Part 20

=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.

*** GLABRA´TI. _Pileus smooth._

=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.

(Plate XLII.)

=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, ⅓-½ 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.

(Plate XLIII.)

=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.

FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE. 1. RUSSULA CYANOXANTHA, 198 5. RUSSULA ROSEIPES, 209 2. RUSSULA EMETICA, 201 6. RUSSULA VIRESCENS, 194 3. RUSSULA FLAVIDA, 197 7. RUSSULA PUELLARIS, 208 4. RUSSULA SORDIDA, 190

RUS´SULA Pers.

Reddish.

(Plate XLV.)

=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.

ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.

I.—COMPACTÆ (_compingo_, to put together; compact). Page 187.

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.

II.—FURCATÆ (_furca_, a fork. With _forked_ gills). Page 191.

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.

III.—RIGIDÆ (_rigidus_, rigid). Page 194.

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.

IV.—HETEROPHYLLÆ (_R. heterophylla_, the typical species

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.

V.—FRAGILES (_fragilis_, fragile or brittle). Page 201.

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.