=tubes= are arranged in prominently radiating rows, the partitions often
running radiately in the form of lamellæ, certain ones of them being
more prominent than others as shown in Fig. 176. These branch and are
connected by cross partitions of less prominence. This character of the
hymenium led Berkeley to place the plant in the genus _Paxillus_, with
which it does not seem to be so closely related as with the genus
_Boletus_. The stratum of tubes, though very soft, is very tenacious,
and does not separate from the flesh of the pileus, thus resembling
certain species of _Polyporus_. Figure 176 is from plants collected at
Ithaca.
[Illustration: PLATE 63, FIGURE 176.--Boletinus porosus. Viscid when
moist, dull reddish brown (natural size). Copyright.]
=Strobilomyces strobilaceus= Berk. =Edible.=--This plant has a peculiar
name, both the genus and the species referring to the cone-like
appearance of the cap with its coarse, crowded, dark brown scales,
bearing a fancied resemblance to a pine cone. It is very easily
distinguished from other species of _Boletus_ because of this character
of the cap. The plant has a very wide distribution though it is not
usually very common. The plant is 8--14 cm. high, the cap 5--10 cm.
broad, and the stem 1--2 cm. in thickness.
The =pileus= is hemispherical to convex, shaggy from numerous large
blackish, coarse, hairy, projecting scales. The margin of the cap is
fringed with scales and fragments of the veil which covers the tubes in
the young plants. The flesh is whitish, but soon changes to reddish
color, and later to black where wounded or cut. The =tubes= are adnate,
whitish, becoming brown and blackish in the older plants. The mouths of
the tubes are large and angular, and change color where bruised, as does
the flesh of the cap. The stem is even, or sometimes tapers upward,
often grooved near the apex, very tomentose or scaly with soft scales of
the same color as the cap. The =spores= are in mass dark brown, nearly
globose, roughened, and 10--12 µ long. Figs. 177--179 are from plants
collected at Ithaca, N. Y. Another European plant, _S. floccopus_ Vahl,
is said by Peck to occur in the United States, but is much more rare.
The only difference in the two noted by Peck in the case of the American
plants is that the tubes are depressed around the stem in _S.
floccopus_.
[Illustration: PLATE 64, FIGURE 177.--Strobilomyces strobilaceus. Scales
of cap dark brown or black, flesh white but soon changing to reddish and
later to black where wounded, stem same color but lighter (natural
size). Copyright.]
[Illustration: FIGURE 178.--Strobilomyces strobilaceus. Sections of
plants. Copyright.]
[Illustration: FIGURE 179.--Strobilomyces strobilaceus. Under view.
Copyright.]
FISTULINA Bull.
In the genus _Fistulina_ the tubes, or pores, are crowded together, but
stand separately, that is, they are not connected together, or grown
together into a stratum as in _Boletus_ and other genera of the family
_Polyporaceæ_. When the plant is young the tubes are very short, but
they elongate with age.
=Fistulina hepatica= Fr. =Edible.=--This is one of the largest of the
species in the genus and is the most widely distributed and common one.
It is of a dark red color, very soft and juicy. It has usually a short
stem which expands out into the broad and thick cap. When young the
upper side of the cap is marked by minute elevations of a different
color, which suggest the papillæ on the tongue; in age the tubes on the
under surface have also some such suggestive appearance. The form, as it
stands outward in a shelving fashion from stumps or trees, together with
the color and surface characters, has suggested several common names, as
beef tongue, beef-steak fungus, oak or chestnut tongue. The plant is
10--20 cm. long, and 8--15 cm. broad, the stem very short and thick,
sometimes almost wanting, and again quite long. I have seen some
specimens growing from a hollow log in which the stems were 12--15 cm.
long.
The =pileus= is very thick, 2 cm. or more in thickness, fleshy, soft,
very juicy, and in wet weather very clammy and somewhat sticky to the
touch. When mature there are lines of color of different shades
extending out radially on the upper surface, and in making a
longitudinal section of the cap there are quite prominent, alternating,
dark and light red lines present in the flesh. The =tubes=, short at
first, become 2--3 mm. long, they are yellowish or tinged with flesh
color, becoming soiled in age. The =spores= are elliptical, yellowish,
and 5--6 µ long.
The plant occurs on dead trunks or stumps of oak, chestnut, etc., in wet
weather from June to September. I have usually found it on chestnut.
The beef-steak fungus is highly recommended by some, while others are
not pleased with it as an article of food. It has an acid flavor which
is disagreeable to some, but this is more marked in young specimens and
in those not well cooked. When it is sliced thin and well broiled or
fried, the acid taste is not marked.
[Illustration: PLATE 65.
FIG. 1.--Fistulina hepatica.
FIG. 2.--F. pallida.
Copyright 1900.]
=Fistulina pallida= B. & Rav. (_Fistulina firma_ Pk.)--This rare and
interesting species was collected by Mrs. A. M. Hadley, near Manchester,
New Hampshire, October, 1898, and was described by Dr. Peck in the
Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, =26=: 70, 1899, as _Fistulina
firma_. But two plants were then found, and these were connected at the
base. During August and September it was quite common in a small woods
near Ithaca, N. Y., and was first collected growing from the roots of a
dead oak stump, August 4 (No. 3227 C. U. herbarium), and afterward
during October. During September I collected it at Blowing Rock, N. C.,
in the Blue Ridge mountains, at an elevation of nearly 5000 feet,
growing from the roots of a dead white oak tree. It was collected during
September, 1899, by Mr. Frank Rathbun at Auburn, N. Y. It was collected
by Ravenel in the mountains of South Carolina, around a white oak stump
by Peters in Alabama, and was first described by Berkeley in 1872, in
=Grev. 1=: 71, Notices of N. A. F. No. 173. Growing from roots or wood
underneath the surface of the ground, the plant has an erect stem, the
length of the stem depending on the depth at which the root is buried,
just as in the case of _Polyporus radicatus_, which has a similar
habitat. The plants are 5--12 cm. high, the cap is 3--7 cm. broad, and
the stem 6--8 mm. in thickness.
[Illustration: PLATE 66, FIGURE 180.--Fistulina pallida. Cap wood-brown
to fawn or clay color, tubes and lower part of the stem whitish (natural
size). Copyright.]
The =pileus= is wood brown to fawn, clay color or isabelline color. It
is nearly semi-circular to reniform in outline, and the margin broadly
crenate, or sometimes lobed. The stem is attached at the concave margin,
where the cap is auriculate and has a prominent boss or elevation, and
bent at right angles with a characteristic curve. The pileus is firm,
flexible, tough and fibrous, flesh white. The surface is covered with a
fine and dense tomentum. The pileus is 5--8 mm. thick at the base,
thinning out toward the margin. The =tubes= are whitish, 2--3 mm. long
and 5--6 in the space of a millimeter. They are very slender, tubular,
the mouth somewhat enlarged, the margin of the tubes pale cream color
and minutely mealy or furfuraceous, with numerous irregular, roughened
threads. The tubes often stand somewhat separated, areas being
undeveloped or younger, so that the surface of the under side is not
regular. The tubes are not so crowded as is usual in the _Fistulina
hepatica_. They are not decurrent, but end abruptly near the stem. The
=spores= are subglobose, 3 µ in diameter. The stem tapers downward, is
whitish below, and near the pileus the color changes rather abruptly to
the same tint as the pileus. The stem is sometimes branched, and two or
three caps present, or the caps themselves may be joined, as well as the
stems, so that occasionally very irregular forms are developed, but
there is always the peculiar character of the attachment of the stem to
the side of the cap.
Figure 180 is from plants (No 3676, C. U. herbarium) collected at
Blowing Rock, N. C., September, 1899. Figures on the colored plate
represent this plant.
=Polyporus frondosus= Fr. =Edible.=--This plant occurs in both Europe
and America, and while not very common seems to be widely distributed.
It grows about old stumps or dead trees, from roots, often arising from
the roots below the surface of the ground, and also is found on logs.
The plant represents a section of the genus _Polyporus_, in which the
body, both the stem and the cap, are very much branched. In this species
the stem is stout at the base, but it branches into numerous smaller
trunks, which continue to branch until finally the branches terminate in
the expanded and leaf-like caps as shown in Figs. 181--182. The plants
appear usually during late summer and in the autumn. The species is
often found about oak stumps. Some of the specimens are very large, and
weigh 10 to 20 pounds, and the mass is sometimes 30 to 60 cm. (1--2
feet) in diameter.
The plant, when young and growing, is quite soft and tender, though it
is quite firm. It never becomes very hard, as many of the other species
of this family. When mature, insects begin to attack it, and not being
tough it soon succumbs to the ravages of insects and decay, as do a
number of the softer species of the _Polyporaceæ_. The caps are very
irregular in shape, curved, repand, radiately furrowed, sometimes zoned;
gray, or hair-brown in color, with a perceptibly hairy surface, the
hairs running in lines on the surface. Sometimes they are quite broad
and not so numerous as in Plate 67, and in other plants they are narrow
and more numerous, as in Plate 68. The tubes are more or less irregular,
whitish, with a yellowish tinge when old. From the under side of the cap
they extend down on the stem. When the spores are mature they are
sometimes so numerous that they cover the lower caps and the grass for
quite a distance around as if with a white powder.
This species is edible, and because of the large size which it often
attains, the few plants which are usually found make up in quantity what
they lack in numbers. Since the plant is quite firm it will keep several
days after being picked, in a cool place, and will serve for several
meals. A specimen which I gathered was divided between two families, and
was served at several meals on successive days. When stewed the plant
has for me a rather objectionable taste, but the stewing makes the
substance more tender, and when this is followed by broiling or frying
the objectionable taste is removed and it is quite palatable. The plants
represented in Plates 67 and 68 were collected at Ithaca.
[Illustration: PLATE 67, FIGURE 181.--Polyporus frondosus. Caps
hair-brown or grayish, tubes white (1/3 natural size, masses often
20--40 cm. in breadth). The caps in this specimen are quite broad, often
they are narrower as in Fig. 182. Copyright.]
[Illustration: PLATE 68, FIGURE 182.--Polyporus frondosus. Side and
under view of a larger cluster (1/3 natural size). Copyright.]
There are several species which are related to the frondose polyporus
which occur in this country as well as in Europe. =Polyporus intybaceus=
Fr., is of about the same size, and the branching, and form of the caps
is much the same, but it is of a yellowish brown or reddish brown color.
It grows on logs, stumps, etc., and is probably edible. It is not so
common at Ithaca as the frondose polyporus.
[Illustration: FIGURE 183.--Polyporus umbellatus. Caps hair-brown
(natural size, often much larger). Copyright.]
=Polyporus umbellatus= Fr.--This species is also related to the frondose
polyporus, but is very distinct. It is more erect, the branching more
open, and the caps at the ends of the branches are more or less circular
and umbilicate. The branches are long, cylindrical and united near the
base. The spreading habit of the branching, or the form of the caps,
suggests an umbel or umbrella, and hence the specific name _umbellatus_.
The tufts occur from 12--20 cm. in diameter, and the individual caps are
from 1--4 cm. in diameter. It grows from underground roots and about
stumps during summer. It is probably edible, but I have never tried it.
Figure 183 is from a plant (No. 1930, C. U. herbarium) collected in
Cascadilla woods, Ithaca.
=Polyporus sulphureus= (Bull.) Fr. =Edible.= (_Boletus caudicinus_
Schaeff. T. 131, 132: _Polyporus caudicinus_ Schroeter, Cohn's Krypt.
Flora, Schlesien, p. 471, 1899).--The sulphur polyporus is so-called
because of the bright sulphur color of the entire plant. It is one of
the widely distributed species, and grows on dead oak, birch, and other
trunks, and is also often found growing from wounds or knot-holes of
living trees of the oak, apple, walnut, etc. The mycelium enters at
wounds where limbs are broken off, and grows for years in the heart
wood, disorganizing it and causing it to decay. In time the mycelium has
spread over a considerable area, from which nutriment enough is supplied
for the formation of the fruiting condition. The caps then appear from
an open wound when such an exit is present.
The color of the plant is quite constant, but varies of course in shades
of yellow to some extent. In form, however, it varies greatly. The caps
are usually clustered and imbricated, that is, they overlap. They may
all arise separately from the wood, and yet be overlapping, though
oftener several of them are closely joined or united at the base, so
that the mass of caps arises from a common outgrowth from the wood as
shown in Fig. 184. The individual caps are flattened, elongate, and more
or less fan-shaped. When mature there are radiating furrows and ridges
which often increase the fan-like appearance of the upper surface of the
cap. Sometimes also there are more or less marked concentric furrows.
