Fungi composed of membranes, fleshy, woody or gelatinous, growing on wood or on the ground. The hymenium or spore-bearing surface exposed at an early stage. The spores are borne on basidia, spread over the surface. The common mushroom is typical of the family. All the members resemble it, more or less, in organization and reproductive organs. These latter, in the mushroom, are spread over lamellÆ or gills. The spores, after ripening and dissemination, germinate and produce a mycelium or thread-like vine, which in turn develops the spore-producing part of the plant. Hymenomycetes is divided into the following six Families:—

FAMILY I.—AGARICACEÆ.

In the AgaricaceÆ the hymenium is spread over lamellÆ or gills which radiate from a center or stem. The gills are composed of a double membrane, and are simple or branched.

The parts of an Agaric may all be present as in AmanitÆ, or severally absent in other genera. When the young fungus is entirely enclosed in a wrapper or case, this case is called the universal veil. When this veil is ruptured by the growth of the stem, that part which remains attached to the base is called the volva. The membrane reaching from the stem to the margin of the cap is the partial veil; when it ruptures by the expansion of the cap and all or a portion adheres to and about the stem it forms the annulus or ring. In some species one or both veils may be present, or one or both may be absent.

The stem is central when supporting the cap at its center; excentric when at one side of the center; lateral when it supports the cap from the side. If the stem is absent, the cap is said to be sessile; if the cap is horizontal and supported by a broad base it is dimidiate; if attached to its place of growth by its back it is resupinate.

Genera are largely distinguished by the manner in which the gills are attached to the stem. These distinguishing attachments are shown in the plates illustrating genera and in Plate IV. Gill-shapes.

For convenience AgaricaceÆ is divided by the color of the spores into five series: white, pink, brown, purple, black. The last two, owing to the similarity of hue, are by some writers (preferably) included in the black-spored series. Spore color is a valuable assistant in determining species.

Series I. LEUCOSPORÆ. Gr.—white; Gr.—seed.

Spores white, rarely dingy or inclining to reddish. In the genus Russula the spores of some species are white, in some cream-color, and in several pale ochraceous. Variations from pure white are found in the spores of Tricholoma personatum and a few other species. Gill-color is not a guide to spore-color. Purple, yellow, brown, pinkish gills may produce white spores.

A. strobilifor´mis Vitt.—strobilis, a pine-cone, from the shape of the warts. (Plate VIII, fig. 3, p. 18.) Cap 3–10 in. across, convex or nearly plane, white or cinereous, sometimes yellow on the disk, rough with angular, mostly persistent warts which sometimes fall away and leave the pileus nearly smooth; generally whitish, sometimes tinged with brown; the margin even and extending a little beyond the lamellÆ. Gills free, rounded behind. Veil large and portions sometimes adhere to margin of cap. Stem 3–8 in. long, up to 1¼ in. thick, equal or slightly tapering upward, solid, floccose-scaly, white, bulbous, the bulb very large, sometimes weighing a pound, margined above and furnished with one or two concentric furrows, somewhat pointed below, firmly and deeply imbedded in the earth, floccose-mealy when young.

Spores elliptical, 13–15×8–10µ Peck.

Open woods and borders. June to October.

Edible. W.G. Smith, Curtis, Peck.

This is among the best of species. Its size, solidity, flavor are marked. I have found specimens weighing a pound and a half. It grows singly, but when one is found several are apt to be neighbors. When young, the cap is but a small knob upon a beet or top-shaped base, which is largely under ground. It cuts like a soft turnip, and has a strong, pungent, unmistakable odor, like chloride of lime, which entirely disappears in cooking. As the plant develops the bulb decreases in size. On all the many specimens the author has seen and eaten, the scabs are light brown and reddish-brown.

A. solita´ria Bull.—growing alone. Pileus convex or plane, warty, white or whitish, even on the margin. Gills reaching the stem, white or slightly tinged with cream color. Stem at first mealy or scaly, equal, solid, white, bulbous, the bulb scaly or mealy, narrowed below into a root-like prolongation. Ring lacerated, often adhering in fragments to the margin of the pileus and gills. Spores elliptical-oblong, 8–13×6.5µ.

Plant 4–8 in. high. Pileus 3–6 in. broad. Stem 4–6 lines thick. Peck, 33d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Solitary in woods and open places. July to October.

Georgia, H.N. Starnes; Indiana, H.I. Miller; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, McIlvaine.

Edible. Curtis, H.N. Starnes, Philadelphia Myc. Club.

In many localities I find it quite plentiful, and it is so reported from Georgia. Southern and middle New Jersey woods abound with it, and at Mt. Gretna, Pa., it is always present in its growing months.

The cap is sometimes tinged with brown as are the angular, erect warts which are generally numerous, but often falling off or few and scattered. The flesh is white and smells like chloride of lime, but not nearly so strong as A. strobiliformis. The volva is broken up into floccose scales which cling to bulb and lower part of stem. These scales may be white and mealy or brownish. The entire fungus has a fluffy exterior, which is easily removed by rubbing. The annulus is torn, a part often adhering to the margin of the pileus and the gills. This and the long, tapering, rooting bulb are marked characteristics. The bulb is brittle. It is difficult to get the fungus from the ground entire.

Stem and cap are juicy, tender, mild in flavor, wholesome. It is not equal in flavor to A. rubescens, but is more delicate.

By many its properties have been stated as poisonous, doubtful. Quantities of it have been eaten by myself and friends. Hypodermic injection of its juices into the blood circulation of live animals prove it perfectly harmless.

A. can´dida Pk.—shining white. Pileus thin, broadly convex or nearly plane, verrucose with numerous small, erect, angular or pyramidal, easily separable warts, often becoming smooth with age, white, even on the margin. Flesh white. Gills rather narrow, close, reaching to the stem, white. Stem solid, bulbous, floccose-squamose, white, the annulus attached to the top of the stem, becoming pendent and often disappearing with age, floccose-squamose on the lower surface, striate on the upper, the bulb rather large, ovate, squamose, not margined, tapering above into the stem and rounded or merely abruptly pointed below. Spores elliptical, 10–13×8µ.

Pileus 3–6 in. broad. Stem 2.5–5 in. long, 5–8 lines thick, the bulb 1–1.5 in. thick in the dried specimens.

This is a fine large species related to A. solitaria, but differing from it in the character of its bulb and of its annulus. The bulb is not marginate nor imbricately squamose. Its scales are small and numerous. Nor is it clearly radicating, though sometimes it has a slight abrupt point or myceloid-agglomerated mass of soil at its base. The veil or annulus is large and well developed, but it is apt to fall away and disappear with age. Its attachment at the very top of the stem brings it closely in contact with the lamellÆ of the young plant and the striations of its upper surface appear to be due to the pressure of the edges of these upon it. It separates readily from the margin of the pileus and is not lacerated. In the mature plant the warts have generally disappeared from the pileus and sometimes its margin is curved upward Peck, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 24, No. 3.

Woods. Auburn, N.Y., Alabama, U. and E.; Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, August to October, McIlvaine.

A dozen or more specimens were found in oak woods near Philadelphia, and carefully tested. Their edible qualities were found to be precisely the same as A. solitaria.

A. rubes´cens Pers.—rubesco, to become red. (Plate VIII, fig. 2, p. 18. Plate XII, fig. 4, p. 32.) Pileus about 4 in. broad, dingy-reddish, becoming pale flesh-color, tan, scarcely pure, fleshy, convex, then plane, obtuse, moist but not glutinous in rainy weather and opaque when dry, covered with unequal, soft, mealy, whitish, easily-separating warts, which are smaller, harder and more closely adherent in dry weather; margin even and, when old, slightly striate only in wet weather. Flesh commonly soft, white when fresh, reddening when broken. Stem 4–5 in. long, as much as 1 in. thick, stuffed, somewhat solid, though soft within, conico-attenuated from the thickened base, reddish-scaled, becoming red-white, and without a trace of a distinct volva at the base. Ring superior, large, membranaceous, soft, striate and white within. Gills reaching the stem in an attenuated manner, forming decurrent lines upon it, thin, crowded, soft, as much as ½ in. broad, shining white.

Very changeable, but readily distinguished from all others of the same group by the flesh being reddish when broken; the stem and pileus are commonly spotted-red when wounded. In dry weather it is firmer, flesh reddening more slowly, warts minute. Odor scarcely any. There is a remarkable variety circinata, pileus becoming plane, umber-brown, warts adnate, crowded, roundish. A. circinatus Schum. Stevenson.

Spores spheroid-ellipsoid, 7–8×6µ K.; 8×6µ W.G.S.; 7–9×6–8µ B.; elliptical, 8–9µ long. Peck.

Not reported west of the Mississippi river.

Oak woods, borders and open places. July to September. Indiana, H.I. Miller; West Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, McIlvaine.

It is quite common, often growing in large patches. Recent authors agree upon the edibility and deliciousness of this species. The author knows it to be one of the most plentiful, useful and delicious, after several years of pleasant experience with it.

In July, 1899, at Mt. Gretna, I found, growing from the ground gregariously, a singular fungoid growth from 2–5 in. high; cap hemispherical, 1 in. in diameter, tightly fitting a solid stem of nearly the diameter of the cap. The whole was watery white, and evidently affected by a parasite. It was edible. September 1st Professor Peck wrote to me: “I think I have found the identity of the diseased Agaric, of which you sent me samples some time ago. I mean the one affected by Hypomyces inÆqualis Pk. The host is Amanita rubescens, at least sometimes, and probably always.”

The plant is very heavy for its size. The lack of a volva, the dingy color and reddish stains distinctly separate this from any poisonous Amanita.

A. spis´sa Fr.—compact, dense;—of the warts. Pileus umber, sooty or gray, fleshy, somewhat compact, convexo-plane, obtuse, smooth, even, but marked with small, ash-colored, angular, adnate warts; margin even, but often torn into fibers. Flesh firm, white, quite unchangeable. Stem 2–3 in. long, as much as 1 in. thick, solid, turnip-shaped at the base, somewhat rooting with a globoso-depressed not marginate bulb, curt, firm, shining white, at length squamulose with concentric cracks. Ring superior, large. Gills reaching the stem, slightly striato-decurrent, broad, crowded, shining white. Fries.

Spores 14µ W.G.S.; subglobose, 8–10µ C.B.P.; 6µ W.P.; rather pear-shaped, 9–10×6µ Massee.

Cap 2–3 in. across. Stem 2½-3 in. long, up to ¾ in. thick.

New Jersey, oak woods, August and September. McIlvaine.

A. spissa has been reported from but few localities. It is rare in the latitude of Philadelphia. Half a dozen specimens have been found in neighboring New Jersey.

Taste and smell strong, but when cooked the dish is savory and not unlike one of A. rubescens.

A. as´pera Fr.—asper, rough. Pileus 2–3 in. across. Flesh rather thick at the disk, whitish, white or reddish with tints of livid or gray, reddish or brownish under the cuticle; convex then plane, margin thin and even, rough with firmly adnate, minute, closely crowded, angular warts, reddish-brown or livid-brownish, not pure white, unchangeable. Gills free and rounded behind, not striately decurrent, ventricose, white. Stem stuffed, striate above the ring, short at first, ovate, then elongating to 2–3 in., attenuated upward from a wrinkled bulb, squamulose, white without and within. Ring superior, entire.

Spores 8×6µ Massee; 8×6–7µ W.G.S.

The flesh of stem and bulb when eaten by insects is reddish, the bulb when old is a reddish-brown. The large ring and stem become red when touched. In these particulars it resembles A. rubescens. In smell it is somewhat strong, not unlike A. strobiliformis, but not nearly so pungent.

Cooked it is of excellent quality and flavor. I have eaten it since 1885.

A. abrup´ta Pk.—abrupt, of the bulb. Pileus thin, broadly convex or nearly plane, covered with small angular or pyramidal, erect, somewhat evanescent warts, white, slightly striate on the margin. Flesh white. Gills moderately close, reaching the stem and sometimes terminating in slightly decurrent lines upon it, white. Stem slender, glabrous, solid, bulbous, white, the bulb abrupt, subglobose, often coated below by the white persistent mycelium, the ring membranous, persistent. Spores broadly elliptical or subglobose, 8–10×6–8µ.

Pileus 2–4 in. broad. Stem 2.5–4 in. long, 3–4 lines thick.

The chief distinguishing mark of this species is the abrupt, nearly globose, bulbous base of the stem. This is somewhat flattened above and is sometimes longitudinally split on the sides. The small warts of the pileus are easily separable, and in mature specimens they have often wholly or partly disappeared. The remains of the volva are not present on the bulb in mature dried specimens, which indicates that the species should be placed in the same group with A. rubescens, A. spissa, etc. The latter species have the bulb of the stem similar to that of our plant, but the color of the pileus and other characters easily separate it. Peck, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 24, No. 3.

Alabama, Underwood; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, McIlvaine. July to September.

This species is edible and quite equal in quality to A. rubescens. Great care should be exercised in distinguishing it.

A. nit´ida Fr.—niteo, to shine. Pileus when flattened 4 in. broad, whitish, fleshy, somewhat compact, at first hemispherical, wrapped up, the thick volva forming a floccose crust, then broken up into thick, remarkably angular, adhering warts, which become brownish, dry, shining, without a glutinous pellicle, margin always even. Flesh white, quite unchangeable. Stem 3 in. long, 1 in. thick, solid, firm, conico-attenuated, with a bulb-shaped base, squamulose, white. Ring superior, thin, torn, slightly striate, white, villous beneath, at length disappearing. Gills free, crowded, very broad, as much as ½ in., ventricose, shining white. Fries.

Menands. Albany county. Our plant is more slender than the typical form, and has smaller but more numerous warts, but in other respects it exhibits the characters of this species. Peck, 43d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

California, H. and M.; Maryland. Common in nearly every woods in Maryland. Banning.

From its likeness to poisonous species it should be suspected.

A. prairiic´ola Pk—prairie, colo, to inhabit. Pileus thin, convex, slightly verrucose, white, more or less tinged with yellow, even on the margin. Flesh white. Gills rather broad, subdistant, reaching the stem, white. Stem equal or slightly tapering upward, somewhat squamose toward the base, white or whitish, the annulus persistent. Spores large, broadly elliptical, 12–14µ long, 7–9µ broad.

Pileus 1.5–3 in. broad. Stem 2–2.5 in. long, 2–4 lines thick.

Bare ground on open prairies. Kansas. September. E. Bartholomew.

This species belongs to the same tribe as A. abrupta. The only evidence of the presence of a volva shown by the dried specimens is found in a few inconspicuous, but separable warts on the pileus. There is no well marked bulb to the stem and no evidence remains of a volva at its base. Peck, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 24, No. 3.

Reported from Kansas only. Qualities unknown.

A. monticulo´sa Berk.—mountain, from the warts. Pileus 2.5–3 in. across, convex, areolate, with a wart in the center of each areola; those toward the margin consisting of soft threads meeting in a point, but sometimes simply flocculent, the central warts angular, pyramidal, truncate, discolored. Stem bulbous, scaly, flocculent, white. Veil thick, at length distant. Gills free, ventricose, remote, forming a well-defined area around the top of the stem. The warts are not hard and rigid as in A. nitida, and the free remote gills separate it from that and the neighboring species. Berk.

North Carolina, sandy woods, common. Curtis.

Properties not known.

