Part 24

=M. u´rens= Fr.—_uro_, to burn. =Pileus= 2–3 in. broad, unicolorous, pale yellowish, _becoming pale_, slightly fleshy, _moderately compact at the disk, even_, but here and there scaly or cracked in wavy lines when dry, smooth, the thin margin involute. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 3 lines thick, _solid_, composed of crisp tough fibers, rigid, equal, sometimes however ventricose, ½ in. thick, _everywhere clothed with white flocci, pale_, white-downy at the base. =Gills= free, united behind, _at length remote_ from the stem, _distant_, tough, at first pale-wood-color, _then brown_.

Gregarious, somewhat cespitose. _Taste very stinging._ The stem is not strigosely sheathed at the base. _Fries._

In mixed woods. Frequent. June to September.

A curious form occurred with the pileus turning very dark when full-grown. _B. and Br._ POISONOUS. Worthington Smith has tested it by accident. It produced headache, swimming of brain, burning in throat and stomach, followed by severe purging and vomiting. _Stevenson._

Gregarious or cespitose. Taste very pungent, a feature which separates the present from M. oreades. Not coarsely tomentose at the base, as in M. peronatus, but only downy. _Massee._

=Spores= 3×4µ _W.G.S._; elliptical, 8×4µ _Massee_.

Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia. _McIlvaine._

I have not known it to disagree with myself or friends. That it may not agree with some persons is unquestioned. Collectors should carefully test it upon themselves.

=M. perona´tus= Fr.—_pero_, a kind of boot. =Pileus= 1–2 in. and more broad, light yellowish or pallid brick-red, then becoming pale, _wood-color_ or tan, at first fleshy-pliant, then _coriaceo-membranaceous_, convex then plane, obtuse, flaccid, slightly wrinkled, even at the disk, _at length pitted, striate at the margin_. =Flesh= white. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 1–2 lines thick, stuffed, fibrous, tough, attenuated upward, _at length hollow_ and compressed, _furnished with a bark_, light yellow then pallid, _cuticle villous_ but separating and reddish when rubbed, somewhat incurved at the base, where it is _clothed with dense, somewhat strigose_, yellowish or white _villous down_. =Gills= _adnexed, then separating_, free, moderately _thin_, and _crowded_, when young whitish, _pallid wood-color_, at length somewhat remote, reddish.

_B._ Woolly sheathed at the base. Taste acrid like that of M. urens, odor none. _Fries._

In woods. Common. _Stevenson._

=Spores= pip-shaped, 7×4µ _W.G.S._; 10×6–7µ _Massee_.

New York. Thin woods. North Elba. August. September. _Peck_, 42d Rep.; West Virginia, June to December, West Philadelphia and Mt. Gretna, Chester county, Pa. _McIlvaine._

M. peronatus is the wood-cousin of M. oreades. It is still reputed poisonous by all writers upon the subject, though M.C. Cooke gives it the benefit of a doubt. The name is given because of the base of the stem being densely covered with short hairs or a woolly down, and is thus easily recognized. It is common in woods, among decaying leaves, especially of the oak, from May until after frosts. It is usually solitary, but a few individuals are sometimes clustered. It is quite peppery to the taste, but pleasantly so. I have repeatedly eaten it, as have my friends. It loses its acridity in cooking, and though the caps are tougher than M. oreades, they make a highly flavored and delicious dish. Collectors should carefully test it for themselves.

** _Stem naked at the base, etc._

=M. ore´ades= Fr. _Gr_—mountain-nymphs. Scotch bonnet. Champignon. Mousseron. (Plate LI, p. 221.) =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad, _reddish then becoming pale, absorbing moisture, whitish when dry, fleshy_, pliant, convex then plane, somewhat umbonate, even, smooth, slightly striate at the margin when moist. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 1½ lines thick, _solid_, very tough, _equal_, tense and straight, _everywhere clothed with a villous-woven cuticle_ which can be rubbed off, pallid; bluntly rooted at the base, naked, not villous or tomentose. =Gills= free, broad, _distant_, the alternate ones shorter, _at first soft_, then firmer, pallid-white.