The caps may be convex, or the margin may be more or less upturned so
that the central portion is depressed. When young the margin is thick
and blunt and of course lighter in color, but as the plant matures the
edge is usually thinner.
In some forms of the plant the caps are so closely united as to form a
large rounded or tubercular mass, only the blunt tips of the individual
caps being free. This is well represented in Fig. 185, from a photograph
of a large specimen growing from a wound in a butter-nut tree in Central
New York. The plant was 30 cm. in diameter. The plants represented in
Plate 69 grew on an oak stump. The tree was affected by the fungus while
it was alive, and the heart wood became so weakened that the tree broke,
and later the fruit form of the fungus appeared from the dead stump.
[Illustration: PLATE 69, FIGURE 184.--Polyporus sulphureus, on oak
stump. Entirely sulphur-yellow (1/6 natural size). Copyright.]
The tubes are small, and the walls thin and delicate, and are sometimes
much torn, lacerated, and irregular. When the mycelium has grown in the
interior of a log for a number of years it tends to grow in sheets along
the line of the medullary rays of the wood or across in concentric
layers corresponding to the summer wood. Also as the wood becomes more
decomposed, cracks and rifts appear along these same lines. The mycelium
then grows in abundance in these rifts and forms broad and extensive
sheets which resemble somewhat chamois skin and is called "punk."
Similar punk is sometimes formed in conifers from the mycelium of _Fomes
pinicola_.
[Illustration: PLATE 70, FIGURE 185.--Polyporus sulphureus. Caps joined
in a massive tubercle (1/2 natural size).]
_Polyporus sulphureus_ has long been known as an edible fungus, but from
its rather firm and fibrous texture it requires a different preparation
from the fleshy fungi to prepare it for the table, and this may be one
reason why it is not employed more frequently as an article of food. It
is common enough during the summer and especially during the autumn to
provide this kind of food in considerable quantities.
[Illustration: PLATE 71, FIGURE 186.--Polyporus brumalis. Cap and stem
brown, tubes white. Lower three plants natural size, upper one enlarged
twice natural size. Copyright.]
=Polyporus brumalis= (Pers.) Fr.--This pretty plant is found at all
seasons of the year, and from its frequency during the winter was named
_brumalis_, from _bruma_, which means winter. It grows on sticks and
branches, or on trunks. It usually occurs singly, sometimes two or three
close together. The plants are 3--6 cm. high, the cap 2--6 cm. in
diameter, and the stem is 3--6 mm. in thickness.
The =cap= is convex, then plane, and sometimes depressed at the center
or umbilicate. When young it is somewhat fleshy and pliant, then it
becomes tough, coriaceous, and hard when dry. During wet weather it
becomes pliant again. Being hard and firm, and tough, it preserves long
after mature, so that it may be found at any season of the year. The cap
is smoky in color, varying in shade, sometimes very dark, almost black,
and other specimens being quite light in color. The surface is hairy and
the margin is often fimbriate with coarse hairs. The =stem= is lighter,
hairy or strigose. The =tubes= are first white, then become yellowish.
The tubes are very regular in arrangement.
Figure 186 represents well this species, three plants being grouped
rather closely on the same stick; two show the under surface and one
gives a side view. The upper portion of the plate represents two of the
plants enlarged, the three lower ones being natural size. The plant is
very common and widely distributed over the world. Those illustrated in
the plate were collected at Ithaca. This species is too tough for food.
Many of the thin and pliant species of _Polyporus_ are separated by some
into the genus =Polystictus=. The species are very numerous, as well as
some of the individuals of certain species. They grow on wood or on the
ground, some have a central stem, and others are shelving, while some
are spread out on the surface of the wood. One very pretty species is
the =Polystictus perennis= Fr. This grows on the ground and has a
central stem. The plant is 2--3 cm. high, and the cap 1--4 cm. broad.
The =pileus= is thin, pliant when fresh and somewhat brittle when dry.
It is minutely velvety on the upper surface, reddish brown or cinnamon
in color, expanded or umbilicate to nearly funnel-shaped. The surface is
marked beautifully by radiations and fine concentric zones. The =stem=
is also velvety. The =tubes= are minute, the walls thin and acute, and
the mouths angular and at last more or less torn. The margin of the cap
is finely fimbriate, but in old specimens these hairs are apt to become
rubbed off. The left hand plant in Fig. 187 is _Polyporus perennis_.
=Polystictus cinnamomeus= (Jacq.) Sacc., (_P. oblectans_ Berk. Hook.
Jour. p. 51, 1845, Dec. N. A. F. No. 35: _P. splendens_ Pk., 26th Report
N. Y. State Mus., p. 26) is a closely related species with the same
habit, color, and often is found growing side by side with _P.
perennis_. The margin of the cap is deeply and beautifully lacerate, as
shown in the three other plants in Fig. 187. _Polystictus connatus_
Schw., grows in similar situations and one sometimes finds all three of
these plants near each other on the ground by roadsides. _P. connatus_
has much larger pores than either of the other two, and it is a somewhat
larger plant. Figure 187 is from a photograph of plants collected at
Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.
[Illustration: FIGURE 187.--Left-hand plant Polystictus perennis;
right-hand three plants Polystictus cinnamomeus. All natural size.
Copyright.]
=Polystictus versicolor= (L.) Fr., is a very common plant growing on
trunks and branches. It is more or less shelving, with a leaf-like
pileus, marked by concentric bands of different colors. =P. hirsutus=
Fr., is a somewhat thicker and more spongy plant, whitish or grayish in
color, with the upper surface tomentose with coarse hairs. =P.
cinnabarinus= (Jacq.) Fr., is shelving, spongy, pliant, rather thick,
cinnabar colored. It grows on dead logs and branches. It is sometimes
placed in the genus _Trametes_ under the same specific name.
=Polystictus pergamenus= Fr., is another common one growing on wood of
various trees. It is thin and very pliant when fresh, somewhat tomentose
above when young, with faint bands, and the tubes are often violet or
purple color, and they soon become deeply torn and lacerate so that they
resemble the teeth of certain of the hedgehog fungi.
[Illustration: PLATE 72, FIGURE 188.--Polyporus lucidus. Caps bright red
or chestnut color, with a hard shiny crust (1/6 natural size).
Copyright.]
=Polyporus lucidus= (Leys.) Fr. [_Fomes lucidus_ (Leys.) Fr.]--This
species is a very striking one because of the bright red or chestnut
color, the hard and brittle crust over the surface of the cap, which has
usually the appearance of having been varnished. It grows on trunks,
logs, stumps, etc., in woods or groves. The cap is 5--20 cm. in
diameter, and the stem is 5--20 cm. long, and 1--2 cm. in thickness. The
stem is attached to one side of the pileus so that the pileus is
lateral, though the stem is more or less ascending.
The =cap= is first yellowish when young, then it becomes blood red, then
chestnut color. The =stem= is the same color, and the =tubes= are not so
bright in color, being a dull brown. The substance of the plant is quite
woody and tough when mature. When dry it is soon attacked and eaten by
certain insects, which are fond of a number of fungi, so that they are
difficult to preserve in good condition in herbaria without great care.
The surface of the pileus is quite uneven, wrinkled, and coarsely
grooved, the margin sometimes crenate, especially in large specimens.
Figure 188 represents the plant growing on a large hemlock spruce stump
in the woods. The surface character of the caps and the general form can
be seen. This photograph was taken near Ithaca, N. Y.
=Polyporus applanatus= (Pers.) Fr. [_Fomes applanatus_ (Pers.)
Wallr.]--This plant is also one of the very common woody _Polyporaceæ_.
It grows on dead trunks, etc., and sometimes is found growing from the
wounds of living trees. It is very hard and woody. It has a hard crust,
much harder than that of the _Polyporus lucidus_. The surface is more or
less marked by concentric zones which mark off the different years'
growth, for this plant is perennial. At certain seasons of the year the
upper surface is covered with a powdery substance of a reddish brown
color, made up of numerous colored spores or conidia which are developed
on the upper surface of this plant in addition to the smaller spores
developed in the tubes on the under surface.
The plant varies in size from 5--20 cm. or more in diameter, and 1--10
cm. in thickness, according to the rapidity of growth and the age of the
fungus. The fruiting surface is white, and the tubes are very minute.
They scarcely can be seen with the unaided eye. Bruises of the tubes
turn brown, and certain "artists" often collect these plants and sketch
with a pointed instrument on the tube surface. For other peculiarities
of this plant see page 15. The age of the plant can usually be told by
counting the number of the broader zones on the upper surface, or by
making a section through the plant and counting the number of tube
strata on the lower surface of the cap at its base.
=Polyporus leucophæus= Mont., is said to differ from this species in
being more strongly zonate, and in the crust being whitish instead of
reddish brown.
=Polyporus fomentarius= (L.) Fr. [_Fomes fomentarius_ (L.) Fr.,] is
hoof-shaped, smoky in color, or gray, and of various shades of dull
brown. It is strongly zoned and sulcate, marking off each year's growth.
The margin is thick and blunt, and the tube surface concave, the tubes
having quite large mouths so that they can be readily seen, the color
when mature being reddish brown. Sections of the plant show that the
tubes are very long, the different years' growth not being marked off so
distinctly as in _P. applanatus_ and _leucophæus_. The plant grows on
birch, beech, maple, etc. The inner portion was once used as tinder.
=Polyporus pinicola= (Swartz.) Fr. [_Fomes pinicola_ (Swartz.) Fr.]
occurs on dead pine, spruce, balsam, hemlock spruce, and other conifers.
The cap is about the width of the _F. applanatus_, but it is stouter,
and does not have the same hard crust. The young growth at the margin,
which is very thick, is whitish yellow, while the old zones are reddish.
The tubes are yellowish, and sections show that they are in strata
corresponding to the years' growth. =Polyporus igniarius= (L.) Fr.
[_Fomes igniarius_ (L.) Fr.] is a black species, more or less
triangular, or sometimes hoof-shaped. The yearly zones are smaller,
become much cracked, and the tubes are dark brown. One of these plants
which I found on a birch tree in the Adirondacks was over 80 years old.
The genus _Merulius_ has a fruiting surface of irregular folds or
wrinkles, forming shallow, irregular pits instead of a deeply
honey-combed surface. =Merulius lacrymans= (Jacq.) Fr., the "weeping"
merulius, or "house fungus," often occurs in damp cellars, buildings,
conduit pipes, etc. It is very destructive to buildings in certain parts
of Europe (see Figs. 189, 190). =Merulius tremellosus= Schrad., is very
common in woods during autumn. It is of a gelatinous consistency, and
spread on the under surface of limbs or forms irregular shelves from the
side (see Figs. 191, 192).
[Illustration: PLATE 73.--Merulius lacrymans. FIGURE 189.--Upper plant
in conduit pipe leading from wash room, Gymnasium C. U., Autumn, 1899.
FIGURE 190.--Lower plant from under surface decaying hemlock spruce log
in woods near Freeville, N. Y., October, 1899. Margin of plants white,
fruiting surface a network of irregular folds, golden brown, or brown.
Copyright.]
[Illustration: PLATE 74.--Merulius tremellosus. FIGURE 191.--Natural
size.]
[Illustration: FIGURE 192.--Enlarged to show character of fruiting
surface. Fruiting surface yellowish; margin and upper surface in
shelving forms, white, hairy. Copyright.]
[Illustration: PLATE 75, FIGURE 193.--Phlebia merismoides. On rotting
log, woods near Ithaca, November 23, 1898 (No. 2634 C. U. herbarium).
Various shades of orange, yellow or yellow brown when old. Copyright.]
[Illustration: PLATE 76, FIGURE 194.--Phlebia merismoides. Portion of a
plant 2-1/2 times natural size, to show interrupted folds of fruiting
surface. For colors see Fig. 193. Copyright.]
CHAPTER X.
HEDGEHOG FUNGI: HYDNACEAE.
The plants belonging to this family vary greatly in size, form, and
consistency. Some of them are very large, some quite small, some are
fleshy in consistency, some are woody, corky; some membranaceous; and if
we include plants formerly classed here, some are gelatinous, though
there is a tendency in recent years on the part of some to place the
gelatinous ones among the trembling fungi. The special character which
marks the members of this family is the peculiarity of the fruiting
surface, just as a number of the other families are distinguished by
some peculiarity of the fruiting surface. In the _Hydnaceæ_ it covers
the surface of numerous processes in the form of spines, teeth, warts,
coarse granules, or folds which are interrupted at short intervals.
