Chapter XV: Part 15

=C. deliques´cens= (Bull.) Fr. =Pileus= 3–4 in. broad, livid-fuliginous, membranaceous, bell-shaped then expanded, smooth, but _dotted with minute points on the disk_, never downy or split, the edge turning upward and striate, the striæ broad but not deep. =Stem= 4 in. long, 2–4 lines thick, hollow, with a bark-like covering, equally attenuated upward, _smooth, shining white_. =Gills= free, _at length remote from the stem_, very crowded, flexuous, very narrow, only ½ line broad, lurid-blackish. _Fries._

Frequent on stumps and among fallen leaves, sometimes in tufts. July to October.

=Spores= elliptical, obliquely apiculate, 8×5µ _Massee_.

Sometimes confounded with C. atramentarius.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.

C. deliquescens is of good size and quality. The stems do not cook well with the caps. The flavor is the same as C. atramentarius.

=C. congrega´tus= (Bull.) Fr. =Pileus= ½-¾ in. high, cylindrical, then bell-shaped, finally expanded and split at the margin, smooth, viscid, margin slightly striate, ochraceous. =Gills= about 1 line broad, slightly adnexed, white, finally becoming black. =Stem= 1½ in. high, equal, smooth, hollow, whitish.

On the ground, also in hot-houses. _Massee._

Readily distinguished by the densely cespitose mode of growth, the small size, the viscid, ochraceous, glabrous pileus which remains elongato-cylindrical for some time, then becomes campanulate and finally expands and splits at the margin.

Densely cespitose, fragile, readily distinguished from C. digitalis by its much smaller size. _Fries._

=Spores= 7×8µ _W.G.S._; 10×5µ _W.P._

Fries and Cooke considered this a good species.

So closely allied to neighboring species that it is difficult to determine it. Edible qualities are included in the alliance.

_B._ VELIFORMES. Pileus very thin, etc.

* Cyclodei. _Stem bearing ring, etc._

None edible.

** Lanatuli. _Pileus with superficial downy covering, etc._

=C. lagopus= Fr.—_Gr_, a hare; a foot. =Pileus= 1 in. broad, whitish, disk livid, very tender, cylindrical then bell-shaped, when young beautifully downy then naked, flattened and split, radiately furrowed. =Stem= 5 in. and more long, 1 line thick, very weak, very fragile, slightly attenuated at both ends, everywhere white-woolly. =Gills= at length remote, narrow, black. _Fries._

Fries distinguishes two forms. A, _nemorum_. =Stem= slender, 4–6 in. long. B, _viarum_. =Stem= 2–3 in. long. =Pileus= broader, livid. Both forms are inodorous. The pileus of the long-stemmed form is sometimes entirely clear brown, at others grayish with a brownish disk. =Stem= very weak, 5 in. and more in length, 1 line thick, attenuated at both ends. =Pileus= thin, expanded bell-shaped, about 1 in. across, when young elegantly flocculose, then furrowed, disk livid. =Gills= rather distant.

New York, _Peck_, 38th Rep.; Mt. Gretna, Pa., July, 1898, on rubbish about abandoned camp. _Prof. M.W. Easton._

A strikingly beautiful species. Both forms were found in abundance, tested and eaten with enjoyment. They are extremely delicate, and of attractive but not high flavor.

=C. Virgineus= Banning. =Pileus= ovate, bell-shaped, or cylindrical, pale ocher, the margin thin, torn, downy. =Lamellæ= narrow, close, forked, at first white, turning dark but never black, adnexed. =Stem= 3½ in. long, stout, somewhat stuffed, attenuated where it meets the pileus, flattened, downy. =Spores= black.

Cespitose or gregarious at the roots of trees or about old stumps. Also found in Virginia.

The plant is not rapidly deliquescent, remaining perfect for some hours. _Banning_ MS.

Maryland. Virginia. _Miss M.E. Banning_ MS. _Peck_, 44th Rep.

Chester county, Pa. New Jersey, about pear trees and stumps. _McIlvaine._

This little Coprinus is a valuable species when found. A patch of it about a tree or stump is treasure trove. Patches of it appear in July and bear until October. The not-particular observer would mistake it for C. micaceus.

*** Furfurel´li. _Pileus micaceous or scurfy, etc._

(Plate CVI.)

COPRINUS DOMESTICUS.
Natural size.
]

=C. domes´ticus= (Pers.) Fr.—_domus_, a house. =Pileus= 2 in. broad, fuliginous, disk date-brown, thin, ovate then bell-shaped, _covered with small branny scales_, then opening into furrows and flattened, _undulately sulcate_, disk obtuse, even. Stem 2–3 in. long, 2–3 lines thick, fistulose, slightly firm, attenuated upward, _adpressedly silky_, becoming even, white. =Gills= _adnexed_, at first crowded, distant when the pileus is split, linear, _white then reddish_, at length brownish-blackish.