A. dau´cipes B. and M.—daucum, a carrot; pes, a foot. Pileus 2–5 in. broad, hemispherical, globose. Flesh white, soft, warts regular, pyramidal, saffron color. Gills narrow, reaching the stem, broadest in the middle. Stem 5–6 in. high, solid, base bulbous, with a restricted cortina above, squamulose downward. Veil fibrillose, extending from the margin of the pileus to the apex of the stem, fugacious.

In cultivated fields. Ohio. Sullivant. Properties not given.

A. lenticular´is Lasch.—resembling (the stem) a lentil.

Fries places this species in Amanita, in which Stevenson follows him. Cooke and Massee place it in Lepiota, where it will be found.

A. chlorinos´ma Pk.—smelling like chlorine. (Plate VIII, fig. 1, p. 18.) Pileus convex or expanded, warty on the disk, covered on the even margin with a light powdery, at length evanescent substance, white. Gills white. Stem nearly cylindrical, stout, deeply penetrating the earth. Spores broadly elliptical, 7–10µ long. Odor distinct, chlorine-like.

Plant 6–7 in. high. Pileus 4–6 in. broad. Stem 1–2 in. thick. Peck, Bot. Gaz., Vol. 4.

Burnt ground in woods. August. Closter, N.J., C.F. Austin; Alabama, U. and E.; West Virginia, Nuttall; New Jersey, Ellis; Mt. Gretna, Pa., July, in a cluster of a dozen individuals, and afterward until frost, strong smelling, warts brownish-white. McIlvaine.

It is edible and equal to A. strobiliformis.

A. calyptra´ta Pk. Pileus fleshy, thick, convex or nearly plane, centrally covered by a large irregular persistent grayish-white fragment of the volva, glabrous elsewhere, striate on the margin, greenish-yellow or yellowish-brown tinged with green, the margin often a little paler or more yellow than the rest. LamellÆ close, nearly free, but reaching the stem and forming slight decurrent lines or striations on it, yellowish-white tinged with green. Stem stout, rather long, equal or slightly tapering upward, surrounded at the base by the remains of the ruptured volva, white or yellowish white with a faint greenish tint. Spores broadly elliptic, 10µ long, 6µ broad, usually containing a single large nucleus.

Pileus 10–20 cm. broad. Stem 10–15 cm. long, 12–20 mm. thick.

Rich ground in fir woods or their borders. Autumn. Oregon. Dr. H. Lane.

This is a large and interesting species, well marked and easily recognized by its large size, by the greenish tint that pervades the pileus, lamellÆ, annulus and stem, and especially by the large persistent patch of grayish-white felty material that covers the center of the pileus and sometimes extends nearly to the margin. This is in fact the upper part of the ruptured volva that is carried up by the growing plant, and is very suggestive of the specific name. In the young state the plant is entirely enveloped in the volva, which then is similar to a goose egg in size and shape, and its walls are one-fourth to one-half inch thick. So thick and firm are they that the young plant appears sometimes to be unable to break through and it decays in its infancy.

Dr. Lane says that, having found that the Italians made use of this mushroom for food, he began eating it and introducing it to his friends, and he learned by personal trial that it is a thoroughly good and wholesome mushroom, which, when broiled with bacon, fried, baked or stewed, may be eaten with perfect safety and that it is a nutritious food. Peck, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 27, January, 1900.

A. crenula´ta Pk. Pileus thin, broadly ovate, becoming convex or nearly plane and somewhat striate on the margin, adorned with a few thin whitish floccose warts or with whitish flocculent patches, whitish or grayish, sometimes tinged with yellow. LamellÆ close, reaching the stem, and sometimes forming decurrent lines upon it, floccose crenulate on the edge, the short ones truncate at the inner extremity, white. Stem equal, bulbous, floccose mealy above, stuffed or hollow, white, the annulus slight, evanescent. Spores broadly elliptic or subglobose, 7.5–10µ long, nearly as broad, usually containing a single large nucleus.

Pileus 2.5–5 cm. broad. Stem 2.5–5 cm. long, 6–8 mm. thick.

Low ground, under trees. Eastern Massachusetts. September. Mrs. E. Blackford and George E. Morris.

The volva in this species must be very slight, as its remains quickly disappear from the bulb of the stem. The remains carried up by the pileus form slight warts or thin whitish areolate patches. The annulus is present in very young plants, but is often wanting in mature ones, in which state the plant might be mistaken for a species of Amanitopsis. Its true affinity is with the tribe to which A. rubescens belongs. As in that species, the bulb soon becomes naked and exhibits no remains of the volva. It is similar to A. farinosa also in this respect, but quite unlike it in color, in the adornments of the pileus and in the character of its margin, which is even in the young plant and but slightly striate in the mature state. Its dimensions are said sometimes to exceed those here given, and it is reported to have been eaten without harm and to be of an excellent flavor. I have had no opportunity to try. Peck, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 27, January, 1900.

AMANITOP´SIS Roze.

Pileus symmetrical, very thin, without a distinct pellicle, formed by the union of the backs of the gills, splitting when expanded. Gills almost or quite free, white. Stem central. Spores white.

Allied to Lepiota in the thin pileus and free gills, but differing in the entire absence of a ring. Not at all deliquescent as in the genus Coprinus, near to which it was at one time placed by Fries. Massee. Reported from North Carolina.

OMPHA´LIA Fr.

Pileus generally thin, usually umbilicate at first, then funnel-shaped, often hygrophanous, margin incurved or straight. Gills truly decurrent from the first, sometimes branched. Stem distinctly cartilaginous, polished, tubular, often stuffed when young. Flesh continuous with that of the pileus but differing in character. Spores white, somewhat elliptical, smooth.

Generally on wood, preferring hilly woods and a damp climate.

Resembling Collybia and Mycena in the flesh of stem and pileus being different in texture and in the externally cartilaginous stem. It is perfectly separated by the gills being markedly decurrent from the first.

The American species of Omphalia number between thirty-five and forty. Many of them are common. Few woods are free from them. Several of them are beautiful. They are usually small and lacking in substance. Raw, the writer has not found one that is objectionable in any way; a few have a woody taste. But two species have been found by him in sufficient quantity to make a dish. It is probable that all are edible. At best the species of Omphalia are valuable in emergency only.

* Pileus dilated from the first, margin incurved.

Pileus campanulate at first, margin straight and pressed to the stem.

O. onis´cus Fr. Gr.—a wood-louse. From the ashy color. Pileus scarcely 1 in. broad, dark ashy becoming pale, gray-hoary when dry, somewhat membranaceous, or slightly fleshy, flaccid, fragile when old, convexo-umbilicate or funnel-shaped, often irregular, undulato-flexuous, even-lobed, smooth, even, margin striate. Stem 1 in. long, 1 line and more thick, stuffed then tubed, slightly firm, moderately tough, sometimes round, curved, sometimes unequal, compressed, ascending, undulated, gray. Gills shortly decurrent, somewhat distant, quaternate, ash-color. Not cespitose. Fries.

Spores 12×7–8µ B.

Massachusetts, Sprague; California, H. and M., who record it as edible.

O. umbellif´era—umbella, a little shade; fero, to bear. From its umbrella-like shape. (Plate XXXIV, p. 132.) Pileus about ½ in. broad, commonly whitish, slightly fleshy-membranaceous, convex then plane, broadly obconic with the decurrent gills, not at all or only slightly umbilicate, hygrophanous, when moist watery, rayed with darker striÆ, when dry even, changeable in appearance, silky, flocculose, rarely squamulose, the margin, which is at first inflexed, crenate (scalloped). Stem short, not exceeding 1 in. long, almost 1 line thick, stuffed then soon tubed, slightly firm, equal or dilated toward the apex into the pileus, of the same color as the pileus, commonly smooth, but varying pubescent, white villous at the base. Gills very broad behind, triangular, decurrent, very distant, edge of the gills straight.

Cosmopolitan. The common form is to be found everywhere from the sea level to 4,000 feet. Stevenson.

Spores 3×4µ W.G.S.; 10×4µ W.P.; green variety 10×6µ W.P.; broadly elliptical, 8–10×5–6µ Peck.

O. umbellifera is known the world over. It is very variable in size and color. With us it is seldom over ¾ in. broad. Stem ½-1 line thick. It grows on decaying wood and ground full of decaying material. There are several varieties. All are edible, but not worth describing. This description is given that the student may recognize one of our common plants, and eat it, if very hungry.

O. campanel´la Batsch.—campana, a bell. Pileus thin, rather tough, hemispherical or convex, glabrous, umbilicate, hygrophanous, rusty yellow-color and striatulate when moist, paler when dry. Gills moderately close, arcuate, decurrent, yellowish, the interspaces venose. Stem firm, rigid, hollow, brown, often paler at the top, tawny-strigose at the base. Spores elliptical, 6–7×3–4µ.

Pileus 4–8 lines broad. Stem about 1 in. long, scarcely 1 line thick.

Much decayed wood of coniferous trees. Very common. May to November. Peck, 45th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Spores ellipsoid, 6–8×3–4µ C.B.P.; 7×3µ W.P.; 6–9×3–4µ B.

The quantity alone, in which this small species can be found, makes it worth mentioning as an edible species. It is common over the United States where coniferous trees abound. Its favorite habitat is upon the rotting debris of these trees. Occasionally it grows from the ground, but only from that which is heavily charged with woody material. It is social in troops, or affectionate in clusters, or maintains a single existence.

It is edible, of good substance when stewed, tender and of fair flavor.

PLEURO´TUS.

Stem excentric, lateral or none. Epiphytal (very rarely growing on the ground), irregular, fleshy or membranaceous. Fries.

The excentric, generally lateral stem, absent in some of the species, separates this from other genera of the white-spored series.

Pileus varying from fleshy in the larger to membranaceous in the smaller forms, but never becoming woody. Veil generally wanting, when present its remains sometimes appear on the margin of the pileus, or as an evanescent ring on the stem. Gills, edge acute, generally decurrent, in some species with a well-marked tooth, rarely simply adnate. Stem fleshy, confluent and homogeneous with the pileus.

Wood, dead or alive; a few species appear on the ground.

P. ulmarius and others of the larger forms, when growing in an upright position, may have the stem central and the pileus horizontal. The stems of some species of Clitocybe and Omphalia if growing laterally are sometimes excentric and oblique.

This genus is analogous to Claudopus, pink-spored, and Crepidotus, brown-spored.

Spores white, but those of P. sapidus are faintly tinged with lilac, and of P. ostreatus, var. euosmus, with purple.

Pileus entire, laterally extended, excentric, not truly lateral.

* Veil fugacious, fragments adhering to stem or margin of pileus.

** Veil none, gills sinuate or obtusely adnate.

*** Veil none, gills very decurrent, stem distinct, almost vertical.

**** Veil none, gills very decurrent, stem proper absent, pileus lateral, extended behind into a short, stem-like oblique base.

Pileus not at first resupinate, lateral, prolonged without a definite margin behind, into a very short lateral, stem-like base.

Pileus resupinate from the first, then reflexed.

If any odium attaches to the word toadstool, it should be forgotten and forever banished in presence of this cleanly, neat, handsome genus, choice in its growing places from lichen-covered stumps, or bark-clad boles, or highly perched limbs, or the scented surfaces of decaying wood. Several of its species perfume themselves throughout with pleasant spicy odors. Many are most accommodating in their constant coming.

Mr. H.I. Miller, superintendent Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railroad, writes: “Most of the mushroom books give greatest space to the A. campester. For some parts of the country this may be desirable, but for Indiana and Ohio, considering the food value, the P. ostreatus is the best fungus we have in these states, from the fact that anybody wanting a mess can nearly always obtain a basketful of this variety, whereas the others depend upon a good many weather conditions. Having located a few logs and stumps in the spring, where the P. ostreatus grows, these same stumps and logs can be used all season. The crops are successive, and while some of the spots seem to be barren for a few days at a time, the others will be bearing. It does not make much difference what the kind of log or stump, whether it be beech, oak or elm, or what the species of tree. I think I have found them on all our forest trees, and it is not necessary for the tree to be dead. If there is a decaying portion, the spores seem to be carried by the little black beetle that infests the ostreatus, from one place to another, and wherever a small spot of dead wood is found we are likely to find the P. ostreatus. This being the only edible mushroom that we can find in large quantities all through the season in this neck of the woods, it seems to me that a general knowledge of it will serve the economic purpose more than any other fungi.”

The presence of the P. ostreatus and its esculent companions is noted from our northern boundary to the gulf. Poplar, maple, birch, hickory, ash, apple, laburnum and oak trees are its favored residences. Deer feed upon it, and kine are attracted by its scent even when deep under snow. When properly selected and slowly cooked, the Pleuroti are toothsome.

From the fact that the spores of this fleshy and valuable genus find fostering lodgment in many trees when in decay, it is more than probable that the several species can be propagated by planting their spores upon such decaying woods, or by transplanting the mycelium.

Growths of P. ostreatus, P. sapidus, P. salignus, and probably other species of Pleurotus, can be forced, by watering the spots upon which they are known to grow. Dr. Kalchbrenner mentions that the P. sapidus is in this way cultivated in Hungary. Acting upon this mention the writer had good success with P. ostreatus. Experiments in this direction are likely to be interesting and rewarding.

No species is suspected of being noxious.

An analysis of P. ostreatus is given by Lafayette B. Mendel, Sheffield Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry, Yale University, as follows:

I.—Excen´trici.

P. dry´inus Pers. Gr.—oak. Pileus 2 in. broad, whitish, variegated with spot-like scales which become dingy-brown, lateral, oblique, rather plane. Flesh thick. Stem very curt and obese, commonly 1 in. long and thick, somewhat lateral, somewhat woody, squamulose, white, with a short, blunt root. Veil scarcely conspicuous on the stem, but appendiculate round the margin of the pileus when young. Gills not very decurrent, somewhat simple, not anastomosing behind, narrow, white, becoming yellow when old.

On trunks, oak, ash, willow, etc. Stevenson.

Spores 10×4µ Massee.

Edible. Cordier, Cooke.

When young the caps are tender; of the consistency, when cooked, of Polyporus sulphureus. In taste and smell the species varies from other Pleuroti, in having a distinct musk-like flavor. This is agreeable, reminding one of the common mushroom—A. campester.

P. ulma´rius Bull.—ulmus, an elm. Pileus 3–5 in. and more broad, becoming pale-livid, often marbled with round spots, fleshy, compact, horizontal, moderately regular although more or less excentric, convex then plane, disk-shaped, even, smooth. Flesh white, tough. Stem 2–3 in. long, 1 in. thick, solid, firm, elastic, somewhat excentric, curved-ascending, thickened and tomentose at the base, not rarely villous throughout, white. Gills horizontal, emarginate or rounded behind, slightly adnexed, broad (broader in the middle), somewhat crowded, whitish.

The pileus is sometimes cracked in a tessellated manner. Stevenson.

Spores nearly globose, 5µ long Morgan; 5–6.5µ broad Peck; 6µ W.G.S.

Var. aceri´cola—acer, maple; colo, to inhabit. Plant smaller, cespitose.

Trunks and roots of maple trees. Adirondack mountains. September.

Var. populi´cola—populus, poplar; colo, to inhabit. Plant subcespitose, stem wholly tomentose. West Albany. Peck, Monograph, N.Y. Species of Pleurotus, Rep. 39.

