Part 17
=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._
**** _Gills decurrent. Stem lateral, etc._
=P. ostrea´tus= Jacq.—_ostrea_, an oyster. (Plate XXXV, p. 134, XXXV_a_, 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.
FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.
1. HYGROPHORUS PRATENSIS (WHITE 5. HYGROPHORUS VAR.), 152 CANTHARELLUS, 156
2. HYGROPHORUS PRATENSIS (COLORED 6. HYGROPHORUS VIRGINEUS, VAR.), 152 153
3. HYGROPHORUS PRATENSIS (AFTER 7. HYGROPHORUS NIVEUS, RAIN), 152 153
4. HYGROPHORUS MINIATUS, 159
HYGROPH´ORUS Fr.
_Gr._—moist; _Gr._—to bear.
(Plate XXXVIII.)
=Pileus= regular or undulated and wavy, often viscid or moist. =Flesh= of the pileus continuous with that of the stem and descending as a trama into the gills. =Gills= adnate or adnexed, more or less decurrent, _waxy_, often thick and forked, _edge always thin and sharp_, often branched.
On the ground. Many species are brightly colored. =Spores= white.
This genus differs from the preceding genera in the manifest trama, the substance of which is similar to that of the pileus; from Lactarius and Russula by the trama not being vesicular, but somewhat floccose with granules intermixed; from Cantharellus, its nearest ally, by the sharp edge of the gills. The Cortinarii, Paxilli and Gomphidii are at once distinguished from it by their colored spores and the changing color of their gills, as well as by other marks. From all the other genera of Agaricini it is distinguished by a mark peculiar to itself, viz., by the hymeneal stratum of the gills changing into a waxy mass, which is at length removable from the trama. This altogether singular character is specially remarkable in H. caprinus, coccineus, murinaceus, etc. Hence the gills seem full of watery juice, but they do not become milky like those of the Lactarii. _Fries._
From the description by Fries, the author of the genus, it is manifest that one has to wait the ripening of the fungus before the peculiar characteristic mark of the genus, _i. e._—gills turning into a waxy mass, easily removable from the cap—can be observed. Many of the species are difficult to determine when fresh. Nevertheless, there is an indescribable, watery, waxy, translucent appearance about the gills which catches the eye of the expert, and is soon learned by the novice. The white spores readily separate the genus from kindred shapes in the colored-spored genera.
So far as tested none of the species is poisonous. One English species is fetid. It is probable that they are all edible, varying in quality only. Fries well, and is superior in croquettes and patties.
ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.
LIMACIUM (_limax_, a slug). Page 148.
Universal veil viscid, with occasionally a floccose partial one, which is annular or marginal.
* White or becoming yellowish.
** Reddish.
*** Tawny or yellow.
**** Olivaceous-umber.
***** Dingy cinereous or livid.
None known to be edible.
CAMAROPHYLLUS (_Gr._—a vault; a leaf). Page 152. (From the arched shape of the gills.)
Veil none. Stem even, smooth or fibrillose, not rough with points. Pileus firm, opaque, moist after rain, not viscid. Gills distant, arcuate.
* Gills deeply and at length obconically decurrent.
** Gills ventricose, sinuately arcuate or plano-adnate.
HYGROCYBE (_Gr_—moist; _Gr_—the head). Page 155.
Veil none. Whole fungus thin, watery, succulent, fragile. Pileus when moist viscid, shining when dry, rarely floccoso-scaly. Stem hollow, soft, without dots. Gills soft. Most of the species are brightly colored and shining. This tribe is the type of the genus.
* Gills decurrent.
** Gills adnexed, somewhat separating.
LIMA´CIUM.
* _White or yellowish-white._
=H. chry´sodon= Fr. _Gr_—gold; a tooth. From tooth-like squamules. =Pileus= 2–3 in. broad, _white_, shining when dry, but commonly yellowish with minute adpressed squamules at the disk, light yellow-_flocculose at the involute margin_, fleshy, convex then plane, obtuse, viscid. =Flesh= white, sometimes reddish. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, about ½ in. thick, stuffed, soft, somewhat equal (sometimes, however, irregularly shaped or thickened at the base), white, with minute _light yellow squamules_, which are more crowded and arranged in the form of a ring _toward the apex_. =Gills= decurrent, distant, 3 lines broad, thin, white, somewhat yellowish at the edge, sometimes crisped.
Odor not unpleasant. There is a manifest _veil_, not woven into a continuous ring, but _collected in the form of floccose squamules at the apex of the stem and the margin of the pileus_. Var. leucodon with white squamules. _Fries._
In woods.
The lamellæ are said to be crisped, and when young, to have the edge yellow-floccose; but I have seen no such specimens. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
=Spores= 8×4µ _Cooke_.
West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. _McIlvaine._
A pleasant, excellent species, whose rarity is regrettable.
