The greenish Russula, _Russula virescens_, like a number of other

plants, has long been recommended for food, both in Europe and in this

country. There are several species of _Russula_ in which the pileus is

green, but this species is readily distinguished from them by the

greenish floccose patches on the surface of the pileus. =Russula

furcata= is a common species in similar situations, with forked gills,

and the cap very variable in color, sometimes reddish, purple, purple

brown, or in one form green. I know of the _Russula furcata_ having been

eaten in rather small quantities, and while in this case no harm

resulted the taste was not agreeable.

[Illustration: PLATE 40.

FIG. 1.--Russula virescens.

FIG. 2.--R. alutacea.

FIG. 3.--R. lepida.

FIG. 4.--R. emetica.

FIG. 5.--Yellow Russula.

FIG. 6.--R. adusta.

Copyright 1900.]

=Russula fragilis= (Pers.) Fr.--This plant is very common in damp woods,

or during wet weather from July to September. It is a small plant and

very fragile, as its name suggests, much more so than most other

species. It is 2--4 cm. high, the cap 2--5 cm. broad, and the stem about

1 cm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is convex, sometimes slightly umbonate, then plane, and in

age somewhat depressed. The cuticle peels off very easily. The color is

often a bright red, or pink, sometimes purple or violet, and becomes

paler in age. It is somewhat viscid when moist, and the margin is very

thin and strongly striate and tuberculate, i. e., the ridges between the

marginal furrows are tuberculate. The =gills= are lightly adnexed, thin,

crowded, broad, all of the same length, white. The =stem= is usually

white, sometimes more or less pink colored, spongy within, becoming

hollow. The taste is very acrid.

=Russula emetica= Fr. =Poisonous.=--This _Russula_ has a very wide

distribution and occurs on the ground in woods or open places during

summer and autumn. It is a beautiful species and very fragile. The

plants are 5--10 cm. high, the cap 5--10 cm. broad, and the stem 1--2

cm. in thickness. The =pileus= is oval to bell-shaped when young,

becoming plane, and in age depressed. It is smooth, shining, the margin

furrowed and tuberculate. The color is from pink or rosy when young to

dark red when older, and fading to tawny or sometimes yellowish in age.

The cuticle is easily separable as in _R. fragilis_, the flesh white,

but reddish just beneath the cuticle. The =gills= are nearly free,

broad, not crowded, white. The stem is stout, spongy within, white or

reddish, fragile when old.

The plant is very acrid to the taste and is said to be poisonous, and to

act as an emetic.

=Russula adusta= (Pers.) Fr.--This plant occurs on the ground in woods

during late summer and in autumn. It is 3--6 cm. high, the cap 5--15 cm.

broad, and the stem is 1--1.5 cm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is fleshy, firm, convex, depressed at the center, and when

old more or less funnel-shaped from the upturning of the margin, which

is at first incurved and smooth. It varies from white to gray and smoky

color. The =gills= are adnate, or decurrent, thin, crowded, of unequal

lengths, white, then becoming dark. The =stem= is colored like the

pileus. The entire plant becomes darker in drying, sometimes almost

black. It is near _Russula nigricans_, but is smaller, and does not have

a red juice as _R. nigricans_ has.

CANTHARELLUS Adanson.

From the other white-spored agarics of a fleshy consistency

_Cantharellus_ is distinguished by the form of the gills. The gills are

generally forked, once or several times, in a dichotomous manner, though

sometimes irregularly. They are blunt on the edge, not acute as in most

of the other genera. The gills are usually narrow and in many species

look like veins, folds, or wrinkles, but in some species, as in

_Cantharellus aurantiacus_, they are rather thin and broad.

[Illustration: FIGURE 126.--Cantharellus cibarius. Under view showing

forked gills with veins connecting them. Entire plant rich chrome yellow

(natural size).]

=Cantharellus cibarius= Fr. =Edible.=--This plant is known as the

_chanterelle_. It has a very wide distribution and has long been

regarded as one of the best of the edible mushrooms. Many of the writers

on fungi speak of it in terms of high praise. The entire plant is a

uniform rich chrome yellow. Sometimes it is symmetrical in form, but

usually it is more or less irregular and unsymmetrical in form. The

plants are 5--10 cm. high, the cap 4--8 cm. broad, and the stem short

and rather thick.

[Illustration: PLATE 41, FIGURE 127.--Cantharellus aurantiacus. Color

orange yellow, and cap varies ochre, raw sienna, tawny, in different

specimens (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is fleshy, rather thick, the margin thick and blunt and at

first inrolled. It is convex, becoming expanded or sometimes depressed

by the margin of the cap becoming elevated. The margin is often wavy or

repand, and in irregular forms it is only produced at one side, or more

at one side than at the other, or the cap is irregularly lobed. The

=gills= are very narrow, stout, distant, more or less sinuous, forked or

anastomosing irregularly, and because of the pileus being something like

an inverted cone the gills appear to run down on the stem. The =spores=

are faintly yellowish, elliptical, 7--10 µ. Figure 126 represents but a

single specimen, and this one with a nearly lateral pileus.

[Illustration: FIGURE 128.--Cantharellus aurantiacus, under view,

enlarged nearly twice, showing regularly forked gills.]

=Cantharellus aurantiacus= Fr.--This orange cantharellus is very common,

and occurs on the ground or on very rotten wood, logs, branches, etc.,

from summer to very late autumn. It is widely distributed in Europe and

America. It is easily known by its dull orange or brownish pileus,

yellow gills, which are thin and regularly forked, and by the pileus

being more or less depressed or funnel-shaped. The plants are from 5--8

cm. high, the cap from 2--7 cm. broad, and the stem about 4--8 mm. in

thickness.

The =pileus= is fleshy, soft, flexible, convex, to expanded, or obconic,

plane or depressed, or funnel-shaped, the margin strongly inrolled when

young, in age simply incurved, the margin plane or repand and undulate.

The color varies from ochre yellow to dull orange, or orange ochraceous,

raw sienna, and tawny, in different specimens. It is often brownish at

the center. The surface of the pileus is minutely tomentose with silky

hairs, especially toward the center, and sometimes smooth toward the

margin. The flesh is 3--5 mm. at the center, and thin toward the margin.

The gills are arcuate, decurrent, thin, the edge blunt, but not so much

so as in a number of other species, crowded, regularly forked several

times, at length ascending when the pileus is elevated at the margin.

The color of the =gills= is orange to cadmium orange, or sometimes

paler, cadmium yellow or deep chrome. The =stem= is clay color to ochre

yellow, enlarged below, spongy, stuffed, fistulose, soft, fibrous, more

or less ascending at the base.

The taste is somewhat nutty, sometimes bitterish. The plants in Fig. 127

(No. 3272, C. U. herbarium) were collected near Ithaca, October 7, 1899.

MARASMIUS Fr.

In this genus the plants are tough and fleshy or membranaceous, leathery

and dry. They do not easily decay, but shrivel up in dry weather, and

revive in wet weather, or when placed in water. This is an important

character in distinguishing the genus. It is closely related to

_Collybia_, from which it is difficult to separate certain species. On

the other hand, it is closely related to _Lentinus_ and _Panus_, both of

which are tough and pliant. In _Marasmius_, however, the substance of

the pileus is separate from that of the stem, while in _Lentinus_ and

_Panus_ it is continuous, a character rather difficult for the beginner

to understand. The species of _Marasmius_, however, are generally much

smaller than those of _Lentinus_ and _Panus_, especially those which

grow on wood. The stem in _Marasmius_ is in nearly all species central,

while in _Lentinus_ and _Panus_ it is generally more or less eccentric.

Many of the species of the genus _Marasmius_ have an odor of garlic when

fresh. Besides the fairy ring (_M. oreades_) which grows on the ground,

_M. rotula_ is a very common species on wood and leaves. It has a

slender, black, shining stem, and a brownish pileus usually with a black

spot in the depression in the center. The species are very numerous.

Peck, 23rd Report, N. Y. State Mus., p. 124--126, describes 8 species.

Morgan Jour. Cinn. Soc. Nat. Hist. =6=: 189--194, describes 17 species.

=Marasmius oreades= Fr. =Edible.=--This is the well known "fairy ring"

mushroom. It grows during the summer and autumn in grassy places, as in

lawns, by roadsides, in pastures, etc. It appears most abundantly during

wet weather or following heavy rains. It is found usually in circles, or

in the arc of a circle, though few scattered plants not arranged in this

way often occur. The plants are 7--10 cm. high, the cap 2--4 cm. broad,

and the stem 3--4 mm. in thickness.

[Illustration: FIGURE 129.--Marasmius oreades. Caps buff, tawny, or

reddish.]

The =pileus= is convex to expanded, sometimes the center elevated,

fleshy, rather thin, tough, smooth, buff color, or tawny or reddish, in

age, or in drying, paler. When moist the pileus may be striate on the

margin. The =gills= are broad, free or adnexed, rounded near the stem,

white or dull yellowish. The =spores= are elliptical, 7--8 µ long. The

=stem= is tough, solid, whitish.

This widely distributed fungus is much prized everywhere by those who

know it. It is not the only fungus which appears in rings, so that this

habit is not peculiar to this plant. Several different kinds are known

to appear in rings at times. The appearance of the fungus in rings is

due to the mode of growth of the mycelium or spawn in the soil.

Having started at a given spot the mycelium consumes the food material

in the soil suitable for it, and the plants for the first year appear in

a group. In the center of this spot the mycelium, having consumed all

the available food, probably dies after producing the crop of

mushrooms. But around the edge of the spot the mycelium or spawn still

exists, and at the beginning of the next season it starts into growth

and feeds on the available food in a zone surrounding the spot where it

grew the previous year. This second year, then, the plants appear in a

small ring. So in succeeding years it advances outward, the ring each

year becoming larger. Where the plants appear only in the arc of a

circle, something has happened to check or destroy the mycelium in the

remaining arc of the circle.

It has been noted by several observers that the grass in the ring

occupied by the mushrooms is often greener than that adjoining. This is

perhaps due to some stimulus exerted by the mycelium of the fungus on

the grass, or possibly the mycelium may in some way make certain foods

available for the grass which gives an additional supply to it at this

point.

Fig. 129 is from plants (No. 5503, C. U. herbarium) collected in a lawn,

October 25, 1900, Ithaca.

Illustrations of some fine large rings formed by this fungus appeared in

circular No. 13 by Mr. Coville, of the Division of Botany in the U. S.

Dept. Agr.

=Marasmius cohærens= (Fr.) Bres. (_Mycena cohærens_ Fr. _Collybia

lachnophylla_ Berk. _Collybia spinulifera_ Pk.)--This plant grows in

dense clusters, ten to twenty individuals with their stems closely

joined below and fastened together by the abundant growth of threads

from the lower ends. From this character the name _cohærens_ was

derived. The plants grow on the ground or on very rotten wood in woods

during late spring and in the summer. The plant is not very common in

this country, but appears to be widely distributed both in Europe and

here, having been collected in Carolina, Ohio, Vermont, New York, etc.

The plants are 12--20 cm. high, the cap 2--2.5 cm. broad, and the stem

4--7 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is fleshy, tough, convex or bell-shaped, then expanded,

sometimes umbonate, or in age sometimes the margin upturned and more or

less wavy, not viscid, but finely striate when damp, thin. The color

varies from vinaceous cinnamon to chestnut or light leather color, or

tawny, paler in age, and sometimes darker on the center. The =gills= are

sometimes more or less crowded, narrow, 5--6 mm. broad, adnate, but

notched, and sometimes becoming free from the stem. The color is light

leather color, brick red or bay, the color and color variations being

due to numbers of colored cystidia or spicules scattered over the

surface of the gills and on the edge. The =cystidia= are fulvous,

fusoid, 75--90 µ long. The =spores= are oval, white, small, 6 × 3 µ. The

=stem= is long and slender, nearly cylindrical, tapering somewhat

above, slightly enlarged below, and rooting. The color is the same as

that of the pileus or dark bay brown, and shining, and seems to be due

to large numbers of spicules similar to those on the gills. The color is

paler below in some cases, or gradually darker below in others. The

stems are bound together below by numerous threads.

Figure 130 is from plants (No. 2373, C. U. herbarium) collected in woods

near Freeville, N. Y. The plants have been collected near Ithaca on

three different occasions, twice near Freeville about nine miles from

Ithaca, and once in the woods at Ithaca. It is easily distinguished by

its color and the presence of the peculiar setæ or cystidia.

[Illustration: FIGURE 130.--Marasmius cohaerens (Fr.) Bres. (= Mycena

cohaerens Fr. = Collybia lachnophylla Berk. = C. spinulifera Pk.) Color

chestnut, light leather color, tawny or vinaceous cinnamon, darker in

center, stems dark, shining, gills leather color, or fulvous, or wine

color, brick red or bay, varying in different specimens (natural size).

Copyright.]

Although the plant has been collected on several different occasions in

America, it does not seem to have been recognized under this name until

recently, save the record of it from Carolina by de Schweinitz (Synop.

fung. Car. No. 606. p. 81).

LENTINUS Fr.

The plants of this genus are tough and pliant, becoming hard when old,

unless very watery, and when dry. The genus differs from the other tough

and pliant ones by the peculiarity of the gills, the gills being notched

or serrate on the edges. Sometimes this appearance is intensified by the

cracking of the gills in age or in drying. The nearest ally of the genus

is _Panus_, which is only separated from _Lentinus_ by the edge of the

gills being plane. This does not seem a very good character on which to

separate the species of the two genera, since it is often difficult to

tell whether the gills are naturally serrate or whether they have become

so by certain tensions which exist on the lamellæ during the expansion

and drying of the pileus. Schroeter unites _Panus_ with _Lentinus_

(Cohn's Krypt. Flora, Schlesien, =3=, 1; 554, 1889). The plants are

usually very irregular and many of them shelving, only a few grow

upright and have regular caps.