The gills are sometimes torn across like those of Lentinus.

The historic elms of Boston Common have borne copious crops of this well-known and easily distinguished species from time immemorial. Every fall, about the first of September, if the season is favorable, later if not, copious crops appear decorating the trunks, and branches, sometimes at a height of thirty or forty feet. Growth takes place where branches have broken off or the trees have been wounded from other causes. They occur very generally on elms in the outlying districts of the city, but are rare in the country, seeming to be distinctly urban in their tastes. No damage is apparent from their growth.

Immediately in the rear of Independence Hall, Philadelphia, a fine cluster appears with equal autumnal regularity.

Though the elm tree is the chosen habitat of this fungus, it is little less select in its choice than other members of its genus.

When young and small P. ulmarius is tender and of acceptable flavor. The stems and centers of older specimens should be cut away, and the tender parts of the caps, only, used.

P. tessula´tus Bull.—tessela, a small cube for pavement. Pileus becoming pale-tawny, horizontal, compactly fleshy, convex then plane, and in a form which is somewhat lateral depressed behind, irregular, even, smooth, variegated with round and hexagonal paler spots. Flesh thick, white. Stem short, 1 in. or little more long, solid, compact, equal or attenuated at the base, very excentric, curved-ascending, even, smooth, white. Gills sinuate behind, uncinato-adnate, thin, crowded, white or becoming yellow.

Solitary; according to some cespitose. The pileus is not cracked in a tessellated manner, as one might easily imagine from the name, but variegated with spots. Smaller than A. ulmarius (to which it is too closely allied), but almost more compact, with a smell of new meal.

On trunks. Stevenson.

North Carolina, Schweinitz. Edible. Curtis. Edible. Cordier.

On specimens growing cespitose and singly, found at Haddonfield, N.J. September, 1895, on trunk of apple tree, and at Eagle’s Mere, Pa., singly on sugar maple, August, 1898, the margin of caps were beautifully marked, but not cracked.

In quality it is better than P. ulmarius.

P. subpalma´tus Fr.—sub and palma, a palm. Pileus 3–5 in. across. Flesh thick, soft, variegated; convex then more or less flattened, irregularly circular, obtuse, wrinkled, smooth, with a gelatinous cuticle, rufescent. Stem excentric or almost lateral, but the pileus is always marginate behind, fibrillose, short, equal, flesh fibrous, soft. Gills adnate, 3–4 lines broad, crowded, joined behind, dingy. Massee.

On old trunks, squared timber, etc.

Very remarkable for having the flesh variegated as in Fistulina hepatica. Pileus, especially when young, covered with a viscid pellicle. Fr.

Spores minutely echinulate, nearly globose, 5.6×7µ Morgan.

Ohio, Morgan; Wisconsin, Bundy.

I frequently found this species in North Carolina, growing from oak ties and standing oak timber. I did not notice distillation of rufescent drops from the cap. The soft flesh had good flavor. The gelatinous cuticle imparts its character to the dish. Mixed with Lentinus lepideus, a much tougher plant, which grows in great abundance in the same localities, it makes toothsome food.

P. lignati´lis Fr.—lignum, wood. Dingy whitish. Pileus 1–4 in. broad, rarely central, commonly more or less excentric, occasionally wholly lateral, often kidney-shaped, fleshy, thin, but compact and tough, fissile, convex then plane, obtuse and often umbilicate, flocculoso-pruinate, at length denuded with rain, repand, margin at first involute then expanded, undulato-lobed when luxuriant. Stem sometimes 2–3 in., sometimes 3–4 lines long (even obliterated), stuffed then hollow, always thin, unequal, curved, curved or flexuous, tough and flexile, whitish, everywhere pruinato-villous, rooting and somewhat tomentose at the base. Gills adnate, very crowded and narrow, unequal, divergent in the lobes, shining white. Fries.

Exceedingly variable, wholly inconstant in form; substance thin and pliant; commonly densely cespitose, but also single. Odor strong of new meal.

On wood, beech, etc. Stevenson.

Parasitic on a rotten plant of Polyporus annosus on elm. W.G.S.

White and grayish-white, margin faintly striate; white-spotted, odor distinctly farinaceous. C.M.

Spores 3–4µ long, Morgan, Cooke, W.G.S.; 4–5µ K.

Var. abscon´dens Pk.—obscure. New York, Peck, Rep. 31, 39.

On trunks, scattered, sometimes loosely clustered. Griffins, Delaware county, N.Y. September. New York, Peck, Rep. 31, 39.

Kingsessing, near Philadelphia; Mt. Gretna, Pa. McIlvaine.

This is a good species in every way. I have not found it in extended quantity, but it is probable that it will be found in plenty when closer observed and better known.

P. circina´tus Fr.—to make round. Wholly white, not hygrophanous. Pileus about 3 in. broad, orbicular, horizontal, fleshy, tough, convex then plano-disk-shaped, obtuse, even, but covered over with a shining whitish slightly silky luster. Stem 1–2 in. long, 3–4 lines thick, stuffed, elastic, equal, central or slightly excentric, commonly straight, smooth, bluntly rooted at the base. Gills adnate, slightly decurrent, crowded, broad (as much as 3 lines), white. Fries.

An exceedingly distinct species. Regular, solitary, with a weak, pleasant, not mealy odor. The pileus is a little thicker than that of A. lignatilis, but less compact; the gills are twice as broad. As A. lignatilis is changeable, this is always constant in form.

On rotting birch stump. Stevenson.

California, H. and M.

Found at Eagle’s Mere, Pa., August, 1898, on birch trees. Generally solitary; sometimes six or eight on one tree, beautifully shining white, at a distance resembling young Polyporus betulinus. Large quantities of it grow in the extensive birch forests at Eagle’s Mere, yielding a ready food supply. Its flavor is pleasant, and texture, when cooked, quite tender.

P. pubes´cens Pk.—pubes, down or soft hair. Pileus fleshy, convex, suborbicular, pubescent, yellowish. Gills broad, subdistant, rounded behind, sinuate, pallid tinged with red. Stem short, firm, curved, eccentric, colored like the pileus. Spores globose, 8µ broad.

Pileus about 2 in. broad. Stem scarcely 1 in. long.

Trunks of trees. Lyndonville. C.E. Fairman. Peck, 44th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, on oak trunks. McIlvaine.

High, agreeable flavor; texture about as in P. ostreatus.

P. sa´pidus Kalchb.—savory. Cespitose, or several pilei appearing to spring from a common branched stem. Pileus 1–3 in. across. Flesh thick, excentric, regular, convex or obtusely gibbous then depressed, glabrous, white or brownish. Stem stout, solid, several usually springing from a thickened knob, whitish, 1–2 in. long, expanding upward into the pileus. Gills decurrent, rather distant, narrow, whitish. Spores elliptical, 10–11×4–5µ.

On elm trunks.

A very variable species; according to Kalchbrenner, the spores have a faint tinge of lilac, and the pileus is white, tawny, brownish, or umber on the same trunk. The white form only has been met with in this country. Massee.

Spores with a lilac tinge, oblong or a little curved and pointed, 8.3×3.7µ Morgan; oblong, 9–11.5×4–5µ Peck; 10–11×4–5µ Massee.

Not observed in England until 1887.

Quite common throughout the United States, growing upon decaying wood, whether above or under ground. It has few distinct features. The only positive one distinguishing it from P. ostreatus is its lilac-tinted spores. The tint is faint but noticeable upon white background. Excepting for purposes of the student, its separation, as a species, from P. ostreatus is not necessary. When old it has more body than the latter, but is equally superior as a food fungus.

Professor Peck remarks of it: “A stew made of it is a very good substitute for an oyster stew.”

It can be cultivated by watering the places upon which it is known to appear.

P. pome´ti Fr.—pometum, an orchard. Pileus white, fleshy, soft, sub-flaccid, irregular, involute, convex, even, smooth, disk depressed. Gills decurrent, crowded, separate behind. Stem 2–3 in. high, 3–4 lines thick, excentric, solid, tough, ascending, rooting.

On trunks of pear and apple trees.

Especially distinguished by the rooting stem.

North Carolina, edible, Curtis; California, H. and M.

P. ostrea´tus Jacq.—ostrea, an oyster. (Plate XXXV, p. 134, XXXVa, p. 142.) Pileus 3–5 in. broad, when young almost becoming black, soon becoming pale, brownish-ash color, passing into yellow when old, fleshy, soft, shell-shaped, somewhat dimidiate, ascending, smooth, moist, even, but sometimes with the cuticle torn into squamules. Stem shortened or obliterated, firm, elastic, ascending obliquely, thickening upward, white, strigoso-villous at the base. Gills decurrent, anastomosing behind, somewhat distant, broad, white, sometimes turning light yellow, and without glandules.

For the most part cespitose, imbricated, very variable, sometimes almost central. The pileus is at first convex and horizontal, then expanded and ascending. Stevenson.

Spores 10–12×4–5µ Massee; 7.5–10×4µ Peck.

General over the United States.

Var. glandulo´sus Ag. g. Bull.—With the habit of the typical form, but larger. Pileus dark brown, becoming pale. Gills white, with scattered small wart-like or glandular bodies.

On trunks. A very constant but somewhat rare variety; easily known by the dark-brown pileus. The gland-like bodies on the gills are due to the outward growth of the hyphÆ of the trama in minute patches here and there. Massee.

Var. euos´mus Berk.—strong-smelling. Strong scented, imbricate. Pileus fleshy, depressed, shining, silky when dry, at first white with a tinge of blue, then brownish. Stem short or obsolete. Gills decurrent, ventricose, dingy, white. Spores 12–14×5µ, pale pinkish-lilac.

On elm trunks. Pilei very much crowded, 2 in. or more across, deeply depressed, unequal, at first white, invested with a slight blue varnish, at length of a pale brown. Stems distinct above, connate below. Gills rather broad; running down to the bottom of the free portion of the stem. Spores oblong, narrow, oblique, white, tinged with purple. The whole plant smells, when first gathered, strongly of tarragon. B. and Br.

Found at Richmond, Ind., Dr. J.R. Weist. On hickory stump at Mt. Gretna, Pa., McIlvaine; Haddonfield, N.J., T.J. Collins.

This esculent fungus closely allied to P. ostreatus, and differing only in having lilac spores, has been followed from book to book by a bad reputation, probably because of its “rosy” or lilac spores—all fungi having pink spores having been, until recently, ignorantly branded by authors as poisonous. The writer has eaten meals of it many times, as have his friends. It is in every way equal to P. ostreatus.

The rare qualities of this species are stated in the descriptive heading of the genus. Its very name implies excellence. The camel is gratefully called the ship of the desert; the oyster mushroom is the shellfish of the forest. When the tender parts are dipped in egg, rolled in bread crumbs, and fried as an oyster they are not excelled by any vegetable, and are worthy of place in the daintiest menu.

P. salig´nus Schwam.—salix, willow. Pileus 2–3 in. broad, sooty ash-color or ochraceous, fleshy, compact, spongy, somewhat dimidiate, horizontal, at first pulvinate, even, at length depressed behind and here and there strigose, the incurved margin entire. Stem always short, firm, more or less tomentose. Gills horizontal, hence less manifestly decurrent, separate behind, but branched in the middle, crowded, dingy, often eroded at the edge, not glandular.

Among the larger and firmer species. Solitary, scarcely ever cespitose. It is commonly confounded with A. ostreatus, but is certainly a different species. Although the stature is in general the same, it is easily distinguished by the pileus being more compact, and more pulverulent when young, then depressed, by the gills being thinner, more crowded, somewhat branched, but not anastomosing behind, and dingy soot-color; the spores also are dingy. Stevenson.

Spores oblong or cylindrical-oblong, 8×4µ W.G.S.; 8–10×3–4µ B.

Dr. Curtis wrote of this: “Indeed I have found several persons who class this among the most palatable species. To such persons a dish of fresh mushrooms need seldom be wanting, as this one can be had every month of the year in this latitude.”

In New Jersey, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, Pa., I have found P. salignus in quantity. It has been sent to me by Dr. J.R. Weist, of Richmond, Ind., who writes, “I have eaten it with great enjoyment.”

In 1881 I found it frequently on water beeches and willows, and thoroughly tested its edible qualities. R.K. Macadam, Boston.

When young or fresh, it is quite equal to any Pleurotus. When old, as with others of the Pleuroti, it is tough. Nevertheless their margins are always edible unless decaying.

II.—Dimidia´ti.

P. petaloi´des Bull.—petal of a flower. Pileus 1–2 in. long, dingy-brown, becoming pale, dimidiate, fleshy, but in no wise compact, rather plane, somewhat spathulate, continuous with the stem and depressed behind, hence the villous down of the stem ascends to this point (the disk) of the pileus, otherwise smooth, even, margin at first involute then expanded. Stem about ½ in. long, sometimes however very short, solid, firm, compressed, channeled when larger, more or less villous, whitish. Gills decurrent, very crowded, very narrow (scarcely beyond 2 mm. broad), linear, very unequal, white then ash-color.

Taste bitter. The form on wood is somewhat horizontal, gregarious here and there imbricated. Stevenson.

Spores 9–10×4µ Massee; 8×4µ W.G.S.; minutely globose, 3–4µ Peck.

Edible. Cooke, Cordier.

P. spathula´tus Pers.—shaped like a spathula. Pileus rather thin, 1–2 in. broad, ascending, spathulate, tapering behind into the stem, glabrous, convex or depressed on the disk and there sometimes pubescent, alutaceous or brownish tinged with gray, red or yellow. Gills crowded, linear, decurrent, whitish or yellowish. Stem compressed, sometimes channeled above, grayish-tomentose. Spores elliptical, 7.6×4–5µ broad; odor and taste farinaceous.

Ground. Sandlake. June. Edible.

It grows singly or in tufts and is an inch or more in height. The margin is thin and sometimes striatulate and reflexed. Toward the base the flesh is thicker than the breadth of the gills. The cuticle is tough and separable. The flesh is said by Gillet to be tender and delicate. Persoon describes the disk as spongy-squamulose, but in our specimens it is merely pubescent or tomentose. Peck, 39th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Recorded as edible by Professor Peck. At Eagle’s Mere, Pa., I found many specimens agreeing with this description. They grew from decaying wood under ground, yet had the appearance of growing from the earth. It is probable that others have been deceived. In quality I found this to be one of the best.

P. sero´tinus Fr.—late. Pileus fleshy, 1–3 in. broad, compact, convex or nearly plane, viscid when young and moist, dimidiate kidney-shaped or suborbicular, solitary or cespitose and imbricated, variously colored, dingy-yellow, reddish-brown, greenish-brown or olivaceous, the margin at first involute. Gills close, determinate, whitish or yellowish. Stem very short, lateral, thick, yellowish beneath and minutely tomentose or squamulose with blackish points. Spores minute, elliptical, 5µ long, 2.5µ broad.

Dead trunks of deciduous trees. Peck, 39th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Mt. Gretna, Pa., 1887, and at Mt. Moriah, near Philadelphia, from August until November, 1898. Upon these findings the pileus was tomentose at base, as was the short stem.

The species is not noticeably viscid after its youth. The viscidity can be detected in old specimens by moistening the pileus. Its flavor is not marked, nor is its texture as pleasing as most others of its genus, but being a late species it satisfies the longing of the mycophagist for his accustomed food.