=H. ebur´neus= Bull. Fr.—_ebur_, ivory. Wholly _shining white_. =Pileus= fleshy, sometimes thin, sometimes somewhat compact, convexo-plane, somewhat repand, even, _very glutinous_ in rainy weather, _margin soon naked_. =Stem= sometimes short, sometimes elongated, stuffed then hollow, unequal, _glutinous_ like the pileus, _rough at the apex with dots in the form of squamules_. =Gills= decurrent, distant, veined at the base, 3–4 lines broad, tense and straight, quite entire. _Fries._
Odor mild, not unpleasant. Very changeable. The veil is absent, unless the _very plentiful gluten_ which envelops the stem be regarded as a universal veil; _margin of the young pileus_ involute, only at the first _pubescent_, _soon naked_. The stem is soft internally, at length hollow, attenuated toward the base.
In woods and pastures. Frequent. September to October. _Stevenson._
The whole plant is pure white when fresh, but in drying the gills assume a cinnamon-brown hue. _Peck_, Rep. 26.
=Spores= 6×5µ _Cooke_; 4×5µ _W.G.S._; 5–6µ _K._; 6×4µ _C.B.P._
A common and wide-spread species frequenting woods and pastures.
Edible. _Curtis._
The author ate it in West Virginia, in 1882; at Devon, Pa., 1887; Haddonfield, N.J., 1890. It is well flavored but in texture is not of first quality.
=H. pena´rius= Fr.—_penus_, food. =Pileus= _tan-color, opaque_, fleshy, especially when young, at first umbonate, then very obtuse, hemispherical then flattened, even, smooth, _commonly dry_, margin at first involute, exceeding the gills, undulated when flattened. =Flesh= thick, hard, whitish, unchangeable. =Stem= curt, 1½ in. or more long, about ½ in. thick at the apex, _solid, compact_, hard, _attenuated at the base into a spindle-shaped root_, ventricose to the neck, again attenuated upward or wholly fusiform-attenuated, pale-white, smeared with tenacious, easily dried slime, _warty_. =Flesh= firm, but _externally more rigid_, cuticle somewhat fragile. =Veil= not conspicuous. =Gills= adnato-decurrent, acute behind, _distant, thick_, 3–4 lines broad, veined, tan inclining to pale. _Fries._
Odor pleasant, taste sweet. The fusiform root is as long as the stem.
In mixed woods. _Stevenson._
=Spores= 7–8×4–5µ.
Edible. _Cooke_.
Large specimens occurred in mixed woods, in November, 1898, at Mt. Gretna. The caps varied from 1½-5 in. across. The color was white, tinged with yellow, much lighter than described. The caps look coarse and the stems are not inviting; but the caps have a pleasant odor. When stewed for twenty minutes they are meaty and tasty.
** _Reddish._
=H. erubes´cens= Fr.—_erubesco_, to become red. =Pileus= 2–4 in. and more broad, white becoming everywhere red, fleshy, gibbous then convexo-plane, viscid, _adpressedly dotted with squamules or becoming smooth_, sometimes wholly compact, sometimes thin towards the _margin which is at the first naked_. =Flesh= firm, white. =Stem= sometimes short, robust, 2 in. long, 1 in. thick and attenuated upward, sometimes elongated, 4 in. long, equal or attenuated at the base, _solid_, flexuous, _with red fibrils, dotted with red upward_. =Gills= decurrent, distant, _soft, white, with red spots_. _Fries._
Veil none. The ground color is white, as it is also internally, but it everywhere becomes red and the pileus often rosy blood-color. Handsome, growing in troops, commonly forming large lax circles.
In pine woods. _Stevenson._
=Spores= ellipsoid, very obtuse at both ends, 8–10×4–5µ _K_.; 8×4µ _Cooke_.
Edible. _Cooke._
*** _Tawny or yellow._
=H. ni´tidus= B. and Rav.—_shining_. =Pileus= thin, fleshy, convex, broadly umbilicate, smooth, shining, viscid, pale yellow with the margin striatulate when moist, nearly white when dry. =Gills= arcuate, decurrent, yellow. =Stem= slender, brittle, smooth, viscid, hollow, yellow. =Flesh= yellow.
=Height= 2–4 in., breadth of =Pileus= 8–12 lines. =Stem= 1–2 lines thick.
Swamps. Sandlake. August.
The cavity of the stem is very small. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Found in many states and places, usually on moist ground beside streams, or spring heads. It sometimes parades itself in irregular processions, at others in sparse patches. It is delicate in flavor, and tender cooked.
