Part 44

The numerous varieties with their peculiarities here given by Professor Peck will enable the finder of a Boletus with a distinctly scabrous stem—_roughened with scales, not reticulate_—to select its name. For the mycophagist it is enough to know that he has Boletus scaber. In all of its varieties it is edible. The stems, often the tubes, unless young, should be discarded, as they do not cook in the same time as the caps. The comparative excellence of the species rests with the devourer. It deserves a high place.

B. scaber, var. areolatus, Plate CXVIII, fig. 4, has slight flavor, but is of pleasing consistency.

=B. durius´culus= Schulz—somewhat hard. =Pileus= 2–5 in. across, hemispherical, minutely velvety, viscid when moist, varying in color from pale-brown, through dingy-chestnut, to umber-brown, often becoming cracked in areas when dry, interstices paler. =Flesh= thick, white or tinged yellow, when cut becoming reddish copper-color. =Tubes= ½-¾ in. long, shortened round the stem and free, openings about ⅔ mm. across, often compound, irregularly angular, bright-yellow. =Stem= 4–7 in. long, fusiform, thickest part 1½-2 in. across, situated below the middle, yellowish, rough with blackish points, which are sometimes arranged in a subreticulate manner, apex sometimes more or less grooved, solid, flesh of upper part becoming coppery like the pileus. =Spores= elongato-cylindrical, pale-umber, 14–16×5–6µ.

In woods. Esculent and very delicious. Allied to Boletus scaber, but distinguished by the bright-yellow tubes and the very firm flesh, which turns coppery-red when exposed to the air; this color eventually changes to a dingy grayish-violet. Also allied to Boletus porphyrosporus. _Massee._

Snow Hill, N.J. Gravelly soil, mixed woods, 1892. _McIlvaine._

The stem and tubes should be removed. The caps are very fine.

=B. albel´lus= Pk.—whitish. =Pileus= convex or gibbous, soft, glabrous, whitish. =Flesh= white, unchangeable. =Tubes= convex, free, or nearly so, small, subrotund, whitish, unchangeable. =Stem= _glabrous or minutely branny_, substriate, _bulbous or thickened at the base_, whitish. =Spores= brownish-ochraceous, 14–16×5–6µ.

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

Woods. New York, _Peck_.

This is closely related to B. scaber, of which it may possibly prove to be a dwarf form; but it is easily distinguished by its smooth or only slightly scurfy and subbulbous stem. It presents no appearance of the colored dot-like squamules which are a constant and characteristic feature of that species. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

West Virginia. Woodland Cemetery, Philadelphia. _McIlvaine._

Specimens found at Mt. Gretna, Pa., had a satiny, glossy stem, beautifully furfuraceous, and stem _not_ thickened at base. Professor Peck, to whom specimens were sent, writes: “Stem is a little more furfuraceous, and not thickened at the base, otherwise the agreement is very good.” It is good fried.

=B. chro´mapes= Frost. =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, slightly and sometimes fasciculately tomentose, pale-red. =Flesh= white, unchangeable. =Tubes= subadnate, more or less depressed around the stem, white or whitish, becoming brown. =Stem= equal or slightly tapering upward, _rough-spotted_, whitish or pallid, _chrome-yellow at the base both without and within_, sometimes reddish above. =Spores= oblong, 12–14×4–5µ.

=Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, 4–6 lines thick.

Woods. New England, _Frost_; New York, _Peck_.

The yellow base of the stem appears to be a peculiar and constant character by which the species may easily be recognized. It imitates Boletus piperatus in this respect, but in everything else it is very distinct from that plant. Sometimes the stem is so badly infested by larvæ that it is difficult to procure a sound specimen. The spores have a subferruginous color with a slight incarnate tint, but the rough-dotted stem indicates a relationship with B. scaber. Through this species, Boletus conicus and B. gracilis, the Versipelles and the Hyporhodii appear to run together. In the Catalogue of Plants of Amherst the specific name is “chromapus.” It would be more in accordance with present custom to write it “chromopus.” _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

A dozen or more specimens referable to this species were found by me at Mt. Gretna, Pa., August, 1897, in mixed woods. The caps were eaten and were excellent.

=B. nebulo´sus= Pk. =Pileus= convex, dry, snuff-brown or smoky-brown. =Flesh= white, unchangeable. =Tubes= convex, depressed around the stem, pallid or brownish, becoming purplish-brown where wounded, the mouths small, rotund. =Stem= enlarged toward the base, solid, scurfy, colored like the pileus. =Spores= 12.5–15×6µ.

=Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 3–4 in. long, 4–6 lines thick.

Shaded banks by road-side. Raybrook. August.

No young or immature specimens were seen, and the description is to that extent incomplete. _Peck_, 51st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

By a painting made by the writer September, 1885, Professor Peck identified the species of which it is a picture as B. nebulosus Pk. The following notes accompany it, which have been verified many times since their writing:

Oak woods. West Philadelphia, Pa., September. Mt. Gretna, Pa., September.

=Pileus= chestnut-brown and darker, covered with small, low, black spots; convex, often depressed in center, sharp on margin. =Flesh= white, thick, solid, unchangeable. =Tubes= very small, and light pinkish-brown. When touched they change to a deeper hue. =Stem= same color as pileus, but a shade lighter, solid, scurfy, having a striate appearance, enlarging toward base.

Taste sweet and pleasant. Cooked it is juicy, meaty and very fine.

=B. ful´vus Pk=.—brownish-yellow. (Plate CXVI, fig. 3, p. 420.) =Pileus= thick, convex or subcampanulate, dry, glabrous, rimose-areolate, tawny-yellow, the extreme margin dark-brown. =Flesh= spongy, tough, white, slowly assuming a reddish tint upon exposure to the air. =Tubes= rather long, ventricose, depressed around the stem and free or nearly so, greenish-yellow, the mouths small, tawny-yellow. =Stem= rather long, often narrowed and striate at the top, dotted with brownish-orange granules or points, radicating, tough, stuffed with greenish-yellow fibers, colored like the pileus. =Spores= unknown.

=Pileus= 2–3 in. broad. =Stem= 4–5 in. long, 4–8 lines thick.

Cespitose on decaying stumps. West Philadelphia, Pa. August. _McIlvaine._

Mr. McIlvaine says that there were between twenty and thirty specimens on and about an old stump and that they were as attractive to the eye as a cluster of Clitocybe illudens. _Peck_, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 27, January, 1900.

Excellent in flavor, rather spongy, but fine.

HYPORHO´DII. _Gr_—somewhat rose-colored.

=Tubes= adnate to the stem, whitish, then white-incarnate from the rosy spores.

In this tribe the tubes are at first whitish, but with the development of the spores they usually assume a pinkish or flesh-colored hue. Wounds of the tubes in some species cause a change in color but not to blue, nor are the tube mouths differently colored as in the Luridi. The stem in some is more or less reticulated but this is scarcely a constant or reliable character in these species. Typically the spores are rosy or flesh-colored, but I have admitted species in which they incline to rust-colored, giving more weight to the color of the tubes than to that of the spores.

Pileus black or blackish B. nigrellus

Pileus some other color 1

1. Stem more than four lines thick 2

1. Stem slender, generally less than four B. lines thick gracilis

2. Stem not reticulated 3

2. Stem more or less reticulated 4

3. Tubes angular, flesh-colored B. conicus

3. Tubes round, white B. alutarius

4. Taste mild B. indecisus

4. Taste bitter B. felleus

_Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

=B. con´icus= Rav.—conical. =Pileus= convex or _subconical_, clothed with bundled appressed _yellowish flocci_. =Flesh= white, unchangeable, tasteless. =Tubes= ventricose, flesh-colored, becoming darker from the spores, the mouths small, angular, slightly fringed. =Stem= glabrous, tapering upward, pale-yellow. =Spores= fusiform, subferruginous.

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

Damp pine woods. South Carolina, _Ravenel_.

The species is compared to Boletus scaber, from which it differs in its smaller tubes and smooth stem, and from both this and B. albellus it differs in the color of the tubes and in the yellowish flocci of the pileus. I have seen no specimens, but on account of the color of the tubes I have placed the species with the Hyporhodii. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

=B. gra´cilis= Pk.—slender. (Plate CXIV, fig. 1, p. 414.) =Pileus= convex, glabrous or minutely tomentose, rarely squamulose, ochraceous-brown, tawny-brown or reddish-brown. =Flesh= white. =Tubes= plane or convex, depressed around the stem, nearly free, whitish, becoming pale flesh-colored, their mouths subrotund. =Stem= _long, slender_, equal or slightly tapering upward, pruinose or minutely branny, even or marked by slender elevated anastomosing lines which form long narrow reticulations. =Spores= subferruginous, 12.5–17.5×5–6µ.

Var. _l[oe]´vipes_. =Stem= even.

=Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= 3–5 in. long, 2–4 lines thick.

Woods. New York, _Peck_; New England, _Frost_; Ohio, _Morgan_.