A larger and more remarkable species than all the neighboring ones. _Fries._

=Spores= 14–16×7–8µ _Massee_.

On much decayed wood, damp carpets, in cellars, etc. Often in clusters.

Mt. Gretna, Pa., _Prof. M.W. Easton_, July, 1898; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

C. domesticus is the largest of its section and is sometimes of remarkable growth. I have seen it start from under a board in a cellar and prolong its stems for over a foot to get its caps to air and light. Under such conditions the stems are twisted in a confused mass.

It is very tender with a decided mushroom flavor. Cook at once.

(Plate CVII.)

COPRINUS SILVATICUS.
Enlarged one-fourth.
(After Peck.)
]

=C. silvat´icus= Pk. =Pileus= membranaceous, with a thin fleshy disk, convex, striate in folds on the margin, dark-brown, the depressed striæ paler. =Lamellæ= subdistant, narrow, attached to the stem, brownish. =Stem= fragile, slender, smooth, hollow, white. =Spores= gibbous-ovate, 12.7µ long.

=Plant= 2 in. high. =Pileus= 6–10 lines broad. =Stem= .5 lines thick. Ground in woods. Greig. September.

The striæ extend about half way up the pileus. Allied to C. plicatilis and C. ephemerus _Peck_, 24th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. Frequent, but not common. On ground in woods, August to October. _McIlvaine._

This pretty little fungus is frequently found. I have never been able to get it in quantity, but have often eaten it. Its flavor is musky, rather strong. It is edible, but is not obtainable in sufficient numbers to make it of much food value.

=C. ephem´erus= Fr. _Gr_—lasting for a day. =Pileus= ½-¾ in. across, very thin, ovate, then bell-shaped, finally expanded and splitting, furrowed radiately, at first slightly scurfy, disk elevated, even, reddish. =Gills= slightly attached, linear, white, then brownish, at length blackish. =Stem= 1½-2½ in. high, 1 line or more thick, equal, glabrous, pellucid, hollow, whitish. =Spores= 16–17×9–10µ.

On dunghills, manured ground, etc. To the naked eye appearing almost glabrous, but under a lens seen to be distinctly scurfy. Known from Coprinus plicatilis by the disk of the pileus being prominent and not depressed. _Massee._

Common dung and dung heaps. May to October. New York, _Peck._ 23d Rep.

Of such size and delicate substance as to be of little food value. But it has a strong mushroom flavor which is choice as a flavoring. It appears during the summer months on dung and dung heaps. It must be cooked as soon as gathered.

=C. semilana´tus= Pk. =Pileus= submembranaceous, broadly conical, then expanded and strongly revolute, and the margin sometimes split, covered with mealy atoms, finely and obscurely rimose-striate, pale grayish-brown. =Lamellæ= narrow, close, free. =Stem= elongated, fragile, hollow, slightly tapering upward, white, the lower half clothed with loose cottony flocci which rub off easily, the upper half smooth or slightly farinaceous. =Spores= broadly elliptical, 12.7µ long.

=Plant= very fragile, 4–6 in. high. =Pileus= 8–12 lines broad. =Stem= 1 line thick at the base. Rich ground and dung. Sandlake. August. (Plate IV, fig. 15–18.) Allied to C. coopertus. _Peck_, 24th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia. 1881–1885, Mt. Gretna, Pa. July to October. _McIlvaine._

I have seldom found it, though at times it was quite common about stables in West Virginia. It has good mushroom flavor and is edible. It is stately, attracting attention by its peculiar cap.

=C. plica´tilis= Fr.—_plico_, to fold. =Pileus= 1 in. broad, dusky-brown then bluish-gray-cinereous, _disk darker_, dusky-brown or reddish, oval-cylindrical then campanulate, soon expanded, opening into furrows, _sulcate-plicate_, for the most part _smooth, disk broad_, even, _at length depressed_. =Stem= 1–3 in. long, fistulose, thin, equal, even, _smooth_, pallid, _somewhat pellucid_. =Gills= _remote from the stem_ and adnate to a _collar_ which is formed from the dilated apex of the stem, distant, gray-blackish. _Fries._

Very tender and fragile, but when scorched by the sun not melting into fluid. Very variable in stature and size. _Stevenson._

=Spores= 12–14×8–10µ _Massee_; broadly elliptic, 5µ long, _M.J.B._; 11–13µ _long_, 8–10µ broad _Peck_, Rep. 50.

Common in rich pastures, lawns, roadsides, etc. May to October.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.

A neat little fungus often found in great plenty. Though small it is nevertheless edible and must be written with its edible companions.

=PANÆOLUS= Fr.

_Gr_—all; _Gr_—variegated.

