Part 22

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.

=R. f[oe]´tens= Fr.—_f[oe]tens_, stinking. =Pileus= 4–5 in. and more broad, dingy yellow, often becoming pale, thinly fleshy, at first bullate, then expanded and depressed, covered with a pellicle which is adnate, not separable, and viscid in wet weather, margin broadly membranaceous, at the first bent inward _with ribs which are at length tubercular_. =Flesh= thin, _rigid_-fragile, pallid. =Stem= 2 in. and more long, ½-1 in. thick, stout, stuffed then hollow, whitish. =Gills= adnexed, crowded, connected by veins, with very many _dimidiate and forked_ ones intermixed, whitish, at the first _exuding watery drops_.

_Fetid._ _Taste acrid._ Very _rigid_, most distinct from all others in _its very heavy empyreumatic_ odor. In very dry weather the odor is often obsolete. The margin is more broadly membranaceous and hence marked with _longer furrows_ than in any other species. It differs from all the preceding ones in the gills at the first exuding watery drops. The gills become obsoletely light yellow, and dingy when bruised. _Fries._

=Pileus= fleshy, with a wide thin margin, hemispherical or convex, then expanded or depressed, viscid when moist, widely striate-tuberculate on the margin, dull pale yellow or straw color. =Lamellæ= rather broad, close, venose-connected, some of them forked, whitish. =Stipe= nearly cylindrical, whitish, hollow. =Spores= white. =Plant= sometimes cespitose.

=Height= 2–4 in.; breadth of pileus 2–3 in. =Stipe= 4–6 lines thick.

Pine woods. West Albany. October.

=Taste= mild at first, then slightly disagreeable. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

=Spores= minute, echinulate, almost globular, 8µ _W.G.S._; 8–10µ _Massee_.

In woods. Common. July to October.

Var. _granula´ta_ has the pileus rough with small granular scales. _Peck_, Rep. 39.

A very coarse and easily recognized species. Reckoned poisonous, though eaten by slugs. _W.G.S._

The verdict is against it. Both smell and taste are usually unpleasant. Cooked it retains its flavor, more closely resembling wild cherry bark than anything else. On two occasions I ate enough to convince me that it was not poisonous.

=R. el´egans= Bresad.—_elegans_, pretty. Mild at first, becoming acrid with age. =Pileus= 2–3 in. across. =Flesh= rather thick; convex then depressed; margin tuberculose and striate when old, viscid, bright rosy flesh-color, soon ochraceous at the circumference, everywhere densely granulated. =Gills= adnexed or slightly rounded, narrow behind, very much crowded, equal, rarely forked, whitish, becoming either entirely or here and there ochraceous-orange. =Stem= 1½-2 in. long, 5–7 lines thick, a little thickened at the base, rather rugulose, white, base ochraceous. =Flesh= white, turning ochraceous and acrid when old.

=Spores= 8–10µ diameter _Massee_.

Allied to R. vesca. Known by the bright rose-colored, densely granular pileus and tuberculose margin. When old the pileus is almost entirely ochraceous. _Massee._

Frequent in the West Virginia forests, 1881–1885. Chester county, Pa., 1887–1890. In mixed woods. July to September. _McIlvaine._

It differs from R. vesca in its cap being minutely granulated instead of streaked, and in becoming acrid with age.

The caps are of good quality, needing to be well cooked.

FRA´GILES.

* _Gills and spores white._

=R. eme´tica= Fr.—an emetic. (Plate XLIV, fig. 2, p. 184.) =Pileus= 3–4 in. broad, at first rosy then _blood-color_, tawny when old, sometimes becoming yellow and at length (in moist places) white, at first bell-shaped then flattened or depressed, polished, _margin_ at length _furrowed and tubercular_. =Flesh= _white, reddish under the separable pellicle_. =Stem= spongy-stuffed, stout, elastic when young, fragile when older, even, white or reddish. =Gills= somewhat _free_, broad, somewhat distant, shining white.

Handsome, regular, moderately firm, but fragile when full grown, _taste_ very _acrid_. _Fries._

=Spores= shining white, _Fries_; spheroid, echinulate, 8–10µ _K._; 7µ _W.G.S._

Maryland, _Miss Banning_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 22; Indiana, Illinois, _H.I. Miller_.