_Odor_ weak, but _pleasant_, stronger when dried, _taste mild_. Commonly growing in circles or rows. _Fries._

=Spores= 6–7×5–6µ _K._; elliptical, 8×5µ _Massee_; nearly elliptical, white, 7.6–9µ long _Peck_.

Common throughout the states during the summer months after rains, and in rings, but can be found from May until after frost. If one knows where the rings are to be found M. oreades can be gathered when shriveled, and are quite as good, after soaking, as when fresh.

M. oreades must be sought for where the grass is luxuriant. It hides among it. It is well worthy of the search. Raw, fresh or shriveled, it is sweet, nutty, succulent when eaten; stewed well it is delicious. Though tough its consistency is agreeable. The most delicate stomachs can digest it. The writer saved the life of a lovely woman by feeding her upon it when nothing else could be retained; and of another, by feeding Coprinus micaceus, after a dangerous operation. He introduced these species, together with a few others, into a large hospital in Philadelphia, where they were used with marked beneficial effect, and such use is now widespread.

When dried, by exposure to the air or sun, it can be kept indefinitely, neither losing its aroma or flavor, which it graciously imparts to soups or any other dish.

Collybia dryophila, Stropharia semi-globata, and Naucoria semi-orbicularis are sometimes found growing with it. These species are delicious and harmless.

Lafayette B. Mendel in the Am. Jour. of Physiology, March, 1898, gives the following analysis:

Twenty freshly gathered specimens (from New Haven) weighed 9 grams, an average weight of 0.45 grams each. The analysis gave:

Water 74.96%

Total solids 25.04

Total nitrogen of dry 5.97 substance

Ash of dry substance 7.23

_B._ TERGINI.

** _Stem downy when dry, etc._

=M. Wyn´nei= B. and Br. =Pileus= 1–1½ in. broad, _lilac_-brown, tardily changing color, fleshy, convexo-plane, somewhat umbonate. =Stem= 2 in. long, 1½ line thick, tubed, _furfuraceous_, somewhat of the same color as the pileus. =Gills= adnexed, thick, distant, bright-colored, beautifully tinged with _lilac_; interstices even.

Inodorous. Gregarious or cespitose. The stem springs from a white mycelium, but is by no means strigose or tawny at the base. Quite distinct from M. fusco-purpureus. _Fries._

Among leaves, twigs, etc. _Stevenson._

=Spores= elliptical, 7–8×4µ _Massee_.

Kingsessing, West Philadelphia. Gregarious and cespitose, among leaves, etc., in oak woods. September to October, 1885.

This very pretty fungus very much resembles at first sight the small purplish Clitocybes, but is readily distinguished on examination. I ate the caps and enjoyed them during the seasons of 1885 and 1887, but have not seen the plant since.

The caps are equal to M. oreades.

_C._ CALOPODES.

* _Stem smooth, etc._

=M. scorodo´nius= Fr. _Gr_—a plant that smells like garlic. =Pileus= ½ in. and more broad, rufous when young, but soon becoming pale, whitish (not hygrophanous), slightly fleshy, pliant, convex then soon plane, obtuse, always arid; even when young, at length wrinkled and crisped. =Stem= 1 in. long, scarcely 1 line thick, _horny_, tough, tubed, equal, _very smooth throughout, shining, reddish, inserted and naked_ at the base. =Gills= _adnate_, often separating, connected by veins, at length crisped in drying, whitish.

Commonly gregarious. _Readily distinguished from neighboring species by its strong odor of garlic._ _Fries._

Heaths and dry pastures on twigs, etc. Rare.

Edible. Esteemed for flavoring. _Stevenson._

=Spores= elliptical, 6×4µ _Massee_.