(Plate CVIII.)

=Pileus= slightly fleshy, _not striate, margin exceeding the gills_. =Gills= ascending in a conical manner, slate-gray, mottled with the black spores. =Stem= polished. =Veil= woven, often absent. =Spores= black.

On the ground in rich earth, and on dung.

In the black-spored series Psathyrella is separated by the striate pileus, not exceeding the gills, Anellaria by the ring and Coprinus by the deliquescent gills.

Panæolus, in its entirety, has a precise looking membership. If the gills were cut from cardboard and fixed by machinery, they could not be more correct. Some of the species are among the earliest arrivals at toadstool lawn parties, and some are the last to leave. Several are culinary favorites, notably Panæolus solidipes. P. papilionaceus possesses intoxicating properties. P. campanulatus is reported to be a sedative.

The edible species are easily cooked and are exceptionally delicate and well flavored.

=P. retiru´gis= Fr.—_rete_, a net; _ruga_, a wrinkle. =Pileus= about 1 in. across, at first almost globose, then hemispherical, subumbonate, minutely mealy, opaque, moist, furnished with uniting raised ribs, pinkish tan-color; margin with irregular fragments of the veil attached. =Flesh= rather thick. =Gills= adnexed, ascending, 2 lines or more broad, grayish-black. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, about 2 lines thick, equal, pruinose, purplish flesh-color, hollow. _Fries._

=Spores= elliptic-fusiform, 11–13×7µ _Massee_.

On dung. Distinguished among the species of Panæolus by the raised ribs on the pileus and its appendiculate margin. The pileus is sometimes grayish. Closely resembling, superficially, Psathyra corrugis, which is, however, distinguished by the violet-black gills.

=Spores= elliptical, shortly fusiform, 20µ _Q._; 16×11µ _W.G.S._

New York, _Peck_, 23d Rep. West Virginia, 1881–1885. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, frequent on dung. June to frost. _McIlvaine._

P. retirugis is not a common species, and is a sparse grower, but is frequently found. It is seldom that a mess can be had at one time. It is an excellent species by itself and imparts a good flavor to others.

=P. fimi´cola= Fr.—_fimus_, dung; _cola_, to inhabit. =Pileus= ½-¾ in. across and high, slightly fleshy, convex bell-shaped, obtuse, glabrous, opaque, dingy-gray when moist, paler and yellowish when dry, with a narrow brown encircling zone near the margin. =Gills= adnate, 2 lines or more broad, gray, variegated with smoky-black. =Stem= 2–4 in. high, 1 line or more thick, equal, fragile, whitish, powdered with white meal upward, hollow. _Fries._

=Stem= soft, fragile, obsoletely silky-striatulate, 2–4 in. long. =Pileus= when moist commonly smoky-gray, when dry grayish clay-color, sometimes discoid. =Gills= semi-ovate with a minute decurrent tooth. _Fries._

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. Frequent. On dung and richly manured places. June to September. _McIlvaine._

P. fimicola is neither as large nor heavy as P. solidipes, but in other respects equals it.

=P. soli´dipes= Pk.—_solidus_, solid; _pes_, a foot. (Plate CII, fig. 3, 4, p. 372.) =Pileus= 2–3 in. across, firm, at first hemispherical, then sub-campanulate or convex, smooth, whitish, the cuticle at length breaking up into dingy-yellowish, rather large, angular scales. =Gills= broad, slightly attached, whitish, becoming black. =Stem= 2–4 lines thick, firm, smooth, white, solid, slightly striate at the top. =Spores= very black with a bluish tint. Height of plant 5–8 in. Dung heaps. West Albany. June.

A large species, remarkable for its solid stem. The scales on the pileus are larger on the disk, becoming smaller toward the margin. The upper part of the stipe is sometimes beaded with drops of moisture. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, 1881–1885. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, frequent on dung and dung heaps. May to frost. _McIlvaine._

On mature plants, or after rains, the scales are not always present.

P. solidipes is a handsome, readily recognized species of good weight and substance. It is one of the best of toadstools.

=P. campanula´tus= Linn.—_campanula_, a little bell. =Pileus= oval, bell-shaped or obtusely conical, sometimes umbonate, smooth, somewhat shining, brownish, with a peculiar gray or lead-colored tint, sometimes becoming reddish-tinted, the margin, often scalloped or fringed with the appendiculate veil. =Lamellæ= not broad, attached, becoming grayish-black. =Stem= long, slender, hollow, reddish, pruinose and slightly striate at the top, at length dusted with the spores.

=Height= 4–6 in., breadth of pileus 6–12 lines.

On horse dung and rich soil. June and July. Common.

In very wet weather the cuticle of the pileus sometimes cracks into scales or areas. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

=Spores= subellipsoid, 16–18×10–13µ _K._; 8–9×6µ _Massee_.