=Lentinus vulpinus= Fr.--This is a large and handsome species, having a

wide distribution in Europe and in this country, but it does not seem to

be common. It grows on trunks, logs, stumps, etc., in the woods. It was

quite abundant during late summer and in the autumn on fallen logs, in a

woods near Ithaca. The =caps= are shelving, closely overlapping in

shingled fashion (imbricated), and joined at the narrowed base. The

surface is convex, and the margin is strongly incurved, so that each of

the individual caps is shell-shaped (conchate). The surface of the

pileus is coarsely hairy or hispid, the surface becoming more rough with

age. Many coarse hairs unite to form coarse tufts which are stouter and

nearly erect toward the base of the cap, and give the surface a

tuberculate appearance. Toward the margin of the cap these coarse hairs

are arranged in nearly parallel lines, making rows or ridges, which are

very rough. The hairs and tubercles are dark in color, being nearly

black toward the base, especially in old plants, and sometimes pale or

of a smoky hue, especially in young plants. The pileus is flesh color

when young, becoming darker when old, and the flesh is quite thin,

whitish toward the gills and darker toward the surface. The =gills= are

broad, nearly white, flesh color near the base, coarsely serrate,

becoming cracked in age and in drying, narrowed toward the base of the

pileus, not forked, crowded, 4--6 mm. broad. The cap and gills are tough

even when fresh. The plant has an intensely pungent taste.

Figures 131, 132 represent an upper, front, and under view of the pilei

(No. 3315, C. U. herbarium).

[Illustration: PLATE 42, FIGURE 131.--Lentinus vulpinus. The coarse,

hairy scales are black in old plants, paler, of a smoky hue, in younger

ones (natural size). Copyright.]

=Lentinus lecomtei= Fr., is a very common and widely distributed species

growing on wood. When it grows on the upper side of logs the pileus is

sometimes regular and funnel-shaped (cyathiform), but it is often

irregular and produced on one side, especially if it grows on the side

of the substratum. In most cases, however, there is a funnel-shaped

depression above the attachment of the stem. The =pileus= is tough,

reddish or reddish brown or leather color, hairy or sometimes strigose,

the margin incurved. The =stem= is usually short, hairy, or in age it

may become more or less smooth. The =gills= are narrow, crowded, the

spores small, ovate to elliptical 5--6 × 2--3 µ. According to Bresadola

this is the same as _Panus rudis_ Fr. It resembles very closely also

_Panus cyathiformis_ (Schaeff.) Fr., and _P. strigosus_ B. & C.

=Lentinus lepideus= Fr., [_L. squamosus_ (Schaeff.) Schroet.] is another

common and widely distributed species. It is much larger than _L.

lecomtei_, whitish with coarse brown scales on the cap. It is 12--20 cm.

high, and the cap is often as broad. The stem is 2--8 cm. long and 1--2

cm. in thickness. It grows on wood.

[Illustration: FIGURE 132.--Lentinus vulpinus, front and under view

(natural size). Copyright.]

=Lentinus stipticus= (Bull.) Schroet. (_Panus stipticus_ Bull.) is a

very small species compared with the three named above. It is, however,

a very common and widely distributed one, growing on wood, and may be

found the year around. The pileus is 1--3 cm. in diameter, whitish or

grayish, very tough, expanded in wet weather, and curled up in dry

weather. The stem is very short, and attached to one side of the cap.

When freshly developed the plant is phosphorescent.

SCHIZOPHYLLUM Fr.

This is a very interesting genus, but the species are very few. The

plants are tough, pliant when fresh, and dry. The gills are very

characteristic, being split along the edge and generally strongly

revolute, that is, the split edges curve around against the side of the

gill. This character can be seen sometimes with the aid of a hand lens,

but is very evident when a section of the cap and gills is made and then

examined with a microscope. The spores are white.

[Illustration: FIGURE 133.--Schizophyllum alneum (==S. commune). View of

under side (natural size). Copyright.]

=Schizophyllum alneum= (L.) Schroet.--This species usually goes by the

name of _Schizophyllum commune_, but the earlier name is _S. alneum_. It

is a very common plant and is world wide in its distribution, growing on

wood, as on branches, trunks, etc. It is white, and the =pileus= is very

hairy or tomentose, with coarse white hairs. It is 1--3 cm. in diameter,

and the cap is sessile, either attached at one side when the cap is more

produced on one side than on the other, or it may be attached at or

near the center of the top, when the cap is more evenly developed on all

sides. It is often crenate or lobed on the margin, the larger plants

showing this character more prominently. The margin is incurved. The

=gills= are white, wooly, branched and extend out toward the margin of

the cap like the radiations of a fan. The gills are deeply split along

the edge, and strongly revolute. It is a very pretty plant, but one

becomes rather tired of collecting it because it is so common. It may be

found at all seasons of the year on dead sticks and branches, either in

the woods or elsewhere, if the branches are present. It is very

coriaceous, and tough. During dry weather it is much shrunken and curled

up, but during rains it expands quickly and then it is seen in its

beauty.

[Illustration: PLATE 43, FIGURE 134.--Trogia crispa. Large cluster of

caps, view of underside (natural size). Copyright.]

Figure 133 shows the plant in the expanded condition, from the under

side. The plants were growing on a hickory branch, and were dry and

shrunken when brought in the laboratory. The branch and the fungus were

placed in water for a few hours, when the fungus expanded, and was then

photographed in this condition.

TROGIA Fr.

This genus is characterized, according to Fries, by the gills being

channeled along the edge, but singularly the only species attributed to

the genus in Europe and in our country has not channeled gills, but only

somewhat crisped along the edges. It is usually, therefore, a difficult

matter for a beginner to determine the plant simply from this

description. The gills are furthermore narrow, irregular, and the plants

are somewhat soft and flabby when wet, but brittle and persistent when

dry, so that when moistened they revive and appear as if fresh.

=Trogia crispa= Fr.--This species is the principal if not only one in

Europe and America. It is widely distributed, and sometimes not very

uncommon. It occurs on trunks, branches, etc., often on the birch. The

plants are from 0.5--1 cm. broad, usually sessile. The upper surface is

whitish or reddish yellow toward the attachment, sometimes tan color,

and when young it is sometimes covered with whitish hairs. The gills are

very narrow, vein-like, irregular, interrupted or continuous, and often

more or less branched. The gills are very much crisped, hence the name,

blunt at the edge and white or bluish gray. The caps are usually much

crowded and overlapped in an imbricated fashion as shown in Fig. 134; a

photograph of a fine specimen after being moistened.

CHAPTER VII.

THE ROSY-SPORED AGARICS.

The spores are rosy, pink, salmon colored, flesh colored, or reddish.

For analytical keys to the genera see Chapter XXIV.

PLUTEUS Fr.

In the genus _Pluteus_ the volva and annulus are both wanting, the gills

are usually free from the stem, and the stem is easily broken out from

the substance of the cap, reminding one in some cases of a ball and

socket joint. The substance of the cap is thus said to be not continuous

with that of the stem. The spores seen in mass are flesh colored as in

other genera of this subdivision of the agarics.

[Illustration: FIGURE 135.--Pluteus cervinus. Cap grayish brown, or

sooty, smooth or sometimes scaly, rarely white, stem same color, but

paler; gills first white, then flesh color (natural size, often larger).

Copyright.]

=Pluteus cervinus= Schaeff. =Edible.=--This is one of the very common

species of the higher fungi, and is also very widely distributed. It

varies considerably in size and appearance. It is 7--15 cm. high, the

cap 5--10 cm. broad, and the stem 6--12 mm. in thickness. It occurs on

the ground from underground roots or rotten wood, or grows on decaying

stumps, logs, etc., from spring until late autumn. Sometimes it is found

growing in sawdust.

The =pileus= is fleshy, bell-shaped, then convex, and becoming expanded,

the surface usually smooth, but showing radiating fibrils, grayish

brown, or sometimes sooty, sometimes more or less scaly. The =gills= are

not crowded, broad, free from the stem, white, then becoming flesh color

with the maturity of the spores. One very characteristic feature of the

plant is the presence of =cystidia= in the hymenium on the gills. These

are stout, colorless, elliptical, thick-walled, and terminate in two or

three blunt, short prongs.

The =stem= is nearly equal, solid, the color much the same as that of

the pileus, but often paler above, smooth or sometimes scaly.

In some forms the plant is entirely white, except the gills. In addition

to the white forms occurring in the woods, I have found them in an old

abandoned cement mine growing on wood props.

[Illustration: FIGURE 136.--Pluteus tomentosulus. Cap and stem entirely

white, gills flesh color, stem furrowed and tomentose (natural size).

Copyright.]

=Pluteus tomentosulus= Pk.--This plant was described by Peck in the 32d

Report, N. Y. State Mus., page 28, 1879. It grows on decaying wood in

the woods during July and August. The plants are 5--12 cm. high, the cap

3--7 cm. broad, and the stem 4--8 mm. in thickness. The description

given by Peck is as follows: "Pileus thin, convex or expanded,

subumbonate, dry, minutely squamulose-tomentose, white, sometimes

pinkish on the margin; lamellæ rather broad, rounded behind, free,

crowded, white then flesh colored; stem equal, solid, striate, slightly

pubescent or subtomentose, white; spores subglobose, 7 µ in diameter,

generally containing a large single nucleus." From the plant collected

at Ithaca the following notes were made. The =pileus= and stem are

entirely white, the gills flesh color. The pileus is expanded, umbonate,

thin except at the umbo, minutely floccose squamulose, no pinkish tinge

noted; the flesh is white, but on the umbo changing to flesh color where

wounded. The =gills= are free, with a clear white space between stem and

rounded edges, crowded, narrow (about 3--4 mm. broad) edge finely

fimbriate, probably formed by numerous bottle-shaped cystidia on the

edge, and which extend up a little distance on the side of the gills,

but are not distributed in numbers over the surface of the gills;

=cystidia= thin walled, hyaline. The =spores= are flesh colored,

subglobose, 5--7 µ. =Stem= cylindrical, even, twisted somewhat, white,

striate and minutely squamulose like the pileus, but with coarser

scales, especially toward the base, solid, flesh white.

The species received its name from the tomentose, striate character of

the stem. The plants (No. 3219, C. U. herbarium) illustrated in Fig. 136

were collected in Enfield Gorge, vicinity of Ithaca, July 28, 1899.

VOLVARIA Fr.

This genus takes its name from the volva, which means a wrapper, and

which, as we know from our studies of _Amanita_, entirely envelops the

plant at a young stage. The genus is characterized then by the rosy or

reddish spores, the presence of a volva, and the annulus is wanting. The

stem is easily separable from the pileus at its junction, in this

respect being similar to _Amanita_, _Amanitopsis_, _Lepiota_ and others.

The gills are usually, also, free from the stem. The species grow on

rotting wood, on leaf mould and on richly manured ground, etc. They are

of a very soft texture and usually soon decay.

=Volvaria bombycina= (Pers.) Fr. =Edible.=--The silky volvaria is so

called because of the beautiful silky texture of the surface of the cap.

It is not very common, but is world wide in its distribution, and

occurs on decayed wood of logs, stumps, etc., during late summer and in

autumn. It is usually of a beautiful white color, large, the volva large

and thick, reminding one of a bag, and the stem is ascending when the

plant grows on the side of the trunk, or erect when it grows on the

upper side of a log or stump. The plant is from 8--16 cm. high, the cap

6--20 cm. broad, and the stem 1--1.5 cm. thickness.

The =pileus= is globose, then bell-shaped, and finally convex and

somewhat umbonate, white, according to some becoming somewhat reddish.

The entire surface is silky, and numerous hairs stand out in the form of

soft down, when older the surface becoming more or less scaly, or rarely

becoming smooth at the apex. The flesh is white. The =gills= are

crowded, very broad along the middle, flesh colored, the edge sometimes

ragged. The =spores= are rosy in mass, oval to broadly elliptical, 6--9

× 5--6 µ, smooth. The =stem= tapers from the base to the apex, is solid,

smooth. The =volva= is large and bag-like. The plant is considered

edible by some. Figure 137 is from a plant (No. 3096, C. U. herbarium)

collected on a log of Acer rubrum in Cascadilla woods, Ithaca, on August

10th, 1898.

[Illustration: FIGURE 137.--Volvaria bombycina. Cap, stem and volva

entirely white, gills flesh color (natural size). Copyright.]

=Volvaria speciosa= Fr.--This plant seems to be rare, but it has a wide

distribution in Europe and the United States. It occurs on richly

manured ground, on dung, etc. The plants are 10--20 cm. high, the cap

6--12 cm. broad, and the stem 1--2 cm. in thickness. The entire plant is

white or whitish, sometimes grayish, especially at the center, where it

is also sometimes darker and of a smoky color.

The =pileus= is globose when young, then bell-shaped, and finally more

or less expanded, and umbonate, smooth, very viscid, so that earth,

leaves, etc., cling to it. The flesh is white and very soft. The =gills=

are free, flesh colored to reddish or fulvous, from the deeply colored

spores. The =spores= are broadly elliptical, or oval, 12--18 × 8--10 µ.