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; New England, _Frost_; New Jersey, _Ellis_; New York, August, _Peck_, 23d Rep.

=M. ca´lopes= Fr. _Gr_—beautiful; a foot. =Pileus= about 4 lines broad, _whitish_, slightly fleshy, tough, convex then flattened, obtuse, rarely depressed, even, smooth, slightly wrinkled when dried. =Stem= 1 in. long, 1 line thick, tubed, slightly attenuated upward, even, _smooth_, tough, dull-red or _bay-brown-red_, shining, _somewhat rooted_. =Gills= slightly emarginate, in groups of 2–4, thin, white.

_Inodorous._ Almost smaller than M. scorodonius, but the stem is longer, otherwise very like it. _Fries._

=Spores= elliptical, 7×4µ _Massee_.

Twigs and stems among fallen leaves in woods. Ticonderoga. August.

This might easily be mistaken for M. scorodonius, but it is without odor, and has a different insertion of the lamellæ. It is sometimes cespitose. The pileus in our specimens is whitish. _Peck_, 31st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Because of its similarity to M. scorodonius, which is edible, it is given here.

II.—MYCENA.

_A._ CHORDALES.

=M. allia´ceus= Fr.—_allium_, garlic. =Pileus= 1–1½ in. broad, whitish inclining to fuscous, often milk-white when young, somewhat membranaceous, campanulate then expanded, somewhat umbonate, even, at length striate and sulcate, smooth, dry. =Stem= as much as 8 in. long, _horny_, rigid, fistulose, attenuated upward, _pruinato-velvety, blackish_, rooted at the base where it is somewhat incurved and naked. =Gills= adnexed in the form of a ring, then _free_, slightly ventricose, arid, slightly distant, fuscous-whitish, crisped when dry.

Odor strong, of garlic, persistent. _There is nothing of a reddish tinge in the whole plant._ The stem is not tomentose at the base as in the Tergini. _Fries._

Among leaves and on rotten wood. Frequent. August to October. _Stevenson._

=Spores= 14–16×8µ. _Massee_.

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania, _Schweinitz_; Minnesota, _Johnson_; Novia Scotia, _Somers_.

Edible. Bull. Boston Myc. Club.

=HELIOMYCES= Lev.

_Helios_, the sun; _myces_, a fungus.

=Pileus= membranaceous, between leathery and gelatinous, radiately sulcate. =Gills= equal, edge acute. =Stem= somewhat woody, cylindrical, central.

Allied to Marasmius, but differing in its sub-gelatinous substance.

None reported edible.

=LENTI´NUS= Fr.

_Lentus_, tough or pliant.

(Plate LII.)

=Pileus= fleshy-coriaceous, pliant, tough and hard when old, persistent. =Gills= becoming dry, tough, simple, unequal, thin, margin acute, _toothed_, more or less decurrent. =Stem= when present central, excentric or lateral, hard and firm, continuous with the flesh of the pileus.

Growing on wood.

=Spores= somewhat round, even, white.

Distinguished from other coriaceous genera by its serrated and torn gills.

“The genera Lentinus and Lenzites are found in every region of the world; their principal center, however, is in hot countries, where they attain a splendid development. On the contrary, toward the north they rapidly decrease in number.” Fungi. _Cooke and Berkeley._

In habitat and mode of growth Lentinus closely resembles Pleurotus, and parallel genera with colored spores. When young the species are inviting, and when well cooked are meal-giving. They are not delicacies, but substantials. They dry well. Grated they make soups, and give their pleasant flavor to any dish.

ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.

MESOPODES (_mesos_, middle; _pous_, a foot). Page 229.

Stem distinct.

PLEUROTI (_pleura_, a side; _ous_, an ear).

Stem lateral or absent. None known to be edible

I.—MESO´PODES (center-stemmed).

=L. Lecom´tei= Fr. =Pileus= coriaceous, funnel-shaped, regularly reflexed, hairy, tawny. =Gills= crowded, pallid. =Stem= short, hairy, tawny.