Said to act as its name implies as an emetic. Certainly poisonous. _Stevenson._

Krapp says he has himself experienced rare inconveniences from eating it. Preferred to others in Indiana and Illinois. _H.I. Miller_, 1898.

The varying reports upon R. emetica are quoted above. In 1881, in the West Virginia mountains, I began testing this Russula and soon found that it was harmless. At least twenty persons ate it in quantity, during its season, for four years. Yet, in my many published articles, I continued, out of regard for the opinions of others and in excess of caution, to warn against all bitter and peppery fungi. But from that time until the present I have eaten it, and I have made special effort to establish its innocence by getting numbers of my friendly helpers to eat it.

It was suggested by one of its prosecutors that perhaps I was mistaking another fungus for it. In October, 1898, I sent to Professor Peck a lot of the Russula I was eating. He wrote: “It seems to be R. emetica as you state. It certainly is hot enough for it.”

=R. pectina´ta= Fr.—_pecten_, a comb. =Pileus= 3 in. broad, at first gluey, _toast-brown_, then dry, becoming pale, tan, with the _disk_ always _darker_, fleshy, _rigid_, convex then flattened and depressed or concavo-infundibuliform (basin-shaped); margin thin, _pectinato-sulcate_ (deeply ribbed), here and there irregularly shaped. =Flesh= _white, light yellowish under the pellicle_, which is not easily separable. =Stem= curt, 3 in. long, ¾–1 in. thick, _rigid_, spongy-stuffed, longitudinally _slightly striate, shining white_, often attenuated at the base. =Gills= _attenuato-free_ behind, broader toward the margin, somewhat crowded, _equal_, simple, white.

Odor weak, but nauseous, approaching that of R. f[oe]tens. _Fries._

=Spores= 8–9µ diameter _Massee_.

New York, _Peck_, 43d Rep. West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. Common in woods, grassy, mossy places. July to frost. _McIlvaine._

Named from the furrows of the margin being like the teeth of a comb.

Both the appearance and smell of this Russula will detect it. The peculiar comb-like furrows of its margin, viscid or varnished-looking cap, and strong but more spicy smell than cherry-bark are noticeable.

It is edible, but so strong in flavor that a piece of one will spoil a dish if cooked with other kinds.

=R. ochroleu´ca= Fr. _Gr_—pale yellow; _Gr_—white. =Pileus= _yellow, becoming pale_, fleshy, flattened or depressed, polished, with an adnate pellicle, the spreading margin _becoming even_. =Stem= spongy, stuffed, firm, _slightly reticulato-wrinkled, white, becoming cinereous_. =Gills= _rounded behind_, united, broad, _somewhat equal_, white becoming pale.

Odor obsolete, but pleasant. The pileus is never reddish. It agrees wholly with R. emetica in structure and stature, as well as in the _acrid taste_; it differs however in the stem being slightly recticulato-wrinkled, white becoming cinereous, in the adnate pellicle of the pileus, in the margin remaining for a long time _even_ (remotely striate, but not tubercular, only when old), and in the gills being rounded behind and becoming pale. The color of the pileus is constant. The gills remain _free_ and do not exude drops. _Fries._

=Cap= 2–4 in. across. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, up to ¾ in. thick.

=Spores= papillose, 7µ _W.G.S._, 8×9µ _Massee_.

Frequent in woods. July to October.

Not as common as R. emetica, yet frequently found, usually solitary, at times gregarious. It is quite peppery, but loses pepperiness in cooking. Myself and others have frequently eaten it.

=R. ci´trina= Gillet—_citrina_, citron colored. =Mild.= =Pileus= 2–3 in. across, slightly fleshy at the disk, margin thin; convex then more or less expanded and slightly depressed, rather viscid when moist, smooth, slightly wrinkled at the margin when old, bright lemon-yellow, color usually uniform, sometimes paler at the margin, occasionally with a greenish tint, center of pileus at length becoming pale-ochraceous; pellicle separable. =Gills= slightly decurrent, broadest a short distance from the margin, and gradually becoming narrower towards the base, forked at the base and also sometimes near the middle, white, 1½ lines deep at broadest part. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, about 4 lines thick, equal or slightly narrowed at the base, slightly wrinkled, straight or very slightly waved, solid.