The slender habit separates this species from all the others here included in this tribe. Its spores are not a clear incarnate in color, but incline to dull-ferruginous, and by this character this and the preceding species connect this tribe with Versipelles. In color B. gracilis resembles some forms of B. felleus, but in size, habit and color of spores it is easily distinct. The tomentum of the pileus sometimes breaks into tufts or squamules. This is Boletus vinaceus, Frost MS. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

B. gracilis, var. lævipes, was found by the writer in Woodland Cemetery, West Philadelphia, August, 1897, and at Mt. Gretna, Pa., September, 1898. The stem of some specimens spreads at the top. The pileus is often cracked on the margin, and the upturning of the margin often exposes the tubes. Painting, as of this species, identified by Professor Peck.

The taste is at first sweet, then bitter. The bitterness is lost in cooking. Edible, good.

=B. indeci´sus= Pk.—undecided. (Plate CXXII, fig. 1, p. 468.) =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, dry, slightly tomentose, ochraceous-brown, often wavy or irregular on the margin. =Flesh= white, unchangeable; taste mild. =Tubes= nearly plane or convex, _adnate_, grayish becoming tinged with flesh color when mature, changing to brownish where wounded, their mouths small, subrotund. =Stem= minutely furfuraceous, straight, or flexuous, _reticulated above_, pallid without and within. =Spores= oblong, _brownish flesh color_, 12.5–15×4µ.

=Pileus= 3–4 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, 4–6 lines thick.

Thin oak woods. New York, _Peck_.

The mild taste and darker colored spores will separate this Boletus from any form of B. felleus. Its stem reticulated above distinguishes it from B. alutarius. It resembles B. modestus in some respects, but its tubes are not at all yellow. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

Kentucky, _Lloyd_, Rep. 4.

Woodland Cemetery, Philadelphia, July, 1897, _McIlvaine_; Trenton, N.J., August, 1897, _Sterling_. In open mixed woods.

Boletus indecisus so closely resembles B. felleus in some of its forms that until the color of the spores is ascertained, the sweet taste, without trace of bitter, is the only thing that will enable the finder to discriminate between them. Young B. felleus are at first pleasant to the taste and do not, at once, develop their intense bitter in the mouth. They may readily be taken for B. indecisus. If, by mistake, a single B. felleus is cooked with mild species, the dish will be spoiled. Specimens believed to be B. indecisus should be tested. A minute will perfectly satisfy anyone.

The B. indecisus is delicious.

FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE. 1. BOLETUS INDECISUS, 468 2–3–4. BOLETUS FELLEUS, 460

=B. aluta´rius= Fr.—_aluta_, tanned leather. =Pileus= convex, then nearly plane, soft, _velvety_, becoming glabrous, _brownish tan color_. =Flesh= almost unchangeable, taste _mild, watery_. =Tubes= depressed around the stem, plane, short, round, white, becoming brownish where wounded. =Stem= solid, bulbous, nearly even, _small, irregular prominences at the top_. =Spores= 14×4µ.

=Pileus= 3–4 in. broad. =Stem= 4–5 in. long.

Grassy woods. Minnesota, _Johnson_. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

West Virginia mountains, 1882–1885. Margins of woods. Cheltenham, Pa. Margins of woods, 1888–1889, grassy woods and margins. _McIlvaine._

Common in West Virginia mountains where it grows with B. felleus, from which it is impossible to distinguish it without tasting. It is delicious when cooked. But I long ago ceased collecting for the table any Boletus questionable for B. felleus. I have been deceived so many times—taken the bitter for the sweet—that, preferring the sweet, I take no chances for the bitter.

=B. fel´leus= Bull.—_fel_, gall. Bitter. (Plate CXXII, fig. 2, 3, 4, p. 468.) =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, firm, becoming soft, _glabrous_, even, variable in color, pale-yellowish, grayish-brown, yellowish-brown, reddish-brown or chestnut. =Flesh= white, often changing to flesh color where wounded, taste _bitter_. =Tubes= adnate, long, convex, depressed around the stem, their mouths angular, white, becoming tinged with flesh-color. =Stem= variable, equal or tapering upward, short or long, sometimes bulbous or enlarged at the base, subglabrous, generally reticulated above, colored like or a little paler than the pileus. =Spores= oblong-fusiform, flesh-colored, 12.5–17.5×4–5µ.

Var. _obe´sus_. =Pileus= large. =Stem= thick, coarsely and distinctly reticulated nearly or quite to the base.

=Pileus= 3–8 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, 6–12 lines thick.