Common to the states.

Professor Peck writes to me: “This plant, by reason of its rather tough substance, has commonly been referred to Lentinus, under the name L. Lecomtei Schw., but this reference is scarcely satisfactory to me, since the edge of the lamellæ is scarcely at all serrate as required by that genus. It seems to me it would go better under the genus Panus. It is variable—sometimes eccentric or even lateral. It is sometimes called Lentinus strigosus, but I do not think the two are distinct species, however distinct they may be in form.” February 26, 1894.

Like all Lentinus the present species is rather tough, yet chopped into small pieces, well cooked and seasoned, it is quite equal to P. ostreatus and many others of high renown.

(Plate LIII.)

=L. tigri´nus= Fr.—_tigris_, a tiger. From the markings. =Pileus= commonly 2 in. broad, white, _variegated_ with somewhat adpressed, _blackish_, _hairy squamules_, fleshy-coriaceous, _thin_, commonly orbicular and central, at first convexo-plane, _umbilicate, at length funnel-shaped_, often split at the margin when dry. =Stem= about 2 in. long, _thin_, solid, very hard, commonly attenuated downward, minutely _squamulose_, whitish, often ascending and becoming dingy-brown at the base, at first furnished _at the apex with an entire reflexed ring_, _which soon falls off_. =Gills= decurrent (_by no means sinuate_), narrow, crowded, unequal, toothed like a saw, white.

Somewhat gregarious, even cespitose, thinner and more coriaceous and regular than L. lepideus B., wholly blackish with squamules. _Fries._

On old stumps. Rare. _Stevenson._

When fresh very tender and easily torn, when dry coriaceous. _Sow._ Smell strong, acrid, like that of some Lactarii. _M.J.B._

=Spores= 6.6×3.3µ _Morgan_; elliptical, smooth, 7×3.5µ _Massee._

Agreeable taste and odor, eaten in Europe. _Roques._

Edible, tough when old and never very delicate or digestible.—_M. C. Cooke._

Not found in sufficient quantity to test.

=L. lepi´deus= Fr. _Gr_—scaly. (Plate XVI, fig. 3, 4, p. 52.) =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad, pallid-ochraceous, variegated with adpressed, _darker, spot-like scales, fleshy_, very _compact_ and firm, _irregular_, commonly excentric, convex then depressed, but not truly umbilicate, sometimes broken up into cracks. =Flesh= pliant, white. =Stem= short, commonly 1 in. long, solid, _stout, very irregularly formed_, almost woody, tomentose-scaly, whitish, rooted at the base, _at the first furnished with a veil toward the apex_. =Gills= decurrent, but _sinuate behind_, crowded broad, transversely striate, whitish, edge torn into teeth.

Odor pleasant. _Fries._

=Spores= 11×5µ _W.G.S._, 7×3µ. _Massee._

Lentinus lepideus is a sort of commercial traveler. It is common wherever railroads are. It is partial to oak ties and its mycelium is injurious to them. It is found upon pine and other timbers. The writer has collected large clusters of it from oak sawdust. The European plant is noted as “almost always solitary.” In the United States it is seldom so. It is noted as growing in damp, dark places, but it loves the sun.

As a food it is about on a par with P. ulmarius, not as tough, but harder when old. It is a reliable species from spring until late autumn, is persistent and dries well. It is neat, handsome, prolific. When young it makes a good dish, and when old can be used to advantage in soups.

=L. cochlea´tus= Fr.—_cochlea_, a snail. =Pileus= 2–3 in. broad, flesh-color, but becoming pale, somewhat tan, fleshy-pliant, thin, commonly excentric, imbricated, very unequal, somewhat lobed or contorted, sometimes plane, sometimes funnel-shaped-umbilicate, but not pervious, _smooth_. =Stem= solid, firm, sometimes central, most frequently excentric, sometimes wholly lateral, _always sulcate, smooth_, flesh-colored upward, reddish-brown downward. =Gills= decurrent, crowded, serrated, white-flesh-color. _Fries._

Pliant, tough, flaccid, very changeable in form, sometimes solitary, sometimes cespitose, imbricated, growing into each other. From very small forms which are commonly solitary, with the stem and pileus scarcely 1 in. it ranges to 3 in.