=Spores= subglobose, echinulate, 8µ diameter.

In woods.

Known by the clear lemon-yellow or citron-colored pileus and the persistently white gills and stem. The taste is mild at first, but becomes slightly acrid if kept in the mouth for a short time. _Massee._

R. citrina can hardly be classed among the acrid species. The taste is slightly of cherry-bark and disappears in cooking. It is usually found in patches which contain ten to twenty individuals. It is a species of fair quality.

=R. fra´gilis= Fr.—fragile. =Pileus= 1–1½ in. broad, rarely more, flesh-color, changing color, very thin, fleshy only at the disk, at the first convex and often umbonate, then plane and depressed, pellicle thin, becoming pale, slightly viscid in wet weather; _margin_ very thin, _tuberculoso-striate_. =Stem= 1½-2 in. long, spongy within, soon hollow, often slightly striate, white. =Gills= slightly adnexed, very _thin, crowded_, broad, _ventricose_, all equal, shining white. _Fries._

Very acrid. Smaller and more fragile than the rest of the group, directly changing color. The color is variable, often opaque, typically flesh-color, when changed in color white externally and internally, often with reddish spots. Among varieties of color is to be noted a livid flesh-colored form, with the disk becoming fuscous.

It is not easy to define it from fragile forms of R. emetica, but the gills are much more crowded, thinner, and often slightly eroded at the edge, ventricose; the pileus thinner and more lax, etc. _Stevenson._

Var. _nivea_ Fr.—_nivea_, snowy. Whole plant white.

=Spores= minutely echinulate 8–10×8µ _Massee_.

Though one of the peppery kind, I have not, after fifteen years of eating it, had reason to question its edibility. The caps are not meaty, but what there is of them is good.

=R. puncta´ta= Gillet—_punctata_, dotted. =Mild.= =Pileus= 1½-2½ in. across. =Flesh= thin, white, reddish under the cuticle; convex then flattened, viscid, rosy, disk darkest, punctate with dark reddish point-like warts, pale when old; margin striate. =Gills= slightly adnexed, 2 lines broad, white then yellowish, edge often reddish. =Stem= about 1 in. long, 4–5 lines thick, attenuated and whitish at the base, remainder colored like the pileus, stuffed.

=Spores= 8–9µ diameter _Massee_.

Among grass.

Edible. Boston Myc. Club Bull. 1896.

** _Gills and spores white then yellowish or bright lemon._

=R. in´tegra= Fr.—_integer_, entire, whole. =Pileus= 4–5 in. across, typically red, changing color, fleshy, campanulato-convex then expanded and depressed, fragile when full-grown, with a gluey pellicle, at length _furrowed and somewhat tubercular_ at the margin. =Flesh= _white_, sometimes yellowish above. =Stem= at first short, conical, then club-shaped or _ventricose_, as much as 3 in. long, up to 1 in. thick, spongy-stuffed, commonly stout, _even_, shining _white_. =Gills= somewhat free, very broad, up to ¾ in., equal or bifid at the stem, somewhat distant, connected by veins, pallid-white, at length light yellow, _somewhat powdered yellow with the spores_.

_Taste mild_, often astringent. The most changeable of all species, especially in the color of the pileus which is typically red, but at the same time inclining to azure-blue, bay-brown, olivaceous, etc. Sometimes the gills are sterile and remain white. _Fries._

=Spores= ellipsoid-spheroid or spheroid echinulate, globose, rough, 8–9µ _C.B.P._; 9–10µ diameter, pale ochraceous. _Massee._

It is difficult to separate R. integra from R. alutacea. The spores usually show upon the gills as pale dull yellow powder. It is of equal excellence.

=R. decolo´rans= Fr.—_de_ and _coloro_, to color. =Pileus= 3–5 in. broad, color various, at first orange-red, then light yellow and becoming pale, fleshy, spherical then expanded and depressed, remarkably regular, viscid when moist, thin and at length striate at the margin. =Flesh= _white, but becoming somewhat cinereous_ when broken, and more or less _variegated with black spots_ when old. =Stem= _elongated_, 3–5 in., cylindrical, solid, but spongy within, often _wrinkled-striate, white then becoming cinereous_ especially within. =Gills= adnexed, often in pairs, thin, crowded, fragile, white then yellowish.