P. pulmona´rius Fr.—pulmo, lung, from texture. Pileus 2–3 in. broad, ash-colored, continuous with the stem, fleshy, soft, but tough, flaccid, obovate or kidney-shaped, plane or reflexo-conchate at the margin, even, smooth. Flesh thin, soft, white. Stem very short, solid, exactly lateral, horizontal or ascending, round, villous, expanded into the pileus. Gills decurrent but ending determinately, moderately broad, distinct, not branched or anastomosing at the base, livid or ash-color.

The primary form is solitary. The pileus is ashy-tan when dried. It differs from A. salignus alike in the definitely lateral stem and in the thin flaccid pileus. Fries.

Not previously reported.

Found by Miss Madeleine Le Moyne, Washington, Pa., September, 1898, and sent to writer. Gills 3 lines broad, not narrow in proportion to flesh.

Taste and smell similar to P. ostreatus. Cooked it is tender, and more succulent than P. ostreatus.

III.—Resupina´ti.

P. mastruca´tus Fr.—mastruca, a sheepskin. Pileus up to 2 in. long and 1 in. broad, sessile, at first resupinate then expanded and horizontal, often lobed, upper stratum of pileus gelatinous, brown, bristling with squarrose or erect squamules. Flesh thickish. Gills radiating from the point of attachment, broad, rather distant, grayish-white.

On old trunks. Imbricated. Readily distinguished by the brown, squarrosely scaly pileus. Massee.

Spores oblong, oblique, 8×5µ Morgan.

In June, 1886, the writer found this species in oak woods near Philadelphia. It grew on fallen trunks and on decaying spots of living timber.

It is edible, and of good flavor, but is rough in the mouth. If found in quantity, the extract of it would make a delicate soup.

HYGROPH´ORUS Fr.

(Plate XXXVIII.)

The hymenophore continuous with the stem. Pileus somewhat rigid, fleshy, becoming more or less depressed, often marked with concentric zones. Gills unequal, membranaceous-waxy, slightly rigid, milky, edge acute, decurrent or adnate and often branched. Stem stout, central, rarely excentric except in those growing on trunks. Spores globose, minutely echinulate, white, rarely yellowish.

Nearly all grow on the ground.

Distinguished from all other fungi by the presence of a granular milk which pervades every part of the plant and especially the gills; it is commonly white, sometimes changing color and in section Dapetes highly colored from the first. The nature of the milk, especially its taste, whether acrid, subacrid or mild, must be carefully noted in distinguishing species, as it is the most useful characteristic.

In Russula, the only allied genus, the milk-bearing cells are present, but their contents do not appear as milk.

Many of the species are peppery, acrid, astringent; some mildly so, others will be long remembered if tasted raw. Yet not a species is hotter than some radishes, onions, and others of our favorite vegetables. Who would condemn them because they are peppery? There is not a single species of Lactarius which retains its pepperiness after cooking. This quality has to be and is supplied by one of our favorite condiments—pepper itself. Simply because they are toadstools and hot, they have been condemned without trial. It is remarkable that not one of the fungi known to be deadly gives any warning by appearance or flavor of the presence of a poison. The day will probably come when it can be said that if toadstool eaters will confine themselves to hot species, otherwise attractive, they will run no risk. Panus stypticus is astringent, not hot.

Stem central. Gills unchangeable, not pruinose nor becoming discolored. Milk white at first, usually acrid.

* Tricholomoidei—inclining to Tricholoma. Pileus moist, viscid, margin incurved and downy at first.

** Limacini—limax, a slug. Pileus viscid when moist, with a pellicle, margin naked.

*** Piperati. Pileus without a pellicle, hence absolutely dry, often more or less downy or unpolished.

Stem central. Gills naked. Milk highly colored from the first.

Stem central. Gills pallid then discolored, at length dark and powdered with the white spores. Milk at first white, mild, or from mild becoming acrid.

* Viscidi—viscidus, viscid, sticky. Pileus viscid at first.

** Impoliti—impolitus, unpolished. Pileus squamulose, downy or pruinose.

*** Glabrati—glaber, smooth. Pileus polished, smooth.

Stem excentric or lateral. Growing on trunks. None known to be edible.

L. tormino´sus Fr.—tormina, gripes. Pileus 2–4 in. broad, convex, then depressed, viscid when young or moist, yellowish-red or paleochraceous tinged with red or flesh color, often varied with zones or spots, the at first involute margin persistently tomentose-hairy. Gills thin, close, narrow, whitish, often tinged with yellow or flesh color. Stem 1.5–3 in. long, 4–8 lines thick, equal or slightly tapering downward, hollow, sometimes spotted, whitish. Spores subglobose or broadly elliptical, 9–10µ. Milk white, taste acrid.

Woods. Adirondack mountains and Sandlake. August. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Poisonous, and Gillet declares it to be deleterious and even dangerous, and that in the raw state it is a very strong drastic purgative. On the other hand, Cordier states that almost all authors agree in stating that it is eaten with impunity, and that Letellier has eaten it more than once without inconvenience.

Cooke states: “Whether it is poison is rather uncertain, and probably assumed from its acridity.”

Bulliard says: “It is very acrid and this is changed by heat into an astringent of such power that a very little suffices to produce the most terrible accidents.” On the other hand, Boudier says that the presence of an acrid milk is an indication of no importance, that in certain parts of the country they eat such Lactaria as even L. piperatus and do not experience any trouble. Certain RussulÆ as acrid as any Lactaria are known to be inoffensive.

The Russians preserve it in salt and eat it seasoned with oil and vinegar.

L. tur´pis Fr.—turpis, base, from its ugly appearance. Pileus large, as much as 3–12 in. broad, olivaceous inclining to umber, fleshy, rigid, convex becoming plane, disk-shaped or umbilicate, at length depressed, innately hairy at the circumference or wholly covered over with tenacious gluten, zoneless, sometimes tawny toward the margin, at length entirely inclining to umber; margin for a long time involute, at the first villous, olivaceous-light-yellow, then more or less flattened, at length often densely furrowed. Flesh compact, white, then slightly reddish. Stem 1½-3 in. long, ½-1 in. and more thick, solid, hard, equal or attenuated downward, even or pitted and uneven, but not spotted, viscid or dry, pallid or dark olivaceous, ochraceous-whitish at the apex. Gills adnato-decurrent, thin, 1–2 lines broad, much crowded, forked, white straw-color, spotted brownish when broken or bruised. Milk acrid, white, unchangeable. Fries.

Gregarious, rigidly and compactly fleshy; habit almost that of Paxillus involutus. It varies with the stem hollow, and the pileus somewhat zoned.

Spores spheroid or subspheroid, uniguttate, echinulate, 6–8µ K.; minutely spinulose, 6–8µ Massee.

New Jersey, Trenton, E.B. Sterling; North Carolina, Curtis, Schweinitz; Mt. Gretna, Pa. September, 1898. Along road in woods, moist places. McIlvaine.

The species is attractive by its very homeliness and odd individuality. It is not inviting. Cooked it is coarse and resembles L. piperatus. An emergency species.

L. controver´sus Fr.—contra, against; verto, to turn. Pileus 3 in. and more broad, fleshy, compact, rigid, at the first convex, broadly umbilicate, when fuller grown somewhat funnel-shaped, oblique, on emerging from the ground dry, flocculose, whitish, then with rain smooth, viscid, reddish, with blood-colored spots and zones (especially toward the margin), margin acute when young, closely involute, more or less villous. Flesh very firm. Stem commonly 1 in. long and thick, sometimes, however, 2 in. long and then manifestly attenuated toward the base and often excentric, solid, obese, even but pruinate and as if striate at the apex from the obsoletely decurrent tooth of the gills, wholly white, never pitted. Gills decurrent, thin, very crowded, 1–2 lines broad, with many shorter ones intermixed, but rarely branched, pallid-white-flesh-color. Milk white, unchangeable, plentiful. Fries.

Odor weak but pleasant, taste very acrid. Allied to L. piperatus.

In woods. Uncommon. August to October. Stevenson.

Spores echinulate, 8×6µ W.G.S.; globose, rough, 6–8µ Massee.

California, H. and M.

Edible, rather deficient in aroma and flavor. Cooke.

L. blen´nius Fr. Gr—slimy. Pileus 3–5 in. across. Flesh thick, firm; soon expanded and more or less depressed, glutinous, dingy greenish-gray, often more or less zoned with drop-like markings; margin at first incurved and downy. Gills slightly decurrent, crowded, narrow, whitish or with an ochraceous tinge. Stem 1–2 in. long, up to 1 in. thick at the apex, where it expands into the thick flesh of the pileus, often attenuated at the base, viscid, colored like the stem or paler, soon hollow. Milk persistently white, very acrid. Spores subglobose, 7–8×6µ.

In woods, on the ground, very rarely on trunks.

L. turpis somewhat resembles the present species but differs in the darker olive-brown pileus and the yellow down on the incurved margin, especially when young. Massee.

Pileus 2–4 in. broad, fleshy, rarely subzonate, convex, the margin generally involute and adpresso-tomentose (quite smooth, Fries); at length more or less depressed, dull cinereous-green, at first viscid, more or less pitted. Milk white, not changeable. Gills rather narrow, pale ochraceous, scarcely forked, not connected by veins. Stem 1 in. long, ¼-½ in. thick, paler than the pileus, attenuated downward, obtuse, smooth, at length hollow, sometimes pitted, very acrid. Berk.

Edible. Coarse.

L. insul´sus Fr.—tasteless. Pileus 2–4 in. broad, convex and umbilicate, then funnel-shaped, glabrous, viscid, more or less zonate, yellowish, the margin naked. Gills thin, close, adnate or decurrent, some of them forked at the base, whitish or pallid. Stem 1–2 in. long, 4–6 lines thick, equal or slightly tapering downward, stuffed or hollow, whitish or yellowish, generally spotted. Spores 7.6–9µ. Milk white, taste acrid.

Thin woods and open, grassy places. Greenbush and Sandlake, N.Y. July and August.

Our plant has the pileus pale yellow or straw color, and sometimes nearly white, but European forms have been described as having it orange-yellow and brick-red. It is generally, though often obscurely, zonate. The zones are ordinarily more distinct near the margin, where they are occasionally very narrow and close. The milk in the Greenbush specimens had a thin, somewhat watery appearance. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. July to September. Common in mixed woods and grassy places. McIlvaine.

Edible. Cordier, Curtis.

L. insulsus is another peppery member of Lactarius which has suffered unjustly. I have eaten it since 1881, and think it the best of the hot milk species. Its flesh is not as coarse as others, and is of better flavor. There is little difference in quality between it and L. deliciosus.

L. hys´ginus Fr. Gr—a crimson dye. Pileus 2–3 in. broad, rigid, at first convex, then nearly plane, umbilicate or slightly depressed, even, viscid, zoneless or rarely obscurely zonate, reddish-incarnate, tan-color or brownish-red, becoming paler with age, the thin margin inflexed. Gills close, adnate or subdecurrent, whitish, becoming yellowish or cream-colored. Stem 1–2 in. long, 4–8 lines thick, equal, glabrous, stuffed or hollow, colored like the pileus, or a little paler, sometimes spotted. Milk white, taste acrid.

Woods. Sandlake and Canoga, N.Y. July and August. Not common.

The reddish hue of the pileus distinguishes this species from its allies. The gluten or viscidity of the pileus in our specimens was rather tenacious and persistent. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Spores subglobose, whitish on black paper, yellowish on white paper, 9–10µ Peck; 10×7–8µ Massee.

Mt. Gretna, Pa., 1897. Mixed woods. August, September.

Not very acrid. The entire acridity disappears in cooking. Several specimens were found and eaten, enough to prove it esculent and of good quality.

L. plum´beus Fr.—like plumbum, lead. Pileus 2—5 in. broad, compact, convex, then infundibuliform, dry, unpolished sooty or brownish-black. Gills crowded, white, or yellowish. Stem 1.5–3 in. long, 3–6 lines thick, solid, equal, thick. Milk white, acrid, unchangeable. Spores 6.3–7.6µ.

The specimens which I have referred to this species were found in the Catskill mountains several years ago, growing in hemlock woods, under spruce and balsam trees. I have not met with the species since. The pileus in the larger specimens had a minutely tomentose appearance, but in the dried specimens this has disappeared. They also varied in color from blackish-brown to pinkish-brown and grayish-brown, but they can scarcely be more than a mere form or variety of the species the description of which, as given by Fries, I have quoted. In the Handbook the pileus is described as dark fuliginous-gray or brown, and Gillet describes it as black-brown, dark fuliginous or lead color, and adds that the plant is poisonous and the milk very acrid and burning. Cordier says that the flesh is white and the taste bitter and disagreeable. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Poisonous. Gillet.

L. pergame´nus Fr.—parchment. White. Pileus fleshy, pliant, convex then plano-depressed, spread, zoneless, slightly wrinkled, smooth. Stem stuffed, smooth, changing color. Gills adnate, very narrow, horizontal, very crowded, branched, white, then straw-color. Milk white, acrid.

Very much allied to L. piperatus, but differing in the stem being stuffed, at length softer internally, elongated, 3 in., unequal, attenuated downward and here and there ascending, quite smooth; in the pileus being thinner, pliant, elastic, most frequently irregular and excentric, for the most part flexuous, at first convex (not umbilicate), then rather plane, the surface very smooth, but unpolished and wrinkled in a peculiar manner; and in the gills being adnate, not decurrent, very crowded, very narrow (scarcely 1 line broad), always straight and horizontal, not arcuate or extended upward, soon straw-color. The flesh is very milky, but the gills are sparingly so. Fries.

In woods. October.

Spores subglobose, rather irregular, 6–8µ C.B.P.; broadly elliptical, echinulate, 7×5–6µ Massee.

Eaten on the continent and Nova Scotia. Edible. Cooke.

North Carolina, Curtis; New England, Frost; Ohio, Morgan.

L. pipera´tus Fr.—piper, pepper. (Plate XLI, fig. 1, p. 160.) Pileus 4–9 in. broad, white, fleshy, rigid, umbilicate when young, reflexed (margin at first involute) at the circumference, when full grown wholly funnel-shaped, for the most part regular, even, smooth, zoneless. Flesh white. Stem 1–2 in. long, 1–2 in. thick, solid, obese, equal or obconical, even, obsoletely pruinose, white. Gills decurrent, crowded, narrow, scarcely broader than 1 line, obtuse at the edge, dividing by pairs, arcuate then all extended upward in a straight line, white, here and there with yellow spots. Milk white, unchangeable, plentiful and very acrid.

Compact, firm, dry, inodorous. The pileus becomes obsoletely yellow when old. Although the gills are spotted with yellow, they do not change to straw color like those of L. pergamenus. Fries.

Spores white, nearly smooth, 6.3–7.6µ Peck; subglobose, 8–9µ diameter Massee; 5×6µ W.G.S.

Pennsylvania, West Virginia, 1881–1885. New Jersey, Pennsylvania in woods and on grassy places. July to October. McIlvaine.

Edible. Curtis.

L. piperatus is a readily distinguished species. It is very common. In 1881, after an extensive forest fire in the West Virginia forests, I saw miles of the blackened district made white by a growth of this fungus. It was the phenomenal growth which first attracted my attention to toadstools. I collected it then in quantity and used it, with good results, as a fertilizer on impoverished ground.