These spines or teeth always are directed toward the earth when the
plant is in the position in which it grew. In this way the members of
the family can be distinguished from certain members of the club fungi
belonging to the family _Clavariaceæ_, for in the latter the branches or
free parts of the plant are erect.
In form the _Hydnaceæ_ are shelving, growing on trees; or growing on the
ground they often have a central or eccentric stem, and a more or less
circular cap; some of them are rounded masses, growing from trees, with
very long spines extending downward; others have ascending branches from
which the spines depend; and still others form thin sheets which are
spread over the surface of logs and sticks, the spines hanging down from
the surface, or roughened with granules or warts, or interrupted folds
(see _Phlebia_, Figs. 193, 194). In one genus there is no fruit body,
but the spines themselves extend downward from the rotten wood, the
genus _Mucronella_. This is only distinguished, so far as its family
position is concerned, from such a species as _Clavaria mucida_ by the
fact that the plant grows downward from the wood, while in _C. mucida_
it grows erect.
HYDNUM Linn.
The only species of the _Hydnaceæ_ described here are in the genus
_Hydnum_. In this genus the fruiting surface is on spine, or awl-shaped
processes, which are either simple or in some cases the tips are more or
less branched. The plants grow on the ground or on wood. The species
vary greatly in form. Some are provided with a more or less regular cap
and a stem, while others are shelving or bracket shaped, and still
others are spread out over the surface of the wood (resupinate).
[Illustration: FIGURE 195.--Hydnum coralloides. Entirely white (natural
size). Copyright.]
=Hydnum coralloides= Scop. =Edible.=--Among the very beautiful species
of the genus _Hydnum_ is the coral one, _Hydnum coralloides_. It grows
in woods forming large, beautiful, pure white tufts on rotten logs,
branches, etc. The appearance of one of these tufts is shown in Fig.
195. There is a common stem which arises from the wood, and this
branches successively into long, ascending, graceful shoots. The spines
are scattered over the entire under side of these branches and hang down
for 3--6 mm. They are not clustered at the ends of the branches, as in
the bear's head hydnum, and the species can be easily distinguished by
giving attention to the form of the branching and the distribution of
the spines on the under side of the branches. Figure 195 represents a
plant collected at Ithaca, and it is natural size. They grow, however,
much larger than this specimen. The species is widely distributed, and
not uncommon. It is excellent for food.
[Illustration: PLATE 77, FIGURE 196.--Hydnum caput-ursi. Entirely white
(natural size). Copyright.]
=Hydnum caput-ursi= Fr. =Edible.=--This plant is also a beautiful one.
It is more common than the coral hydnum so far as my observation goes.
It is known by the popular name of "bear's head hydnum" in allusion to
the groups of spines at the ends of the branches. It occurs in woods
with a similar habit of growing on trunks, branches, etc. This plant
also arises from the wood with a single stout stem, which then branches
successively, the ends of the branches having groups of long pendant
spines appearing like numerous heads. Sometimes the spines on the top of
the group are twisted or curled in a peculiar way. Large tufts are
sometimes formed, varying from 12--20 or more centimeters in diameter.
Figure 196 is from a plant collected at Ithaca.
[Illustration: FIGURE 197.--Hydnum erinaceus. Entirely white (natural
size, often larger).]
=Hydnum caput-medusæ= Bull. =Edible.=--The medusa's head hydnum is a
rarer species than either of the above in this country. It forms a
large, tubercular mass which does not branch like the coral hydnum or
the bear's head, but more like the Satyr's beard hydnum, though the
character of the spines will easily separate it from the latter. The
spines cover a large part of this large tubercle, and hang downward. The
plant is known by the additional character, that, on the upper part of
the tubercle, the spines are twisted and interwoven in a peculiar
fashion.
=Hydnum erinaceus= Bull. =Edible.=--This plant is sometimes called
"Satyr's beard." It grows on dead trunks in the woods or groves, and is
often found growing from wounds in living trees. It forms a large,
tubercular mass which does not branch. The spines are very long and
straight and hang downward in straight parallel lines from the sides of
the mass. The spines are from 1--2 cm. or more long. Figure 197
represents one of the plants, showing the long spines.
=Hydnum repandum= L. =Edible.=--This plant is not uncommon, and it is
widely distributed. It grows usually in woods, on the ground. It varies
greatly in size, from very small specimens, 1--2 cm. high to others
10--12 cm. high. The cap is 2--18 cm. broad, and the stem 6--12 mm. in
thickness.
[Illustration: PLATE 78, FIGURE 198.--Hydnum repandum. Cap whitish or
yellowish, or pale yellowish brown; spines whitish or yellowish (natural
size, often smaller). Copyright.]
It is entirely white or the cap varies to buff, dull yellow reddish or
dull brown. It is very brittle, and must be handled with the utmost care
if one wishes to preserve the specimen intact. The pileus is more or
less irregular, the stem being generally eccentric, so that the pileus
is produced more on one side than on the other, sometimes entirely
lateral at the end of the stem. The margin is more or less wavy or
repand. The spines are white, straight, and very brittle. The stem is
even or clavate. Figure 198 is from plants collected at Ithaca during
August, 1899, and represents one of the large specimens of the species.
In one plant the pileus is entirely lateral on the end of the long
clavate stem, and is somewhat reniform, the stem being attached at the
sinus. In the other plant the stem is attached near the center. This
species is considered one of the best mushrooms for the table.
[Illustration: PLATE 79, FIGURE 199.--Hydnum putidum. Caps whitish then
buff, then brownish or nearly black in older parts, edge white (natural
size). Copyright.]
=Hydnum imbricatum= L. =Edible.=--This is a very variable species both
in size and in the surface characters of the pileus. It occurs in woods,
groves, or in open places under trees. The plants are 3--7 cm. high, and
the pileus varies from 5--15 cm. broad, the stem from .5--2.5 cm. in
thickness. The pileus is convex and nearly expanded, fleshy, thinner at
the margin, regular or very irregular. The color is grayish in the
younger and smaller plants to umber or quite dark in the larger and
older ones. The surface is cracked and torn into triangular scales,
showing the whitish color of the flesh between the scales. The scales
are small in the younger plants and larger in the older ones. Figure 200
is from plants collected at Ithaca, and the pileus in these specimens is
irregular. The species is edible, but bitter to the taste.
[Illustration: FIGURE 200.--Hydnum imbricatum. Caps brownish, spines
whitish (natural size, often larger).]
=Hydnum putidum= Atkinson.--This plant grows on the ground in woods, and
was collected in the Blue Ridge mountains at Blowing Rock, N. C., at an
elevation of about 4000 feet. It is remarkable for its peculiar odor,
resembling, when fresh, that of an Ethiopian; for its tough, zonate
pileus with a prominent white edge, and the stout irregular stem,
resembling the stem of _Hydnum velutinum_. The plants are 8--12 cm.
high, the cap 8--12 cm. broad, and the stem 2--4 cm. in thickness. The
plants grow singly, or sometimes a few close together, and then two or
more may be conjoined.
The =pileus= is first umbilicate or depressed, becoming depressed or
infundibuliform, irregular, eccentric, the margin repand, and sometimes
lobed, and lobes appearing at times on the upper surface of the cap. The
surface is first tomentose or pubescent, becoming smooth, with prominent
concentric zones probably marked off by periodical growth; the color is
first white, so that the edge is white, becoming cream color to buff,
and in age dull brown and sometimes blackish brown in the center of the
old plants. The pubescence disappears from the old portions of the cap,
so that it is smooth. The pubescence or tomentum is more prominent on
the intermediate zones. The margin is rather thick, somewhat acute or
blunt, the upper portion of the flesh is spongy and the middle portion
tough and coriaceous, and darker in color. The pileus is somewhat pliant
when moist or wet, and firm when dry, the dark inner stratum hard.
The =spines= are first white or cream color, in age changing through
salmon color, or directly into grayish or grayish brown. The spines when
mature are long, slender, crowded, and decurrent on the upper part of
the stem. The =spores= are white, globose, echinulate, 3--4 µ. The
=stem= is stout and irregular, very closely resembling the stem of
_Hydnum velutinum_, with a thick, spongy, outer layer and a central hard
core.
The odor, which resembles that of a perspiring darkey, before the plant
is dry, disappears after drying, and then the plant has the same
agreeable odor presented by several different species of Hydnum. The
odor suggests _H. graveolens_, but the characters of the stem and
surface of the pileus separate it from that species, while the tough and
pliant character of the cap separates it from _H. fragile_. Figure 199
is from plants (No. 4334, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N.
C., during September, 1899.
CHAPTER XI.
CORAL FUNGI: CLAVARIACEAE.
This family is a very characteristic one, and very interesting from the
large number of beautiful species in one genus, the genus _Clavaria_.
The plants all are more or less erect, or at least stand out from the
substratum, that is, the substance on which they are growing. The
fruiting surface covers the entire upper part of the plant, all but the
bases of the stems. Some of the branched species of the _Thelephoraceæ_
resemble the branched species of the _Clavariaceæ_, but in the former
there is a more or less well defined upper portion on the tips of the
branches which is flat, or truncate, and sterile, that is, lacks the
fruiting surface. Some of the species are simple, elongate and clavate
bodies. Some stand singly, others are clustered, or others are joined by
their bases, and others still are very much branched. All of the species
are said to be edible, that is, they are not poisonous. A few are rather
tough, but they are mostly the small species which would not be thought
of for food. The spores are borne on club-shaped basidia, as in the
common mushrooms.
[Illustration: PLATE 80, FIGURE 201.--Clavaria formosa. Yellowish, red
tipped when young, red disappearing in age (natural size, sometimes
twice this size). Copyright.]
CLAVARIA Vaill.
The genus _Clavaria_ is one of the most common ones in the family, and
is one of the most attractive from the variety and beauty of several of
the species. All of the plants are more or less erect, and at least
stand out from the substratum on which they grow. They are either long
and simple and more or less club-shaped, as the name implies, or they
are branched, some but a few times, while others are very profusely
branched. The plants vary in color, some are white, some yellow, some
red, and some are red-tipped, while others are brownish in color.
[Illustration: FIGURE 202.--Clavaria botrytes. Branches red tipped
(natural size).]
=Clavaria formosa= Pers. =Edible.=--This is one of the handsomest of the
genus. It is found in different parts of the world, and has been
collected in New England and in the Carolinas in this country. It is
usually from 15--20 cm. high, and because of the great number of
branches is often broader in extent. There is a stout stem from 2--4 cm.
in diameter, deep in the ground. This branches into a few stout trunks,
which then rapidly branch into slender and longer branches, terminating
into numerous tips. The entire plant is very brittle, and great care is
necessary to prevent its breaking, both before drying and afterward.
When the plant is young and is just pushing out of the ground, the
branches, especially the tips, are bright colored, red, pink, or orange,
the color usually brighter when young in the younger plants. As the
plant becomes older the color fades out, until at maturity the pink or
red color has in many cases disappeared, and then the entire plant is of
a light yellowish, or of a cream buff color. The spores are in mass
light yellow, and the spores on the surface of the plant probably give
the color to the plant at this stage. The spores are long, oval or
oblong, 10--15 × 2.5--3 µ, and are minutely spiny. Figure 201 is from a
plant (No. 4343, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., in
September, 1899. The plant is very common in the mountain woods of North
Carolina.
[Illustration: FIGURE 203.--Clavaria pistillaris. Dull whitish, tan or
reddish (natural size).]
Specimens of this Clavaria were several times prepared for table use
during my stay in the mountains, but the flavor was not an agreeable
one, possibly due to the fact that it needs some special preparation and
seasoning.
=Clavaria botrytes= Pers. =Edible.=--This plant is much smaller than _C.
formosa_, but has much the same general habit and color, especially when
_C. formosa_ is young. The plant has a stout stem which soon dissolves
into numerous branches, which are red tipped. The spores are white, and
in this way it may be distinguished from _C. formosa_, or from _Clavaria
aurea_ (Schaeff.), which has yellow or ochre spores, and which has also
much the same habit as _C. botrytes_, and is nearer in size.
[Illustration: FIGURE 204.--Clavaria mucida. White (natural size).
Copyright.]
=Clavaria pistillaris= Linn. =Edible.=--This plant is a characteristic
one because of its usually large size and simple form. It is merely a
club-shaped body, growing from the ground. It has a wide range, both in
Europe and North America, but does not seem to be common, though I have
found it more common in the mountain woods of North Carolina than in New
York. The plant is 5--20 cm. high, and 1--3 cm. thick at the upper end.