_Taste mild._ Colors changeable according to a fixed rule, but not variable. The gills are not ochraceous-pulverulent as in R. integra, nor shining and pure yellow as in R. aurata, etc. _Fries._

=Spores= yellow, 8.3µ _Morgan_.

New York, _Peck_, 23d Rep. Angora, West Philadelphia, Pa., 1897, in mixed woods. August to October. _McIlvaine._

Esculent and of good quality. _Morgan._

Meals of it make one regret its scarcity.

=R. basifurca´ta= Pk.—forked near stem. =Pileus= 2–3 in. broad, firm, convex, umbilicate, becoming somewhat funnel form, glabrous, slightly viscid when moist, the thin pellicle scarcely separable except on the margin, dingy-white, sometimes tinged with yellow or reddish-yellow, the margin nearly even. =Lamellæ= rather close, narrowed toward the base, adnate or slightly emarginate, many of them forked near the base, a few short ones intermingled, white becoming yellowish. =Stem= 8–12 lines long, 5–6 lines thick, firm, solid, becoming spongy within, white.

=Spores= elliptical, pale yellow, uninucleate or shining, 9×6.5µ. =Flesh= white, taste mild, then bitterish.

Dry hard ground in paths and wood roads. Canoga, N.Y. July.

This species closely resembles pale forms of R. furcata, from which it is separated by the absence of any silky micor and by the yellowish color and elliptical shape of the spores and by the yellowish hue of the lamellæ. _Peck_, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Mt. Gretna, Pa., September, 1898, to frost. Gravelly ground. Solitary. Gills adnate. Identified as his species by Professor Peck.

The slight bitterish taste disappears in cooking. It is edible and of fair quality.

=R. aura´ta= Fr.—_aurum_, gold. =Pileus= 2–3 in. broad, varying _lemon-yellow, orange and red_, disk darker, fleshy, _rigid_, brittle however, hemispherical then plane, disk not depressed, pellicle thin, adnate, viscid in wet weather, _margin even_, and slightly striate only when old, but sometimes wrinkled. =Flesh= _lemon-yellow_ under the pellicle, white below. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, solid, _firm_, but spongy within, cylindrical, obsoletely striate, white or lemon-yellow. =Gills= rounded free, connected by veins, broad, equal, shining, never pulverulent, whitish inclining to light yellow, but vivid _lemon-yellow at the edge_. _Fries._

West Virginia, 1881–1885; Pennsylvania, 1887–1898. In woods under pines. July to October. _McIlvaine._

Pileus sometimes depressed in center, very viscid when wet.

A troop of this Russula upon brown wood mat is a pretty sight. Its rich and brightly-colored cap attracts the eye from a distance. The yellow edge of its gills is the distinctive mark of the species.

The smell is pleasant, the taste slightly of cherry bark.

Cooked it is one of the best Russulæ.

=R. atropurpu´rea= Pk.—_atre_, black; _purpureus_, purple. Dark purple Russula. =Pileus= 3–4 in. broad, at first convex, then centrally depressed, glabrous, dark purple, blackish in the center, the margin even or slightly striate. =Flesh= white, grayish or grayish-purple under the separable pellicle, taste mild, odor of the drying plant fetid, very unpleasant. =Lamellæ= nearly equal, subdistant, sometimes forked near the stem, at first white, then yellowish, becoming brownish where bruised. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 5–8 lines thick, equal, glabrous, spongy within, white, brownish where bruised. =Spores= subglobose, minutely rough, pale ochraceous with a salmon tint, 8–10µ.

Open woods. Gansevoort. July.

In color this species resembles R. variata, but in other respects it is very different. It is very distinct in the peculiar color of its spores, and in the brownish hue assumed by wounds. _Peck_, 41st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Philadelphia, Pa. July, 1897. Open woods. Solitary. Philadelphia Myc. Center.

Many were eaten and enjoyed. Only fresh plants are acceptable, and they should be cooked as soon as gathered. Even in wilting they become unpleasant.