On stumps. Frequent. August to October.

According to Fries the odor is weak, of anise; but it is generally strong and very pleasant. _Stevenson._

=Spores= nearly globular, 4µ diameter _Morgan_; spheroid or ellipsoid-spheroid, uniguttate, 4–6µ _K._; almost globular, 4µ _W.G.S._

The dense clusters of all sized members are usually plenty in favored localities. It is inviting in appearance, taste and spicy odor. It retains a suspicion of the latter when cooked which gives the dish a flavor pleasant to many. It must be young to be tender. When dry—like others of its kind—it can be grated and used in many ways.

=L. Un´derwoodii= Pk. =Pileus= fleshy, tough, convex or nearly plane, the glabrous surface cracking into areola-like scales which are indistinct or wanting toward the margin, whitish or slightly tinged with buff or pale ochraceous. =Flesh= white. =Gills= moderately close, decurrent, slightly connecting or anastomosing at the base, somewhat notched on the edge, whitish, becoming discolored in drying. =Stem= stout, hard, solid, eccentric, squamose, colored like the pileus. =Spores= oblong, 13–15×5–6.5µ.

=Plant= cespitose. =Pileus= 3–6 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–3 in. long, about 1 in. thick.

This differs from L. magnus in its cespitose habit, eccentric stem, longer spores, less distinctly areolate-squamose pileus and in its habitat. The gills are connected at the base very much like those of Pleurotus ostreatus. _Peck_, Torr. Bull. Vol. 23, No. 10.

North Carolina, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

The writer first met with it in North Carolina, near Washington, on oaks and railroad timbers, and in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. It attains quite a size, grows singly and in clusters. Its clean, cake-like appearance is attractive. Cooked it ranks with P. ulmarius, L. lepideus, and Panus strigosus.

=PA´NUS= Fr.

A name given to a tree-growing fungus by Pliny.

(Plate LIV.)

Whole fungus between fleshy and leathery, tough, not woody, texture fibrous. =Gills= unequal, tough, becoming leathery, edge acute and unbroken. =Stem= present or absent.

Growing on wood. Various in form, lasting long. Allied to Lentinus but differing in the tough and very entire gills.

=Spores= even, white.

ANALYSIS OF SPECIES.

* Stem excentric.

** Stem lateral.

*** Stem absent. Pileus resupinate or dimidiate.

Species of this genus are among our most observable fungi. Their settlements are frequent on decaying trees, stumps, branches, on fences, cut timber, etc. Most of them are small, but their coriaceous build prevents their shrinking in cooking. Most species have a pleasant farinaceous taste and odor, which they yield, together with a gummy substance, to soups and gravies.

Tasting a small piece will immediately tell, if the species is not known, whether it is edible or of the styptic kind.

* _Stem excentric._

=P. concha´tus= Fr.—Formed like _concha_, a shell-fish. =Pileus= about 3 in. across, tough and flexible, unequal, excentric or dimidiate, margin often lobed, cinnamon-color becoming pale, at length more or less scaly. =Flesh= thin. =Gills= narrow, forming decurrent lines on the stem, somewhat branched; pinkish-white then pale-ochraceous. =Stem= about ⅔ in. long, 3–4 lines thick, solid, unequal, pale, base downy. _Massee._

On trunks of beech, poplar, etc.

