them.
Sections for the microscope are obtainable by hardening them in alcohol.
There are several edible species in the family. They are good in soups,
giving them flavor and body, and some are excellent when stewed.
SYNOPSIS OF GENERA.
Sub-Family—=Auricularieæ=. Page 528.
AURICULARIA.
Broadly attached, margin free and reflexed. (No edible species
reported.)
HIRNEOLA. Page 528.
Cartilaginous, ear-shaped, attached by a point.
Sub-Family—=Tremellineæ=. Page 529.
EXIDIA.
Cup-shaped, truncate, or irregularly lobed; spores reniform, producing
curved sporidiola on germination. (No edible species reported.)
ULOCOLLA.
Pulvinate and gyrose; spores reniform, producing rod-shaped sporidiola
on germination. (No edible species reported.)
TREMELLA. Page 529.
Brain-like or lobed; spores globose or ovoid.
NÆMATELIA.
Firm, convex, with a central hard nucleus. (No edible species reported.)
GYROCEPHALUS.
Erect, spathulate. (No edible species reported.)
TREMELLEDON. Page 533.
Gelatinous, tremelloid, fan-shaped, fleshy; hymenium with distinct
spines.
Sub-Family—=Dacryomyceteæ=.
DACRYOMYCES.
Small, pulvinate and gyrose. (No edible species reported.)
GUEPINIA.
Irregularly cup-shaped, hymenium on one surface only. (No edible species
reported.)
DACRYOPSIS.
Hymenium at the apex of a short stem, bearing conidia and spores. (No
edible species reported.)
DITIOLA.
Stem distinct, bearing the hymenium at its expanded apex. (No edible
species reported.)
APYRENIUM.
Subglobose or lobed, hollow. (No edible species reported.)
CALOCERA.
Subcylindrical and erect, simple or branched (No edible species
reported.)
Sub-Family—=Auricularieæ=.
=HIRNE´OLA= Fr.
_Hirnea_, a small jug.
Gelatinous, rather cartilaginous, soft and tremulous when moist, but not
distended with jelly, horny when dry, becoming somewhat cartilaginous
when moistened. The hard skin forming the hymenium, which covers the
cup-shaped cavity and is of a different color, can be separated entire
after a thorough soaking in water. =Sporophores= (spore-bearing
processes) not involved in jelly. =Spores= oblong, curved. _Fries._
A very peculiar and distinct genus separated from the neighboring genera
by its disk-like, somewhat cup-shaped cavity and by its not being
distended with jelly.
(Plate CXLIII.)
[Illustration:
HIRNEOLA AURICULA-JUDEA.
About two-thirds nat. size.
]
=H. auri´cula—Jude´a= (Linn.) Berk.—Jew’s ear. 1–4 in. across, thin, and
flexible when moist, hard when dry, date-brown or blackish. =Hymenium=
venoso-plicate (vein-plaited), forming irregular depressions such as are
in the ear, yellowish-gray or grayish beneath and hairy. The large
depressions or corrugations branch from smaller ones near the center of
the plant.
=Spores= 20–25×7–9µ _Massee_.
H. auricula-Judea is not very particular in the trees it patronizes.
Elm, maple, hickory, balsam-fir, spruce, alder bear it. When the plant
grows on upright timber it usually turns upward. It is not generally
reported in the United States.
Ohio, Maryland, _Miss Banning_; Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; New York,
_Peck_; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, _McIlvaine_.
Extensively used in China, where eating it probably antedates all
European records by several thousand years. It is brought there dried
from Tahiti in great quantities and made into soup.
The writer has found and eaten several specimens of it. It is not as
tender as other gelatinous species, but it is an oddity that pleases.
Sub-Family—=Tremellineæ=.
=TREMEL´LA= Dill.
_Tremo_—to tremble.
Distended with jelly when moist, tremulous, without a defined margin and
without nipple-like elevations. Spore-bearing processes globose,
becoming divided into four parts, each division producing an elongated
free point terminating in a simple spore. _Fries._
Distinguished by its peculiarly convoluted habit and jelly-like
substance, which is more or less inclined to be cartilaginous.
Exidia, similar in form, is separated by possessing minute nipple-like
elevations and Hirneola by its distinct difference in form.
Generally growing on dead wood; some species are found on trees and
others on the ground, etc.
Old tradition, in many countries, attests that the Tremellas are Fairy
bread, and T. albida the choicest baking. Pretty, indeed, must have been
the feasts when piles of such purity filled the board, and the brilliant
Pezizae were wassail cups.
They are better suited to Fairy appetites than to those of mortals;
being watery their nutritive value is small. Nevertheless they have
dainty flavor.
So far as tested no suspicion rests upon Tremellæ.
ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.
MESENTERIFOR´MES (_Gr_—the mesentery). Page 530.
Gelatinous inclining to cartilaginous, foliaceous, naked.
CEREBRINÆ (_cerebrum_, the brain). Page 530.
Firm, then pulpy, somewhat pruinose with the spores.
CRUSTA´CEÆ (_crusta_, a crust).
Diffused, becoming plane.
TUBERCULIFOR´MES (_tuberculum_, a little tuber).
Small, somewhat erumpent.
I.—MESENTERIFOR´MES. Gelatinous, inclining to cartilaginous.
=T. fimbria´ta= Pers.—_fimbriæ_, fringe. Olivaceous inclining to black,
cespitose, clusters 2–3 in. high and even broader, _erect, corrugated_;
_lobes_ flaccid, incised at the margin, _undulately fringed_.