*** _Gills and spores ochraceous._

=R. aluta´cea= Fr.—_aluta_, tanned leather. =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad, commonly bright blood-color or _red_, even black-purple, but becoming pale, especially at the disk, fleshy, bell-shaped then convex, flattened and somewhat umbilicate, even, _with a remarkably sticky pellicle, margin thin, at length striate, tubercular_. =Flesh= _snow-white_. =Stem= 2 in. long, solid, stout, equal, even, white, most frequently _variegated-reddish_, even purple. =Gills= at first free, _thick, very broad_, connected by veins, all equal, somewhat distant, at first pallid light yellow, then bright ochraceous, not pulverulent.

It is distinguished from R. integra by its gills not being pulverulent. _Fries._

=Spores= yellow 7–9µ _Massee_; 11–14×8–10µ _Sacc._, _Syll_.

July to frost. _McIlvaine._

R. alutacea is easily recognized among Russulæ by its mild taste and broad yellow gills. In young specimens one sometimes has to look at the gills at an angle to detect the yellow. It is quite common but a solitary grower. It is everywhere eaten as a favorite. Only fresh plants yield a good flavor. When the stem is soft, it should be thrown away.

=R. puella´ris= Fr. (Plate XLIV, fig. 7, p. 184.) =Mild.= =Pileus= 1–1½ in. across, flesh almost membranaceous except the disk; conico-convex then expanded, at first rather gibbous, then slightly depressed, scarcely viscid, color peculiar, purplish-livid then yellowish, disk always darker and brownish; tuberculosely striate, often to the middle. =Gills= adnate but very much narrowed behind, thin, crowded, white then pale-yellow, not shining nor powdered with the spores. =Stem= 1–1½ in. long, 2–4 lines thick, equal, soft, fragile, wrinkled under a lens, white or yellowish; stuffed, soon hollow; taste mild.

=Spores= subglobose, pale-yellow, echinulate, 10×8–9µ _Massee_.

In woods.

Among the most frequent and readily recognized of species, occurring in troops. Always small, thin, taste mild. Allied to R. nitida, but more slender; color paler, and not shining. _Fries._

Distinguished from R. nitida and R. nauseosa by the absence of smell. _Massee._

Var. _inten´sior_ Cke. Nearly the same size as the typical form; pileus deep purple, nearly black at the disk.

The stem has a tendency to become thickened at the base, and turns yellowish when touched.

Var. _rose´ipes_ Sec., given by Massee, has been retained as a distinct species by Professor Peck, Rep. 51, and is described in place. R. pusilla Pk., 50th Rep., is closely allied to it.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina. Common in woods and under trees in short grass. July to September. _McIlvaine._

This little Russula is ubiquitous. It does not amount to much when other fungi are plenty, because of its very thin cap, but it thrives in all sorts of summer weather. When its companions are scarce or parched R. puellaris is gladly gathered by the mycophagist, its numbers making up for its lightness and lack of flavor.

=R. pusil´la= Pk.—little. =Pileus= very thin, nearly plane or slightly and umbilicately depressed in the center, glabrous, slightly striate on the margin, red, sometimes a little darker in the center, the thin pellicle separable. =Flesh= white, taste mild. =Lamellæ= broad for the size of the plant, subventricose, subdistant, adnate or slightly rounded behind, white, becoming yellowish-ochraceous in drying. =Stem= short, soft, solid or spongy within, white.

=Spores= faintly tinged with yellow, 7.6µ broad.

=Pileus= scarcely 1 in. broad. =Stem= 6–12 lines long, 2–3 lines thick.

Bare ground in thin woods. Port Jefferson. July.

The coloring matter of the pileus may be rubbed upon paper and produce on it red stains if the surface is previously moistened with water or dilute alcohol. This is one of the smallest Russulas known to me. The pileus was less than an inch broad and the stem less than an inch long in all the specimens seen by me. The species is closely allied to R. puellaris, and especially resembles the variety intensior in color. It differs in its smaller size, even or but slightly striate margin, broad lamellæ and in the stem or flesh not becoming yellowish spotted where touched. _Peck_, 50th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, 1881–1885. Pennsylvania, 1896–1897. July to September. _McIlvaine._

It makes up in quality what it lacks in quantity.