Often imbricated and more or less grown together. Allied to Panus torulosus, but distinguished by the much thinner pileus, more expanded and excentric, also dimidiate, flaccid, cinnamon becoming pale, but the form not constant. =Stem= about ½ in. long, 4 lines thick, often compressed, downy at the base. =Pileus= 2–4 in. broad, scaly when old. =Gills= decurrent in long, parallel lines, not at all resembling those of Pleurotus ostreatus, which anastomose behind, but frequently unequally branched, at first whitish or pale flesh-color, then wood-color, crisped when dry. _Fries._

Always known by its shell-like form and its tough substance.

Sent to the writer by Mr. E.B. Sterling, Trenton, N.J. September, 1898.

The appearance of scales upon the pileus was scarcely noticeable. Taste pleasant. The fungus is tough when old, but yields an excellent gravy.

=P. torulo´sus= Fr.—a tuft of hair. (Plate LIV, p. 232.) =Pileus= 2–3 in. broad, somewhat flesh-color, but varying reddish-livid and becoming violet, _entire_, but very excentric, fleshy, somewhat compact when young, _plano-infundibuliform, even_, smooth. =Flesh= pallid. =Stem= short, commonly 1 in., solid, oblique, tough, firm, commonly with gray, but often violaceous _down_. =Gills= decurrent, somewhat distant, simple, separate behind, reddish then tan-color.

Very changeable in form, at first fleshy-pliant, at length coriaceous. In the covering of the stem it approaches Paxillus atro-tomentosus, but there is no affinity between them. _Fries._

On old stumps.

=Spores= 6×3µ _W.G.S._

North Carolina, _Curtis_; Massachusetts, _Frost_; Minnesota, _Johnson_; Kansas, _Cragin_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 30.

Much esteemed in France, _W.D.H._ Edible, but tough. _M.C.C._

=P. lævis= B. and C.—light. =Pileus= 3 in. broad, orbicular, slightly depressed, white, clothed in the center with long, intricate, rather delicate hairs, which are shorter and more matted toward the inflected margin; substance rather thin. =Stem= 3 in. high, ½ in. thick, attenuated upward, generally excentric, sometimes lateral, not rooting, solid, hairy below like the margin of the pileus. =Gills= rather broad, entire, decurrent, but not to a great degree, the interstices even above, behind clothed with the same coat as the top of the stem. =Spores= white.

On oak and hickory trunks.

A most distinct species, remarkable for its great lightness when dry and the long villous but not compressed or compound flocci of the pileus. Sometimes the center of the pileus becomes quite smooth when old.

One of the prettiest of fungi. The markings upon the white margin are more precise than those of the finest bee comb. One does not tire looking at the work of Nature’s geometrician. It is not plentiful, but is of useful size. It has good flavor and cooks quite tender.

(Plate LV_a_.)

=P. strigo´sus= B. and C.—covered with stiff hairs. =Pileus= white, excentric, clothed with coarse strigose pubescence, margin thin. =Stem= strigose like the pileus. =Gills= broad, distant, decurrent. Allied to P. lævis.

=Pileus= 8 in. broad. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 1 in. or more thick.

On oak stumps.

Decaying wood of deciduous trees. September.

It is remarkable for its large size and the dense hairy covering of the pileus and stem. _Peck_, 26th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

A remarkably handsome fungus. A specimen taken from a cluster growing upon an apple tree measured 10 in. across. Its creamy whiteness, and short hairy stem make it unmistakable among other tree-fungi.

When very young it is edible, but soon becomes woody. Even when aged it yields a well flavored gravy.

** _Stem lateral._

=P. farina´ceus= Schum.—_farina_, meal. From the scurf on the pileus. Pileus cinnamon-umber, somewhat coriaceous, flexuous, cuticle separating into whitish-bluish-gray scurf. =Stem= short, lateral, of the same color as the pileus. =Gills= determinately free, distinct, paler.

The habit is that of P. stipticus. _Stevenson._

Pennsylvania, A. pleurotus f., _Schweinitz_; Ohio, _Morgan_.

Var. albido-tomentosus. See Panus albido-tomentosus.