**** _Olivaceous-umber._
=H. limaci´nus= Fr.—_limax_, a slug. =Pileus= 1½-2½ in. broad, _disk umber then sooty_, paler round the margin, fleshy, convex then flattened, obtuse, smooth, viscid. =Flesh= rather firm, white. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, ½ in. thick, _solid_, firm, ventricose, _sticky_, flocculose, fibrilloso-striate, _roughened with squamules at the apex_. =Gills= adnate, then decurrent, somewhat distant, thin, _white inclining to ash-color_. _Fries._
Veil entirely viscous, not floccose.
In woods among damp leaves. _Stevenson._
=Spores= 12×4µ _Cooke_.
New York, _Peck_, Rep. 34. Thin woods and open places.
Reported edible Bulletin No. 5, 1897, Boston Mycological Club.
=H. hypoth´ejus= Fr. _Gr._—under; _Gr_—sulphur (under gluten). =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad, _at first smeared with olivaceous gluten_, ash-colored, when the gluten disappears, becoming pale and yellowish, orange or rarely (when rotting) rufescent, fleshy, _thin_, convex then depressed, _obtuse_, even, somewhat streaked. =Flesh= thin, white then becoming light yellow. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, 2–3 lines and more thick, _stuffed_, equal, _even, viscous_, but rarely spotted with the veil, at length hollow. Partial _veil_ floccose, at the first _cortinate and annular, soon fugacious_. =Gills= decurrent, _distant_, distinct, at first pallid (even whitish) soon _yellow_, sometimes flesh-color. _Fries._
Very protean, changeable in color and variable in size. Stem not scabrous. There is no trace of the veil when the plant is full grown. Appearing after the first cold autumn nights, and lasting even till snow.
In pine woods. Frequent. _Stevenson._
=Spores= 10×6µ _Cooke_; 12×4µ _W.G.S._
Hollis Webster, in Bulletin No. 5, 1897, Boston Mycological Club, writes: “H. hypothejus Fr., when dried, is crisp and nutty, and very good to carry in the pocket for occasional nibble.”
II.—CAMAROPHYL´LUS.
* _Gills deeply decurrent, etc._
=H. praten´sis= Fr.—_pratum_, a meadow. (Plate XXXVII, figs. 1, 2, 3, p. 146. Plate XXXVIII, p. 147.) =Pileus= 1–2 in. and more broad, somewhat pale yellowish, _compactly fleshy especially at the disk, thin toward the margin_, convex then flattened, _almost top-shaped_ from the stem being thickened upward, even, smooth, moist (but not viscous) in rainy weather, when dry often rimosely incised, here and there split regularly round. =Flesh= firm, white. =Stem= 1½-2 in. long, ½ in. and more thick, _stuffed_, internally spongy, externally polished-evened and firmer, _attenuated downward_, even, smooth, naked. =Gills= _remarkably decurrent_, at _first arcuate, then extended in the form of an inverted cone_, very distant, thick, firm, brittle, connected by veins at the base, very broad in the middle, of the same color as the pileus. _Fries._
Very protean. Veil none. The flesh of the pileus is formed as it were of the stem dilated upward. The typical form resembles the Cantharelli. _Everywhere becoming light yellow-tawny_, but varying with the stem and gills pale-white.
In pastures. Common. _Stevenson._
=Spores= 6×4µ _Cooke_; 6–10×4–6µ _K._
Common over the United States. West Virginia, 1881, North Carolina, 1890, Pennsylvania, 1887, Mt. Gretna, 1897–1898. _McIlvaine._
Gregarious, and often in tufts, sometimes in partial rings.
An exceedingly variable species. White, buff, smoky, pinkish colors are common. The cap shapes are also diverse. The margins of some are incurved; of others repand. The weather seems to have much to do with their shapes.
M.C. Cooke says: “It requires careful cooking, as it is liable to be condemned as tough, unless treated slowly, but it is a great favorite abroad.” He calls them “Buff Caps.”
All fungi are the better for slow cooking. The H. pratensis in all its forms is excellent, but particularly so in croquettes and patés.
=H. virgin´eus= Fr.—_virgo_, a virgin. (Plate XXXVII, fig. 6, p. 146.) _Wholly white._ =Pileus= fleshy, convex then plane, _obtuse_, moist, _at length depressed_, cracked into patches, floccose when dry. =Stem= _curt, stuffed, firm_, attenuated at the base, externally becoming even and naked. =Gills= decurrent, distant, rather thick. _Fries._
=Flesh= sometimes equal, sometimes abruptly thin. Commonly confounded with H. niveus, but it is more difficult to distinguish it from white forms of H. pratensis. It is distinguished chiefly by its smaller stature, by the color being constantly white, sometimes becoming pale, by the _obtuse pileus_ being scarcely turbinate, _at length cracked into patches and floccose when dry_, and by the gills being thinner, etc.
In pastures. Common. _Stevenson._
=Spores= 12×5–6µ _Cooke_.
Tastes like M. oreades. _M.J.B._ Delicious broiled or stewed. _Cooke._