The =stem= is nearly cylindrical, or tapering evenly from the base, when

young more or less hairy, becoming smooth. The =volva= is large, edge

free, but fitting very close, flabby and irregularly torn.

The species is reported from California by McClatchie, and from

Wisconsin by Bundy.

Specimens were received in June, 1898, from Dr. Post of Lansing, Mich.,

which were collected there in a potato patch. It was abundant during May

and June. Plants which were sent in a fresh condition were badly decayed

by the time they reached Ithaca, and the odor was very disagreeable. It

is remarkable that the odor was that of rotting potatoes! In this

connection might be mentioned Dr. Peck's observation (Bull. Torr. Bot.

Club 26: p. 67, 1899) that _Agaricus maritimus_ Pk., which grows near

the seashore, possessed "a taste and odor suggestive of the sea."

McClatchie reports that it is common in cultivated soil, especially

grain fields and along roads, and that it is "a fine edible agaric and

our most abundant one in California."

CLITOPILUS Fr.

In the rosy-spored agarics belonging to this genus the gills are

decurrent, that is, extend for some distance down on the stem. The stem

is fleshy. The gills are white at first and become pink or salmon color

as the plants mature, and the spores take on their characteristic color.

The plants should thus not be confused with any of the species of

_Agaricus_ to which the common mushroom belongs, since in those species

the gills become dark brown or blackish when mature. The genus

corresponds with _Clitocybe_ among the white-spored ones.

=Clitopilus prunulus= Scop. =Edible.=--This species grows on the ground

in the woods from mid-summer to autumn. It is not very common, but

sometimes appears in considerable quantities at one place. During the

autumn of 1898 quite a large number of specimens were found in a woods

near Ithaca, growing on the ground around an old stump. The plants are

3--8 cm. high, the cap 5--10 cm. broad, and stem 1--2 cm. in thickness.

[Illustration: PLATE 44, FIGURE 138.--Clitopilus prunulus, cap whitish

or dark gray, gills flesh color (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is fleshy, firm, convex and becoming nearly plane, and

sometimes as the plants become old the center may be slightly

depressed. It is whitish in color, or dark gray, or with a leaden

tint, dry, sometimes with a distinct bloom on the surface, and the

margin is often wavy. The cap is sometimes produced more on one side

than on the other. The =gills= are not close, at first whitish, then

salmon colored as the spores mature, and they are decurrent as is

characteristic of the genus. The =spores= are elliptical or nearly so,

and measure 10--12 µ long.

Figure 138 is from plants collected near Ithaca, in the autumn of 1898.

This species is considered to be one of the excellent mushrooms for

food. When fresh it has a mealy odor and taste, as do several of the

species of this genus. It is known as the prune mushroom.

=Clitopilus orcella= Bull. =Edible.=--This plant is sometimes spoken of

as the sweet-bread mushroom. It is much like the prune mushroom just

described, in odor and taste, and sometimes resembles it in form and

other characters. It is white in color, and the plants are usually

considerably smaller, and the pileus is, according to my observations,

sometimes more irregular, lobed and wavy on the margin. The flesh is

also softer, and the cap is said to be slightly viscid in wet weather.

The plant grows in the woods and sometimes in open fields.

ENTOLOMA Fr.

The volva and annulus are absent in this genus, the spores are rosy, the

gills adnate to sinuate or adnexed, easily separating from the stem in

some species. The stem is fleshy or fibrous, sometimes waxy, and the

pileus is fleshy with the margin incurved, especially when young. The

spores are prominently angular. The genus corresponds with _Tricholoma_

of the white-spored agarics, and also with _Hebeloma_ and _Inocybe_ of

the ochre-spored ones. _Entoloma repandum_ Bull., is an _Inocybe_ [_I.

repandum_ (Bull.) Bres.] and has angular spores resembling those of an

_Entoloma_, but the spores are not rosy.

=Entoloma jubatum= Fr.--Growing on the ground in woods. The plants are

5--10 cm. high, the cap 3--6 cm. broad, and the stem 3--6 mm. in

thickness.

The =pileus= is conic in some plants, to convex and umbonate, thin,

minutely scaly with blackish hairy scales, dull heliotrope purple,

darker on the umbo. The =gills= are vinaceous rufus to deep flesh color,

strongly sinuate, and irregularly notched along the edge. The =spores=

are irregularly oval to short oblong, coarsely angular, with an oil

drop, 5--7 angled, 7--11 × 6--7 µ. The =stem= is of the same color as

the pileus, sometimes deeply rooting, hollow. Figure 139 is from plants

(No. 4000, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., during

September, 1899.

=Entoloma grayanum= Pk.--This plant grows on the ground in woods. It is

from 6--8 cm. high, the cap is 3--6 cm. broad, and the stem 4--6 mm. in

thickness.

[Illustration: FIGURE 139.--Entoloma jubatum. Entire plant dull

heliotrope purple, gills later flesh color (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex to expanded, sometimes broadly umbonate, drab in

color, the surface wrinkled or rugose, and watery in appearance. The

flesh is thin and the margin incurved. The =gills= are first drab in

color, but lighter than the pileus, becoming pinkish in age. The

=spores= on paper are very light salmon color. They are globose or

rounded in outline, 5--7 angled, with an oil globule, 8--10 µ in

diameter. The =stem= is the same color as the pileus, but lighter,

striate, hollow, somewhat twisted, and enlarged below. Figure 140 is

from plants (No. 3998, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N.

C., during September, 1899.

[Illustration: FIGURE 140.--Entoloma grayanum. Cap and stem drab, gills

flesh color (natural size). Copyright.]

=Entoloma strictius= Pk.--The plants grow in grassy places, pastures,

etc. They are clustered, sometimes two or three joined at the base of

the stem. They are 7--10 cm. high, the caps 2--4 cm. broad, and the

stems 3--6 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is convex, the disk expanded, and the margin incurved and

more or less wavy or repand on the extreme edge. It is umbonate at the

center with usually a slight depression around the umbo, smooth, watery

(hygrophanous) in appearance, not viscid, of an umber color, shining,

faintly and closely striate on the margin. In drying the surface of the

pileus loses some of its dark umber color and presents a silvery sheen.

The flesh is fibrous and umber color also. The =gills= are grayish

white, then tinged with flesh color, slightly sinuate, the longer ones

somewhat broader in the middle (ventricose), rather distant, and quite

thick as seen in cross section, the center of the gill (trama)

presenting parallel threads. The sub-hymenium is very thin and composed

of small cells; the =basidia= are clavate, 25--30 × 9--10 µ, and

four-spored. The =spores= are dull rose color on paper, subgloblose,

5--8 µ in diameter, angular with 5--6 angles as seen from one side. The

=stem= is the same color as the pileus, but considerably lighter. It is

hollow with white fibers within, fibrous striate on the surface,

twisted, brittle, and somewhat cartilaginous, partly snapping, but

holding by fibers in places, cylindrical, even, ascending, with delicate

white fibers covering the lower end.

[Illustration: FIGURE 141.--Entoloma strictius. Cap umber or smoky, stem

paler, gills grayish, then flesh color (natural size). Copyright.]

Figure 141 is from plants (No. 2461, C. U. herbarium) collected near

Ithaca, October, 1898.

LEPTONIA Fr.

In _Leptonia_ the stem is cartilaginous, hollow or stuffed, smooth and

somewhat shining. The pileus is thin, umbilicate or with the center

darker, the surface hairy or scaly, and the margin at first incurved.

The gills are adnate or adnexed at first, and easily separating from the

stem in age. Many of the species are bright colored.

[Illustration: FIGURE 142.--Leptonia asprella. Cap hair brown (mouse

colored), minute dark scales at center, stem same color, but sometimes

reddish brown, green or blue, gills flesh color.]

=Leptonia asprella= Fr.--This species occurs on the ground in woods or

in open grassy places. The plants are 3--5 cm. high, the cap 2--4 cm.

broad, and the stem 2--3 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is convex, then more or less expanded, umbilicate, rarely

umbonate, hair brown (mouse colored), with dark scales on the center and

minute scales over the surface, striate.

The =gills= are sinuate to adnexed. The =spores= are strongly 5--6

angled, 10--12 × 8--10 µ. The =stem= is smooth, even, usually the same

color as the cap, but sometimes it is reddish brown, green, or blue.

Figure 142 is from plants (No. 3996, C. U. herbarium) collected at

Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

=Leptonia incana= Fr., is a more common species, and is characterized by

an odor of mice.

ECCILIA Fr.

The genus _Eccilia_ corresponds with _Omphalia_ of the white-spored

agarics. The stem is cartilaginous, hollow or stuffed. The pileus is

thin and somewhat membranaceous, plane or depressed at the center, and

the margin at first incurved. The gills are more or less decurrent.

=Eccilia polita= Pers.--This plant occurs on the ground in woods. It is

6--10 cm. high, the cap 2--4 cm. broad, and the stem is 3--4 mm. in

thickness.

[Illustration: FIGURE 143.--Eccilia polita. Cap hair brown to olive,

stem lighter, gills flesh color, notched and irregular (natural size).

Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex and umbilicate, somewhat membranaceous, smooth,

watery in appearance, finely striate on the margin, hair brown to olive

in color. The =gills= are decurrent. In the specimens illustrated in

Fig. 143 the gills are very irregular and many of them appear sinuate.

The =spores= are strongly 4--5 angled, some of them square, 10--12 µ in

diameter, with a prominent mucro at one angle. The =stem= is

cartilaginous, becoming hollow, lighter in color than the pileus, and

somewhat enlarged below. Figure 143 is from plants (No. 3999, C. U.

herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

[Illustration: PLATE 45, FIGURE 144.--Claudopus nidulans, view of under

side. Cap rich yellow or buff, gills flesh color (natural size).

Copyright.]

CLAUDOPUS W. Smith.

In the genus _Claudopus_, recognized by some, the pileus is eccentric or

lateral, that is, the stem is attached near the side of the cap, or the

cap is sessile and attached by one side to the wood on which the plant

is growing; or the plants are resupinate, that is, they may be spread

over the surface of the wood.

The genus is perhaps not well separated from some of the species of

_Pleurotus_ with lilac spores like _P. sapidus_. In fact, a number of

the species were formerly placed in _Pleurotus_, while others were

placed in _Crepidotus_ among the ochre-spored agarics. Several species

are reported from America. Peck in 39th Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 67,

_et seq._, 1886, describes five species.

=Claudopus nidulans= (Pers.) Pk.--This is one of the very pretty agarics

growing on dead branches and trunks during the autumn, and is widely

distributed. It has, however, been placed in the genus _Pleurotus_, as

_P. nidulans_. But because of the pink color of the spores in mass, Peck

places it in the genus _Claudopus_, where Fries suggested it should go

if removed from _Pleurotus_. It seems to be identical with _Panus

dorsalis Bosc_. It is usually sessile and attached to the side of dead

branches, logs, etc., in a shelving manner, or sometimes it is

resupinate.

The =pileus= is sessile, or sometimes narrowed at the base into a short

stem, the caps often numerous and crowded together in an overlapping or

imbricate manner. It is nearly orbicular, or reniform, and 1--5 cm.

broad. The margin is at first involute. The surface is coarsely hairy or

tomentose, or scaly toward the margin, of a rich yellow or buff color.

It is soft, but rather tough in consistency. The =gills= are broad,

orange yellow. The =spores=, pink in mass, are smooth, elongated,

somewhat curved, 6--8 µ long.

Figure 144 is from plants (No. 2660, C. U. herbarium) collected in woods

near Ithaca.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE OCHRE-SPORED AGARICS.

The spores are ochre yellow, rusty, rusty-brown, or some shade of

yellow. For analytical keys to the genera see Chapter XXIV.

PHOLIOTA Fr.

The genus _Pholiota_ has ferruginous or ferruginous brown spores. It

lacks a volva, but has an annulus; the gills are attached to the stem.

It then corresponds to _Armillaria_ among white-spored agarics, and

_Stropharia_ among the purple-brown-spored ones. There is one genus in

the ochre or yellow-spored plants with which it is liable to be confused

on account of the veil, namely _Cortinarius_, but in the latter the veil

is in the form of loose threads, and is called an arachnoid veil, that

is, the veil is spider-web-like. Many of the species of _Pholiota_ grow

on trunks, stumps, and branches of trees, some grow on the ground.

=Pholiota præcox= Pers. =Edible.=--_Agaricus candicans_ Bull. T. 217,

1770: _Pholiota candicans_ Schroeter, Krypt, Flora, Schlesien, p. 608,

1889. This plant occurs during late spring and in the summer, in

pastures, lawns and grassy places, roadsides, open woods, etc. Sometimes

it is very common, especially during or after prolonged or heavy rains.

The plants are 6--10 cm. high, the cap from 5--8 cm. broad, and the stem

3--5 mm. in thickness. The plants are scattered or a few sometimes

clustered.

The =pileus= is convex, then expanded, whitish to cream color or

yellowish, then leather color, fleshy, the margin at first incurved,

moist, not viscid. Sometimes the pileus is umbonate. The surface is

sometimes uneven from numerous crowded shallow pits, giving it a frothy

appearance. In age the margin often becomes upturned and fluted. The

=gills= are adnate or slightly decurrent by a tooth, 3--4 mm. broad, a

little broader at or near the middle, crowded, white, then ferruginous

brown, edge sometimes whitish. There is often a prominent angle in the

gills at their broadest diameter, not far from the stem, which gives to

them, when the plants are young or middle age, a sinuate appearance. The

=spores= are ferruginous brown, elliptical. =Cystidia= abruptly

club-shaped, with a broad apiculus. The =stem= is stuffed, later

fistulose, even, fragile, striate often above the annulus. The stem is

whitish or sometimes flesh color. The veil is whitish, large, frail, and

sometimes breaks away from the stem and clings in shreds to the margin

of the cap.