It is smooth, though often irregularly grooved and furrowed, due
probably to unequal tensions in growth. The apex in typical specimens is
rounded and blunt. It is dull white or tan color or rufescent. The flesh
is white, and very spongy, especially in age, when it is apt to be
irregularly fistulose. Figure 203 is from plants collected at Blowing
Rock, N. C., during September 1899.
There is what seems to be an abnormal form of this species figured by
Schaeffer, Table 290, which Fries separated as a distinct species and
placed in the genus _Craterellus_, one of the _Thelephoraceæ_, and
called by him _Craterellus pistillaris_. This plant has been found at
Ithaca, and the only difference between this and the _Clavaria
pistillaris_ L., seems to be in the fact that in _Craterellus
pistillaris_ the end is truncate or in some specimens more or less
concave. The spores seem to be the same, and the color and general habit
of the two plants are the same. It is probably only a form of _Clavaria
pistillaris_.
=Clavaria mucida= Pers.--This is one of the smallest species of the
genus _Clavaria_. It grows on rotten wood, and appears throughout the
year. It is usually simple and clavate, but sometimes branched. The
plant is white, or yellowish, or sometimes rose color, and measures from
0.5 to 2 cm. in height, though I have usually found it from 0.5--1 cm.
in height. It is soft and watery. Figure 204 is from plants (No. 4998,
C. U. herbarium) collected at Ithaca in October, 1899.
CHAPTER XII.
THE TREMBLING FUNGI: TREMELLINEAE.
These fungi are called the trembling fungi because of their gelatinous
consistency. The colors vary from white, yellow, orange, reddish,
brownish, etc., and the form is various, often very irregular,
leaf-like, or strongly folded and uneven. They are when fresh usually
very soft, clammy to the touch, and yielding like a mass of gelatine.
They usually grow on wood, but some species grow on the ground, and some
are parasitic. The fruit surface usually covers the entire outer surface
of the plant, but in some it is confined to one side of the plant. The
basidia are peculiar to the order, are deeply seated in the substance of
the plant, rounded or globose, and divided into four cells in a cruciate
manner. From each one of these cells of the basidium a long, slender
process (sterigma) grows out to the surface of the plant and bears the
spore. A few species only are treated of here.
TREMELLA Dill.
In this genus the plants are gelatinous or cartilaginous. The form of
the plant is usually very much contorted, fold-like or leaf-like, and
very much branched. The fruiting surface extends over the entire upper
surface of the plant.
[Illustration: FIGURE 205.--Tremella mycetophila, on Collybia dryophila
(natural size).]
=Tremella lutescens= Pers.--This plant is entirely yellow, and occurs on
branches. It is 2--5 cm. in diameter, and is strongly folded, somewhat
like the folds of a brain (gyrose). It is very soft and inclined to be
watery and fluid, and is of a bright yellow color, spread out on the
surface of rotten wood. It is of world-wide distribution, and appears
from mid-summer to late autumn.
=Tremella mycetophila= Pk.--This plant is interesting from the fact that
it is parasitic on a mushroom, _Collybia dryophila_. It grows on the
stem or on the top of the cap of the _Collybia_, and it is white, or
yellowish, very much contorted (gyrose-plicate), nearly rounded, and
8--16 mm. in diameter. Figure 205 represents this _Tremella_ growing on
the _Collybia dryophila_, from plants collected at Freeville woods near
Ithaca.
[Illustration: FIGURE 206.--Tremella frondosa. Pinkish yellow or pinkish
vinaceous (natural size). Copyright.]
=Tremella frondosa= Fr.--This is said to be the largest species of the
genus. It grows on rotten wood. It occurs in Europe, has been collected
in New York State, and the Fig. 206 is from a plant (No. 4339, C. U.
herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., in September, 1899. The
plant figured here was 10 cm. long and about 8 cm. high. It is very much
twisted and contorted, leaf-like, and the middle and base all united. It
is of a pinkish yellow color, one plant being vinaceous pink and
another cream buff in color. When young the leaf-like lobes do not show
well, but as it expands they become very prominent.
Several other species of Tremella are probably more common than the ones
illustrated here. One of the commonest of the _Tremellineæ_ probably is
the =Exidia glandulosa=, which in dry weather appears as a black
incrustation on dead limbs, but during rains it swells up into a large,
black, very soft, gelatinous mass. It is commonly found on fallen limbs
of oak, and occurs from autumn until late spring. It is sometimes called
"witch's butter."
[Illustration: FIGURE 207.--Tremella fuciformis. Entirely white (natural
size). Copyright.]
=Tremella fuciformis= Berk.--This is a very beautiful white tremella
growing in woods on leaf mold close to the ground. It forms a large
white tubercular mass resting on the ground, from the upper surface of
which numerous stout, short, white processes arise which branch a few
times in a dichotomous manner. The masses are 10--15 cm. in diameter,
and nearly or quite as high. The flesh is very soft, and the parts are
more or less hollow. The basidia are like those of the genus, globose,
sunk in the substance of the plant, and terminate with four long,
slender, sterigmata which rise to the surface and bear the spores. The
spores are white, nearly ovoid, but inequilateral and somewhat reniform,
continuous, 7--9 × 5--6 µ.
Figure 207 is from a plant collected in a woods near Ithaca, in August,
1897.
GYROCEPHALUS Pers.
The genus _Gyrocephalus_ differs from the other _Tremellineæ_ in having
the fruiting surface on the lower side of the fruit body, while the
upper side is sterile.
[Illustration: FIGURE 208.--Gyrocephalus rufus. Reddish or reddish
yellow (natural size). Copyright.]
=Gyrocephalus rufus= (Jacq.) Bref.--This species is sometimes very
abundant. It grows on the ground, generally from buried wood, or from
dead roots. It is erect, stout at the base, and the upper end flattened
and thinner. It is more or less spatulate, the upper side somewhat
concave, and the lower somewhat convex. In some plants the pileus is
more regular and there is then a tendency to the funnel form. It is
reddish, or reddish yellow in color, smooth, clammy, watery, and quite
gelatinous. When dry it is very hard. Figure 208 represents the form of
the plant well, from plants collected at Ithaca. The plant is quite
common in the damp glens and woods at Ithaca during the autumn.
CHAPTER XIII.
THELEPHORACEAE.
Many of the species of the Thelephoraceæ to which the following two
species belong are too tough for food. A large number of these grow on
wood. They are known by their hard or membranaceous character and by the
fruiting surface (under surface when in the position in which they grew)
being smooth, or only slightly uneven, or cracked.
=Craterellus cantharellus= (Schw.) Fr., is an edible species. In general
appearance it resembles the _Cantharellus cibarius_. The color is the
same, and the general shape, except that the former is perhaps more
irregular in form. It may, however, be in most cases easily
distinguished from _C. cibarius_ by the absence of folds on the under or
fruiting surface, since the fruiting surface is smooth, especially when
the plants are young or middle age. However, when the plants get quite
large and old, in some cases the fruiting surface becomes very uneven
from numerous folds and wrinkles, which, however, are more irregular
than the folds of _C. cibarius_.
=Craterellus cornucopioides= (L.) Pers., is another edible species. It
grows on the ground in woods. It is of a dusky or dark smoky color, and
is deeply funnel-shaped, resembling a "horn of plenty," though usually
straight. The fruiting surface is somewhat uneven.
The genus _Stereum_ is a very common one on branches, etc., either
entirely spread out on the wood, or with the margin or a large part of
the pileus free. _Hymenochæte_ is like _Stereum_, but has numerous small
black spines in the fruiting surface, giving it a velvety appearance.
_Corticium_ is very thin and spread over the wood in patches.
[Illustration: PLATE 81, FIGURE 209.--Lycoperdon cyathiforme (natural
size).]
CHAPTER XIV.
PUFF-BALLS: LYCOPERDACEAE.
This is not the place for a discussion of the different genera of the
puff-balls, etc., but it might be well to say that in recent years the
old genus _Lycoperdon_ has been divided into several genera. The giant
puff-ball, and the _L. cyathiforme_, where the wall or peridium ruptures
irregularly, have been placed in a genus called _Calvatia_; certain
other species which are nearly globose, and in which the wall is of a
papery texture at maturity, are placed in the genus _Bovista_. There is
one genus belonging to the same family as the lycoperdons, the species
of which are very interesting on account of the peculiar way in which
the wall is ruptured. This is the genus _Geaster_, that is, "earth
star." The wall, or peridium, is quite thick in the members of this
genus, and when it matures it separates into several layers which need
not all be discussed here. A thick outer portion which separates from a
thinner inner portion further splits radially into several star-like
divisions, which spread outward and give to the plant the form of a
star. Since the plants lie on the earth the name earth star was applied
to them. This opens out in dry weather, even curving around under the
plant, so that the plant is raised above the ground. Then in wet weather
it closes up again. The inner portion of the wall opens at the apex in
various ways, in the different species, so that the spores may escape. A
closely related genus has several small perforations like a pepper box
in the upper surface of the inner wall, _Myriostoma_.
LYCOPERDON Tourn.
To this genus belong most of the "puff-balls," as they are commonly
called, or, as they are denominated in the South, "Devil's snuff box."
All, or a large portion, of the interior of the plant at maturity breaks
down into a powdery substance, which with the numerous spores is very
light, and when the plant is squeezed or pressed, clouds of this dust
burst out at the opening through the wall. The wall of the plant is
termed the _peridium_. In this genus the wall is quite thin, and at
maturity opens differently in different species. In several species it
opens irregularly, the entire wall becoming very brittle and cracking up
into bits, as in the giant puff-ball. In the remaining species it opens
by a distinct perforation at the apex, and the remainder of the wall is
more or less pliant and membranous. All of the puff-balls are said to be
edible, at least are harmless, if eaten when the flesh is white. They
should not be eaten when the flesh is dark, or is changing from the
white color.
=Lycoperdon giganteum= Batsch. =Edible.=--This, the giant puff-ball, is
the largest species of the genus. Sometimes it reaches immense
proportions, two to three or even four feet, but these large sizes are
rare. It is usually 20 to 40 cm. (8--16 in.) in diameter. It grows on
the ground in grassy places during late summer and in the autumn. It is
a large rounded mass, resting on the ground, and near or at the center
of the under side, it is attached to the cords of mycelium in the
ground. It is white in color until it is ripe, that is, when the spores
are mature, and it should be gathered for food before it is thus ripe.
When it is maturing it becomes yellowish, then dusky or smoky in color.
The flesh, which is white when young, changes to greenish yellow and
finally brownish, with usually an olivaceous tinge, as the spores ripen.
The plant is so large that it may be sliced, and should be sliced before
broiling. A single specimen often forms enough for a meal for a large
family, and some of the larger ones would serve for several meals.
=Lycoperdon cyathiforme= Bosc. =Edible.=--This is called the
beaker-shaped puff-ball because the base of the plant, after the spores
have all been scattered, resembles to some extent a beaker, or a broad
cup with a stout, stem-like base. These old sterile bases of the plant
are often found in the fields long after the spores have disappeared.
The plants are somewhat pear-shaped, rounded above, and tapering below
to the stout base. They are 7--15 cm. in diameter, and white when young.
At maturity the spore mass is purplish, and by this color as well as by
the sterile base the plant is easily recognized. Of course these
characters cannot be recognized in the young and growing plant at the
time it is wanted for food, but the white color of the interior of the
plant would be a sufficient guarantee that it was edible, granted of
course that it was a member of the puff-ball family. Sometimes, long
before the spores mature, the outer portion of the plant changes from
white to pinkish, or brownish colors. At maturity the wall, or peridium,
breaks into brittle fragments, which disappear and the purplish mass of
the spores is exposed. The plant grows in grassy places or even in
cultivated fields.
=Lycoperdon gemmatum= Batsch. =Edible.=--This puff-ball is widely
distributed throughout the world and is very common. It grows in the
woods, or in open places on the ground, usually. It is known from its
characteristic top shape, the more or less erect scales on the upper
surface intermingled with smaller ones, the larger ones falling away and
leaving circular scars over the surface, which gives it a reticulate
appearance. The plants are white, becoming dark gray or grayish brown
when mature. They vary in size from 3--7 cm. high to 2--5 cm. broad.
They are more or less top-shaped, and the stem, which is stout, is
sometimes longer than the rounded portion, which is the fruiting part.
The outer part of the wall (outer peridium) when quite young separates
into warts or scales of varying size, large ones arranged quite
regularly with smaller ones between. These warts are well shown in the
two plants at the left in Fig. 210, and the third plant from the left
shows the reticulations formed of numerous scars on the inner peridium
where the larger scales have fallen away.