When soaked with water it has a dark tawny tinge. _Stevenson._
=Spores= subpyriform.
On roots, dead branches, stumps, rails, etc.
From July to December, 1898, tufts five inches in diameter grew from an
oak stump close by the writer’s cottage at Mt. Gretna, Pa. These tufts
dried, and revived after rain into a gelatinous condition. They were
nibbled at raw, and several were cooked. Tufts were found elsewhere in
the same woods and eaten by others. They were unanimously approved. The
species dries hard, like thin glue, but is darker. A dried piece swells
in the mouth, grows tough, and has but little taste. Flavor develops in
cooking.
=T. lutes´cens= Pers.—_luteus_, yellow. _Yellowish_, cespitose, small,
cluster ½-1 in. broad, very soft, circling in wavy, undulating folds;
lobes entire, naked.
Inclining to be fluid. Whitish when young. _Stevenson._
=Spores= subglobose, 12–16µ diameter _Massee_.
North Carolina, common. _Curtis._ On decaying branches, stumps, etc.
July to February.
It dries and revives, or swells with moisture, very soft and tremulous.
Edible. _Leuba._
II.—CEREBRINÆ. Firm then pulpy, etc.
(Plate CXLIV.)
[Illustration:
TREMELLA MESENTERICA.
Natural size.
]
=T. mesenter´ica= Retz. _Gr_—the mesentary. Gelatinous but firm, bright
orange-yellow, variously contorted; lobes short, smooth, pruinose with
the white spores at maturity. =Spores= broadly elliptical, 6–9µ
diameter; conidia 1–1.5µ diameter.
On dead branches. Very variable in form but known by the bright orange
color. From ½-2 in. across. _Massee._
North Carolina. Common, edible. _Curtis_; California, Ohio, West
Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. _McIlvaine._ Dr. J.R. Weist,
Richmond, Ind., November, 1898, sent me fine specimens.
Very common as an apparent exudation from sticks, branches and rails. It
can usually be collected in quantity from June until far into the
winter. It can be found in every month in the year.
During the civil war the writer’s first attempt at making a dish of
cornstarch resulted in getting it _into knots_. T. mesenterica, when
stewed, very much resembles these same knots. It has a mild, woody
flavor, slightly sweet, and is good.
(Plate CXLIV_a_.)
[Illustration:
TREMELLA MYCETOPHILA on
COLLYBIA DRYOPHILA.
(After Peck.)
]
=T. myceto´phila= Pk. (Plate CXLIV_a_.) Suborbicular, depressed,
circling in folds, tremelloid-fleshy, slightly pruinose, yellowish or
pallid, 4–8 lines broad. _Peck_, 28th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Haddonfield, N.J., August, 1895. _McIlvaine._
Professor Peck notes it as found parasitic upon Collybia dryophila.
I found T. mycetophila growing parasitic upon Marasmius oreades, August,
1894. The mass was 2 in. in diameter. Separating them was taking the
host from the parasite. Cooked it is glutinous, tender—like calf’s head.
Rather tasteless.
=T. al´bida= Huds.—_albidus_, whitish. _Whitish_, becoming dingy-brown
when dry, 1 in. broad, ascending, tough, expanded, undulated, somewhat
circling in folds, _powdered_. _Stevenson._
=Spores= oblong, obtuse, curved, 2-guttate, subhyaline, 12–14×4–5µ _K._
Where birch, sugar-maple, hickory are in abundance the T. albida will be
found. At Eagle’s Mere and Springton, Pa., and other wooded places, it
is common during the warm months. It has slight taste, sweet, woody, but
makes a pleasant dish.
=T. intumes´cens= Eng. Bot.—_intumesco_, to swell up. Gelatinous;
subcespitose, rounded, broken up into numerous tortuous lobes, brown,
shining, obscurely dotted, becoming darker when dry. =Spores= oblong,
slightly curved, 12–14×3–4µ.
From 1–2 in. across. _Massee._
Entire year, but dried or frozen during winter, swelling in wet weather.
North Carolina. Common. _Curtis._ West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, _McIlvaine_.
T. intumescens is not rare in West Virginia, or where beech logs are in
plenty, though it does not confine itself to beech. It occurs on maples
and some other woods.
It resembles the T. mesenterica in taste, but is sweeter. It is not as
large, but is equally good.
=TREMEL´LODON= Pers.
_Tremo_, to tremble.
Gelatinous, pileate, prickly below, spines awl-shaped, equal. _Fries._
The members of this genus resemble in form the section Mesopus of Hydnum
and have the same awl-shaped spines, but differ in their gelatinous
consistency and fructification.
(Plate CXLV.)
[Illustration: TREMELLODON GELATINOSUM.]
=T. gelatino´sum= Pers.—_gelatina_, jelly. =Pileus= covered with a
greenish-brown bloom, _gelatinous_, tremulous, dimidiate, somewhat
stipitate, _covered with small pimples_. =Spines= soft, glaucous.
On fir, trunks and sawdust. September to October. _Stevenson._
Of singular beauty, almost translucent with steel-blue tints shading
into violet, while the spines are of a pure soft white.
=Spores= round, somewhat irregular, white, 2µ _W.G.S._
Can not be confounded with any. The only gelatinous spiny fungus.
North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,
_Farlow_, _Frost_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 22. T. gelatinosum is well
distributed over the United States but is not reported in quantity. It
is an autumnal grower, lasting well into the winter. The writer found
specimens near Haddonfield, N.J., in February, 1894, and sent them to
Professor Peck. It is delicious when slowly stewed.
SUB-CLASS ASCOMYCETES.