It has been eaten for many years in most countries, yet a few writers continue to warn against it. It is the representative fungus of its class—meaty, coarse, fair flavor. It is edible and is good food when one is hungry and can not get better. It is best used as an absorbent of gravies.

L. decepti´vus Pk.—deceiving. Pileus 3–5 in. broad, compact, at first convex and umbilicate, then expanded and centrally depressed or subinfundibuliform, obsoletely tomentose or glabrous except on the margin, white or whitish, often varied with yellowish or sordid stains, the margin at first involute and clothed with a dense, soft or cottony tomentum, then spreading or elevated and more or less fibrillose. Gills rather broad, distant or subdistant, adnate or decurrent, some of them forked, whitish, becoming cream-colored. Stem 1–3 in. long, 8–18 lines thick, equal or narrowed downward, solid, pruinose-pubescent, white. Spores white, 9–12.7µ. Milk white, taste acrid.

Woods and open places, especially under hemlock trees. Common. July to September.

Trial of its edible qualities was made without any evil consequences. The acridity was destroyed by cooking. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Alabama, U. and E.; New York, Peck, 38th Rep.; West Virginia, 1881–1885, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. Woods and open places. July to October. McIlvaine.

In common with all peppery Lactarii the present species loses the quality in cooking. The edible qualities then depend upon texture, substance, flavor. The species is coarse but meaty and of fair flavor.

L. velle´reus Fr.—vellus, fleece. Pileus 2–5 in. broad, compact, at first convex and umbilicate, then expanded and centrally depressed or subinfundibuliform, the whole surface minutely velvety-tomentose, soft to the touch, white or whitish, the margin at first involute, then reflexed. Gills distant or subdistant, adnate or decurrent, sometimes forked, whitish becoming yellowish or cream-colored. Stem .5–2 in. long, 6–16 lines thick, firm, solid, equal or tapering downward, pruinose-pubescent, white. Milk white, taste acrid. Spores white.

Woods and open places. Common. July to September. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Spores white, nearly smooth, 7–9µ. Peck; 4×8µ W.G.S.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. Woods and open places. July to October. McIlvaine.

Poisonous according to some authors. Cordier. Edible. Leveille. Eaten it for eighteen years. McIlvaine.

This common, very acrid species is characterized by the downy covering of its cap.

It is a coarse species, but meaty. Its acridity is lost in cooking, when it makes a fair dish.

L. involu´tus Soppitt.—involved. Every part white or with a very slight ochraceous tinge. Pileus 1–2 in. across, flesh about 1½ lines thick, equal up to the margin, compact, rigid, convex, soon becoming plane or slightly depressed, margin strongly and persistently involute, extreme edge minutely silky, remainder even and glabrous. Gills very slightly decurrent, densely crowded, not ½ line broad, sometimes forked. Stem ?-1 in. long, 2–3 lines thick, equal, or slightly thickened at the base, glabrous, even, solid, very firm. Milk white, unchangeable, not scanty, very hot. Spores obliquely elliptical, smooth, 5×3µ.

Very firm and rigid, resembling in habit L. vellereus in miniature. Most nearly allied to L. scoticus, but known at once by the exceedingly narrow, densely-crowded gills and the smooth, elliptical spores. Massee.

West Virginia, 1881–1885, plentiful. Angora, West Philadelphia. August, September, 1897. In mixed woods. McIlvaine.

Much smaller than L. piperatus. Pileus convex, then plane with depressions in center, margin involute. Gills slightly decurrent, densely crowded, very narrow. Stem short, firm, solid. Milk white, very hot.

L. involutus is readily mistaken for small forms of L. vellereus and L. piperatus. The extremely narrow gills, so close and firm that it takes sharp eyes to follow them, are a distinguishing mark.

Its flesh is of same consistency as L. piperatus—hard and coarse. It loses its pepperiness in cooking and is a good emergency plant, or solvent.

America is rich in this section. Fries records but two species, L. deliciosus and L. sanguifluus, while America has four. The edible properties of three are known to be good; L. subpurpureus has not come under observation, but is added to complete the series as it is probably edible and is well marked by its dark-red milk. McIlvaine.

L. delicio´sus Fr.—delicious. (Plate XLI, fig. 3, p. 160.) Pileus 2–6 in. broad, orange-brick-color, yellowish or grayish-orange, becoming pale, fleshy, when quite young depressed in the center, margin naked, involute, then plano-depressed or broadly funnel-shaped with the margin unfolded, smooth, slightly viscid, zoned (zones sometimes obsolete). Flesh soft, not compact, pallid, colored at the circumference only by the juice. Stem 1–2 in. and more long, 1 in. thick, stuffed then hollow, at length fragile, equal or attenuated at the base, spotted in a pitted manner, of the same color as the pileus or paler. Gills somewhat decurrent, crowded, narrow, arcuate, often branched, typically saffron-yellow, but becoming pale and always becoming green when wounded. Milk aromatic, from the first red-brick-saffron. Fries.

Spores white, spheroid, echinulate 7–8µ K.; 6µ W.G.S.; echinulate, 9–10×7–8µ Massee; subglobose, 7.6–10µ Peck.

In woods, under firs, etc.

Pileus dingy orange-red becoming pale, often greenish. Every part turns to a homely green when bruised. It is from 3 to 5 in. across, thick, convex, then depressed in center, margin at first curved in. Gills decurrent, narrow, saffron-color. Milk saffron-red or orange changing to green; sweet scented but slightly acrid. I have never seen but one specimen with milk distinctly orange, and changing to green. The milk in this species varies in color, much depending upon moisture. It grows in patches, sometimes in clusters.

Edible. Curtis.

There is no question of its edibility. Old and modern writers applaud it. Each cooks to his liking and thinks his own way best. It requires forty minutes' stewing or baking; less time if roasted or fried. It can be cooked in any way, but, like all Lactarii, it must be well cooked.

L. in´digo Schw.—(Plate XLI, fig. 2, p. 160.) Pileus 2–5 in. broad, at first umbilicate with the margin involute, then depressed or infundibuliform, indigo-blue with a silvery-gray luster, zonate, especially on the margin, sometimes spotted, becoming paler and less distinctly zonate with age or in drying. Gills close, indigo-blue, becoming yellowish and sometimes greenish with age. Stem 1–2 in. long, 6–10 lines thick, short nearly equal, hollow, often spotted with blue, colored like the pileus. Milk dark-blue.

Dry places, especially under or near pine trees. Not rare but seldom abundant. July to September. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Spores subglobose, 7.6–9µ long Peck.

West Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. Solitary and in groups, in pine and mixed woods. July to September. McIlvaine.

The exceptional color of L. indigo will halt anyone with ordinary observing power. It is unnecessary to describe it further. Being a large, stout plant it frequently lifts the leaf mat as it pushes upward, making leaf-mounds under which it is hidden, as do many of the Cortinarii. But even in such instances there are usually a few solitary plants standing prominently forth as sentinels.

It is edible, but coarse. Good flavor.

L. chelido´nium Pk. Pileus 2–3 in. broad, at first convex, then nearly plane and umbilicate or centrally depressed, grayish-yellow or tawny, at length varied with bluish and greenish stains, often with a few narrow zones on the margin. Gills narrow, close, sometimes forked, anastomosing or wavy at the base, grayish-yellow. Stem 1–1.5 in. long, 4–6 lines thick, short, subequal, hollow, colored like the pileus. Spores globose, 7.5µ. Milk sparse, saffron-yellow; taste mild.

Sandy soil, under or near pine trees. Saratoga and Bethlehem.

The milk of this species resembles in color the juice of celandine, Chelidonium majus. It is paler than that of L. deliciosus. By this character and by the dull color of the pileus, the narrow lamellÆ, short stem and its fondness for dry situations, it may be separated from the other species. Wounds of the flesh are at first stained with the color of the milk, then with blue, finally with green. A saffron-color is sometimes attributed to the milk of L. deliciosus, which may indicate that this species has been confused with that, or that the relationship of the two plants is a closer one than we have assigned to them. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Mt. Gretna, Pa. In mixed woods, gravelly low ground. September, October. McIlvaine.

A score or more solitary specimens were found and eaten. The substance and flavor are not distinguishable from L. deliciosus, which is lauded to the summit of good toadstools.

L. subpurpu´reus Pk.—sub, under; purpureus, purple. Pileus at first convex, then nearly plane or subinfundibuliform, more or less spotted and zonate when young, and moist dark-red with a grayish luster. Gills close, dark-red, becoming less clear and sometimes greenish-stained with age. Stem equal or slightly tapering upward, soon hollow, often spotted with red, colored like the pileus, sometimes hairy at the base. Spores subglobose, 9–10µ. Milk dark-red.

Pileus 2–3 in. broad. Stem 1.5–3 in. long, 3–5 lines thick.

Damp or mossy ground in woods and swamps. July and August.

At once known by the peculiar dark-red or purplish hue of the milk, which color also appears in the spots of the stem and in a more subdued tone in the whole plant. The color of the pileus, gills and stem is modified by grayish and yellowish hues. In age and dryness the zones are less clear, and dried specimens can scarcely be distinguished from L. deliciosus. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

I have not seen this species.

L. pal´lidus Fr.—pale. Pileus 3–6 in. broad, flesh-color or clay-color to pallid, somewhat tan, fleshy, umbilicato-convex, depressed, obtuse, margin broadly and for a long time involute, smooth, gluey, zoneless. Flesh pallid. Stem 2 in. and more long, about ¾ in. thick, somewhat equal, stuffed then hollow, even, smooth, of the same color as the pileus. Gills somewhat decurrent, arcuate, rather broad, 1½-2 lines and more; somewhat thin, crowded, somewhat branched, whitish at length of the same color as the pileus. Milk white, unchangeable. Fries.

Taste somewhat mild. Stature that of L. deliciosus, but more lax in texture and always pallid. There is a variety with the pileus inclining to dingy-brown. Stevenson.

Mixed woods. September to October.

Spores echinulate, almost round, 8µ W.G.S.; 7–11µ Cooke; 9–10×7–8µ Massee.

North Carolina, Schweinitz, Curtis; Massachusetts, Frost; Minnesota, Johnson; Rhode Island, Bennett.

Edible. Cooke.

L. quie´tus Fr.—calm, mild. Pileus 3 in. broad, fleshy, depressed, obtuse, margin deflexed, smooth, at first viscid, somewhat cinnamon, flesh-color, disk darker, somewhat zoned, soon dry, somewhat silky, opaque, becoming pale. Flesh white then reddish. Stem 2–3 in. long, ½ in. and more thick, stuffed, spongy, smooth, reddish, at length beautifully rust-color. Gills adnato-decurrent, somewhat forked at the base, 1½-2 lines broad, white then soon brick-red. Milk white, unchangeable, sweet. Fries.

In woods. August to November. Stevenson.

Spores echinulate, 8–10×6–7µ Massee; 10–12µ Cooke.

Nova Scotia, Somers; New York, Peck, Rep. 42.

Edible. Cooke. Eaten in France and held in estimation.

L. theio´galus Fr. Gr—brimstone; milk. Pileus 2–5 in. broad, fleshy, thin, convex, then depressed, even, glabrous, viscid, tawny-reddish. LamellÆ adnate or decurrent, close, pallid or reddish. Stem 1–3 in. long, 4–10 lines thick, stuffed or hollow, even, colored like the pileus. Spores yellowish, inclining to pale flesh-color, subglobose, 7.5–9µ. Milk white, changing to sulphur-yellow, taste tardily acrid, bitterish.

Woods and groves. Common. July to October.

Our plant does not fully accord with the description of the species as given by Fries. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Spores subglobose, 7–8µ diameter Massee; subglobose, 7.5–9µ Peck.

West Virginia, 1881–1885; Mt. Gretna, Pa. July, 1897; New Jersey, common in mixed woods. July to frost. McIlvaine.

L. theiogalus possesses all the good qualities of the hot milk species. While I ate it whenever I chose in West Virginia, I did not again eat it until 1897 at Mt. Gretna. There several partook of it and thought it rather coarse, but of good flavor. It requires long cooking.

L. fuligino´sus Fr.—fuligo, soot. Pileus 1–2.5 in. broad, firm, becoming soft, convex plane or slightly depressed, even, dry, zoneless, dingy ash-color or buff-gray, appearing as if covered with a dingy pruinosity, the margin sometimes wavy or lobed. Gills adnate or subdecurrent, subdistant, whitish then yellowish, becoming stained with pink-red or salmon-color where wounded. Stem 1–2 in. long, 3–5 lines thick, equal or slightly tapering downward, firm, stuffed, colored like the pileus. Spores globose, yellowish, 7.5–10µ. Milk white, taste tardily and sometimes slightly acrid.

Thin woods and open grassy places. Greenbush and Sandlake, N.Y. July and August. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

A form with the pileus colored like that of L. lignyotus, but with the gills much closer than in that species, was found in a swamp near Sevey. July. Peck, 43d Rep.

POISONOUS. Barla and Reveil, Cordier.

L. fumo´sus Pk. Pileus 1.5–2.5 in. broad, firm, convex, then expanded and slightly depressed in the center, smooth, dry, smoky-brown or sordid-white. Gills close, adnate or slightly rounded behind, white, then yellowish. Stem 3–5 lines thick, firm, short, smooth, stuffed, generally tapering downward. Spores distinctly echinulate, yellow, 6µ in diameter. Flesh and Milk white; taste at first mild, then acrid.

Plant 1.5–2 in. high.

Grassy ground in open woods. Greenbush. July.

The peculiar smoky hue of the pileus and yellow spores enable this species to be easily recognized. The flesh when wounded slowly changes to a dull pinkish-color. Related to L. fuliginosus. Peck, 24th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

L. ru´fus Fr.—red. Pileus 2–4 in. broad, convex and centrally depressed, then funnel-shaped, generally with a small umbo, glabrous, sometimes slightly floccose or pubescent when young, especially on the margin, zoneless, bay-red or brownish-red, shining. Gills narrow or moderately broad, sometimes forked, close, subdecurrent, yellowish or reddish. Stem 2–4 in. long, 3–5 lines thick, nearly equal, firm, stuffed, paler than or colored like the pileus. Spores white, 7.6–10µ. Milk white, taste very acrid.

Low woods and swamps. North Elba. August. Rare.

The red Lactarius is known by its rather large size, dark-red pileus and intensely acrid taste. It has been found but once in our state. The flesh is pinkish and the stem sometimes pruinose. It is designated by authors as very poisonous and extremely poisonous. Cordier even says that worms never attack it. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Massachusetts, Frost; New York, Peck, Rep. 23, Rep. 38.

I have not recognized this species. It is given as markedly POISONOUS.

L. glycios´mus Fr. Gr—sweet; Gr—scent. Pileus ½-1½ in. broad, thin, convex nearly plane or depressed, often with a small umbo or papilla, minutely squamulose, ash-colored, grayish-brown or smoky-brown, sometimes tinged with pink, the margin even or slightly and distinctly striate. Gills narrow, close, adnate or decurrent, whitish or yellowish. Stem ½-1½ in. long, 1–3 lines thick, equal, glabrous or obsoletely pubescent, stuffed, rarely hollow, whitish or colored like the pileus. Milk white, taste acrid and unpleasant, sometimes bitterish, odor aromatic. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Smell agreeable, of melilot, as that of L. camphoratus.