The variety is large and solitary in its mode of growth. It is remarkable for the coarse reticulations of the stem which extend nearly or quite to the base. After heavy rains the pileus is viscid. It may prove to be a distinct species.

The flesh in the American plant does not always assume incarnate hues where wounded. The color of the fresh tubes often changes to a deeper tint where wounded. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, _McIlvaine_; Indiana, _H.I. Miller_.

A very common species in woods and on thin margins, on open grassy places, and about decayed stumps. I saw hundreds of plants, var. obesus, some a foot in diameter, in a wheat stubble near oak woods.

One of the most attractive of Boleti. Its cap resembles a handsomely browned cake. Its solidity is inviting; its flesh, generous in quantity, excites appetite. Until one experiences its intense lasting bitter, one clings to it with hope. Even after tasting, it is thrown away with regret. It is not poisonous, but a small piece of one will embitter a whole dish. _McIlvaine_, Bull. Phila. Myc. Center. July, 1898.

=B. nigrel´lus= Pk.—blackish. =Pileus= broadly convex or nearly plane, dry, subglabrous, _blackish_. =Flesh= soft, white, unchangeable. =Tubes= plane or convex, adnate, sometimes slightly depressed around the stem, their mouths small, subrotund, whitish becoming flesh-colored, slowly changing to _brown or blackish where wounded_. =Stem= equal, short, _even_, colored like or a little paler than the pileus. =Spores= dull flesh-colored, 10–12×5–6µ.

=Pileus= 3–6 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–2.5 in. long, 6–12 lines thick.

Woods and copses. New York, _Peck_.

The blackish color of the pileus and stem distinguishes this species. From Boletus alboater Schw., the adnate, flesh-colored tubes will separate it. The surface of the pileus sometimes becomes cracked in areas. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

Mt. Gretna, Pa., August, 1898. _McIlvaine._

Another distinguishing mark from B. alboater is the velvety pileus of the latter. B. nigrellus is mild in taste and smell and an excellent species for the table.

=B. eccen´tricus= Pk.—eccentric. (Plate CXVI, fig. 1, p. 420.) =Pileus= thick, firm, convex, irregular, glabrous, more or less lobed or wavy on the involute margin, gray or yellowish-gray. =Flesh= white, close-grained, elastic, unchangeable, taste and odor farinaceous. =Tubes= convex, depressed around the stem, not reaching the margin of the pileus, somewhat uneven and pitted on the surface, yellowish-brown, the mouths subangular, at first concolorous, becoming reddish or reddish-purple. =Stem= eccentric, tapering downward, solid, uneven with short irregular shallow grooves or obscure reticulations, tinged with red at the top, grayish below, tinged with red or purple within at the base.

=Pileus= 5–10 cm. broad. =Stem= 4–5 cm. long, 3–4 cm. thick at the top.

Sandy soil in grassy places in woods. Mt. Gretna, Pa. August and September.

The species is well marked by its eccentric stem, thick irregular pileus and the reddish or reddish-purple mouths of the mature tubes. Mr. McIlvaine remarks that when it is cooked it is delicate and savory. _Peck_, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, No. 27.

In commenting upon this new species to the writer, Professor Peck says: “I suspect that the spores of this (B. eccentricus) are pinkish or rosy. If so, it belongs here (in Hyporhodii). If not, it may have to go in the Luridi, or possibly may be made the type of a new tribe.”

CARIO´SI—_caries_, rottenness.

Stem never reticulated, stuffed with a spongy pith, at length commonly excavated. Tubes at first white, then often yellowish, their mouths minute, round.

Fries adds to these characters, “spores white.” But in our species the spores are pale-yellow when shed in a mass on white paper. They are more elliptical in outline than the spores of most Boleti. The character of the stem is peculiar and easily distinguishes the tribe. The exterior is firm, the interior soft and spongy, becoming irregularly hollow or cavernous in the typical species.

Flesh unchangeable 1 Flesh quickly changing to blue where wounded B. cyanescens 1. Pileus minutely velvety-tomentose B. castaneus 1. Pileus granulated B. Murray _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

=B. cyanes´cens= Bull.—_cyaneus_, deep-blue. =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, opaque, floccose-scaly or covered with an appressed tomentum, pale-buff, grayish-yellow, yellowish or somewhat brown. =Flesh= rigid, white, _quickly changing to blue_ where wounded. =Tubes= free, white, becoming yellowish, the mouths minute, round, changing color like the flesh. =Stem= ventricose, hoary with fine hairs, stuffed, becoming cavernous, contracted and even at the top, colored like the pileus. =Spores= subelliptical, 10–12.5×6–7.5µ.