[Illustration: PLATE 46, FIGURE 145.--Pholiota praecox. Cap whitish, to

cream, or leather color, stem white, gills white then ferruginous brown

(natural size). Copyright.]

Figure 145 is from plants (No. 2362, C. U. herbarium) collected on the

campus of Cornell University, June, 1898. The taste is often slightly

bitter.

=Pholiota marginata= Batsch.--This is one of the very common species, a

small one, occurring all during the autumn, on decaying trunks, etc., in

the woods. The plants are usually clustered, though appearing also

singly. They are from 4--10 cm. high, the cap 3--4 cm. broad, and the

stem 3--5 µ in thickness.

[Illustration: PLATE 47, FIGURE 146.--Pholiota adiposa. Cap very viscid,

saffron-yellow or burnt umber or wood-brown in center, scales wood-brown

to nearly black, stem whitish then yellowish; gills brownish, edge

yellow (natural size, sometimes larger). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex, then plane, tan or leather colored, darker when

dry. It has a watery appearance (hygrophanous), somewhat fleshy, smooth,

striate on the margin. The =gills= are joined squarely to the stem,

crowded, at maturity dark reddish brown from the spores.

[Illustration: FIGURE 147.--Pholiota marginata. Cap and stem tan or

leather color, gills dark reddish brown when mature (natural size).

Copyright.]

The =stem= is cylindrical, equal, smooth, fistulose, of the same color

as the pileus, becoming darker, and often with whitish fibrils at the

base. The =annulus= is distant from the apex of the stem, and often

disappears soon after the expansion of the pileus. Figure 147 is from

plants (No. 2743, C. U. herbarium) collected near Ithaca.

=Pholiota unicolor= Vahl, is a smaller plant which grows in similar

situations. The plants are usually clustered, 3--5 cm. high, and the

caps 6--12 mm. in diameter, the annulus is thin but entire and

persistent. The entire plant is bay brown, becoming ochraceous in color,

and the margin of the cap in age is striate, first bell-shaped, then

convex and somewhat umbonate. The gills are lightly adnexed.

=Pholiota adiposa= Fr.--The fatty pholiota usually forms large clusters

during the autumn, on the trunks of trees, stumps, etc. It is sometimes

of large size, measuring up to 15 cm. and the pileus up to 17 cm.

broad. Specimens collected at Ithaca during October, 1899, were 8--10

cm. high, the pileus 4--8 cm. broad, and the stems 5--9 mm. in

thickness. The plants grew eight to ten in a cluster and the bases of

the stems were closely crowded and loosely joined.

The =pileus= is convex, then expanded, the margin more or less inrolled,

then incurved, prominently umbonate, very viscid when moist, the ground

color a saffron yellow or in the center burnt umber to wood brown. The

cuticle of the pileus is plain or torn into scales which are wood brown,

or when close together they are often darker, sometimes nearly black.

The flesh is saffron yellow, thick at the center of the cap, thinning

out toward the margin, spongy and almost tasteless. The =gills= are

adnate, and sometimes a little notched, brown (mars brown), and the edge

yellow, 6--7 mm. broad. The =spores= are 8 × 5 µ. The =stem= tapers

downward, is compact, whitish then yellow, saffron yellow, flesh

vinaceous, viscid, and clothed more or less with reflexed (pointing

downward) scales. The stem is somewhat cartilaginous, tough, but

snapping off in places. The veil is thin floccose and sometimes with

coarse scales, soon disappearing.

Figure 146 is from plants (No. 3295, C. U. herbarium) collected on the

Ithaca flats from a willow trunk, Oct. 10, 1899.

=Pholiota aurivella= Batsch, which has been found in the United States,

is closely related to _P. adiposa_.

=Pholiota squarrosa= Müll., widely distributed and common in the autumn,

both in Europe and America, on stumps and trunks, is a large, clustered,

scaly plant, the scales "squarrose", and abundant over the pileus and on

the stem below the annulus. It is brownish or ferruginous in color.

=Pholiota squarrosoides= Pk., as its name indicates, is closely related

to _P. squarrosa_. It has erect, pointed, persistent scales, especially

when young, and has a similar habit to _squarrosa_, but differs chiefly

in the pileus being viscid, while that of _P. squarrosa_ is dry. _P.

subsquarrosa_ Fr., occurring in Europe, and also closely related to _P.

squarrosa_, is viscid, the scales are closely appressed to the surface

of the cap, while in _squarrosa_ they are prominent and revolute.

=Pholiota cerasina= Pk., occurs on decaying trunks of trees during late

summer. The plants grow in tufts. They are 5--12 cm. high, the caps

5--10 cm. in diameter, and the stems 4--8 mm. in thickness. The pileus

is smooth, watery when damp, cinnamon in color when fresh, becoming

yellowish in drying, and the flesh is yellowish. The stem is solid, and

equal, the apex mealy. The annulus is not persistent, and the gills are

crowded and notched. The spores are elliptical, and rugose, 5 × 8 µ.

[Illustration: PLATE 48, FIGURE 148.--Pholiota squarrosoides. Entire

plant brownish or reddish brown; pileus viscid (three-fourths natural

size). Copyright.]

[Illustration: PLATE 49, FIGURE 149.--Pholiota johnsoniana. Cap

yellowish to yellowish brown, stem whitish, gills grayish then

rust-brown (natural size). Copyright.]

=Pholiota johnsoniana= Pk. =Edible.=--This species was described from

specimens collected at Knowersville, N. Y., in 1889, by Peck, in the

23rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 98, as _Agaricus johnsonianus_. I found

it at Ithaca, N. Y., for the first time during the summer of 1899, and

it was rather common during September, 1899, in the Blue Ridge Mountains

at Blowing Rock, N. C. It grows in woods or in pastures on the ground.

The larger and handsomer specimens I have found in rather damp but well

drained woods. The plants are 7--15 cm. high, the cap 5--10 cm. broad,

and the stem 6--12 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is fleshy, very thick at the center, convex, then expanded

and plane, smooth, sometimes finely striate on the thin margin when

moist, yellowish, or fulvous, the margin whitish. The =gills= are

attached to the stem by the upper angle (adnexed), rounded, or some of

them angled, some nearly free. In color they are first gray, then rusty

brown. They appear ascending because of the somewhat top-shaped pileus.

The =spores= are irregularly ovoid, 4--6 × 3--3.5 µ. The =stem= is

cylindrical or slightly tapering upward, smooth, slightly striate above

the annulus, whitish, solid, with a tendency to become hollow. The

=veil= is thick, and the annulus narrow and very thick or "tumid,"

easily breaking up and disappearing. The plant is quite readily

distinguished by the form of the pileus with the ascending gills and the

tumid annulus. Peck says it has a "somewhat nutty flavor."

Figure 149 is from plants (No. 4014, C. U. herbarium) collected at

Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

NAUCORIA Fr.

This genus, with ferruginous spores, corresponds with _Collybia_ among

the white-spored agarics. The gills are free or attached, but not

decurrent, and the stem is cartilaginous. The plants grow both on the

ground and on wood. Peck, 23rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 91, _et

seq._, gives a synopsis of seven species.

=Naucoria semi-orbicularis= Bull. =Edible.=--This is one of the common

and widely distributed species. It occurs in lawns, pastures, roadsides,

etc., in waste places, from June to autumn, being more abundant in rainy

weather. The plants are 7--10 cm. high, the cap 3--5 cm. broad, and the

stem 2--3 mm. in thickness. The =pileus= is convex to expanded, and is

remarkably hemispherical, from which the species takes the name of

_semi-orbicularis_. It is smooth, viscid when moist, tawny, and in age

ochraceous, sometimes the surface is cracked into areas. The =gills= are

attached, sometimes notched, crowded, much broader than the thickness

of the pileus, pale, then reddish brown. The =stem= is tough, slender,

smooth, even, pale reddish brown, shining, stuffed with a whitish pith.

Peck says that the plants have an oily flavor resembling beechnuts.

=Naucoria vernalis= Pk.--_Naucoria vernalis_ was described by Peck in

23rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 91, from plants collected in May. The

plants described here appeared in woods in late autumn. The specimens

from which this description is drawn were found growing from the under

side of a very rotten beech log, usually from deep crevices in the log,

so that only the pileus is visible or exposed well to the view. The

plants are 4--8 cm. high, the cap 2--3 cm. broad, and the stem 4--5 mm.

in thickness. The taste is bitter.

[Illustration: FIGURE 150.--Naucoria vernalis. Cap hair brown to clay

color; gills grayish brown to wood brown; stem clay color (natural

size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex, then the center is nearly or quite expanded, the

margin at first inrolled and never fully expanded, hygrophanous, smooth

(not striate nor rugose), flesh about 5--6 mm. thick at center, thin

toward the margin. The color changes during growth, it is from

ochraceous rufus when young (1--2 mm. broad), then clove brown to hair

brown and clay color in age. The =gills= are grayish brown to wood

brown, at first adnate to slightly sinuate, then easily breaking away

and appearing adnexed. The =spores= are wood brown in color, oval to

short elliptical and inequilateral 6--8 × 4--5 µ. =Cystidia= hyaline,

bottle shaped, 40--50 × 8--12 µ. The =stem= is somewhat hollow and

stuffed, rather cartilaginous, though somewhat brittle, especially when

very damp, breaking out from the pileus easily though with fragments of

the gills remaining attached, not strongly continuous with the substance

of the pileus. The color is buff to pale clay color; the stem being

even, not bulbous but somewhat enlarged below, mealy over the entire

length, which may be washed off by rains, striate at apex either from

marks left by the gills or remnants of the gills as they become freed

from the stem. Base of stem sometimes with white cottony threads,

especially in damp situations. In the original description the stem is

said to be "striate sulcate." Figure 150 is from plants (No. 3242, C. U.

herbarium) collected in woods near Ithaca, October 1, 1899.

GALERA Fr.

_Galera_ with ochraceous (ochraceous ferruginous) spores corresponds to

_Mycena_ among the white-spored agarics. The pileus is usually

bell-shaped, and when young the margin fits straight against the stem.

The stem is somewhat cartilaginous, but often very fragile. The genus

does not contain many species. Peck gives a synopsis of five American

species in the 23rd Report N. Y. State Mus., p. 93, _et seq._, and of

twelve species in the 46th Report, p. 61, _et seq._ One of the common

species is =Galera tenera= Schaeff. It occurs in grassy fields or in

manured places. The plants are 5--8 cm. high, the cap 8--16 mm. broad,

and the stem 2--3 mm. in thickness. The =pileus= is oval to bell-shaped,

and tawny in color, thin, smooth, finely striate, becoming paler when

dry. The =gills= are crowded, reddish-brown, adnexed and easily

separating. The =stem= is smooth, colored like the pileus but a little

paler, sometimes striate, and with mealy whitish particles above.

=Galera lateritia= is a related species, somewhat larger, and growing on

dung heaps and in fields and lawns. =Galera ovalis= Fr., is also a

larger plant, somewhat shorter than the latter, and with a prominent

ovate cap when young. =Galera antipoda= Lasch., similar in general

appearance to G. _tenera_, has a rooting base by which it is easily

known. =Galera flava= Pk., occurs among vegetable mold in woods. The

pileus is membraneous, ovate or campanulate, moist or somewhat watery,

obtuse, plicate, striate on the margin, yellow. The plants are 5--8 cm.

high, the caps 12--25 mm. broad, and the stem 2--3 mm. in thickness. The

plant is recognized by the pale yellow color of the caps and the plicate

striate character of the margin. The plicate striate character of the

cap is singular among the species of this genus, and is shared by

another species, =G. coprinoides= Pk.

FLAMMULA Fr.

In the genus _Flammula_, the pileus is fleshy, stem fleshy-fibrous, and

the gills adnate to decurrent.

[Illustration: FIGURE 151.--Flammula polychroa, under view. Cap

vinaceous buff to orange buff, scales lilac, purple or lavender; gills

drab to hair brown (natural size). Copyright.]

=Flammula polychroa= Berk.--This is a beautiful plant with tints of

violet, lavender, lilac and purple, especially on the scales of the

pileus, on the veil and on the stem. It occurs in clusters during late

summer and autumn, on logs, branches, etc., in the woods. The plants

occur singly, but more often in clusters of three to eight or more. The

plants are 4--7 cm. high, the cap 3--5 cm. broad, and the stem 4--6 mm.

in thickness.

The =pileus= is convex, and in the young stage the margin strongly

incurved, later the cap becomes expanded and has a very broad umbo. It

is very viscid. The surface is covered with delicate hairs which form

scales, more prominent during mid-age of the plant, and on the margin of

the cap. These scales are very delicate and vary in color from

vinaceous-buff, lilac, wine-purple, or lavender. The ground color of the

pileus is vinaceous-buff or orange-buff, and toward the margin often

with shades of beryl-green, especially where it has been touched. In

the young plants the color of the delicate hairy surface is deeper,

often phlox-purple, the color becoming thinner as the cap expands.

The =gills= are notched (sinuate) at the stem, or adnate, sometimes

slightly decurrent, crowded. Before exposure by the rupture of the veil

they are cream-buff in color, then taking on darker shades, drab to hair

brown or sepia with a purple tinge. The =stem= is yellowish, nearly or

quite the color of the cap, often with a purplish tinge at the base. It

is covered with numerous small punctate scales of the same color, or

sulphur yellow above where they are more crowded and larger. The scales

do not extend on the stem above the point where the veil is attached.