[Illustration: FIGURE 210.--Lycoperdon gemmatum. Entirely white except
when old (natural size). Copyright.]
The plant at the extreme right is mature, and the inner peridium has
ruptured at the apex to permit the escape of the spores. The spore mass,
together with brownish threads which are intermingled, are greenish
yellow with an olive tinge, then they become pale brown. The spores are
rounded, 3.5--4.5 µ in diameter, smooth or minutely warted.
Another small puff-ball everywhere common in woods is the _Lycoperdon
pyriforme_, so called because of its pear shape. It grows on very rotten
wood or on decaying logs in woods or groves, or in open places where
there is rotting wood. It is somewhat smaller than the gem-bearing
lycoperdon, is almost sessile, sometimes many crowded very close
together, and especially is it characterized by prominent root-like
white strands of mycelium which are attached to the base where the
plant enters the rotten wood. While these small species of puff-balls
are not injurious to eat, they do not seem to possess an agreeable
flavor. There are quite a number of species in this country which cannot
be enumerated here.
Related to the puff-balls, and properly classed with them, are the
species of _Scleroderma_. This name is given to the genus because of the
hard peridium, the wall being much firmer and harder than in
_Lycoperdon_. There are two species which are not uncommon, _Scleroderma
vulgare_ and _S. verrucosum_. They grow on the ground or on very rotten
wood, and are sessile, often showing the root-like white strands
attached to their base. They vary in size from 2--6 cm. and the outer
wall is cracked into numerous coarse areas, or warts, giving the plant a
verrucose appearance, from which one of the species gets its specific
name.
=Calostoma cinnabarinum= Desv.--This is a remarkably beautiful plant
with a general distribution in the Eastern United States. It has often
been referred to in this country under the genus name _Mitremyces_, and
sometimes has been confused with a rarer and different species,
_Calostoma lutescens_ (Schw.) Burnap. It grows in damp woods, usually
along the banks of streams and along mountain roads. It is remarkable
for the brilliant vermilion color of the inner surface of the outer
layer of the wall (_exoperidium_), which is exposed by splitting into
radial strips that curl and twist themselves off, and by the vermilion
color of the edges of the teeth at the apex of the inner wall
(_endoperidium_). The plant is 2--8 cm. high, and 1--2 cm. in diameter.
When mature the base or stem, which is formed of reticulated and
anastomosing cords, elongates and lifts the rounded or oval fruiting
portion to some distance above the surface of the ground, when the
gelatinous volva ruptures and falls to the ground or partly clings to
the stem, exposing the peridium, the outer portion of which then splits
in the manner described.
When the plant is first seen above the ground it appears as a globose or
rounded body, and in wet weather has a very thick gelatinous layer
surrounding it. This is the volva and is formed by the gelatinization of
the outer layer of threads which compose it. This gelatinous layer is
thick and also viscid, and when the plants are placed on paper to dry,
it glues them firmly to the sheet. When the outer layer of the peridium
splits, it does so by splitting from the base toward the apex, or from
the apex toward the base. Of the large number of specimens which I have
seen at Blowing Rock, N. C., the split more often begins at the apex, or
at least, when the slit is complete, the strips usually stand out
loosely in a radiate manner, the tips being free. At this stage the
plant is a very beautiful object with the crown of vermilion strips
radiating outward from the base of the fruit body at the top of the
stem, and the inner peridium resting in the center and terminated by the
four to seven teeth with vermilion edges. At this time also the light
yellow spore mass is oozing out from between the teeth. The spores are
oblong to elliptical, marked with very fine points, and measure 15--18 ×
8--10 µ.
[Illustration: PLATE 82, FIGURE 211.--Calostoma cinnabarinum. See text
for colors (natural size).]
Figure 211 is from plants collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., in
September, 1899. The _Mytremyces lutescens_ reported in my list of "Some
Fungi of Blowing Rock, N. C.," in Jour. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 9:
95--107, 1892, is this _Calostoma cinnabarinum_.
CHAPTER XV.
THE STINK-HORN FUNGI: PHALLOIDEAE Fries.
Most of the stink-horn fungi are characterized by a very offensive odor.
Some of them at maturity are in shape not unlike that of a horn, and the
vulgar name is applied because of this form and the odor. The plants
grow in the ground, or in decaying organic matter lying on the ground.
The spawn or mycelium is in the form of rope-like strands which are
usually much branched and matted together. From these cords the fruit
form arises. During its period of growth and up to the maturity of the
spores, the fruit body is oval, that is, egg form, and because of this
form and the quite large size of these bodies they are often called
"eggs." The outer portion of the egg forms the volva. It is always
thick, and has an outer thin coat or membrane, and an inner membrane,
while between the two is a thick layer of gelatinous substance, so that
the wall of the volva is often 3--6 mm. in thickness, and is very soft.
The outline of the volva can be seen in Fig. 215, which shows sections
of three eggs in different stages. Inside of the volva is the short stem
(_receptacle_) which is in the middle portion, and covering the upper
portion and sides of this short stem is the pileus; the fruit-bearing
portion, which is divided into small chambers, lies on the outside of
the pileus. In the figure there can be seen cross lines extending
through this part from the pileus to the wall of the volva. These
represent ridges or crests which anastomose over the pileus, forming
reticulations. The stem or receptacle is hollow through the center, and
this hollow opens out at the end so that there is a rounded perforation
through the upper portion of the pileus.
The spores are borne on club-shaped basidia within the chambers of the
fruit-bearing portion (_gleba_), and at maturity of the spores the stem
or receptacle begins to elongate. This pushes the gleba and the upper
part of the receptacle through the apex of the volva, leaving this as a
cup-shaped body at the base, much as in certain species of _Amanita_,
while the gleba is borne aloft on the much elongated stem. During this
elongation of the receptacle a large part of the substance of the gleba
dissolves into a thick liquid containing the spores. This runs off and
is washed off by the rains, leaving the inner surface of the gleba
exposed, and showing certain characters peculiar to the various genera.
Among the stink-horns are a number of genera which are very interesting
from the peculiarities of development; and some of which are very
beautiful and curious objects, although they do possess offensive odors.
In some of the genera, the upper part of the plant expands into
leaf-like--or petal-like, bodies, which are highly colored and resemble
flowers. They are sometimes called "fungus flowers."
DICTYOPHORA Desvaux.
=Dictyophora= means "net bearer," and as one can see from Fig. 212 it is
not an inappropriate name. The stem or receptacle, as one can see from
the illustrations of the two species treated of here, possesses a very
coarse mesh, so that not only the surface but the substance within is
reticulated, pitted and irregularly perforated. In the genus
_Dictyophora_ an outer layer of the receptacle or stem is separated as
it elongates, breaks away from the lower part of the stem, is carried
aloft, and hangs as a beautiful veil. This veil is very conspicuous in
some species and less so in others.
=Dictyophora duplicata= (Bosc.) Ed. Fischer.--This species is
illustrated in Fig. 212, made from plants collected at Ithaca. The
plants are from 15--22 cm. high, the cap about 5 cm. in diameter, and
the stem 2--3 cm. in thickness. According to Burt (Bot. Gaz. =22=: 387,
1896) it is a common species in the Eastern United States. The cap is
more or less bell-shaped and the sculptured surface is marked in a
beautiful manner with the reticulations.
[Illustration: PLATE 83, FIGURE 212.--Dictyophora duplicata. White
(natural size). Copyright.]
[Illustration: PLATE 84, FIGURE 213.--Dictyophora ravenelii. Mature
plants showing volva at base; elongated receptacle, cap at the top, and
veil surrounding the receptacle under the cap (natural size).
Copyright.]
[Illustration: FIGURE 214.--Dictyophora ravenelii. Egg stage, caps just
bursting through the volva (natural size). Copyright.]
[Illustration: FIGURE 215.--Dictyophora ravenelii. Sections of eggs, and
showing cords of mycelium (natural size). Copyright.]
=Dictyophora ravenelii= (B. & C.) Burt.--This plant also has a wide
distribution in the Eastern United States. The stem is more slender than
in the other species, _D. duplicata_, the pileus more nearly conic, and
the surface of the pileus is merely granular or minutely wrinkled after
the disappearance of the gleba, and does not present the strong
reticulating ridges and crests which that species shows. The plants are
from 10 to 18 cm. high. It grows in woods and fields about rotting wood,
and in sawdust. The veil is very thin and delicate, forming simply a
membrane, and does not possess the coarse meshes present in the veil of
_D. duplicata_. The Figs. 214, 215 represent the different stages in the
elongation of the receptacle of this plant, and the rupture of the
volva. This elongation takes place quite rapidly. While photographing
the plant as it was bursting through the volva, I had considerable
difficulty in getting a picture, since the stem elongated so rapidly
that the plant would show that it had moved perceptibly, and the picture
would be blurred.
In a woods near Ithaca a large number of these plants have appeared from
year to year in a pile of sawdust. One of the most vile smelling plants
of this family is the _Ithyphallus impudicus_.
CHAPTER XVI.
MORELS, CUP-FUNGI, HELVELLAS, ETC.: DISCOMYCETES.
The remaining fungi to be considered belong to a very different group of
plants than do the mushrooms, puff-balls, etc. Nevertheless, because of
the size of several of the species and the fact that several of them are
excellent for food, some attention will be given to a few. The entire
group is sometimes spoken of as _Discomycetes_ or _cup-fungi_, because
many of the plants belonging here are shaped something like a disk, or
like a cup. The principal way in which they differ from the mushrooms,
the puff-balls, etc., is found in the manner in which the spores are
borne. In the mushrooms, etc., the spores, we recollect, are borne on
the end of a club-shaped body, usually four spores on one of these. In
this group, however, the spores are borne inside of club-shaped bodies,
called sacs or asci (singular, ascus). These sacs, or asci, are grouped
together, lying side by side, forming the fruiting surface or hymenium,
much as the basidia form the fruiting surface in the mushrooms. In the
case of the cup or disk forms, the upper side of the disk, or the upper
and inner surface of the cap, is covered with these sacs, standing side
by side, so that the free ends of the sacs form the outer surface. In
the case of the morel the entire outer surface of the upper portion of
the plant, that where there are so many pits, is covered with similar
sacs. Since so few of the genera and species of the morels and cup-fungi
will be treated of here, I shall not attempt to compare the genera or
even to give the characters by which the genera are known. In most
cases the illustrations will serve this purpose so far as it is
desirable to accomplish it in such a work as the present. Certain of the
species will then be described and illustrated.
[Illustration: PLATE 85, FIGURE 216.--Morchella esculenta (natural
size). Copyright.]
MORCHELLA Dill.
The morels are all edible and they are usually easy to recognize. The
plant consists of two distinct, prominent parts, the cap and the stem.
The cap varies in form from rounded, ovate, conic or cylindrical, or
bell-shaped, but it is always marked by rather broad pits, covering the
entire outer surface, which are separated from each other by ridges
forming a network. The color of the plants does not differ to any
perceptible extent in our species. The cap is usually buff or light
ochre yellow, becoming darker with age and in drying.
The stem in all our species is usually quite stout, though it varies to
some extent in some of the different species, in proportion to the
thickness of the cap. The stem is marked in some of the species by large
wrinkles or folds extending irregularly but with considerable uniformity
over the surface. The surface is further minutely roughened by whitish
or grayish elevations, giving it a granular appearance. Sometimes these
granules are quite evenly distributed over the surface, and in some
species they are more or less separated into small areas by narrow
lines.
The morels appear early in the season, during May and June. They grow
usually in damp situations, and are more abundant during rainy weather.
Three species are illustrated here.
=Morchella esculenta= Pers. =Edible.=--The name of this species, the
esculent morel, indicates that it has been long known as an edible
plant, especially since the man who named it lived a century ago. The
plant is from 5--15 cm. high, the stem is 1--3 cm. in thickness, and the
cap is broader than the stem. The cap is somewhat longer than broad, and
is more or less oval or rounded in outline. The arrangement of the pits
on the surface of the cap is regarded by some as being characteristic of
certain species. In this species the pits are irregularly arranged, so
that they do not form rows, and so that the ridges separating them do
not run longitudinally from the base toward the apex of the cap, but run
quite irregularly. This arrangement can be seen in Fig. 216, which is
from a photograph of this species. The stem is hollow.