Spores spheroid, echinulate, 6–8µ K.; subglobose, size variable, 6–10µ Massee.

The American plant, so far as observed, does not have the red hues ascribed to the European.

Haddonfield, N.J., T.J. Collins; Scranton, Pa., Dr. J.M. Phillips; Chester county, Pa., September, 1887, on ground in woods, McIlvaine.

This small Lactarius was found on several occasions. Its odor is attractive, but its taste is not. Cooked it is of high flavor, but will not be liked by many.

L. aqui´fluus Pk.—watery. Pileus fragile, fleshy, convex or expanded, at length centrally depressed, dry, smooth, or sometimes appearing as if clothed with a minute appressed tomentum, reddish tan-colored, the decurved margin often flexuous. Gills rather narrow, close, whitish, becoming dull reddish yellow. Stem more or less elongated, equal or slightly tapering upward, colored like the pileus, smooth, hollow, the cavity irregular as if eroded. Spores subglobose, rough, 7.6µ. Flesh colored like the pileus. Milk sparse, watery.

Plant 3–8 in. high. Pileus 3–6 in. broad. Stem 5–10 lines thick.

Swamps and wet mossy places in woods. Sandlake and North Elba. August and September.

The relationship of this plant is with L. serifluus, to which it was formerly referred, but from which I am now satisfied it is distinct. The hollow stem is a constant character in our plant, and affords a ready mark of distinction. The plant, though large, is very fragile, and breaks easily. The taste is mild or but slightly acrid. Sometimes there is an obscure zonation on the pileus, which, in large specimens, is apt to be irregular and much worm-eaten. The milk looks like little drops of water when first issuing from a wound, but it becomes a little less clear on exposure to the atmosphere. The decided but agreeable odor of the dried specimens persists a long time. Peck, 28th Rep.

This plant is sometimes cespitose. The pileus when dry is tawny-gray and scaly or cracked scaly. The margin may be even or coarsely sulcate-striate. The flesh is grayish or reddish-gray. The color of the lamellÆ varies from creamy-white to tawny-yellow. The stem often has a conspicuous white myceloid tomentum at its base. I have never found this plant with a white or milky juice, and therefore I am disposed to regard it not as a variety of L. helvus, but as a distinct species. Its mild taste and agreeable odor suggested a trial of its edible qualities. It is harmless, but the lack of flavor induces me to omit it from the list of edible species. Peck, 50th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Var. brevis´simus Pk. Pileus 1–1.5 in. broad, grayish-buff. Gills crowded, adnate, yellowish or cream-color. Stem very short, 6–8 lines long.

Black mucky soil in roads in woods. Township 24, Franklin county. September.

Plant fragrant; sometimes cespitose. Peck, 51st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Angora, West Philadelphia, in moist oak woods. August, 1897, Philadelphia Myc. Center.

Flesh rather hard when cooked, and insipid. Good as an absorbent or in emergency.

L. lignyo´tus Fr.—lignum, wood. Pileus 1–4 in. broad, broadly convex plane or slightly depressed, dry, with or without a small umbo, generally rugose-wrinkled, dark-brown, appearing subpulverulent or as if suffused with a dingy pruinosity, the margin sometimes crenately lobed and distinctly plicate. Gills moderately close or subdistant, adnate, white or yellowish, slowly changing to pinkish-red or salmon color where wounded. Stem 1–3 in. long, 2–6 lines thick, equal or abruptly narrowed at the apex, even, glabrous, stuffed, colored like the pileus, sometimes plicate at the top. Milk white, taste mild or tardily and slightly acrid.

Var. tenu´ipes. Pileus about 1 in. broad. Stem slender, 2–3 in. long and about 2 lines thick.

Wet or mossy ground in woods and swamps. Adirondack mountains and Sandlake. July and August. Not rare in hilly and mountainous districts. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Spores globose, yellowish, 9–11.3µ Peck; pale ochraceous, subglobose, minutely echinulate, 9–10µ diameter Massee.

West Virginia mountains, 1881–1885; Eagle’s Mere; Mt. Gretna, Pa. Solitary and gregarious, moist woods and wooded places. July to September. McIlvaine.

In my long experience with the plant I have not seen any change of color, save that, like the white milk of other species, it darkens slightly to a cream color. I have found it distinctly umbilicate and quite umbonate in the same patch.

L. lignyotus is one of the best of Lactarii and quite equal to L. volemus.

L. corru´gis Pk.—having wrinkles or folds. Pileus 3–5 in. broad, firm, convex, then nearly plane or centrally depressed, rugose reticulated, covered with a velvety pruinosity or pubescence, dark reddish-brown or chestnut-color, fading with age to tawny-brown. Gills close, dark cream-color or subcinnamon, becoming paler when old, sordid or brownish where bruised or wounded. Stem 3–5 in. long, 6–12 lines thick, equal, solid, glabrous or merely pruinose, paler than but similar in color to the pileus. Spores subglobose, 10–13µ. Milk copious, white, taste mild.

Thin woods. Sandlake, Gansevoort and Brewerton, N.Y. August and September.

This curious Lactarius is related to L. volemus, from which it may be separated by its darker colors and its corrugated pileus. The flexuous reticulated rugÆ present an appearance similar to that of the hymenium of a Merulius. The pileus is everywhere pruinose-pubescent and the gills bear numerous spine-like or acicular cystidia or spicules, 4–5µ long. These are so numerous on and near the edges of the gills that they give them a pubescent appearance. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

I found many at Mt. Gretna, Pa., up to 6½ in. in diameter. Flesh not so firm as L. volemus. Stem equal, rugulose, flattened in old specimens. Milk very slightly acrid.

Better in taste and quality than L. volemus.

L. lute´olus Pk.—yellowish. Pileus 2–3 in. broad, fleshy, rather thin, convex or nearly plane, commonly umbilicately depressed in the center and somewhat rugulose, pruinose or subglabrous, buff-color. Flesh white, taste mild. Milk copious, flowing easily, white or whitish. Gills close, nearly plane, adnate or slightly rounded behind, whitish, becoming brownish where wounded. Stem 1–1.5 in. long, 3–5 lines thick, short, equal or tapering downward, solid, but somewhat spongy within, colored like the pileus. Spores globose, 7.6µ broad.

Dry woods. East Milton, Mass. August. H. Webster.

This species is related to Lactarius volemus and L. hygrophoroides, but its smaller size and short stem will distinguish it from the former and its close gills from the latter. Its paler buff-color will separate it from both. Some specimens have a narrow encircling furrow or depressed zone near the margin and a slightly darker shade of color on the margin. The milk constitutes a remarkable feature of the species. According to the notes of the collector it is exceedingly copious, rather sticky, serous in character with white particles in suspension. It flows from many points as soon as the plant is disturbed and it stains the gills. It is impossible to collect an unstained specimen, so free is the flow of the milk. He, Mr. Webster, says: “I have never succeeded in picking a specimen so quietly as to prevent an instant and copious flow of its milk.” Torrey Bull., Vol. 23, No. 10, 1896.

Angora, West Philadelphia, August, 1897. In oak woods. August, September. McIlvaine.

Quite frequent there. My attention was directed to it by the “narrow encircling furrow or depressed zone near the margin.”

It is of like quality to L. volemus.

L. Gerar´dii Pk. Pileus 1.5–4 in. broad, broadly convex plane or slightly depressed, dry, generally rugose-wrinkled, with or without a small umbo or papilla, dingy-brown, the thin spreading margin sometimes flexuous lobed or irregular. Gills distant, adnate or decurrent, white or whitish, the interspaces generally uneven. Stem 1–2 in. long, 3–6 lines thick, subequal, stuffed or hollow, colored like the pileus. Spores globose, white, 9–11.3µ. Milk white, unchangeable, taste mild.

Woods and open places. Poughkeepsie, W.R. Gerard. Greenbush, Sandlake and Croghan, N.Y. July to September.

This Lactarius closely resembles the Sooty lactarius in color, but differs from it in its more distant gills, white spores and constantly mild taste. Wounds of the flesh and gills do not become pinkish-red as in that plant. From L. hygrophoroides its darker color, hollow stem and more globose rougher spores separate it. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

In the color of the pileus and stem this species is like the larger forms of L. fuliginosus. Peck, 26th Rep.

Edible. Boston Myc. Club Bull.

L. vole´mus Fr.—volema pira, a kind of large pear. (Plate XLI, fig. 4, p. 160) Pileus 2–5 in. broad, firm, convex, nearly plane or centrally depressed, rarely funnel-shaped, sometimes with a small umbo, generally even, glabrous, dry, golden-tawny or brownish-orange, sometimes darker in the center, often becoming rimose-areolate. Gills close, adnate or subdecurrent, white or yellowish, becoming sordid or brownish where bruised or wounded. Stem 1–4 in. long, 4–10 lines thick, subequal, variable in length, firm, solid, glabrous or merely pruinose, colored like the pileus, sometimes a little paler. Milk copious, white, taste mild, flat.

Var. subrugo´sus. Pileus rugose-reticulated on the margin. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Spores globose, white, 9–11.3µ Peck; 5–6µ diameter Massee.

Very delicious raw and celebrated from early times. Fries.

Common over the United States, well known everywhere and distinguished for its edible qualities. It is crisp and unless carefully cooked is hard and granular. It should have long, slow cooking, though it may be roasted or fried.

L. hygrophoroi´des B. and C.—resembling Hygrophorus. Pileus 1–4 in. broad, firm, convex or nearly plane, umbilicate or slightly depressed, rarely funnel-shaped, glabrous or sometimes with a minute velvety pubescence or tomentum, dry, sometimes rugose-wrinkled and often becoming cracked in areas, yellowish-tawny or brownish-orange. Gills distant, adnate or subdecurrent, white or cream-color, the interspaces uneven or venose. Stem .5–1 in. long, 4–8 lines thick, short, equal or tapering downward, solid, glabrous or merely pruinose, colored like the pileus. Spores subglobose or broadly elliptical, nearly smooth, 9–11.3µ. Milk white, taste mild.

Grassy ground and borders of woods. Albany, Greenbush and Sandlake. July and August.

This plant has almost exactly the color of L. volemus, but differs from it in its distant gills, short stem, less copious milk and less globose spores. Its flesh is white, with a thickness about equal to the breadth of the gills. It is probably edible, but has not yet been tested. The typical L. hygrophoroides is described as having the pileus yellowish-red and pulverulent, and the gills luteous. It is also represented as a small plant; but our specimens, while not fully agreeing with this description, approach so closely to it in some of their forms that they doubtless belong to the same species. We have therefore extended the description so that it may include our plant. In wet weather the pileus sometimes becomes funnel-form by the elevation of the margin. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Mt. Gretna, Pa., 1897, grassy grounds and borders of woods. Mixed, moist woods and grassy borders. July to September. McIlvaine.

Pileus up to 4 in. across. Stem 1–2½ in., tapering, equal or tapering downward. When growing in woods the stem is longer than when growing on borders.

Its edible qualities are excellent.

L. mitis´simus Fr.—mitis, mild. Pileus 1–3 in. broad, golden-tawny, zoneless, fleshy, thin, somewhat rigid, convex, papillate, depressed, papilla vanishing, even, smooth, somewhat slippery when moist. Flesh pallid. Stem elongated, 1–3 in. long, ?-½ in. thick, stuffed, then hollow, even, smooth, of the same color as the pileus. Gills adnato-decurrent, somewhat arcuate, then tense and straight, 1–1½ lines and more broad, thin, crowded, a little paler than the pileus, most frequently stained with minute red spots. Milk white, mild, plentiful.

Thin; very much allied to L. subdulcis, but distinguished by the taste being mild, then somewhat bitterish, and especially by the bright, golden-tawny, resplendent color of the pileus and stem. Fries.

In mixed and pine woods. August to November. Stevenson.

Spores 6–8×5–6µ Massee; 10µ Cooke; spheroid, echinulate, 6–7µ C.B.P.

California, H. and M.

Edible. Cooke. Eaten on the continent.

L. subdul´cis Fr.—sub; dulcis, sweet. Pileus .5–2 in. broad, thin, convex, then plane or slightly funnel-shaped, with or without a small umbo or papilla, glabrous, even, zoneless, moist or dry, tawny-red, cinnamon-red or brownish-red, the margin sometimes wavy or flexuous. Gills rather narrow, thin, close, whitish, sometimes tinged with red. Stem 1–2.5 in. long, 1–3 lines thick, equal or slightly tapering upward, slender, glabrous, sometimes villous at the base, stuffed or hollow, paler than or colored like the pileus. Spores 7.6–9µ. Milk white, taste mild or tardily and slightly acrid, sometimes woody or bitterish and unpleasant. Flesh whitish, pinkish or reddish gray, odor none.

Fields, copses, woods, swamps and wet places. July to October. Very common.

This species grows in almost every variety of soil and locality. It may be found in showery weather on dry, rocky soil, on bare ground or among mosses or fallen leaves. In drier weather it is still plentiful in swamps and wet, shaded places, and in sphagnous marshes. It sometimes grows on decaying wood. It is also as variable as it is common. Gillet has described the following varieties:

Var. cinnamo´meus. Pileus cinnamon-red, sub-shining. Stem stuffed, then hollow; taste mild, becoming slightly acrid or bitter.

Var. ru´fus. Pileus dull chestnut-red; becoming more concave. Stem spongy; taste mild.

Var. ba´dius. Pileus bay-red, shining as if varnished, with an obtuse disk and an inflexed, elegantly crenulate margin. Stem very glabrous, hollow.

The first and second varieties have occurred within our limits. The first also has the stem elastic and furnished with a whitish or grayish tomentum or strigose villosity at the base, when growing among moss in swamps. A form occurred in Sandlake, in which some of the specimens were proliferous. The umbo had developed into a minute pileus. With us the prevailing color of the pileus is yellowish-red or cinnamon-red. Sometimes the color is almost the same as that of L. volemus and L. hygrophoroides, and again it is a tan-color or a bay-red, as in L. camphoratus, from which such specimens are scarcely separable, except by their lack of odor. In young plants the pileus usually has a moist appearance, which is sometimes retained in maturity. Cordier pronounces the species edible, and says that he has tested it several times without inconvenience. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Spores 10µ Cooke; 7µ W.G.S.

West Virginia mountains, 1881–1885; Pennsylvania, New Jersey, everywhere on moist ground. July to October. McIlvaine.

Edible. Curtis.

The description of Fries as enlarged and modified by Professor Peck, together with that of the varieties placed to the credit of the species by Gillet, are given above in full. The species with its ascribed varieties is common and well known. Var. ba´dius occurs in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. They are all edible and vary but little in quality. L. subdulcis requires long cooking.

L. muta´bilis Pk.—changeable. Pileus 2–4 in. broad, thin, convex or nearly plane, zonate when moist, reddish-brown, the disk and zones darker, zoneless when dry, flesh colored like the pileus. Milk sparse, white, taste mild. Gills narrow, close, adnate, whitish, with a yellowish or cream-colored tint when old. Stem 1–2 in. long, 3–5 lines thick, equal or tapering upward, stuffed or spongy within, glabrous, colored like the pileus. Spores subglobose, rough, 7.6µ broad.

Low, damp places. Selkirk and Yaphank, N.Y. June and September.