The stem is slightly striate above the attachment of the veil. It is

somewhat tough and cartilaginous, solid, or in age stuffed, or nearly

hollow. The =veil= is floccose and quite thick when the plant is young.

It is scaly on the under side, clinging to the margin of the pileus in

triangular remnants, appearing like a crown. The color of the veil and

of its remnants is the same as the color of the scales of the cap.

The spores in mass are light brown, and when fresh with a slight purple

tinge. (The color of the spores on white paper is near walnut brown or

hair brown of Ridgeway's colors.) Under the microscope they are

yellowish, oval or short oblong, often inequilateral, 6--8 × 4--5 µ.

Figure 151 is from plants (No. 4016, C. U. herbarium) collected at

Blowing Rock, N. C., September, 1899, on a fallen maple log. The plants

sometimes occur singly. It has been collected at Ithaca, N. Y., and was

first described from plants collected at Waynesville, Ohio.

=Flammula sapinea= Fr., is a common plant growing on dead coniferous

wood. It is dull yellow, the pileus 1--4 cm. in diameter, and with

numerous small scales.

HEBELOMA Fr.

In _Hebeloma_ the gills are either squarely set against the stem

(adnate) or they are notched (sinuate), and the spores are clay-colored.

The edge of the gills is usually whitish, the surface clay-colored. The

veil is only seen in the young stage, and then is very delicate and

fibrillose. The stem is fleshy and fibrous, and somewhat mealy at the

apex. The genus corresponds with _Tricholoma_ of the white-spored

agarics. All the species are regarded as unwholesome, and some are

considered poisonous. The species largely occur during the autumn. Few

have been studied in America.

=Hebeloma crustuliniforme= Bull.--This plant is usually common in some

of the lawns, during the autumn, at Ithaca, N. Y. It often forms rings

as it grows on the ground. It is from 5--7 cm. high, the cap 4--8 cm. in

diameter, and the stem is 4--6 mm. in thickness.

[Illustration: FIGURE 152.--Hebeloma crustuliniforme, var. minor. Cap

whitish or tan color, or reddish-brown at center; gills clay color

(natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex and expanded, somewhat umbonate, viscid when

moist, whitish or tan color, darker over the center, where it is often

reddish-brown. The =gills= are adnexed and rounded near the stem,

crowded, whitish, then clay color and reddish-brown, the edge whitish

and irregular. The =gills= are said to exude watery drops in wet

weather. The =stem= is stuffed, later hollow, somewhat enlarged at the

base, white, and mealy at the apex. Figure 152 is from plants (No. 2713,

C. U. herbarium) collected in lawns on the Cornell University campus.

The plants in this figure seem to represent the variety _minor_.

INOCYBE Fr.

In the genus _Inocybe_ there is a universal veil which is fibrillose in

character, and more or less closely joined with the cuticle of the

pileus, and the surface of the pileus is therefore marked with fibrils

or is more or less scaly. Sometimes the margin of the pileus possesses

remnants of a veil which is quite prominent in a few species. The gills

are adnate, or sinuate, rarely decurrent, and in one species they are

free. It is thus seen that the species vary widely, and there may be,

after a careful study of the species, grounds for the separation of the

species into several genera. One of the most remarkable species is

_Inocybe echinata_ Roth. This plant is covered with a universal veil of

a sooty color and powdery in nature. The gills are reddish purple, and

the stem is of the same color, the spores on white paper of a faint

purplish red color. Some place in it _Psalliota_. Collected at Ithaca in

August, 1900.

TUBARIA W. Smith.

In the genus _Tubaria_ the spores are rust-red, or rusty brown

(ferruginous or fuscous-ferruginous), the stem is somewhat

cartilaginous, hollow, and, what is more important, the gills are more

or less decurrent, broad next to the stem, and thus more or less

triangular in outline. It is related to _Naucoria_ and _Galera_, but

differs in the decurrent gills. The pileus is convex, or with an

umbilicus.

=Tubaria pellucida= Bull.--This species grows by roadsides in grassy

places. The plants are from 3--4 cm. high, and the cap 1--2 cm. in

diameter, and the stem 2--3 mm. in thickness.

[Illustration: FIGURE 153.--Tubaria pellucida. Dull reddish brown

(natural size).]

The =pileus= is conic, then bell-shaped, often expanded and with a

slight umbo; the color is dull, reddish brown, and it has a watery

appearance. The plant is sometimes enveloped with a loose and delicate

universal or outer veil, which remains on the margin of the cap in the

form of silky squamules as shown in the figure. The margin of the pileus

is faintly striate. The =gills= are only slightly decurrent. Figure 153

is from plants (No. 2360 C. U. herbarium) collected along a street in

Ithaca.

The stem is at first solid, becoming hollow, tapering above, and the

apex is mealy.

CREPIDOTUS Fr.

In _Crepidotus_ the pileus is lateral, or eccentric, and thus more or

less shelving, or it is resupinate, that is, lying flat or nearly so on

the wood. The species are usually of small size, thin, soft and fleshy.

The spores are reddish brown (ferruginous). The genus corresponds to

_Pleurotus_ among the white-spored agarics, or to _Claudopus_ among the

rosy-spored ones. Peck describes eleven species in the 39th Report, N.

Y. State Mus., p. 69 et seq., 1886.

=Crepidotus versutus= Pk.--This little _Crepidotus_ has a pure white

pileus which is covered with a soft, whitish down. The plants grow

usually on the underside of rotten wood or bark, and then the upper side

of the cap lies against the wood, and is said to be resupinate.

Sometimes where they grow toward the side of the log the cap has a

tendency to be shelving. In the resupinate forms the cap is attached

usually near one side, and then is produced more at the opposite side,

so that it is more or less lateral or eccentric. As the plant becomes

mature the edge is free from the wood for some distance, only being

attached over a small area. The cap is somewhat reniform, thin, and from

6--12 cm. in diameter. The =gills= radiate from the point where the cap

is attached to the substratum, are not crowded, rounded behind, that is,

at the lateral part of the cap where they converge. They are whitish,

then ferruginous from the spores. The =spores= are sub-elliptical,

sometimes inequilateral, and measure from 8--12 × 4--6 µ.

[Illustration: FIGURE 154.--Crepidotus versutus. Cap white, downy; gills

whitish, then rusty (twice natural size) Copyright.]

=Crepidotus herbarum= Pk., is a closely related species, separated on

account of the smaller spores. Both species grow either on herbs or

decaying wood. As suggested by Peck they are both closely related to _C.

chimonophilus_ Berk., which has "oblong elliptical" spores. The shape of

the spores does not seem to differ from the specimens which I have taken

to be _C. versutus_.

=Crepidotus applanatus= Fr., is a larger species, shelving and often

imbricated. =Crepidotus fulvotomentosus= Pk., is a pretty species with a

tomentose cap and tawny scales, usually occurring singly. It is closely

related to _C. calolepis_ Fr.

Figure 154 is from plants of _Crepidotus versutus_ Pk., (No. 2732 C. U.

herbarium) collected on rotting wood at Freeville, N. Y., eight miles

from Ithaca. The plants are represented twice natural size.

CORTINARIUS Fr.

The genus _Cortinarius_ is chiefly distinguished from the other genera

of the ochre-spored agarics by the presence of a spider-web-like

(arachnoid) veil which is separate from the cuticle of the pileus, that

is, superficial. The gills are powdered by the spores, that is, the

spores fall away with difficulty and thus give the gills a pulverulent

appearance. The plants are fleshy and decay easily. It is necessary to

have plants in the young as well as the old state to properly get at the

characters, and the character of the veil is only seen in young or half

developed specimens. The species are to be distinguished from other

ochre-spored agarics with a cobwebby veil by the fact that the veil in

_Cortinarius_ is superficial and the gills powdery. The number of

species is very large, and they are difficult to determine. They mostly

occur in northern countries and in the autumn or late summer; some

species, however, occur during early summer. Peck, 23d Report, N. Y.

State Mus., p. 105--112, describes 21 species.

=Cortinarius (Inoloma) violaceus= (L.) Fr. =Edible.=--This species is

known by the violet or dark violet color which pervades all parts of the

plant. The plants are 8--10 cm. high, the pileus 7--15 cm. broad, and

the stem is bulbous, 6--8 mm. in thickness. The veil is single. It

occurs in woods and open places during late summer and in the autumn.

The flesh of the plant is also violet, and this color is imparted to the

liquid when the plant is cooked. The flavor is said to be something like

that of _Agaricus campestris_.

=Cortinarius (Myxacium) collinitus= (Pers.) Fr. =Edible.=--This is known

as the smeared cortinarius because of the abundant glutinous substance

with which the plant is smeared during moist or wet weather. It grows in

woods. The plants are 7--10 cm. high, the cap 5--8 cm. in diameter, and

the stem is 8--12 mm. in thickness. It is usually known by the smooth,

even, tawny cap, the great abundance of slimy substance covering the

entire plant when moist, and when dry the cracking of the gluten on the

stem into annular patches.

The =pileus= is convex to expanded, smooth, even, glutinous when wet,

shining when dry, tawny. The =gills= are adnate with a peculiar bluish

gray tinge when young, and clay color to cinnamon when old. The =spores=

are nearly elliptical, and 12--15 × 6--7 µ. The =stem= is cylindrical,

even, and with patches of the cracked gluten when dry.

=Cortinarius (Dermocybe) cinnamomeus= (L.) Fr. =Edible.=--The cinnamon

cortinarius is so called because of the cinnamon color of the entire

plant, especially of the cap and stem. It grows in the woods during

summer and autumn. It is a very pretty plant, and varies from 5--8 cm.

high, the cap from 2--10 cm. broad, and the stem 4--6 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is conic, or convex, and nearly expanded, sometimes nearly

plane, and again with a prominent blunt or conic umbo. Sometimes the

pileus is abruptly bent downward near the margin as shown in the plants

in Fig. 155, giving the appearance of a "hip-roof." The surface is

smooth, silky, with innate fibrils. Sometimes there are cinnabar stains

on parts of the pileus, and often there are concentric rows of scales

near the margin. The flesh is light yellowish and with stains of

cinnabar. The =gills= are adnate, slightly sinuate, and decurrent by a

tooth, easily separating from the stem, rather crowded, slightly

ventricose. The color of the gills varies greatly; sometimes they are

the same color as the pileus, sometimes reddish brown, sometimes blood

red color, etc. This latter form is a very pretty plant, and is var.

_semi-sanguineus_ Fr.

[Illustration: FIGURE 155.--Cortinarius cinnamomeus var.

semi-sanguineus. Cap and stem cinnamon, gills blood red color (natural

size). Copyright.]

Figure 155 is from plants (No. 2883 C. U. herbarium) collected at

Ithaca. The species is widely distributed in this country as well as in

Europe.

[Illustration: PLATE 50, FIGURE 156.--Cortinarius ochroleucus. Entire

plant pale ochre color, gills later ochre yellow (natural size).

Copyright.]

=Cortinarius (Dermocybe) ochroleucus= (Schaeff.) Fr.--This is a very

beautiful plant because of the soft, silky appearance of the surface of

pileus and stem, and the delicate yellowish white color. It occurs in

woods, on the ground among decaying leaves. The plants are 4--12 cm.

high, the cap 4--7 cm. broad, and the stem above is 6--10 mm. in

thickness, and below from 2--3 cm. in thickness.

[Illustration: PLATE 51, FIGURE 157.--Cortinarius ochroleucus. Colors

same as in Figure 156, this represents older plants.]

The =pileus= is convex to nearly expanded, and sometimes a little

depressed, usually, however, remaining convex at the top. It is dry, on

the center finely tomentose to minutely squamulose, sometimes the scales

splitting up into concentric rows around the cap. The cap is fleshy at

the center, and thin at the margin, the color is from cream buff to

buff, darker on the center. The =gills= are sinuate or adnate, slightly

broader in the middle (ventricose) in age, pale at first, then becoming

ochre yellow, and darker when the plant dries. The =spores= are tawny in

mass, oval, elliptical, minutely tuberculate when mature, 6--9 × 4--6 µ.

The =stem= is clavate, pale cream buff in color, solid, becoming

irregularly fistulose in age, bulbous or somewhat ventricose below, the

bulb often large and abrupt, 1.5--3 cm. in diameter. The =veil= is

prominent and attached to the upper part of the stem, the abundant

threads attached over an area 1 cm. in extent and forming a beautiful

cortina of the same color as the pileus and stem, but becoming tawny

when the spores fall on it. The stem varies considerably in length and

shape, being rarely ventricose, and then only at the base; the bulbous

forms predominate and the bulb is often very large.

Figures 156, 157 are from plants (No. 3674 C. U. herbarium) collected at

Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

BOLBITIUS Fries.

The genus _Bolbitius_ contains a few species with yellowish or yellowish

brown spores. The plants are very fragile, more or less mucilaginous

when moist, usually with yellowish colors, and, what is the most

characteristic feature beside the yellowish color of the spores, the

gills are very soft, and at maturity tend to dissolve into a

mucilaginous consistency, though they do not deliquesce, or only rarely

dissolve so far as to form drops. The surface of the gills at maturity

becomes covered with the spores so that they appear powdery, as in the

genus _Cortinarius_, which they also resemble in the color of the

spores. In the mucilaginous condition of the gills the genus approaches

_Coprinus_. It is believed to occupy an intermediate position between

_Coprinus_ and _Cortinarius_. The species usually grow on dung or in

manured ground, and in this respect resemble many of the species of

_Coprinus_. Some of the species are, however, not always confined to

such a substratum, but grow on decaying leaves, etc.