=Pileus= 2–5 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, 8–18 lines thick.

Woods and open places. New York, _Peck_; New England, _Frost_, _Bennett_; Minnesota, _Johnson_; Wisconsin, _Bundy_. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

High ground in woods. Solitary. West Virginia mountains, Springton Hills, Pa., Kingsessing, Philadelphia, Mt. Gretna, Pa., _McIlvaine_.

Boletus cyanescens is a sparse grower. The quality of the juice varies. That of young specimens stains the fingers blue, that of old, brown. The caps are firm and make an excellent dish cooked in any way.

=B. casta´neus= Bull.—chestnut. (Plate CXIV, fig. 3, p. 414.) =Pileus= convex, nearly plane or depressed, firm, even, dry, minutely _velvety-tomentose, cinnamon or reddish-brown_. =Flesh= white, unchangeable. =Tubes= free, short, small, white becoming yellow. =Stem= equal or tapering upward, even, stuffed or hollow, clothed and colored like the pileus. =Spores= 10–12.5×6–7.5µ.

=Pileus= 1.5–3 in. broad. =Stem= 1–2.5 in. long, 3–5 lines thick.

Woods and open places. Rather common and wide spread. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

Boletus castaneus is one of the neatest looking of fungi. The prevailing color is cinnamon, that of the tubes white or very light yellow, spotted with brown wherever insects have touched them. The pore surface of mature specimens is usually irregular. Whoever has seen the stalagmites of Luray Cave will recognize their color on the stems of B. castaneus. These are brittle, snapping like pipe stems, with a small tube in center.

The fungus is common from June until September. It is gregarious, occasionally three or four individuals form a group. Either raw or cooked the caps are edible and will become favorites.

=B. Mur´rayi= B. and C. =Pileus= hemispherical, _granulated, vivid red_. =Flesh= yellow. =Tubes= decurrent, about 1 line deep, yellow. =Stem= clavate, even, pale-yellow. =Spores= pale-yellow.

=Pileus= 2–3 in. broad, nearly 1.5 thick.

New England, _Murray_.

On account of the color of the spores this species has been placed with the Cariosi. The description does not mention the character of the interior of the stem, and the decurrent tubes depart from the character of the typical species so that its true position is uncertain. The species seems well marked by the character of the pileus. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

=B. isabelli´nus= Pk. =Pileus= convex, firm, minutely tomentose, whitish, becoming darker and smoother with age. =Flesh= isabelline. =Tubes= adnate, minute, sometimes larger near the stem, nearly round, whitish. =Stem= nearly equal, subglabrous, hollow, whitish. =Spores= subelliptical, 7.5–9×5–6µ. =Pileus= 2–3 in. broad. =Stem= 1–2 in. long, 4–6 lines thick.

Woods. Ocean Springs, Miss. June. _Underwood._

The species belongs to the Cariosi. _Peck_, in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol 24, No. 3.

APPENDIX (Boletus).

The descriptions of the following species are scarcely sufficient to permit of the satisfactory reference of the species to their places in the tribes. It is to be hoped that these plants may again be found and their proper relations be ascertained.

=B. Ana´nas= Curt. =Pileus= pulvinate, thickly and rigidly floccose-verrucose, yellow, flocci white above, flesh-colored beneath, the margin thin, membranous, lacerated; hymenium plane, depressed around the stem, yellow or tawny-yellow, becoming greenish where wounded, their mouths medium size, obtusely angular. =Stem= even, solid, somewhat enlarged at the base, white. =Spores= ferruginous.

=Pileus= 3–4 in. broad. =Stem= 3–4 in. long, 6–9 lines thick.

Under prostrate trunks of pine trees.

South Carolina, _Ravenel_; North Carolina, _Curtis_.

This is said to approach S. strobilaceus in habitat, but to be otherwise very different. It is placed among the Subtomentosi in Sylloge, but from these it recedes by its floccose wart-like scales. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

=B. radico´sus= Bundy. =Pileus= thin, wide, recurved, yellow tinged with brown, the cuticle easily removed. =Flesh= pale-yellowish tinged with pink, not changing color when bruised. =Tubes= decurrent, large, uneven-mouthed, compound, angular, tinged with brown. =Stem= flexuous, yellow above, whitish below, rough with dark appressed scales, fibrous-rooted.

=Pileus= 4 in. broad. =Stem= 3–4 in. long, 5 lines thick.

Wisconsin, _Bundy_.

The pileus is not described as viscid, but in other respects the species appears to belong to the Viscipelles and to be related to Boletus collinitus. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.