_Fistulina hepatica_
[Sidenote: =Botanical characters=]
Our next member of the Polyporus order, or tube-bearing fungi, is a
unique member of the fungus tribe, and cannot be mistaken for any
other species. An example of this species is shown in Plate 25, the
_beefsteak_ mushroom--_Fistulina hepatica_. The specimen from which my
drawing was made was found growing at the foot of a chestnut-tree, and
was about nine inches across by about two in greatest thickness. Its
upper surface was dark meaty red or liver colored, somewhat wet, or
viscid and clammy, and its taste slightly acid. The under tube surface
was yellowish white, and, as the section will show, was proportionately
thin--the pores being about one-eighth of an inch in length. The solid
red substance much resembled meat, and in sections was streaked with
darker lines of red, as indicated in plate, somewhat suggesting a
section of beet-root.
[Sidenote: =Savory qualities=]
Though not common in my vicinity, I nevertheless succeed in obtaining
a few specimens during the season. It varies greatly in size and
shape. M. C. Cooke, in his admirable "plain and easy" account of
British fungi, says of it: "When old it affords an excellent gravy, and
when young, if sliced and grilled, would pass for a good beefsteak.
Specimens are now and then met with that would furnish four or five
men with a good dinner, and they have been collected weighing as much
as thirty pounds. The liver, or paler pinkish meaty color, clammy
viscidity, and streaky section are sufficient guides in the recognition
of this species."
[Sidenote: =Culinary preparation=]
It is a highly prized article of diet on the Continent where the arts
of the chef are ingeniously employed in endless recipes for its savory
preparation, often, it would seem, with the main object of obliterating
as far as possible all trace of the delicate flavor of the mushroom
_per se_.
If the reader's experience correspond with the writer's in his
mycological experiments "_à la mode_" he will gladly fall back to the
plain plebeian method of simply broiling over the coals, or frying or
roasting in the pan, with the least possible seasoning of pepper, salt,
and butter, relying upon his mushroom to furnish the predominant zest
and flavor.
Other hints for serving this fungus are given in a later chapter.
Besides the common name of "beefsteak mushroom," it is also known on
the Continent as the "oak tongue," and "chestnut tongue."
[Illustration: _Fistulina hepatica_]
_PLATE XXV_