[Illustration: FIGURE 158.--Bolbitius variicolor. Cap viscid, various

shades of yellow, or smoky olive; gills yellowish, then rusty (natural

size).]

=Bolbitius variicolor= Atkinson.--This plant was found abundantly during

May and June, 1898, in a freshly manured grass plat between the

side-walk and the pavement along Buffalo street, Ithaca, N. Y. The

season was rainy, and the plants appeared each day during quite a long

period, sometimes large numbers of them covering a small area, but they

were not clustered nor cespitose. They vary in height from 4--10 cm.,

the pileus from 2--4 cm. broad, and the stem is 3--8 mm. in thickness.

The colors vary from smoky to fuliginous, olive and yellow, and the

spores are ferruginous.

The =pileus= is from ovate to conic when young, the margin not at all

incurved, but lies straight against the stem, somewhat unequal. In

expanding the cap becomes convex, then expanded, and finally many of the

plants with the margin elevated and with a broad umbo, and finely

striate for one-half to two-thirds the way from the margin to the

center. When young the pileus has a very viscid cuticle, which easily

peels from the surface, showing the yellow flesh. The cuticle is smoky

olive to fuliginous, darker when young, becoming paler as the pileus

expands, but always darker on the umbo. Sometimes the fibres on the

surface of the cap are drawn into strands which anastomose into coarse

reticulations, giving the appearance of elevated veins which have a

general radiate direction from the center of the cap. As the pileus

expands the yellow color of the flesh shows through the cuticle more and

more, especially when young, but becoming light olive to fuliginous in

age. In dry weather the surface of the pileus sometimes cracks into

patches as the pileus expands. The =gills= are rounded next the stem,

adnate to adnexed, becoming free, first yellow, then ferruginous. The

basidia are abruptly club-shaped, rather distant and separated regularly

by rounded cells, four spored. The =spores= are ferruginous, elliptical,

10--15 × 6--8 µ, smooth. The =stem= is cylindrical to terete, tapering

above, sulphur and ochre yellow, becoming paler and even with a light

brown tinge in age. The stem is hollow, and covered with numerous small

yellow floccose scales which point upward and are formed by the tearing

away of the edges of the gills, which are loosely united with the

surface of the stem in the young stage. The edges of the gills are thus

sometimes finely fimbriate.

At maturity the gills become more or less mucilaginous, depending on the

weather. Plants placed in a moist chamber change to a mucilaginous mass.

When the plants dry the pileus is from a drab to hair brown or sepia

color (Ridgeway's colors). Figure 158 is from plants (No. 2355 C. U.

herbarium).

PAXILLUS Fr.

In the genus _Paxillus_ the gills are usually easily separated from the

pileus, though there are some species accredited to the genus that do

not seem to possess this character in a marked degree. The spores are

ochre or ochre brown. Often the gills are forked near the stem or

anastomose, or they are connected by veins which themselves anastomose

in a reticulate fashion so that the meshes resemble the pores of certain

species of the family _Polyporaceæ_. The pileus may be viscid or dry in

certain species, but the plant lacks a viscid universal veil. The genus

is closely related to _Gomphidius_, where the gills are often forked and

easily separate from the pileus, but _Gomphidius_ possesses a viscid or

glutinous universal veil. Peck in the Bull. N. Y. State Mus. Nat. Hist.

2: 29--33, describes five species.

=Paxillus involutus= (Batsch.) Fr. =Edible.=--This plant is quite common

in some places and is widely distributed. It occurs on the ground in

grassy places, in the open, or in woods, and on decaying logs or stumps.

The stem is central, or nearly so, when growing on the ground, or

eccentric when growing on wood, especially if growing from the side of a

log or stump. The plants are 5--7 cm. high, the cap 3--7 cm. broad, and

the stem 1--2 cm. in thickness. The plant occurs from August to October.

[Illustration: FIGURE 159.--Paxillus involutus. Cap and stem gray,

olive-brown, reddish brown or tawny (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex to expanded, and depressed in the center. In the

young plant the margin is strongly inrolled, and as the pileus expands

it unrolls in a very pretty manner. The young plant is covered with a

grayish, downy substance, and when the inrolled margin of the cap comes

in contact with the gills, as it does, it presses the gills against this

down, and the unrolling margin is thus marked quite prominently,

sometimes with furrows where the pressure of the gills was applied. The

color of the pileus varies greatly. In the case of plants collected at

Ithaca and in North Carolina mountains the young plant when fresh is

often olive umber, becoming reddish or tawny when older, the margin with

a lighter shade. As Dr. Peck states, "it often presents a strange

admixture of gray, ochraceous, ferruginous, and brown hues." The flesh

is yellowish and changes to reddish or brownish where bruised. The

=gills= are decurrent, when young arcuate, then ascending, and are more

or less reticulated on the stem. They are grayish, then greenish yellow

changing to brown where bruised. The =spores= are oval, 7--9 × 4--5 µ.

The =stem= is short, even, and of the same color as the cap.

[Illustration: PLATE 52, FIGURE 160.--Paxillus rhodoxanthus. Cap reddish

brown, stem paler, gills yellow (natural size). Copyright.]

At Ithaca, N. Y., the plant is sometimes abundant in late autumn in

grassy places near or in groves. The Figure 159 is from plants (No. 2508

C. U. herbarium) growing in such a place in the suburbs of Ithaca. At

Blowing Rock, N. C., the plant is often very abundant along the

roadsides on the ground during August and September.

=Paxillus rhodoxanthus= (Schw.)--This species was first described by de

Schweinitz as _Agaricus rhodoxanthus_, p. 83 No. 640, Synopsis fungorum

Carolinæ superioris, in Schriften der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft 1:

19--131, 1822. It was described under his third section of _Agaricus_

under the sub-genus _Gymnopus_, in which are mainly species now

distributed in _Clitocybe_ and _Hygrophorus_. He remarks on the elegant

appearance of the plant and the fact that it so nearly resembles

_Boletus subtomentosus_ as to deceive one. The resemblance to _Boletus

subtomentosus_ as one looks upon the pileus when the plant is growing on

the ground is certainly striking, because of the reddish yellow,

ochraceous rufus or chestnut brown color of the cap together with the

minute tomentum covering the surface. The suggestion is aided also by

the color of the gills, which one is apt to get a glimpse of from above

without being aware that the fruiting surface has gills instead of

tubes. But as soon as the plant is picked and we look at the under

surface, all suggestion of a _Boletus_ vanishes, unless one looks

carefully at the venation of the surface of the gills and the spaces

between them. The plant grows on the ground in woods. At Blowing Rock,

N. C., where it is not uncommon, I have always found it along the

mountain roads on the banks. It is 5--10 cm. high, the cap from 3--8 cm.

broad, and the stem 6--10 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is convex, then expanded, plane or convex, and when mature

more or less top-shaped because it is so thick at the middle. In age the

surface of the cap often becomes cracked into small areas, showing the

yellow flesh in the cracks. The flesh is yellowish and the surface is

dry. The =gills= are not very distant, they are stout, chrome yellow to

lemon yellow, and strongly decurrent. A few of them are forked toward

the base, and the surface and the space between them are marked by

anastomosing veins forming a reticulum suggestive of the hymenium of the

_Polyporaceæ_. This character is not evident without the use of a hand

lens. The surface of the gills as well as the edges is provided with

clavate =cystidia= which are filled with a yellow pigment, giving to the

gills the bright yellow color so characteristic. These cystidia extend

above the basidia, and the ends are rounded so that sometimes they

appear capitate. The yellow color is not confined to the cystidia, for

the sub-hymenium is also colored in a similar way. The =spores= are

yellowish, oblong to elliptical or spindle-shaped, and measure 8--12 ×

3--5 µ. The =stem= is the same color as the pileus, but paler, and more

yellow at the base. It is marked with numerous minute dots of a darker

color than the ground color, formed of numerous small erect tufts of

mycelium.

Figure 160 is from plants (No. 3977 C. U. herbarium) collected at

Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899. As stated above, the plant

was first described by de Schweinitz as _Agaricus rhodoxanthus_ in 1822.

In 1834 (Synop. fung. Am. Bor. p. 151, 1834) he listed it under the

genus _Gomphus_ Fries (Syst. Mycolog. 319, 1821). Since Fries changed

_Gomphus_ to _Gomphidius_ (Epicrisis, 319, 1836--1838) the species has

usually been written _Gomphidius rhodoxanthus_ Schweinitz. The species

lacks one very important characteristic of the genus _Gomphidius_,

namely, the slimy veil which envelops the entire plant. Its relationship

seems rather to be with the genus _Paxillus_, though the gills do not

readily separate from the pileus, one of the characters ascribed to this

genus, and possessed by certain species of _Gomphidius_ in even a better

degree. (In Paxillus involutus the gills do not separate so readily as

they do in certain species of _Gomphidius_.) Berkeley (Decades N. A.

Fungi, 116) has described a plant from Ohio under the name _Paxillus

flavidus_. It has been suggested by some (see Peck, 29th Report, p. 36;

Lloyd, Mycolog. Notes, where he writes it as _Flammula rhodoxanthus_!)

that _Paxillus flavidus_ Berk., is identical with _Agaricus

rhodoxanthus_ Schw.

_Paxillus rhodoxanthus_ seems also to be very near if not identical with

_Clitocybe pelletieri_ Lev. (Gillet, Hymenomycetes =1=: 170), and

Schroeter (Cohn's Krypt, Flora Schlesien, =3=, 1: 516, 1889) transfers

this species to _Paxillus_ as _Paxillus pelletieri_. He is followed by

Hennings, who under the same section of the genus, lists _P. flavidus_

Berk., from N. A. The figure of _Clitocybe pelletieri_ in Gillet

Hymenomycetes, etc., resembles our plant very closely, and Saccardo

(Syll. Fung. =5=: 192) says that it has the aspect of _Boletus

subtomentosus,_ a remark similar to the one made by de Schweinitz in the

original description of _Agaricus rhodoxanthus_. _Flammula paradoxa_

Kalch. (Fung. Hung. Tab. XVII, Fig. 1) seems to be the same plant, as

well as _F. tammii_ Fr., with which Patouillard (Tab. Anal. N. 354)

places _F. paradoxa_ and _Clitocybe pelletieri_.

=Paxillus atro=tomentosus= (Batsch) Fr.--This plant is not very common.

It is often of quite large size, 6--15 cm. high, and the cap 5--10 cm.

broad, the stem very short or sometimes long, from 1--2.5 cm. in

thickness. The plant is quite easily recognized by the stout and black

hairy stem, and the dark brown or blackish, irregular and sometimes

lateral cap, with the margin incurved. It grows on wood, logs, stumps,

etc., during late summer and autumn.

[Illustration: FIGURE 161.--Paxillus atro-tomentosus, form hirsutus. Cap

and stem brownish or blackish (natural size, small specimens, they are

often larger). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex, expanded, sometimes somewhat depressed, lateral,

irregular, or sometimes with the stem nearly in the center, brownish or

blackish, dry, sometimes with a brownish or blackish tomentum on the

surface. The margin is inrolled and later incurved. The flesh is white,

and the plant is tough. The =gills= are adnate, often decurrent on the

stem, and easily separable from the pileus, forked at the base and

sometimes reticulate, forming pores. =Spores= yellowish, oval, 4--6 ×

3--4 µ. Stevenson says that the gills do not form pores like those of P.

involutus, but Fig. 161 (No. 3362 C. U. herbarium) from plants collected

at Ithaca, shows them well. There is, as it seems, some variation in

this respect. The =stem= is solid, tough and elastic, curved or

straight, covered with a dense black tomentum, sometimes with violet

shades. On drying the plant becomes quite hard, and the gills blackish

olive.

=Paxillus panuoides= Fr.--This species was collected during August,

1900, on a side-walk and on a log at Ithaca. The specimens collected

were sessile and the =pileus= lateral, somewhat broadened at the free

end, or petaloid. The entire plant is pale or dull yellow, the surface

of the pileus fibrous and somewhat uneven but not scaly. The plants are

2--12 cm. long by 1--8 cm. broad, often many crowded together in an

imbricated manner. The =gills= are pale yellow, and the =spores= are of

the same color when caught on white paper, and they measure 4--5 × 3--4

µ, the size given for European specimens of this species. The gills are

forked, somewhat anastomosing at the base, and sinuous in outline,

though not markedly corrugated as in the next form. From descriptions of

the European specimens the plants are sometimes larger than these here

described, and it is very variable in form and often imbricated as in

the following species.

=Paxillus corrugatus= Atkinson.--This very interesting species was

collected at Ithaca, N. Y., on decaying wood, August 4, 1899. The pileus

is lateral, shelving, the stem being entirely absent in the specimens

found. The =pileus= is 2--5 cm. broad, narrowed down in an irregular

wedge form to the sessile base, convex, then expanded, the margin

incurved (involute). The color of the cap is yellow, maize yellow to

canary yellow, with a reddish brown tinge near the base. It is nearly

smooth, or very slightly tomentose. The flesh is pale yellow, spongy.