=Morchella conica= Pers. =Edible.=--This species is very closely related
to the preceding one, and is considered by some to be only a form of the
_Morchella esculenta_. The size is about the same, the only difference
being in the somewhat longer cap and especially in the arrangement of
the pits. These are arranged more or less in distinct rows, so that the
ridges separating them run longitudinally and parallel from the base of
the cap to the apex, with connecting ridges extending across between the
pits. The cap is also more or less conic, but not necessarily so. Figure
217 illustrates this species. The plant shown here is branched, and this
should not be taken to be a character of the species, for it is not,
this form being rather rare.
[Illustration: FIGURE 217.--Morchella conica (natural size).
Copyright.]
[Illustration: PLATE 86, FIGURE 218.--Morchella crassipes (natural
size). Copyright.]
=Morchella crassipes= (Vent.) Pers. =Edible.=--This species differs from
the two preceding in the fact that the stem is nearly equal in width
with the cap. Figure 218 illustrates a handsome specimen which was 17
cm. high. The granular surface and the folds of the stem show very
distinctly and beautifully. Collected at Ithaca.
=Morchella deliciosa= Fr. =Edible=, has the cap cylindrical or nearly
so. It is longer than the stem, and is usually two or three times as
long as it is broad. The plant is smaller than the preceding, though
large ones may equal in size small ones of those two. The plant is from
4--8 cm. high.
=Morchella semilibera= DC., and =M. bispora= Sor., [_Verpa bohemica_
(Kromb.) Schroet.] occur in this country, and are interesting from the
fact that the cap is bell-shaped, the lower margin being free from the
stem. In the latter species there are only two spores in an ascus.
HELVELLA L.
The helvellas are pretty and attractive plants. They are smaller than
the morels, usually. They have a cap and stem, the cap being very
irregular in shape, often somewhat lobed or saddle-shaped. It is smooth,
or nearly so, at least it is not marked by the large pits present in the
cap of the morel, and this is one of the principal distinguishing
features of the helvellas as compared with the morels. In one species
the thin cap has its lower margin free from the stem. This is =Helvella
crispa= Fr., and it has a white or whitish cap, and a deeply furrowed
stem. It occurs in woods during the summer and autumn, and is known as
the white helvella.
[Illustration: FIGURE 219.--Helvella lacunosa (natural size).
Copyright.]
Another species which has a wide range is the =Helvella lacunosa=, so
called because of the deep longitudinal grooves in the stem. The cap is
thin, but differs from the _H. crispa_ in that the lower margin is
connected with the stem. This species is illustrated in Fig. 219 from
plants collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.
The genus _Gyromitra_ is very closely related to _Helvella_, and is only
distinguished by the fact that the cap is marked by prominent folds and
convolutions, resembling somewhat the convolutions of the brain. Its
name means _convoluted cap_. The =Gyromitra esculenta= Fr., is from
5--10 cm. high, and the cap from 5--7 cm. broad. While this species has
long been reported as an edible one, and has been employed in many
instances as food with no evil results, there are known cases where it
has acted as a poison. In many cases where poisoning has resulted the
plants were quite old and probably in the incipient stages of decay.
However, it is claimed that a poisonous principle, called _helvellic
acid_, has been isolated by a certain chemist, which acts as a violent
poison. This principle is very soluble in hot water, and when care is
used to drain off first water in which they have been cooked, squeezing
the water well from the plants, they are pronounced harmless. The safer
way would be to avoid such suspicious species.
[Illustration: FIGURE 220.--Spathularia velutipes (natural size).
Copyright.]
=Spathularia velutipes= Cooke & Farlow.--This species represents another
interesting genus of the _Discomycetes_. It is in the form of a
"spatula," and from this shape of the plant the genus takes its name.
There are several species known in this country, and this one is quite
common. The stem extends the entire length of the plant, running right
through the cap, or perhaps it would be better to say that the cap or
fruiting portion forms two narrow blades or wings on opposite sides of
the upper part of the stem. These wing-like expansions of the cap on the
opposite sides of the stem give the spathulate form to the plant. Figure
220 is from plants collected in the woods near Ithaca.
[Illustration: FIGURE 221.--Leotia lubrica (natural size). Copyright.]
=Leotia lubrica= Pers.--The genus _Leotia_ is quite readily recognized
by its form, and because the plants are usually slimy. This species is
called _lubrica_ because of the slippery character of the entire plant.
It is dull yellowish or olive yellow in color. The cap, as can be seen
from the figure (221), is irregularly rounded, and broader than the
stem. The plant is illustrated natural size from specimens collected
near Ithaca.
THE TRUE CUP-FUNGI.
By far the larger number of the _Discomycetes_ are cup-shaped, and are
popularly called "cup-fungi." They vary from plants of very minute size,
so small that they can be just seen with the eye, or some of the larger
ones are several inches in breadth. They grow on the ground, on leaves,
wood, etc. The variety of form and color is great. They may be sessile,
that is, the cup rests immediately on the ground or wood, or leaves, or
they may possess a short, or rather long stalk. The only species
illustrated here has a comparatively long stalk, and the cap is deep
cup-shaped, almost like a beaker. This plant is technically known as
_Sarcoscypha floccosa_. It is represented here natural size (Fig. 222).
The stem is slender, and the rim of the cup is beset with long, strigose
hairs. The inner surface of the cup is lined with the sacs (asci) and
sterile threads (paraphyses), spoken of on a former page, when treating
of the fruiting character of the morels and cup-fungi. In this plant the
color of the inside of the cup is very beautiful, being a bright red.
Another species, _Sarcoscypha coccinea_, the scarlet sarcoscypha, is a
larger plant which appears in very early spring, soon after the frost is
out of the ground. It grows on rotting logs and wood in the woods or in
groves. The inside of the cup in this species is a rich scarlet, and
from this rich color the species takes its name.
[Illustration: FIGURE 222.--Sarcoscypha floccosa (natural size).
Copyright.]
CHAPTER XVII.
COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF THE FLESHY FUNGI.
In the collection of the higher fungi it is of the utmost importance
that certain precautions be employed in obtaining all parts of the
plant, and furthermore that care be exercised in handling, in order not
to remove or efface delicate characters. Not only is it important for
the beginner, but in many instances an "expert" may not be able to
determine a specimen which may have lost what undoubtedly seem, to some,
trivial marks. The suggestions given here should enable one to collect
specimens in such a way as to protect these characters while fresh, to
make notes of the important evanescent characters and to dry and
preserve them properly for future study. For collecting a number of
specimens under a variety of conditions the following list of
"apparatus" is recommended:
One or two oblong or rectangular hand baskets, capacity from 8--12
quarts.
Or a rectangular zinc case with a closely fitting top (not the ordinary
botanical collecting case).
Half a dozen or so tall pasteboard boxes, or tins, 3 × 3, or 4 × 4, × 5
inches deep, to hold certain species in an upright position.
A quantity of tissue paper cut 8 × 10 or 6 × 8 inches.
Smaller quantity of waxed tissue paper for wrapping viscid or sticky
plants.
Trowel; a stout knife; memorandum pad and pencil.
=Collecting.=--During the proper season, and when rains are abundant,
the mushrooms are to be found in open fields, waste places, groves and
woods. They are usually more abundant in the forests. Especially in dry
weather are specimens more numerous in rather damp woods, along ravines
or streams. In collecting specimens which grow on the ground the trowel
should be used to dig up the plant carefully, to be sure that no
important part of the plant is left in the ground. After one has become
familiar with the habit of the different kinds the trowel will not be
necessary in all cases. For example, most species of _Russula_,
_Lactarius_, _Tricholoma_, _Boletus_, etc., are not deeply seated in the
soil, and careful hand-picking will in most cases secure specimens
properly, especially if one does not object to digging in the soil with
the fingers. But in the case of most species of _Amanita_, certain
species of _Lepiota_, _Collybia_, etc., a trowel is necessary to get up
the base of the plant in such a way as to preserve essential characters.
Even then it is possible, if the ground is not too hard, to dig them out
with the fingers, or with a stout knife, but I have often found
specimens which could only be taken up with a trowel or spade.
Species growing on sticks or leaves are easily collected by taking a
portion of the substratum on which they grow. Specimens on the larger
limbs or trunks or stumps can sometimes be "picked," but until one is
accustomed to certain individualities of the plant it is well to employ
the knife and to cut off a portion of the wood if necessary, to avoid
cutting off the base of the stem.
It is necessary also to handle the specimens with the greatest care to
avoid leaving finger marks where the surface of the stem or cap is
covered with a soft and delicate outer coat, especially if one wishes to
photograph the plant, since rubbed or marked places spoil the plant for
this purpose. Also a little careless handling will remove such important
characters as a frail annulus or volva, which often are absolutely
necessary to recognize the species.
Having collected the specimens, they should be properly placed in the
basket or collecting case. Those which are quite firm, and not long and
slender, can be wrapped with tissue paper (waxed tissue paper if they
are viscid or sticky), and placed directly in the basket, with some note
or number to indicate habitat or other peculiarity which it is desirable
to make at the time of collection. The smaller, more slender and
fragile, specimens can be wrapped in tissue paper (a cluster of several
individuals can be frequently rolled up together) made in the form of a
narrow funnel and the ends then twisted. The shape of the paper enables
one to wrap them in such a way as to protect certain delicate characters
on the stem or cap. These can then be stood upright in the small
pasteboard boxes which should occupy a portion of the basket. A number
of such wrappers can be placed in a single box, unless the specimens are
of considerable size and numerous. In these boxes they are prevented
from being crushed by the jostling of the larger specimens in the
basket. These boxes have the additional advantage of preserving certain
specimens entire and upright if one wishes later to photograph them.
=Field Notes.=--The field notes which may be taken upon the collection
will depend on circumstances. If one goes to the sorting room soon after
the collection is made, so that notes can be made there before the more
delicate specimens dry, few notes will answer in the field, and usually
one is so busy collecting or hunting for specimens there is not much
inclination to make extended notes in the field. But it is quite
important to note the _habitat_ and _environment_, i. e., the place
where they grow, the kind and character of the soil, in open field,
roadside, grove, woods, on ground, leaves, sticks, stumps, trunks,
rotting wood, or on living tree, etc. It is very important also that
different kinds be kept separate. The student will recognize the
importance of this and other suggestions much more than the new "fungus
hunter."
=Sorting Room.=--When one returns from a collecting trip it is best to
take the plants as soon as possible to a room where they can be
assorted. An hour or so delay usually does not matter, but the sooner
they are attended to the better. Sometimes when they are carefully
placed in the basket, as described above, they may be kept over night
without injury, but this will depend on the _kinds_ in the collection.
_Coprini_ are apt to deliquesce, certain other specimens, especially in
warm weather, are apt to be so infested with larvæ that they will be
ruined by morning, when immediate drying might save them. Other thin and
delicate ones, especially in dry weather, will dry out so completely
that one loses the opportunity of taking notes on the fresh specimen.
Specimens to be photographed should be attended to at once, unless it is
too late in the day, when they should be set aside in an upright
position, and if necessary under a bell-jar, until the following day. As
far as possible good specimens should be selected for the photograph,
representing different stages of development, and one to show the
fruiting surface. Sometimes it will be necessary to make more than one
photograph to obtain all the stages. Also on different days one is apt
to obtain a specimen representing an important stage in development not
represented before. The plants should be arranged close together to
economize space, but not usually touching nor too crowded. They should
be placed in their natural position as far as possible, and means for
support, if used, should be hidden behind the plant. They should be so
arranged as to show individual as well as specific character and should
be photographed if possible natural size, or at least not on a plate
smaller than 5 × 7 inches unless the plants are small; while larger ones
are better on 6 × 8 or larger. Some very small ones it may be necessary
to enlarge in order to show the character of the fruiting surface, and
even large specimens can sometimes have a portion of the hymenium
enlarged to good advantage if it is desirable to show the characters
clearly. The background should be selected to bring out the characters
strongly, and in the exposure and developing it is often necessary to
disregard the effect of the background in order to bring out the detail
of texture on the plant itself. The background should be renewed as
often as necessary to have it uniform and neat. There is much more that
might be said under this head, but there is not space here.
=To Obtain Spore Prints.=--In many cases it is desirable to obtain
spores in a mass on paper in order to know the exact tint of color
produced by the species. Often the color of the spores can be
satisfactorily determined by an examination of them under the
microscope. One cannot always depend on the color of the lamellæ since a
number of the species possess colored cystidia or spines in the hymenium
which disguise the color of the spores. The best way to determine the
color of the spores in mass is to catch them as they fall from the
fruiting surface on paper. For the ordinary purpose of study and
reference in the herbarium the spores caught on unprepared paper, which
later may be placed in the packet with the specimen, will answer. This
method has the advantage of saving time, and also the danger of injury
to the spores from some of the fixatives on prepared paper is avoided.