The species is allied to L. subdulcis, from which the larger size and zonate pileus separate it. The zones disappear in the dry plant, and this change in the marking of the pileus suggests the specific name. They appear to be formed by concentric series of more or less confluent spots and are suggestive of such species as L. deliciosus and L. subpurpureus. Peck, 43d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania. Solitary but frequent. In moist woods and margins of woods. June to October. McIlvaine.

I have been familiar with and eaten this plant since 1882, but thought it might be a variety of L. deliciosus, with light-colored milk.

L. mutabilis is an excellent species, equal to any Lactarius.

L. camphora´tus Fr.—camphor. Pileus 1–2 in. across, brown-brick-red, somewhat zoned, sometimes zoneless, fleshy, thin, depressed, dry, smooth. Stem short, 1–2 in., stuffed, somewhat undulated, of the same color as the pileus. Gills adnate, crowded, yellowish-brick-color. Milk mild, white, odor agreeable, spicy. Fries.

Strong smelling. So like L. subdulcis that it can be distinguished safely only by its odor of melilot when dried. Stevenson.

Pileus .5–1.5 in. broad. Stem 1–2 in. long, 2–3 lines. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Spores spherical, echinulate, 6–7µ Q.; subglobose, 8–9µ Massee; 7.6–9µ Peck.

Taste and smell not of camphor, but of melilot.

North Carolina, Curtis; South Carolina, Ravenel; Wisconsin, Bundy; New York, Peck, Rep. 23, Mon. 38th Rep.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, July to October, in moist places. Mixed woods, etc. McIlvaine.

Edible. Gillet.

Its mild taste distinguishes it at once from L. rufus.

It has high but pleasant flavor. If the flavor is too evident to suit some tastes, it is well to mix milder species with it.

RUS´SULA Pers.

Pileus regular, rigid, usually becoming more or less depressed. Flesh of the pileus descending into the gills forming a cellular trama. Veil and consequently the ring absent. Stem smooth, stout, rigid, brittle, spongy within. Gills rigid, fragile, edge thin and acute. Spores rounded, often echinulate, white or yellowish. On the ground.

Closely allied to Lactarius but separated by the absence of milk. The gills of some species exude watery drops in moist weather. Owing to the similarity of form and the variable coloring many species are difficult to determine; all the characters should be carefully noted, not omitting that of the taste.

RussulÆ are readily distinguished by the stout, short, brittle stem and the fragility of the pileus and gills. They especially love open woods and appear during the summer and fall months, some being found until sharp frosts occur.

It has been claimed by mushroom growers, until within a few years, that the spores of the mushroom have to pass through the digestive apparatus of the horse before they will germinate. It has been conclusively demonstrated that such a transmission is not a necessity. It was for a long time my opinion—following the opinion of others—that such assistance was necessary. In my many efforts to propagate valuable food species of the wild toadstools I endeavored to find the method by which the spores were disseminated, and through what digestive medium they passed—either of insect or animal—before germination. Noticing that the RussulÆ were fed upon by a small black beetle, I planted in suitable places, not the toadstools, but the beetles found upon them. The result was that in several instances I grew the RussulÆ. My experiments, while interesting, are not conclusive, because I later found that the same results could be obtained from the toadstool itself when planted under its own natural life conditions. It is certain that beetles can not be raised by planting RussulÆ.

The beetles known as tumble-bugs—canthon lÆvis—deposit eggs in the center of balls made of animal droppings; dig a hole in the ground and drop them into it. These droppings frequently contain the spores of the meadow mushroom. Thus planted with the proper surrounding of manure, and at the proper depth, the spores germinate, spread mycelium, and a crop of mushrooms is the result. The beetle becomes a horticulturist. No wonder the Egyptians, thousands of years ago, made it—the scarabeus—their sacred emblem, and that, today, the fleur-de-lis of France, so the Rosicrucians say, perpetuates its glorious worth and calling.

Most RussulÆ are sweet and nutty to the taste; some are as hot as the fiercest of cayenne, but this they lose upon cooking. To this genus authors have done especial injustice; there is not a single species among them known to be poisonous, and, where they are not too strong of cherry bark and other highly flavored substances, they are all edible; most of them are favorites. Where they present no objectionable appearance or taste, their caps make most palatable dishes when stewed, baked, roasted or escalloped. The time of cooking should be determined by the consistency of the variety; some will cook in five minutes, others not under thirty. Salt, butter and pepper are the only necessaries as seasoning.

Pileus fleshy throughout, hence the margin is at first bent inward and always without striÆ, without a distinct gluey pellicle (in consequence of which the color is not variable, but only changes with age and the state of the atmosphere). Flesh compact, firm. Stem solid, fleshy. Gills unequal.

Pileus compact, firm, covered with a thin, closely adnate pellicle, which at length disappears, margin abruptly thin, at first inflexed, then spreading, acute, even. Stem at first compact, at length spongy-soft within. Gills somewhat forked, with a few shorter ones intermixed, commonly attenuated at both ends, thin and normally narrow.

Pileus without a viscid pellicle, absolutely dry, rigid, the cuticle commonly breaking up into flocci or granules. Flesh thick, compact, firm, vanishing away short of the margin which is straight (never involute), soon spreading, and always without striÆ. Stem solid, at first hard, then softer and spongy. Gills, a few dimidiate, others divided, rigid, dilated in front and running out with a very broad, rounded apex, whence the margin of the pileus becomes obtuse and is not inflexed. Exceedingly handsome, but rather rare.

of the section). Page 198.

Pileus fleshy, firm, with a thin margin which is at first inflexed, then expanded and striate, covered with a thin adnate pellicle. The gills consist of many shorter ones mixed with longer ones, along with others which are forked. Stem solid, stout, spongy within.

Pileus more or less fleshy, rigid-fragile, covered with a pellicle which is always continuous, and in wet weather viscid and somewhat separable; margin membranaceous, at first convergent and not involute, in full-grown plants commonly sulcate and tubercular. Flesh commonly floccose, lax, friable. Stem spongy, at length wholly soft and hollow. Gills almost all equal, simple, broadening in front, free in the pileus when closed. Several doubtful forms occur. R. integra is specially fallacious from the variety of its colors.

* Gills and spores white.

** Gills and spores white, then light-yellowish or bright lemon-yellowish.

*** Gills and spores ochraceous.

R. ni´gricans Bull.—nigrico, to be blackish. Pileus 2–4 in. and more broad, olivaceous-fuliginous, at length black, fleshy to the margin which is at first bent inwards, convex then flattened, umbilicato-depressed, when young and moist slightly viscid and even (without a separable pellicle), at length cracked in scales. Flesh firm, white, when broken becoming red on exposure to the air. Stem 1 in. thick, persistently solid, equal, pallid when young, at length black. Gills rounded behind, slightly adnexed, thick, distant, unequal, paler, reddening when touched. Fries.

Compact, obese, inodorous, within and without at length wholly black, in which it differs from all others. The flesh becomes red when broken because it is saturated with red juice, although it does not exude milk. Sometimes a very few of the gills are dimidiate.

In woods. Common. June to November. Stevenson.

Var. albo´nigra Krombh.—albo, white; negro, to be black. Pileus fleshy, convexo-plane, depressed in the middle, at length funnel-shaped, viscid, whitish, smoky about the margin. Flesh white, turning black when broken. Stem solid, stout, dusky, becoming blackened. Gills decurrent, crowded, unequal, dusky-whitish. In grassy places.

Spores papillose, 8µ W.G.S.; subglobose, rough, 8–9µ Massee.

New York. Our specimens agree with the description in every respect, except that the gills are not distant. Peck, 32d Rep.

Mild when raw, but with a heavy woody taste.

Cooked it makes a good dish, but does not equal most RussulÆ.

R. purpuri´na Quel. and Schulz.—purple. (Plate XLVa.) Pileus fleshy, margin acute, subglobose, then plane, at length depressed in the center, slightly viscid in very wet weather, not striate, often split, pellicle separable, rosy-pink, paling even to light yellow. Gills crowded in youth, afterward subdistant, white, in age yellowish, reaching the stem, 2–4 lines broad in front, not greatly narrowed behind, almost equal, not forked. Stem spongy, stuffed, very variable, cylindrical, attenuated above and below the middle, rosy-pink becoming paler (rarely white) toward the base, color obscure in age. Flesh fragile, white, reddish under the skin; odor slight, taste mild. Spores white, globose, sometimes sub-elliptical, 4–8µ long, minutely warted.

Pileus 1.5–2.5 in. across. Stem up to .4 in. thick, 1.2 in. long.

“This is a beautiful and very distinct species easily known by its red stem, mild taste and white spores.” Peck, 42d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

R. adus´ta Fr.—aduro, to scorch. Pileus pallid or whitish, grayish-sooty, equally fleshy, compact, depressed then somewhat infundibuliform, margin at first inflexed, smooth, then erect, without striÆ. Flesh unchangeable. Stem solid, obese, of the same color as the pileus. Gills adnate then decurrent, thin, crowded, unequal, white then dingy, not reddening when touched. Fries.

Spores subglobose, almost smooth, 8–9µ Massee.

In pine and mixed woods.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, in pine woods and in mixed woods. August to frost. McIlvaine.

R. adusta is solitary but often in small troops. It is easily recognized by the brownish blotches upon its cap, and the crowding of its thin gills.

The solid flesh must be well cooked. It is then of good flavor.

R. bre´vipes Pk.—brevis, short; pes, a foot. Pileus 3–5 in. broad, at first convex and umbilicate, then infundibuliform, dry, glabrous or slightly villose on the margin, white, sometimes varied with reddish-brown stains. Flesh whitish, taste mild, slowly becoming slightly acrid. LamellÆ thin, close, adnate or slightly rounded behind; white. Stem solid, white.

Spores globose, verruculose, 10–13µ.

Stem 6–10 lines long, 6–10 lines thick.

Sandy soil in pine woods. Quogue. September.

This species is related to Russula delica, but is easily distinguished by its short stem and crowded gills. The pileus also is not shining and the taste is tardily somewhat acrid. From Lactarius exsuccus it is separated by the character of the gills and the very short stem which is about as broad as it is long. The spores also are larger than in that species. The gills in the young plant are sometimes studded with drops of water. They are not clearly decurrent. Some of them are forked at the base. The pileus is but slightly raised above the surface of the ground and is generally soiled by adhering dirt and often marked by rusty or brownish stains. The plants grew in old roads in the woods where the soil had been trodden and compacted. Peck, 43d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, 1882; Pennsylvania, 1887–1894; New Jersey, 1892. Solitary in pine and hemlock woods, generally on bare, compact ground. August to October. McIlvaine.

This species is a sparse grower, but its good size and respectable numbers soon fill the basket. When fresh it is of good substance and flavor.

R. del´ica Fr.—delicus, weaned. (Milkless, juiceless in gills.) White. Pileus 3–5 in. broad, fleshy throughout, firm, umbilicate then infundibuliform, regular, everywhere even, smooth with a whitish luster, the involute margin without striÆ. Flesh firm, juiceless, not very thick, white. Stem curt, 1–2 in. long, ½ in. and more thick, solid, even, smooth, white. Gills decurrent, thin, distant, very unequal, white, exuding small watery drops in wet weather. Fries.

Spores minutely echinulate, white, broadly elliptical, 8–10×6–7µ Massee.

In appearance it resembles Lactarius vellereus and L. piperatus, but its gills do not distill milk or juice. It differs, too, in its mild taste. It is related to R. brevipes Pk.

A large, coarse species, cup-shaped at maturity. I have found it in several localities in Massachusetts in July and August. It is of fair quality cooked, but much inferior to R. virescens, etc. Macadam.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, in mixed woods, August to October. McIlvaine.

Edible. Taste mild. From the juiceless variety of L. vellereus its mild taste alone furnishes a separate character. Peck.

I have eaten it since 1882, but it is not a favorite. Its quality is fair.

R. sor´dida Pk.—dirty. (Plate XLIV, fig. 4, p. 184.) Pileus firm, convex, centrally depressed, dry, sordid-white, sometimes clouded with brown. Gills close, white, some of them forked. Stem equal, solid, concolorous. Spores globose, 7.5µ. Taste acrid. Flesh changing color when wounded, becoming black or bluish-black.

Plant 4–5 in. high. Pileus 3–5 in. broad. Stem 6–12 lines thick.

Ground under hemlock trees. Worcester. July.

It resembles L. piperatus in general appearance. The whole plant turns black in drying. Peck, 26th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Ohio, Morgan; Pennsylvania, Herbst; West Virginia, 1881–1885, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, pine, hemlock and mixed woods, July to September. McIlvaine.

It is of better quality than most coarse-grained RussulÆ.

R. furca´ta Fr.—furca, a fork. Pileus 3 in. broad, sometimes greenish, sometimes umber-greenish, fleshy, compact, gibbous then plano-depressed or infundibuliform, even, smooth, but often sprinkled with slightly silky luster, pellicle here and there separable, margin thin, at first inflexed, then spreading, always even. Flesh firm, somewhat cheesy, white. Stem 2 in. or a little more long, solid, firm, equal or attenuated downward, even, white. Gills adnato-decurrent, rather thick, somewhat distant but broad, attenuated at both ends, frequently forked, shining white. Fries.

Spores globose, echinulate, 6–7µ C.B.P.; 7–8×9µ Massee.

In woods, and grass under trees.

The frequently forked gills, from which the species takes its name, their being thick and slightly decurrent, help to distinguish it. It is quite common in its several varieties.

Taste mild at first. A slight bitter develops which disappears in cooking. It is then of good quality, not equal to R. virescens. Older writers marked it poisonous, doubtless for no other cause than its slight bitter. I have eaten it freely for fifteen years.

R. sangui´nea Fr.—sanguis, blood. Pileus 2–3 in. broad, blood-red or becoming pale round the even, spreading, acute margin, fleshy, firm, at first convex, obtuse, then depressed and infundibuliform and commonly gibbous in the center, polished, even, moist in damp weather. Flesh firm, cheesy, white. Stem stout, spongy-stuffed, at first contracted at the apex, then equal, slightly striate, white or reddish. Gills at first adnate, then truly decurrent, very crowded, very narrow, connected by veins, fragile, somewhat forked, shining white. Fries.

Spores 9–10µ diameter Massee.

In pine and mixed woods. July to October.

Color same as R. rubra but differs in its hard cheesy flesh, rigid, slightly yellowish gills in age. The gills of R. sanguinea are truly decurrent, and pointed in front.

Poisonous. Stevenson. Krapp says he has experienced grave inconveniences from eating it.

Myself and very many friends eat all fresh inviting RussulÆ. We do not discriminate against a single peppery or acrid species, not even the R. emetica which has been severely maligned. In fact the peppery RussulÆ are usually substantial in flesh and choice in substance.

The opinion of many is that R. sanguinea is one of the best. I have eaten it for years.

R. depal´lens Pers.—palleo, to be pale. Pileus 3–4 in. across, pallid-reddish or inclining to dingy-brown, etc., fleshy, firm, convex, then plane, more rarely depressed, but commonly irregularly shaped and undulated, even, the thin, adnate pellicle presently changing color, especially at the disk, the spreading margin even, but slightly striate when old. Flesh white. Stem about 1½ in. long, solid, firm, commonly attenuated downward, white, becoming cinereous when old. Gills adnexed, broad, crowded, distinct, but commonly forked at the base, often with shorter ones intermixed. Inodorous, taste mild. The color of the pileus is at first pallid-reddish, or inclining to brownish, then whitish or yellowish, opaque in every stage of growth. It approaches nearest to the HeterophyllÆ. Fries.