The =gills= are orange yellow, 2--3 mm. broad, not crowded, regularly

forked several times, thin, blunt, very wavy and crenulate, easily

separating from the hymenophore when fresh; the entire breadth of the

gills is fluted, giving a corrugated appearance to the side. The

=spores= in these specimens are faintly yellow, minute, oblong, broadly

elliptical, short, sometimes nearly oval, 3 × 1.5--2 µ. The =basidia=

are also very minute. The spores are olive yellow on white paper. The

plant has a characteristic and disagreeable odor. This odor persists in

the dried plant for several months.

Figure 162 is from the plants (No. 3332 C. U. herbarium) collected as

noted above on decaying hemlock logs in woods. A side and under view is

shown in the figure, and the larger figure is the under-view, from a

photograph made a little more than twice natural size, in order to show

clearly the character of the gills. The two smaller plants are natural

size. When dry the plant is quite hard.

[Illustration: PLATE 53, FIGURE 162.--Paxillus corrugatus. Cap maize

yellow to orange yellow, reddish brown near the base; gills orange

yellow. Two lower plants natural size; upper one 2-1/2 times natural

size. Copyright.]

[Illustration: PLATE 54, FIGURE 163.--Paxillus panuoides, pale yellow;

natural size. Copyright.]

[Illustration: PLATE 55.

FIG. 1.--Boletus felleus.

FIG. 2.--B. edulis.

Copyright 1900.]

CHAPTER IX.

THE TUBE-BEARING FUNGI. POLYPORACEAE.

The plants belonging to this family are characterized especially by a

honey-combed fruiting surface, that is, the under surface of the plants

possesses numerous tubes or pores which stand close together side by

side, and except in a very few forms these tubes are joined by their

sides to each other. In _Fistulina_ the tubes are free from each other

though standing closely side by side. In _Merulius_ distinct tubes are

not present, but the surface is more or less irregularly pitted, the

pits being separated from each other by folds which anastomose, forming

a network. These pits correspond to shallow tubes.

The plants vary greatly in consistency, some are very fleshy and soft

and putrify readily. Others are soft when young and become firmer as

they age, and some are quite hard and woody. Many of the latter are

perennial and live for several or many years, adding a new layer in

growth each year. The larger number of the species grow on wood, but

some grow on the ground; especially in the genus _Boletus_, which has

many species, the majority grow on the ground. Some of the plants have a

cap and stem, in others the stem is absent and the cap attached to the

tree or log, etc., forms a shelf, or the plant may be thin and spread

over the surface of the wood in a thin patch.

In the genus _Dædalea_ the tubes become more or less elongated

horizontally and thus approach the form of the gills, while in some

species the tubes are more or less toothed or split and approach the

spine-bearing fungi at least in appearance of the fruit-bearing surface.

Only a few of the genera and species will be described.

The following key is not complete, but may aid in separating some of the

larger plants:

Tubes or pores free from each other, though

standing closely side by side, _Fistulina_.

Tubes or pores not free, joined side by side, 1.

1--Plants soft and fleshy, soon decaying, 2.

Plants soft when young, becoming firm, some

woody or corky, stipitate, shelving, or spread

over the wood, _Polyporus_.

Tubes or pores shallow, formed by a network of

folds or wrinkles, plants thin, sometimes spread

over the wood, and somewhat gelatinous, _Merulius_.

2--Mass (stratum) of tubes easily separating from the

cap when peeled off, cap not with coarse scales,

tubes in some species in radiating lines, _Boletus_.

Stratum of tubes separating, but not easily, cap

with coarse, prominent scales, _Strobilomyces_.

Stratum of tubes separating, but not easily, tubes

arranged in distinct radiating lines. In one

species (_B. porosus_) the tubes do not

separate from the cap, _Boletinus_.

This last genus is apt to be confused with certain species of Boletus

which have a distinct radiate arrangement of the tubes. It is

questionable whether it is clearly distinguished from the genus Boletus.

BOLETUS Dill.

Of the few genera in the _Polyporaceæ_ which are fleshy and putrescent,

_Boletus_ contains by far the largest number of species. The entire

plant is soft and fleshy, and decays soon after maturity. The stratum of

tubes on the under side of the cap is easily peeled off and separates as

shown in the portion of a cap near the right hand side of Fig. 169. In

the genus _Polyporus_ the stratum of tubes cannot thus be separated. In

the genera _Strobilomyces_ and _Boletinus_, two other fleshy genera of

this family, the separation is said to be more difficult than in

_Boletus_, but it has many times seemed to me a "distinction without a

difference."

The larger number of the species of _Boletus_ grow on the ground. Some

change color when bruised or cut, so that it is important to note this

character when the plant is fresh, and the taste should be noted as

well.

=Boletus edulis= Bull. =Edible.= [_Ag. bulbosus_ Schaeff. Tab. 134,

1763. _Boletus bulbosus_ (Schaeff.) Schroeter. Cohn's Krypt, Flora.

Schlesien, p. 499, 1889].--This plant, which, as its name implies, is

edible, grows in open woods or their borders, in groves and in open

places, on the ground. It occurs in warm, wet weather, from July to

September. It is one of the largest of the Boleti, and varies from 5--12

cm. high, the cap from 8--25 cm. broad, and the stem 2--4 cm. in

thickness.

[Illustration: PLATE 56, FIGURE 164.--Boletus edulis. Cap light brown,

tubes greenish yellow or yellowish; stem in this specimen entirely

reticulate (natural size, often larger). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex to expanded, smooth, firm, quite hard when young

and becoming soft in age. The color varies greatly, from buff to dull

reddish, to reddish-brown, tawny-brown, often yellowish over a portion

of the cap, usually paler on the margin. The flesh is white or tinged

with yellow, sometimes reddish under the cuticle. The =tubes= are white

when young and the mouths are closed (stuffed), the lower surface of the

tubes is convex from the margin of the cap to the stem, and depressed

around the stem, sometimes separating from the stem. While the tubes are

white when young, they become greenish or greenish-yellow, or entirely

yellow when mature. The =spores= when caught on paper are

greenish-yellow, or yellow. They are oblong to fusiform, 12--15 µ long.

The =stem= is stout, even, or much enlarged at the base so that it is

clavate. The surface usually shows prominent reticulations on mature

plants near the tubes, sometimes over the entire stem. This is well

shown in Fig. 164 from plants (No. 2886, C. U. herbarium) collected at

Ithaca, N. Y.

[Illustration: PLATE 57, FIGURE 165.--Cap light brown, tubes greenish

yellow or yellowish; stem in these specimens not reticulate (2/3 natural

size). Copyright.]

Figure 165 represents plants (No. 4134, C. U. herbarium) collected at

Blowing Rock, N. C., in September, 1899. The plant is widely distributed

and has long been prized as an esculent in Europe and America. When raw

the plant has an agreeable nutty taste, sometimes sweet. The caps are

sometimes sliced and dried for future use. It is usually recommended to

discard the stems and remove the tubes since the latter are apt to form

a slimy mass on cooking.

=Boletus felleus= Bull. =Bitter.=--This is known as the bitter boletus,

because of a bitter taste of the flesh. It usually grows on or near much

decayed logs or stumps of hemlock spruce. It is said to be easily

recognized by its bitter taste. I have found specimens of a plant which

seems to have all the characters of this one growing at the base of

hemlock spruce trees, except that the taste was not bitter. At Ithaca,

however, the plant occurs and the taste is bitter. It is one of the

large species of the genus, being from 8--12 cm. high, the cap 7--20 cm.

broad, and the stem 1--2.5 cm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is convex becoming nearly plane, firm, and in age soft,

smooth, the color varying from pale yellow to various shades of brown to

chestnut. The flesh is white, and where wounded often changes to a pink

color, but not always. The =tubes= are adnate, long, the under surface

convex and with a depression around the stem. The tubes are at first

white, but become flesh color or tinged with flesh color, and the mouths

are angular. The =stem= is stout, tapering upward, sometimes enlarged at

the base, usually reticulated at the upper end, and sometimes with the

reticulations over the entire surface (Fig. 166). The color is paler

than that of the cap. The =spores= are oblong to spindle-shaped, flesh

color in mass, and single ones measure 12--18 × 4--5 µ.

The general appearance of the plant is somewhat like that of the

_Boletus edulis_, and beginners should be cautioned not to confuse the

two species. It is known by its bitter taste and the flesh-colored

tubes, while the taste of the _B. edulis_ is sweet, and the tubes are

greenish-yellow, or yellowish or light ochre.

Plate 55 represents three specimens in color.

=Boletus scaber= Fr. =Edible.=--This species is named the rough-stemmed

boletus, in allusion to the rough appearance given to the stem from

numerous dark brown or reddish dots or scales. This is a characteristic

feature, and aids one greatly in determining the species, since the

color of the cap varies much. The cap is sometimes whitish, orange red,

brown, or smoky in color. The plant is 6--15 cm. high, the cap 3--7 cm.

broad, and the stem 8--12 mm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is rounded, becoming convex, smooth, or nearly so,

sometimes scaly, and the flesh is soft and white, sometimes turning

slightly to a reddish or dark color where bruised. The =tubes= are

small, long, the surface formed by their free ends is convex in outline,

and the tubes are depressed around the stem. They are first white,

becoming darker, and somewhat brownish. The =stem= is solid, tapering

somewhat upward, and roughened as described above.

The plant is one of the common species of the genus _Boletus_. It occurs

in the woods on the ground or in groves or borders of woods in grassy

places. Writers differ as to the excellence of this species for food;

some consider it excellent, while others regard it as less agreeable

than some other species. It is, at any rate, safe, and Peck considers it

"first-class."

=Boletus retipes= B. & C.--This species was first collected in North

Carolina by Curtis, and described by Berkeley. It has since been

reported from Ohio, Wisconsin, and New England (Peck, Boleti of the U.

S.). Peck reported it from New York in the 23d Report, N. Y. State Mus.,

p. 132. Later he recognized the New York plant as a new species which he

called _B. ornatipes_ (29th Report, N. Y. State Mus., p. 67). I

collected the species in the mountains of North Carolina, at Blowing

Rock, in August, 1888. During the latter part of August and in

September, 1899, I had an opportunity of seeing quite a large number of

specimens in the same locality, for it is not uncommon there, and two

specimens were photographed and are represented here in Fig. 167. The

original description published in Grevillea =1=: 36, should be modified,

especially in regard to the size of the plant, its habit, and the

pulverulent condition of the pileus. The plants are 6--15 cm. high, the

cap 5--10 cm. broad, and the stem 0.5--1.5 cm. in thickness.

[Illustration: PLATE 58, FIGURE 166.--Boletus felleus. Cap light brown,

tubes flesh color, stem in this specimen entirely reticulate (natural

size, often larger). Copyright.]

[Illustration: FIGURE 167.--Boletus retipes. Cap yellowish brown, to

olive-brown or nearly black, stem yellow, beautifully reticulate, tubes

yellow (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex, thick, soft and somewhat spongy, especially in

large plants. The cap is dry and sometimes, especially when young, it is

powdery; at other times, and in a majority of cases according to my

observations, it is not powdery. It is smooth or minutely tomentose,

sometimes the surface cracked into small patches, but usually even. The

color varies greatly between yellowish brown to olive brown, fuliginous

or nearly black. The =tubes= are yellow, adnate, the tube surface plane

or convex. The spores are yellowish or ochraceous, varying somewhat in

tint in different specimens. The =stem= is yellow, yellow also within,

and beautifully reticulate, usually to the base, but sometimes only

toward the apex. It is usually more strongly reticulate over the upper

half. The stem is erect or ascending.

The plant grows in woods, in leaf mold or in grassy places. It is

usually single, that is, so far as my observations have gone at Blowing

Rock. Berkeley and Curtis report it as cespitose. I have never seen it

cespitose, never more than two specimens growing near each other.

=Boletus ornatipes= Pk., does not seem to be essentially different from

_B. retipes_. Peck says (Boleti U. S., p. 126) that "the tufted mode of

growth, the pulverulent pileus and paler spores separate this species"

(_retipes_) "from the preceding one" (_ornatipes_). Inasmuch as I have

never found _B. retipes_ tufted, and the fact that the pileus is not

always pulverulent (the majority of specimens I collected were not), and

since the tint of the spores varies as it does in some other species,

the evidence is strong that the two names represent two different habits

of the same species. The tufted habit of the plants collected by Curtis,

or at least described by Berkeley, would seem to be a rather unusual

condition for this species, and this would account for the smaller size

given to the plants in the original description, where the pileus does

not exceed 5 cm. in diameter, and the stem is only 5 cm. long, and 6--12

mm. in thickness. Plants which normally occur singly do on some

occasions occur tufted, and then the habit as well as the size of the

plant is often changed.

A good illustration of this I found in the case of _Boletus edulis_

during my stay in the North Carolina mountains. The plant usually occurs

singly and more or less scattered. I found one case where there were

6--8 plants in a tuft, the caps were smaller and the stems in this case

considerably longer than in normal specimens. A plant which agrees with

the North Carolina specimens I have collected at Ithaca, and so I judge

that _B. retipes_ occurs in New York.

=Boletus chromapes= Frost.--This is a pretty boletus, and has been

reported from New England and from New York State. During the summer of

1899 it was quite common in the Blue Ridge mountains, North Carolina.

The plant grows on the ground in woods. It is 6--10 cm. high, the cap is

5--10 cm. in diameter, and the stem is 8--12 mm. in thickness. It is

known by the yellowish stem covered with reddish glandular dots.

[Illustration: PLATE 59, FIGURE 168.--Boletus chromapes. Cap pale red,

rose or pink, tubes flesh color, then brown, stem yellowish either above

or below, the surface with reddish or pinkish dots (natural size).

Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex to nearly expanded, pale red, rose pink to

vinaceous pink in color, and sometimes slightly tomentose. The flesh is

white, and does not change when cut or bruised. The =tube= surface is

convex, and the tubes are attached slightly to the stem, or free.

They are white, then flesh color, and in age become brown. The =stem= is

even, or it tapers slightly upward, straight or ascending, whitish or

yellow above, or below, sometimes yellowish the entire length. The flesh

is also yellowish, especially at the base. The entire surface is marked

with reddish or pinkish dots.

[Illustration: PLATE 60, FIGURE 169.--Boletus vermiculosus. Cap brown to

gray or buff; tubes yellowish with reddish brown mouths; flesh quickly

changes to blue where wounded (natural size, sometimes larger).

Copyright.]

Figure 168 is from plants (No. 4085 C. U. herbarium) collected at

Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

=Boletus vermiculosus= Pk.--This species was named _B. vermiculosus_

because it is sometimes very "wormy." This is not always the case,

however. It grows in woods on the ground, in the Eastern United States.

It is from 6--12 cm. high, the cap from 7--12 cm. broad, and the stem

1--2 cm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is thick, convex, firm, smooth, and varies in color from

brown to yellowish brown, or drab gray to buff, and is minutely

tomentose. The flesh quickly changes to blue where wounded, and the

bruised portion, sometimes, changing to yellowish. The =tubes= are

yellowish, with reddish-brown mouths, the tube surface being rounded,

free or nearly so, and the tubes changing to blue where wounded. The

=stem= is paler than the pileus, often dotted with short, small, dark

tufts below, and above near the tubes abruptly paler, and sometimes the

two colors separated by a brownish line. The stem is not reticulated.

Figure 169 is from a photograph of plants (No. 4132 C. U. herbarium)

collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

=Boletus obsonium= (Paul.) Fr.--This species was not uncommon in the

woods at Blowing Rock, N. C., during the latter part of August and

during September, 1899. It grows on the ground, the plants usually

appearing singly. It is from 10--15 cm. high, the cap 8--13 cm. broad,

and the stem 1--2 cm. in thickness, considerably broader at the base

than at the apex.

The =pileus= is convex to expanded, vinaceous cinnamon, to pinkish

vinaceous or hazel in color. It is soft, slightly tomentose, and when

old the surface frequently cracks into fine patches showing the pink

flesh beneath. The thin margin extends slightly beyond the tubes, so

that it is sterile. The flesh does not change color on exposure to the

air. The =tubes= are plane, adnate, very slightly depressed around the

stem or nearly free, yellowish white when young, becoming dark olive

green in age from the color of the spores. The tube mouths are small and

rotund. The =spores= caught on white paper are dark olive green. They

are elliptical usually, with rounded ends, 12--15 × 4--5 µ. The =stem=

is white when young, with a tinge of yellow ochre, and pale flesh color

below. It is marked with somewhat parallel elevated lines, or rugæ

below, where it is enlarged and nearly bulbous. In age it becomes flesh

color the entire length and is more plainly striate rugose with a

yellowish tinge at the base. The stem tapers gradually and strongly from

the base to the apex, so that it often appears long conic.

The plant is often badly eaten by snails, so that it is sometimes

difficult to obtain perfect specimens. Figure 170 is from a photograph

of plants (No. 4092 C. U. herbarium) from Blowing Rock, N. C.

=Boletus americanus= Pk.--This species occurs in woods and open places,

growing on the ground in wet weather. It occurs singly or clustered,

sometimes two or three joined by their bases, but usually more

scattered. It is usually found under or near pine trees. The plant is

3--6 cm. high, the cap 2--7 cm. broad, and the stem is 4--8 mm. in

thickness. It is very slimy in wet weather, the cap is yellow, streaked

or spotted with faint red, and the stem is covered with numerous brown

or reddish brown dots.

The =pileus= is rounded, then convex, becoming nearly expanded and

sometimes with an umbo. It is soft, very slimy or viscid when moist,

yellow. When young the surface gluten is often mixed with loose threads,

more abundant on the margin, and continuous with the veil, which can

only be seen in the very young stage. As the pileus expands the margin

is sometimes scaly from remnants of the veil and of loose hairs on the

surface. The cap loses its bright color as it ages, and is then

sometimes streaked or spotted with red. The =tube= surface is nearly

plane, and the tubes join squarely against the stem. The tubes are

rather large, angular, yellowish, becoming dull ochraceous. The =stem=

is nearly equal, yellow, and covered with numerous brownish or reddish

brown glandular dots. No ring is present.

This species grows in the same situations as the _B. granulatus_,

sometimes both species are common over the same area. Figure 171 is from

plants (No. 3991 C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C.,

September, 1899. The species is closely related to _B. flavidus_ Fr.,

and according to some it is identical with it.

=Boletus granulatus= L. =Edible.=--This species is one of the very

common and widely distributed ones. It grows in woods and open places on

the ground. Like _B. americanus_, it is usually found under or near

pines. It occurs during the summer and autumn, sometimes appearing very

late in the season. The plants are 3--6 cm. high, the cap is 4--10 cm.

broad, and the stem is 8--12 mm. in thickness. The plants usually are

clustered, though not often very crowded.

[Illustration: PLATE 61, FIGURE 170.--Boletus obsonium. Cap cinnamon to

pink or hazel in color, slightly tomentose; stem white, then pale flesh

color (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex to nearly expanded, flat. When moist it is very

viscid and reddish brown, paler and yellowish when it is dry, but very

variable in color, pink, red, yellow, tawny, and brown shades. The flesh

is pale yellow. The =tubes= are joined squarely to the stem, short,

yellowish, and the edges of the tubes, that is, at the open end (often

called the mouth), are dotted or granulated. The =stem= is dotted in the

same way above. The =spores= in mass are pale yellow; singly they are

spindle-shaped.

[Illustration: FIGURE 171.--Boletus americanus. Cap slimy, yellow,

sometimes with reddish spots, tubes yellowish (natural size).

Copyright.]

The species is edible, though some say it should be regarded with

suspicion. Peck has tried it, and I have eaten it, but the viscid

character of the plant did not make it a relish for me. There are

several species closely related to the granulated Boletus. _B. brevipes_

Pk., is one chiefly distinguished by the short stem, which entirely

lacks the glandular dots. It grows in sandy soil, in pine groves and in

woods.

=Boletus punctipes= Pk.--This species has been reported from New York

State by Peck. During September, 1899, I found it quite common in the

Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, at an elevation of between 4000

and 5000 feet. It grows on the ground in mixed woods. The plants are

5--8 cm. high, the caps 5--7 cm. broad, and the stem 6--10 mm. in

thickness.

[Illustration: FIGURE 172.--Boletus punctipes. Cap viscid when moist,

reddish brown, pink, yellow, tawny, etc., tubes yellowish, stem dark

punctate (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex, sometimes becoming nearly plane, and it is quite

thick in the center, more so than the granulated boletus, while the

margin is thin, and when young with a minute gray powder. The margin

often becomes upturned when old; the cap is viscid when moist, dull

yellow. The =tubes= are short, their lower surface plane, and they are

set squarely against the stem. They are small, the mouths rounded,

brownish, then dull ochraceous, and dotted with glandules. The =stem= is

rather long, proportionately more so than in the granulated boletus. It

distinctly tapers upwards, is "rhubarb yellow," and dotted with

glandules. This character of the stem suggested the name of the species.

The =spores= are 8--10 × 4--5 µ. Figure 172 is from plants (No. 4067 C.

U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C. It is closely related to

_B. granulatus_ and by some is considered the same.

=Boletus luteus= Linn. (_B. subluteus_ Pk.) This species is widely

distributed in Europe and America, and grows in sandy soil, in pine or

mixed woods or groves. The plants are 5--8 cm. high, the cap 3--12 cm.

in diameter, and the stem 6--10 mm. in thickness. The general color is

dull brown or yellowish brown, and the plants are slimy in moist

weather, the stem and tubes more or less dotted with dark points. These

characters vary greatly under different conditions, and the fact has led

to some confusion in the discrimination of species.

[Illustration: FIGURE 173.--Boletus luteus. Cap viscid when moist, dull

yellowish to reddish brown, tubes yellowish, stem punctate both above

and below the annulus (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is convex, becoming nearly plane, viscid or glutinous when

moist, dull yellowish to reddish brown, sometimes with the color

irregularly distributed in streaks. The flesh is whitish or dull

yellowish. The =tube= surface is plane or convex, the tubes set squarely

against the stem (adnate), while the tubes are small, with small, nearly

rounded, or slightly angular mouths. The color of the tubes is yellowish

or ochre colored, becoming darker in age, and sometimes nearly brown or

quite dark. The =stem= is pale yellowish, reddish or brownish, and more

or less covered with glandular dots, which when dry give a black dotted

appearance to the stem. In the case of descriptions of _B. luteus_ the

stem is said to be dotted only above the annulus, while the description

of _B. subluteus_ gives the stem as dotted both above and below the

annulus. The =spores= are yellowish brown or some shade of this color

in mass, lighter yellowish brown under the microscope, fusiform or

nearly so, and 7--10 × 2--4 µ. The =annulus= is very variable, sometimes

collapsing as a narrow ring around the stem as in Fig. 173, from plants

collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., September, 1899 (_B. subluteus_ Pk.),

and sometimes appearing as a broad, free collar, as in Fig. 174. The

veil is more or less gelatinous, and in an early stage of the plant may

cover the stem as a sheath. The lower part of the stem is sometimes

covered at maturity with the sheathing portion of the veil, the upper

part only appearing as a ring. In this way, the lower part of the stem

being covered, the glandular dots are not evident, while the stem is

seen to be dotted above the annulus. But in many cases the veil slips

off from the lower portion of the stem at an early stage, and then in

its slimy condition collapses around the upper part of the stem, leaving

the stem uncovered and showing the dots both above and below the ring

(_B. subluteus_).

[Illustration: PLATE 62, FIGURE 174.--Boletus luteus. Cap drab to

hair-brown with streaks of the latter, viscid when moist, tubes tawny

olive to walnut-brown, stem black dotted both above and below the broad,

free annulus (natural size). Copyright.]

An examination of the figures of the European plant shows that the veil

often slips off from the lower portion of the stem in _B. luteus_,

especially in the figures given by Krombholtz, T. 33. In some of these

figures the veil forms a broad, free collar, and the stem is then dotted

both above and below, as is well shown in the figures. In other figures

where the lower part of the veil remains as a sheath over the lower part

of the stem, the dots are hidden. I have three specimens of the _B.

luteus_ of Europe from Dr. Bresadola, collected at Trento,

Austria-Hungary: one of them has the veil sheathing the lower part of

the stem, and the stem only shows the dots above the annulus; a second

specimen has the annulus in the form of a collapsed ring near the upper

end of the stem, and the stem dotted both above and below the annulus;

in the third specimen the annulus is in the form of a broad, free

collar, and the stem dotted both above and below. The plants shown in

Fig. 174 (No. 4124, C. U. herbarium) were collected at Blowing Rock, N.

C., during September, 1899. They were found in open woods under Kalmia

where the sun had an opportunity to dry out the annulus before it became

collapsed or agglutinated against the stem, and the broad, free collar

was formed. My notes on these specimens read as follows: "The =pileus=

is convex, then expanded, rather thick at the center, the margin thin,

sometimes sterile, incurved. In color it runs from ecru drab to

hair-brown with streaks of the latter, and it is very viscid when moist.

When dried the surface of the pileus is shining. The =tubes= are plane

or concave, adnate, tawny-olive to walnut-brown. The tubes are small,

angular, somewhat as in _B. granulatus_, but smaller, and they are

granulated with reddish or brownish dots. The =spores= are walnut brown,

oblong to elliptical, 8--10 × 2--3 µ. The =stem= is cylindrical, even,

olive yellow above, and black dotted both above and below the annulus."

[Illustration: FIGURE 175.--Boletinus pictus. Cap reddish, tinged with

yellowish between the scales, stem same color, tubes yellow, often

changing to reddish brown where bruised (natural size). Copyright.]

=Boletinus pictus= Pk.--This very beautiful plant is quite common in

damp pine woods. It is easily recognized by the reddish cottony layer of

mycelium threads which cover the entire plant when young, and form a

veil which covers the gills at this time. As the plant expands the

reddish outer layer is torn into scales of the same color, showing the

yellowish, or pinkish, flesh beneath, and the flesh often changes to

pink or reddish where wounded. The tubes are first pale yellow, but

become darker in age, often changing to pinkish, with a brown tinge

where bruised. The stem is solid, and is thus different from a closely

related species, _B. cavipes_ Kalchb. The stem is covered with a coat

like that on the pileus and is similarly colored, though often paler.

The spores are ochraceous, 15--18 × 6--8 µ. The plants are 5--8 cm.

high, the caps 5--8 cm. broad, and the stems 6--12 mm. in thickness.

Figure 175 is from plants collected in the Blue Ridge mountains, Blowing

Rock, N. C., September, 1899.

=Boletinus porosus= (Berk.) Pk.--This very interesting species is widely

distributed in the Eastern United States. It resembles a _Polyporus_,

though it is very soft like a _Boletus_, but quite tenacious. The plants

are dull reddish-brown, viscid when moist, and shining. The cap is more

or less irregular and the stem eccentric, the cap being sometimes more

or less lobed. The plants are 4--6 cm. high, the cap 5--12 cm. broad,

and the short stem 8--12 mm. in thickness. It occurs in damp ground in

woods.