If for purposes of illustration one wishes pretty spore prints, perfect
caps must be cut from the stem and placed fruiting surface downward on
paper prepared with some gum arable or similar preparation spread over
it, while the paper is still moist with the fixative, and then the
specimen must be covered with a bell-jar or other receiver to prevent
even the slightest draft of air, otherwise the spores will float around
more or less. The spores may be caught on a thin, absorbent paper, and
the paper then be floated on the fixative in a shallow vessel until it
soaks through and comes in contact with the spores. I have sometimes
used white of egg as a fixative. These pieces of paper can then be cut
out and either glued to card-boards, or onto the herbarium sheet.
=Sorting the Plants.=--This should be done as soon as possible after
collection. A large table in the sorting room is convenient, upon which
the specimens may be spread, or grouped rather, by species, the
individuals of a species together, on sheets of paper. Surplus dirt, or
wood, leaves, etc., can be removed. A few of the specimens can be turned
so that spores can be caught on the papers. If only one or a few
specimens of a given species have been found, and it is desirable not to
cut off the cap from the stem, the plant can be supported in an upright
position, a small piece of paper slit at one side can be slipped around
the stem underneath the cap, on which the spores will fall. Sometimes it
will be necessary to cover the plant with a bell-jar in order to prevent
it from drying before the spores are shed. Experience with different
species will suggest the treatment necessary.
=Taking Notes on the Specimens.=--Very few probably realize the
desirability of making notes of certain characters while the plants are
fresh, for future reference, or for use by those to whom the plants may
be sent for determination. It is some trouble to do this, and when the
different kinds are plentiful the temptation is strong to neglect it.
When one has available books for determination of the species, as many
as possible should be studied and determined while fresh. But it is not
always possible to satisfactorily determine all. Some may be too
difficult for ready recognition, others may not be described in the
books at hand, or poorly so, and further the number of kinds may be too
great for determination before they will spoil. On these as well as on
some of the interesting ones recognized, it is important to make a
record of certain characters. These notes should be kept either with the
specimen, or a number should be given the specimen and the notes kept
separately with the corresponding number.
MEMORANDA.
=No.=____. Locality, Date. Name of collector.
=Weather.=
=Habitat.=--If on ground, low or high, wet or dry, kind of soil; on
fallen leaves, twigs, branches, logs, stumps, roots, whether dead or
living, kind of tree; in open fields, pastures, etc., woods, groves,
etc., mixed woods or evergreen, oak, chestnut, etc.
=Plants.=--Whether solitary, clustered, tufted, whether rooting or not,
taste, odor, color when bruised or cut, and if a change in color takes
place after exposure to the air.
=Cap.=--Whether dry, moist, watery in appearance (hygrophanous), slimy,
viscid, glutinous; color when young, when old; whether with fine bloom,
powder; kind of scales and arrangement, whether free from the cuticle
and easily rubbed off. Shape of cap.
=Margin of Cap.=--Whether straight or incurved when young, whether
striate or not when moist.
=Stem.=--Whether slimy, viscid, glutinous, kind of scales if not smooth,
whether striate, dotted, granular, color; when there are several
specimens test one to see if it is easily broken out from the cap, also
to see if it is fibrous, or fleshy, or cartilaginous (firm on the
outside, partly snapping and partly tough). Shape of the stem.
=Gills or Tubes.=--Color when young, old, color when bruised, and if
color changes, whether soft, waxy, brittle, or tough; sharp or blunt,
plane or serrate edge.
=Milk.=--Color if present, changing after exposure, taste.
=Veil.=--(Inner veil.) Whether present or not, character, whether
arachnoid, and if so whether free from cuticle of pileus or attached
only to the edge; whether fragile, persistent, disappearing, slimy,
etc., movable, etc.
=Ring.=--Present or absent, fragile, or persistent, whether movable,
viscid, etc.
=Volva.=--Present or absent, persistent or disappearing, whether it
splits at apex or is circumscissile, or all crumbly and granular or
floccose, whether the part on the pileus forms warts, and then the kind,
distribution, shape, persistence, etc.
=Spores.=--Color when caught on white paper.
To the close observer additional points of interest will often be noted.
=To Dry the Specimens.=--Frequently the smaller specimens will dry well
when left in the room, especially in dry weather, or better if they are
placed where there is a draft of air. Some dry them in the sun. But
often the sun is not shining, and the weather may be rainy or the air
very humid, when it is impossible to dry the specimens properly except
by artificial heat. The latter method is better for the larger specimens
at all times. During the autumn when radiators are heated the fungi dry
well when placed on or over them. One of the best places which I have
utilized is the brick work around a boiler connected with a mountain
hotel. Two other methods are, however, capable of wider application.
1st.--A tin oven about 2 × 2 feet, and two or several feet high, with
one side hinged as a door, and with several movable shelves of
perforated tin, or of wire netting; a vent at the top, and perforations
around the sides at the bottom to admit air. The object being to provide
for a constant current of air from below upwards between the specimens.
This may be heated, if not too large, with a lamp, though an oil stove
or gas jet or heater is better. The specimens are placed on the shelves
with the accompanying notes or numbers. The height of this box can be
extended where the number of specimens is great.
2d.--A very successful method which I employed at a summer resort at
Blowing Rock, N. C., in the mountains of North Carolina, during
September, 1899, was as follows: An old cook stove was set up in an
unoccupied cottage, with two wire screens from 3 × 4 feet, one above the
other, the lower one about one foot above the top of the stove. Large
numbers can be dried on these frames. Care of course must be taken that
the plants are not burned. In all cases the plants must be so placed
that air will circulate under and around them, otherwise they are apt to
blacken.
When the plants are dry they are very brittle and must be handled
carefully. When removed from the drier many kinds soon absorb enough
moisture to become pliant so that they are not easily broken. Others
remain brittle. They may be put away in small boxes; or pressed out
nearly flat, _not so as to crush the gills_, and then put in paper
packets. The plants which do not absorb sufficient moisture from the
air, so that they are pliant enough to press, can be placed in small
boxes or on paper in a large box with peat moss in the bottom, and the
box then closed tightly until they absorb enough moisture to become
flexible. The plants must not get wet, and they should be examined every
half hour or so, for some become limp much sooner than others. If the
plants get too moist the gills crush together when pressed, and
otherwise they do not make such good specimens. When the specimens are
dried and placed in the herbarium they must be protected from insects.
Some are already infested with insects which the process of drying does
not kill. They must be either poisoned with corrosive sublimate in
alcohol, or fumigated with carbon disulphide, and if the latter it must
be repeated one or two times at an interval of a month to catch those
which were in the egg state the first time. When placed in the herbarium
or in a box for storage, naphtha balls can be placed with them to keep
out insects, but it should be understood that the naphtha balls will not
kill or drive away insects already in the specimens. Where there are
enough duplicates, some specimens preserved in 75 per cent. alcohol,
under the same number, are of value for the study of structural
characters.
CHAPTER XVIII.
SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF MUSHROOMS FOR THE TABLE.
In the selection of mushrooms to eat, great caution should be employed
by those who are not reasonably familiar with the means of determination
of the species, or those who have not an intimate acquaintance with
certain forms. Rarely should the beginner be encouraged to eat them upon
his own determination. It is best at first to consult some one who
knows, or to send first specimens away for determination, though in many
cases a careful comparison of the plant with the figures and
descriptions given in this book will enable a novice to recognize it. In
taking up a species for the first time it would be well to experiment
cautiously.
=No Certain Rule to Distinguish the Poisonous from the Edible.=--There
is no certain test, like the "silver spoon test," which will enable one
to tell the poisonous mushroom from the edible ones. Nor is the presence
of the so-called "death cup" a sure sign that the fungus is poisonous,
for the _Amanita cæsarea_ has this cup. For the beginner, however, there
are certain general rules, which, if carefully followed, will enable him
to avoid the poisonous ones, while at the same time necessarily
excluding many edible ones.
=1st.=--Reject all fungi which have begun to decay, or which are
infested with larvæ.
=2d.=--Reject all fungi when in the button stage, since the characters
are not yet shown which enable one to distinguish the genera and
species. Buttons in pasture lands which are at the surface of the
ground and not deep-seated in the soil, would very likely not belong to
any of the very poisonous kinds.
=3d.=--Reject all fungi which have a cup or sac-like envelope at the
base of the stem, or which have a scaly or closely fitting layer at the
base of the stem, and rather loose warts on the pileus, especially if
the gills are white. _Amanita cæsarea_ has a sac-like envelope at the
base of the stem, and yellow gills as well as a yellow cap, and is
edible. _Amanita rubescens_ has remnants of a scaly envelope on the base
of the stem and loose warts on the cap, and the flesh where wounded
becomes reddish. It is edible. (See plate 19.)
=4th.=--Reject all fungi with a milky juice unless the juice is reddish.
Several species with copious white milk, sweet or mild to the taste, are
edible (see _Lactarius volemus_ and _corrugis_).
=5th.=--Reject very brittle fungi with gills nearly all of equal length,
where the flesh of the cap is thin, especially those with bright caps.
=6th.=--Reject all Boleti in which the flesh changes color where bruised
or cut, or those in which the tubes have reddish mouths, also those the
taste of which is bitter. _Strobilomyces strobilaceus_ changes color
when cut, and is edible.
=7th.=--Reject fungi which have a cobwebby veil or ring when young, and
those with slimy caps and clay-colored spores.
In addition, proceed cautiously in all cases, and make it a point to
become very familiar with a few species first, and gradually extend the
range of species, rather than attempt the first season to eat a large
number of different kinds.
All puff-balls are edible so long as they are white inside, though some
are better than others. All coral-like or club fungi are edible.
=To Clean and Prepare the Specimens.=--The mushrooms having been
collected, all tough stems, the parts to which earth clings, should be
removed. After the specimens are selected, if there is danger that some
of them may be infested with larvæ, it is well to cut off the stem close
to the cap, for if the insects are in the stem and have not yet reached
the cap they may thus be cast away. Some recommend that the tubes of all
Boleti be removed, since they are apt to make a slimy mass in cooking.
Where the plants are small they may be cooked entire. Large ones should
be quartered, or cut, or sliced, according to the size and form of the
plant, or method of cooking.
CHAPTER XIX.
USES OF MUSHROOMS.[C]
The most prominent and at present important use of mushrooms from the
standpoint of the utilitarian is as an article of food. We have now
learned that their food value as a nutrient substance is not so great as
has been fondly supposed, but, as Mr. Clark points out in Chapter XXII,
in addition to the value they certainly do possess as food, they have
very great value as condiments or food accessories, and "their value as
such is beyond the computation of the chemist or physiologist. They are
among the most appetizing of table delicacies, and add greatly to the
palatability of many foods when cooked with them." Mushrooms undoubtedly
possess a food value beyond that attributed to them by the chemist or
physiologist, since it is not possible in laboratory analysis to
duplicate the conditions which exist in the natural digestion and
assimilation of foods.
Probably the larger number of persons, in America, at present interested
in mushrooms, are chiefly concerned with them as an article of food, but
a great many of these persons love to tramp to the fields and woods in
quest of them just as the sportsman loves to hunt his game with dog and
gun. It is quite likely that there will always be a large body of
persons who will maintain a lively interest in the collection of _game_
mushrooms for food. There are several reasons for this. The zest of the
search, the pleasure of discovery, and the healthfulness of the outdoor
recreation lend an appetizing flavor to the fruits of the chase not to
be obtained by purchasing a few pounds of cultivated mushrooms on the
market. It cultivates powers of observation, and arouses a sympathetic
feeling toward nature, and with those outdoor environments of man which
lend themselves so happily in bettering and brightening life, as well as
in prolonging it.
Many others are discovering that the observation of form and habits of
mushrooms is a very interesting occupation for those who have short
periods of time at their disposal weekly. It requires but a little
observation to convince one that there is an interesting variety of form
among these plants, that their growth and expansion operate in
conformity with certain laws which result in great variation in form and
habit of the numerous kinds on the ground, on leaves, on branches, on
tree trunks, etc.