In beech woods, pastures, etc. August to September.

Spores subglobose, echinulate, 7–8µ Massee.

R. depallens somewhat resembles R. heterophylla. Both are edible. It is a solitary grower and not common, but when found it occurs in good quantity. It belongs to the best class of RussulÆ.

R. subdepal´lens Pk.—sub, de and palleo, to be pale. Pileus fleshy, at first convex and striate on the margin, then expanded or centrally depressed and tuberculate-striate on the margin, viscid, blood-red or purplish red, mottled with yellowish spots, becoming paler or almost white with age, often irregular. Flesh fragile, white, becoming cinereous with age, reddish under the cuticle, taste mild. LamellÆ broad, subdistant, adnate, white or whitish, the interspaces venose. Stem stout, solid but spongy within, persistently white.

Spores white, globose, rough, 8µ broad.

Pileus 3–6 in. broad. Stem 1.5–3 in. long, 6–12 lines thick.

Under a hickory tree. Trexlertown, Pa. June. W. Herbst.

Closely related to Russula depallens, from which it differs in having the margin of the pileus striate at first and more strongly so when mature, also in the pileus being spotted at first, the gills more distant, the stem persistently white and the spores white. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club. Vol. 23, No. 10. October, 1896.

I do not doubt its edibility. See R. depallens.

R. ochrophyl´la Pk.—ochra, a yellow earth; phyllon, a leaf. Pileus 2–4 in. broad, firm, convex becoming nearly plane or slightly depressed in the center, even or rarely very slightly striate on the margin when old, purple or dark purplish red. Flesh white, purplish under the adnate cuticle, taste mild. Gills entire, a few of them forked at the base, subdistant, adnate, at first yellowish, becoming bright ochraceous buff when mature, dusted by the spores, the interspaces somewhat venose. Stem equal or nearly so, solid or spongy within, reddish or rosy tinted, paler than the pileus. Spores bright ochraceous buff, globose-verruculose, 10µ broad.

The ochery-gilled Russula is a large fine species, but not a common one. It differs but little in color and size from the European pungent Russula, Russula drimeia, but it is easily distinguished from it by its mild taste.

The cap is dry, convex or a little depressed in the center, purple or purplish red, the white flesh purplish under the cuticle, which, however, is not easily separable.

The gills are nearly all entire, extending from the stem to the margin of the cap. They are therefore much closer together near the stem than at the margin. They are at first yellowish, but a bright ochraceous buff when mature. They are then dusted by the similarly colored spores.

The stem is stout, nearly cylindric, firm but spongy in the center and colored like the cap, but generally a little paler. There is a variety in which the stem is white and the cap deep red. In other respects it is like the typical form. Its name is Russula ochrophylla albipes.

The ochery-gilled Russula grows in groups under trees, especially oak trees, and should be sought in July and August. Peck, 51st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, July to September, McIlvaine.

Edible. Peck, 50th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Ri’gidÆ.

R. lac’tea Fr.—lac, milk. Pileus 2 in. broad, at the first milk-white, then tan-white, throughout compactly fleshy, bell-shaped, then convex, often excentric, without a pellicle, always dry, at the first even, then slightly cracked when dry, margin straight, thin, obtuse, even. Flesh compact, white. Stem 1½-2 in. long, 1½ in. thick, solid, very compact, but at length spongy-soft within, equal, even, always white. Gills free, very broad, thick, distant, rigid, forked, white. Fries.

Spores subglobose, echinulate, 7–9µ Massee.

Closely allied to R. albella Pk. from which it differs in its shorter stem, and pileus cracking into areolÆ, and gills not being entire.

In mixed woods, in patches, not common.

Botanic creek, West Philadelphia, Pa., patches, McIlvaine, 1887.

Edible and of good flavor. Macadam.

Raw, it has a raw, rather unpleasant taste and odor, a little like some acorns. But its firm, thick flesh, meaty gills and stem, and good flavor when well cooked, rank it equal to any.

R. albel’la Pk.—whitish. Pileus 2–3 in. broad, thin, fragile, dry, plane or slightly depressed in the center, even or obscurely striate on the margin, commonly white, sometimes tinged with pink or rosy-red, especially on the margin. Flesh white, taste mild. LamellÆ entire, white, becoming dusted by the spores. Stem 1–2 in. long, 3–4 lines thick, equal, solid or spongy within, white.

Spores white, globose, 7.6µ broad.

Dry soil of frondose woods. Port Jefferson. July.

Closely allied to R. lactea, but differing in its fragile texture, entire lamellÆ, more slender stem, and in the pileus not cracking into areas. Peck, 50th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

R. vires’cens Fr.—viresco, to be green. (Plate XLIV, fig. 6, p. 184.) Pileus green, compactly fleshy, globose then expanded, at length depressed, often unequal, always dry, not furnished with a pellicle, wherefore the flocculose cuticle is broken up into patches or warts, margin straight, obtuse, even. Flesh white, not very compact. Stem solid, internally spongy, firm, somewhat rivulose, white. Gills free, somewhat crowded, sometimes equal, sometimes forked, with a few shorter ones intermixed, white. Fries.

Taste mild; good, raw.

Spores scarcely echinulate, almost globular, 6µ W.G.S. Spores 8–10µ Massee; 6–7.6µ Peck.

Cap round when young, very hard, then convex or becoming dished, sometimes repand. It is without a separable skin, covered with various sized areas of mouldy looking patches which are at times distinctly cracked. The color varies from a bright bluish-green to grayish-green, such shades remind one of mouldy cheese or the shades of Roquefort; again the color may vary in shades of light leather brown, occasionally the caps are almost white, opaque in each shade of color. Flesh crisp, brittle, thick, white, mild, good raw. Gills and stem as described.

R. virescens is common in the United States but not generally plentiful. It is a solitary grower, usually but few are found in a patch. Striking in appearance when its green colors are present, and always clean looking and inviting. It sometimes attains the size of 5 in. across. It is a hot weather Russula and rarely appears before the latter part of June, then after rains.

To eat, it should be in a healthy, fresh condition. All RussulÆ impart a stale flavor if any part of gills or cap is wilting, drying or decaying. It requires forty minutes' slow stewing, or it can be dressed raw as a salad. Roasted or fried crisp in a hot buttered pan it is at its best. It should be well salted.

R. lep´ida Fr.—lepidus, neat, elegant. Pileus 3 in. broad, blood-red-rose, becoming pale, whitish especially at the disk, somewhat equally fleshy, convex then expanded, scarcely depressed, obtuse, opaque, unpolished, with a silky appearance, at length often cracked scaly, margin spreading, obtuse, without striÆ. Stem as much as 3 in. long, often 1 in. thick, even, white or rose-color. Gills rounded behind, rather thick, somewhat crowded, often forked, connected by veins, white, often red at the edge.

Taste mild; wholly compact and firm, but the flesh is cheesy, not somewhat clotted. The gills are often red at the edge, chiefly toward the margin, on account of the margin of the pileus being continuous with the gills. Fries.

Spores 8–10×6–8µ Syll.

Frequent. July to October, in mixed woods.

A common and variable species in size and color, but the cap is always some shade of rose-red or lake. The flesh is compact and cheesy. The gills sometimes edged with pink as they near the margin. Taste mild.

The crisp flesh of R. lepida requires forty minutes' slow stewing, if stewed. It yields a delicate pink shade to the dish. Roasted or cooked in a hot buttered pan it is excellent.

R. ru´bra Fr.—ruber, red. Pileus unicolorous, a cinnabar-vermilion, but becoming pale (tan) when old, disk commonly darker, compact, hard but fragile, convex, then flattened, here and there depressed, absolutely dry, without a pellicle, but becoming polished-even, often sinuously cracked when old, margin spreading, obtuse, even, always persistent. Flesh white, reddish under the cuticle. Stem 2–3 in. long, about 1 in. thick, solid, even, varying white and red. Gills obtusely adnate, somewhat crowded, whitish, then yellowish, with dimidiate and forked ones intermixed.

Very acrid, very hard and rigid, most distinct from all the others of this group in the pileus becoming polished-even, although without a pellicle, in the flesh being somewhat clotted, and in the very acrid taste. Gills often red at the edge. Fries.

Spores whitish, Fries; spheroid, 8–10µ K.

Krapp says he has experienced grave inconveniences from eating it. European authorities mark “poisonous.”

I do not hesitate to cook it either by itself or with other RussulÆ and serve it at my table. It is easier cooked than R. virescens and others of the crisp species, and has equal flavor.

R. LinnÆ´i Fr.—in honor of LinnÆus. Pileus 3–4 in. broad, unicolorous, dark purple, blood-red or bright rose, opaque, not becoming pale, everywhere fleshy, rigid, plano-depressed, sometimes spread upward, even, smooth, dry, without a separable pellicle, margin spreading, obtuse, without striÆ. Flesh thick, spongy-compact, white. Stem 1½ in. and more long, 1 in. and more thick, stout, firm, but spongy-soft within, somewhat ventricose, obsoletely reticulated with fibers, intensely blood-red. Gills adnate, somewhat decurrent, rather thick, not crowded, broad (more than ½ in.), fragile, sparingly connected by veins, white, becoming yellow when dry, with a few dimidiate ones intermixed, somewhat anastomosing behind. Fries.

Spores wholly white, Fries; ellipsoid, spheroid, echinulate, 11µ Q.; 9–11×8–9µ Massee.

West Virginia, 1881–1885. West Philadelphia, Pa., on Bartram’s Botanic creek. McIlvaine.

R. LinnÆi is one of our handsomest and best RussulÆ. European authors state its habit to be exactly that of R. emetica, but though I have known it intimately for many years I have not been struck with this in the American plant. Its large size, its more or less red stem never entirely white, at times hollow, cavernous, its less solid flesh, habit of growing in troops, sometimes parts of rings, flourishing best where the leaf mat is heaviest, loving the leaf drift in fence-corners, are well marked distinctions.

When young there is no better Russula. As it ages the stem becomes soft, spongy and should be thrown away. The caps, only, eaten.

R. oliva´cea Fr.—oliva, an olive; olivaceus, the color of an olive. Pileus 2–4 in. across, dingy-purple then olivaceous or wholly brownish-olivaceous, fleshy, convexo-flattened and depressed, slightly silky and squamulose, margin spreading, even. Flesh white, becoming somewhat yellow. Stem firm, ventricose, rose-color to pallid, spongy-stuffed within. Gills adnexed, wide, yellow, with shorter and forked ones intermixed.

Mild. Near to R. rubra, but certainly distinct in the stem being definitely spongy, in the pileus being unpolished, and in the gills being soft and brightly colored; corresponding with R. alutacea. Fries.

Spores light yellow, Fries; spheroid, punctate, 10µ Q.; globose, minutely granulate, yellow, 9–10µ diameter Massee.

Mt. Gretna, Pa., 1897–1898.

Pileus 2–4 in. across, 2–3 in. long, ½-? in. thick.

The caps are equally good with R. alutacea. They must be fresh, and similarly cooked.

R. fla´vida Frost—yellow. (Plate XLIV, fig. 3, p. 184.) Pileus fleshy, convex, slightly depressed, unpolished, bright yellow. Gills white, adnate, turning cinereous. Stem yellow, solid, white at the extreme apex. Frost Ms.

Pileus fleshy, convex, slightly depressed in the center, not polished, yellow, the margin at first even, then slightly striate-tuberculate. Gills nearly entire, venose-connected, white, then cinereous or yellowish. Stem firm, solid, yellow, sometimes white at the top.

Spores yellow, subglobose, 6.5–7.6µ in diameter. Flesh white, taste mild.

Plant 2–3 in. high. Pileus 2–3 in. broad. Stem 4–6 lines thick. Frost Mss.

Ground in woods. Sandlake. August. Peck, 32d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

R. flavida is showy, solitary and in patches. The stem when young and solid is equally good with the cap. Cooks in twenty-five minutes and is of good flavor.

R. ves´ca Fr.—vesco, to feed. Pileus red-flesh-color, disk darker, fleshy, slightly firm, plano-depressed, slightly wrinkled with veins, with a viscid pellicle, margin at length spreading. Flesh cheesy, firm, shining white. Stem solid, compact, externally rigid, reticulated and wrinkled in a peculiar manner, often attenuated at the base, shining white. Gills adnate, crowded, thin, shining white, with many unequal and forked ones intermixed, but scarcely connected by veins.

Of middle stature. Taste mild, pleasant. Fries.

Spores globose, echinulate, white, 9–10µ diameter. Massee.

In mixed woods. Common. August to frost.

R. vesca is frequent in woods or margins, and under trees in the open. It is especially fond of growing in the grass under lone chestnut trees. The caps seldom exceed 2-½ in. across.

It is one of the best.

R. cyanoxan´tha (Schaeff.) Fr. Gr—blue; Gr—yellow. (From the colors.) (Plate XLIV, fig. 1, p. 184.) Pileus 2–3 in. and more broad, lilac or purplish then olivaceous-green, disk commonly becoming pale often yellowish, margin commonly becoming azure-blue or livid purple, compact, convex then plane, then depressed or infundibuliform, sometimes even, sometimes wrinkled or streaked, viscous, margin deflexed then expanded, remotely and slightly striate. Flesh firm, cheesy, white, commonly reddish beneath the separable pellicle. Stem 2–3 in. long, as much as 1 in. thick, spongy-stuffed, but firm, often cavernous within when old, equal, smooth, even, shining white. Gills rounded behind, connected by veins, not much crowded, broad, forked with shorter ones intermixed, shining white.

Allied to R. vesca in its mild, pleasant taste and in other respects, but constantly different in the color of the pileus, which is very variable, whereas in R. vesca it is unchangeable. The peculiar combination of colors in the pileus, though very variable, always readily distinguishes it. Fries.

Spores 8–9µ, cystidia numerous, pointed, Massee; 8–10×6–8µ Sacc.

In mixed woods. Common. August to October.

Pronounced one of the best esculent species by all authorities.

R. heterophyl´la Fr. Gr—differing; Gr—a leaf. (Gills differing in length.) Pileus very variable in color, but never becoming reddish or purple, fleshy, firm, convexo-plane then depressed, even, polished, the very thin pellicle disappearing, margin thin, even or densely but slightly striate. Flesh white. Stem solid, firm, somewhat equal, even, shining white. Gills reaching the stem in an attenuated form, very narrow, very crowded, forked and dimidiate, shining white.

Taste always mild, as in R. cyanoxantha, from which it differs in its smaller stature, in the pileus being thinner, even, never reddish or purplish, with a thin closely adnate pellicle, in the stem being firm and solid, and in the gills being thin, very narrow, very crowded, etc. The apex of the stem is occasionally dilated in the form of a cup, so that the gills appear remote. Fries.

Spores echinulate, 5×7µ W.G.S.; 7–8µ diameter Massee.

Common. Woods. July to November.

Edible, of a sweet nutty flavor. Stevenson.

R. heterophylla is very common. Its smooth, even pileus, colored in some dingy shade of green, distinguishes it. It is much infested by grubs. Specimens for the table should be young and fresh. Wilted specimens are unpleasant.