Another very favorable indication accompanying the increasing interest
in the study of these plants, is the recognition of their importance as
objects for nature study. There are many useful as well as interesting
lessons taught by mushrooms to those who stop to read their stories. The
long growth period of the spawn in the ground, or in the tree trunk,
where it may sometimes be imprisoned for years, sometimes a century, or
more, before the mushroom appears, is calculated to dispel the popular
notion that the mushroom "grows in a night." Then from the button stage
to the ripe fruit, several days, a week, a month, or a year may be
needed, according to the kind, while some fruiting forms are known to
live from several to eighty or more years. The adjustment of the fruit
cap to a position most suitable for the scattering of the spores, the
different ways in which the fruit cap opens and expands, the different
forms of the fruit surface, their colors and other peculiarities,
suggest topics for instructive study and observation. The inclination,
just now becoming apparent, to extend nature study topics to include
mushrooms is an evidence of a broader and more sympathetic attitude
toward nature.
A little extension of one's observation on the habits of these plants in
the woods will reveal the fact that certain ones are serious enemies of
timber trees and timber. It is quite easy in many cases for one
possessing no technical knowledge of the subject to read the story of
these "wood destroying" fungi in the living tree. Branches broken by
snow, by wind, or by falling timber provide entrance areas where the
spores, lodging on the heart wood of broken timber, or on a bruise on
the side of the trunk which has broken through the living part of the
tree lying just beneath the bark, provide a point for entrance. The
living substance (_protoplasm_) in the spawn exudes a "juice" (_enzyme_)
which dissolves an opening in the wood cells and permits the spawn to
enter the heart of the tree, where decay rapidly proceeds as a result.
But very few of these plants can enter the tree when the living part
underneath the bark is unbroken.
These observations suggest useful topics for thought. They suggest
practical methods of prevention, careful forestry treatment and careful
lumbering to protect the young growth when timber trees are felled. They
suggest careful pruning of fruit and shade trees, by cutting limbs
smooth and close to the trunk, and then painting the smooth surface with
some lead paint.
While we are thus apt to regard many of the mushrooms as enemies of the
forest, they are, at the same time, of incalculable use to the forest.
The mushrooms are nature's most active agents in the disposal of the
forest's waste material. Forests that have developed without the
guidance of man have been absolutely dependent upon them for their
continued existence. Where the species of mushrooms are comparatively
few which attack living trees, there are hundreds of kinds ready to
strike into fallen timber. There is a degree of moisture present on the
forest floor exactly suited to the rapid growth of the mycelium of
numbers of species in the bark, sap wood, and heart wood of the fallen
trees or shrubs. In a few years the branches begin to crumble because of
the disorganizing effect of the mycelium in the wood. Other species
adapted to growing in rotting wood follow and bring about, in a few
years, the complete disintegration of the wood. It gradually passes into
the soil of the forest floor, and is made available food for the living
trees. How often one notices that seedling trees and shrubs start more
abundantly on rotting logs.
The fallen leaves, too, are seized upon by the mycelium of a great
variety of mushrooms. It is through the action of the mycelium of
mushrooms of every kind that the fallen forest leaves, as well as the
trunks and branches, are converted into food for the living trees. The
fungi, are, therefore, one of the most important agents in providing
available food for the virgin forest.
The spawn of some fungi in the forest goes so far, in a number of cases,
as to completely envelop those portions of the roots of certain trees as
to prevent the possibility of the roots taking up food material and
moisture on their own account. In such cases, the oaks, beeches,
hornbeams, and the like, have the younger parts of their roots
completely enveloped with a dense coat of mycelium. The mycelium in
these cases absorbs the moisture from the soil or forest floor and
conveys it over to the roots of the tree, and in this way supplies them
with both food and water from the decaying humus, the oak being thus
dependent on the mycelium. In the fields, however, where there is not
the abundance of humus and decaying leaves present in the forest, the
coating of mycelium on the roots of these trees is absent, and in this
latter case the young roots are provided with root hairs which take up
the moisture and food substances from the soil in the ordinary way.
The mushrooms also prevent the forest from becoming choked or strangled
by its own fallen members. Were it not for the action of the mushroom
mycelium in causing the decay of fallen timber in the forest, in time it
would be piled so high as to allow only a miserable existence to a few
choked individuals. The action of the mushrooms in thus disposing of the
fallen timber in the forests, and in converting dead trees and fallen
leaves into available food for the living ones, is probably the most
important role in the existence of these plants. Mushrooms, then, are to
be given very high rank among the natural agencies which have
contributed to the good of the world. When we contemplate the vast areas
of forest in the world we can gain some idea of the stupendous work
performed by the mushrooms in "house cleaning," and in "preparing food,"
work in which they are still engaged.
FUNGI IN THE ARTS.
A number of different species of mushrooms have been employed in the
manufacture of useful articles. Their use for such purposes, however,
was more common in the past than at present, and it is largely therefore
a matter of interest at the present time, though some are still employed
for purposes of this kind.
=Tinder mushroom, or amadou.=--The _Polyporus fomentarius_, or "tinder
mushroom" or, as it is sometimes called, "German tinder," was once
employed in the manufacture of tinder. The outer hard coat was removed
and the central portion, consisting almost entirely of the tube system
of several years' growth, was cut into strips and beaten to a soft
condition. In this form it was used as tinder for striking fire.
The inner portion was also used in making caps, chest-protectors, and
similar articles. A process now in vogue in some parts of Germany, is to
steam the fruit bodies, remove the outer crust, and then, by machinery
constructed for the purpose, shave the fruit body into a long, thin
strip by revolving it against a knife in much the same way that certain
woods are shaved into thin strips for the manufacture of baskets,
plates, etc. Some articles of clothing made from this fungus material
are worn by peasants in certain parts of Europe.
=Mushrooms for razor strops.=--The beech polyporus (_P. betulinus_)
several centuries ago was used for razor strops. The fruit body after
being dried was cut into strips, glued upon a stretcher, and smoothed
down with pumice stone (Asa Gray Bull. 7: 18, 1900). The sheets of the
weeping merulius (see Fig. 189) were also employed for the same purpose,
as were also the sheets of "punk" formed from mycelium filling in
cracks in old logs or between boards in lumber piles. Sometimes
extensive sheets of this punk are found several feet long and a foot or
more wide. These sheets of pure mycelium resemble soft chamois skin or
soiled kid leather.
=Mushrooms employed for flower pots.=--In Bohemia (according to Cooke,
Fungi, etc., p. 103) hoof-shaped fruit bodies of _Polyporus fomentarius_
and _igniarius_ are used for flower pots. The inner, or tube portion, is
cut out. The hoof-shaped portion, then inverted and fastened to the side
of a building or place of support, serves as a receptacle for soil in
which plants are grown.
=Curios.=--The _Polyporus applanatus_ is much sought by some persons as
a "curio," and also for the purpose of etching. In the latter case they
serve as pastels for a variety of art purposes. The under surface of the
plant is white. All collectors of this plant know that to preserve the
white fruiting surface in a perfect condition it must be handled very
carefully. A touch or bruise, or contact with other objects mars the
surface, since a bruise or a scratch results in a rapid change in color
of the injured surface. Beautiful etchings can thus be made with a fine
pointed instrument, the lines of color appearing as the instrument is
drawn over the surface.
=Fungi for medicinal purposes.=--A number of the fungi were formerly
employed in medicine for various purposes, but most of them have been
discarded. Some of the plants were once used as a purgative, as in the
case of the officinal polyporus, the great puff ball, etc. The internal
portion of the great puff ball has been used as an anodyne, and
"formidable surgical operations have been performed under its
influence." It is frequently used as a narcotic. Some species are
employed as drugs by the Chinese. The anthelmintic polyporus is employed
in Burmah as a vermifuge. The ergot of rye is still employed to some
extent in medicine, and the ripe puff balls are still used in some cases
to stop bleeding of wounds.
=Luminosity of fungi.=--While the luminosity possessed by certain fungi
cannot be said to be of distinct utility, their phosphorescence is a
noteworthy phenomenon. That decaying wood often emits this
phosphorescent light has been widely observed, especially in wooded
districts. It is due to the presence of the mycelium of one of the wood
destroying fungi. The luminosity is often so bright that when brought
near a printed page in the dark, words can be read. Hawthorne "reported
the light from an improvised torch of mycelium infected wood, to have
carried him safely several miles through an otherwise impassable
forest." (Asa Gray, Bull. =7=: 7, 1900). The sulphur polyporus is said
sometimes to be phosphorescent. The _Clitocybe illudens_ (see Fig. 92)
has long been known to emit a strong phosphorescent light, and has been
called "Jack-my-lantern." This plant often occurs in great abundance. At
mountain hotels it is often brought in by day, and the guests at night,
discovering its luminosity, trace grotesque figures, or monograms, on
the ground by broken portions, which can be seen at a considerable
distance. _Lentinus stipticus_ in this country is also phosphorescent.
In Europe, the _Pleurotus olearius_ (very closely related to our
_Clitocybe illudens_) on dead olive trunks is one of the best known of
the phosphorescent species. Other phosphorescent species are, according
to Tulasne, _A. igneus_ from Amboyna, _A. noctileucus_ in Manila, and
_A. gardneri_ in Brazil.
The use of certain mushrooms in making intoxicant beverages is referred
to in Chapter XXII.
Since the artificial cultivation of mushrooms for food is becoming quite
an industry in this country with some, the following chapter is devoted
to a treatment of the subject. Mention may be made here, however, of the
attempts in parts of France to cultivate truffles, species of
subterranean fungi belonging to the ascomycetes (various species of the
genus _Tuber_). It had long been observed that truffles grow in regions
forested by certain trees, as the oak, beech, hornbeam, etc. Efforts
were made to increase the production of truffles by planting certain
regions to these trees. Especially in certain calcareous districts of
France (see Cooke, Fungi, etc., p. 260) young plantations of oak, beech,
or beech and fir, after the lapse of a few years, produced truffles. The
spores of the truffles are in the soil, and the mycelium seems to
maintain some symbiotic relation with the roots of the young trees,
which results in the increase in the production of the fruit bodies.
Dogs and pigs are employed in the collection of truffles from the
ground.
Comparatively few of the truffles, or other subterranean fungi, have
been found in America, owing probably to their subterranean habit, where
they are not readily observed, and to the necessity of special search to
find them. In California, however, Dr. Harkness (Proc. Calif. Acad.
Sci.) has collected a large number of species and genera. Recently
(Shear. Asa Gray Bull. 7: 118, 1899) reports finding a "truffle"
(_Terfezia oligosperma_ Tul.) in Maryland, and _T. leonis_ occurs in
Louisiana.
FOOTNOTES:
[C] There is not room here to discuss the uses of other fungi than the
"mushrooms."
CHAPTER XX.
CULTIVATION OF MUSHROOMS.
The increasing interest in mushrooms during the past few years has not
been confined to the kinds growing spontaneously in fields and woods,
but the interest aroused in the collection and study of the wild
varieties has been the means of awakening a general interest in the
cultivation of mushrooms. This is leading many persons to inquire
concerning the methods of cultivation, especially those who wish to
undertake the cultivation of these plants on a small scale, in cellars
or cool basements, where they may be grown for their own consumption. At
somewhat frequent intervals articles appear in the newspapers depicting
the ease and certainty with which mushrooms can be grown, and the great
profits that accrue to the cultivator of these plants. While the profits
in some cases, at least in the past, have been very great to cultivators
of mushrooms, the competition has become so general that through a large
part of the year the market price of mushrooms is often not sufficient
to much more than pay expenses. In fact, it is quite likely that in many
cases of the house cultivation of mushrooms the profits are no larger,
taking the season through, than they are from the cultivation of
tomatoes or other hothouse vegetables. Occasionally some persons, who
may be cultivating them upon a small scale in houses erected for some
other purpose, or perhaps partly used for some other purpose, may
succeed in growing quite a large crop from a small area with little
expenditure of time and money. The profits figured from such a crop
grown on a small scale where the investment in houses, heating
apparatus, and time, is not counted, may appear to be very large, but
they do not represent the true conditions of the industry where the
expense of houses and the cost of time and labor are taken into
consideration.
Probably the more profitable cultivation of mushrooms in this country is
where the cultivation is practiced on quite a large scale, in tunnels,
or caves, or abandoned mines, where no expense is necessary in the
erection of houses. The temperature throughout the year is favorable for
the growth of the mushrooms without artificial heating. It is possible,
also, to grow them on a large scale during the warm summer months when
it is impossible to grow them under the present conditions in heating
house structures, and also when the market price of the mushrooms is
very high, and can be controlled largely by the grower. For this reason,
if it were possible to construct a house with some practical system of
cooling the air through the summer, and prevent the drip, the
cultivation in houses would probably be more profitable.
[Illustration: FIGURE 223.--View in Akron "tunnel," N. Y. Mushroom Co.
Beds beginning to bear. Copyright.]