Mr. R.K. Macadam, Boston, Mass., informs me that he has information of a case of poisoning by this fungus. “The victim experienced dizziness, dimness of vision, trembling and loss of power and memory. He recovered after simple treatment and was well inside of 24 hours.”

A full account of this case is in “The London Medical and Surgical Journal,” Vol. 36, November, 1816. The poison acts as a sedative.

I have several times eaten of this fungus in small quantities, because larger could not be obtained, and with no other than pleasant effect. There does not appear to be any case of poisoning reported by it since 1816, which, considering the inquisitiveness of man, is singular. Caution is advised.

=P. papiliona´ceus= Fr.—_papilio_, a butterfly. =Pileus= subhemispherical, sometimes subumbonate, smooth, or with the cuticle breaking up into scales, whitish-gray, often tinged with yellow. =Lamellæ= very broad, attached, becoming black. =Stem= slender, firm, hollow, pruinose above, whitish, sometimes tinged with red or yellow, slightly striate at the top and generally stained by the spores.

=Height= 3–5 in., breadth of pileus 6–18 lines.

On dung and rich soil. Common. May and June.

A small form occurs with the pileus nearly white, scarcely half an inch in diameter, and the cuticle not cracking. _Peck_, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

The effects of P. papilionaceus are very uncertain. I have seen it produce hilarity in a few instances, and other mild symptoms of intoxication, which were soon over, and with little reaction. But I have seen, at table, the same effects from eating preserved peaches and preserved plums which had fermented. Many personal testings have been without effect. Testings upon others vary with the individuals. The fungus seems to contain a mild stimulant. It is not dangerous, but should be eaten with caution. Being of small size, and not a prolific species, quantities of it are difficult to obtain. Moderate quantities of it have no effect whatever.

=ANELLA´RIA= Karst.

_Anellus_, a little ring.

=Pileus= slightly fleshy, smooth and even. =Gills= adnexed, dark slate-color, variegated with the black spores. =Stem= central, smooth, shining, rather firm. =Ring= present at first, either persistent or forming a zone around the stem.

The species of this genus were formerly included in Panæolus, from which this is separated by the presence of a ring, more or less definite.

In other characters they are similar. As in Amanitopsis and Amanita.

(Plate CIX.)

ANELLARIA SEPARATA.
Natural size.
]

=A. separa´ta= Karst.—_separatus_, distinct, separate. =Pileus= 1–1½ in. across, height about the same, ovate, then bell-shaped, not expanding, viscid, even, ochraceous, then whitish, shining, wrinkled when old. =Flesh= rather thick. =Gills= adfixed, ascending, thin, crowded, broad, 2–3 lines, grayish-black, margin paler. =Stem= long, 3–5 in., straight, base thickened, attenuated upward, whitish, shining, top somewhat striate. =Ring= persistent, distant. _Massee._

On dung. Rather variable in size.

=Pileus= bell-shaped, but very obtuse at the summit, ½-1¼ in. from the base to the apex, not expanding at the base without cracking.

=Spores= broadly elliptic-fusiform, black, opaque, 10×7µ _Massee_; ellipsoid, 16–22×10–12µ _K._; 16×11µ _W.G.S._

West Virginia, 1881–1885. New Jersey, Mt. Gretna, Pa., July, 1898, on dung. _McIlvaine._

A common, frequent species from May to October. It is substantial in flesh, excellent in substance and flavor. Cook soon and not over fifteen minutes.

=PSATHYREL´LA.=

_Gr_—fragile.

=Pileus= membranaceous, _striate_, margin straight, at first pressed to the stem, _not extending beyond the gills_. =Veil= inconspicuous. =Gills= sooty-black, _not variegated_. =Spores= black.

Closely resembling Psathyra in appearance, but separated by the spore color.

In the black-spored series Panæolus and Anellaria are distinguished by their pilei not being striate and Coprinus by its deliquescent gills.

The species are small and can seldom be gathered in quantity. But those tested have the full mushroom flavor and are valued for the flavor they give to less gifted species when cooked with them.

=P. gra´cilis= Fr.—slender. =Pileus= ½-1 in. broad, _sooty_, livid, etc., when dry, tan, rosy or whitish, hygrophanous, membranaceous, bell-shaped, obtuse, smooth, _even_, slightly and pellucidly-striate only round the margin. =Stem= 3 in. and more long, scarcely 1 line thick, tubular, _remarkably tense and straight_, equal, naked, smooth, whitish, _not rooted, white-villous at the base_. =Gills= wholly adnate, commonly _broader_ behind (rarely linear), almost _distant_, distinct, at first whitish, then cinereous-blackish with the black spores, _edge rose-colored_. _Fries._

When dry the pileus is soft to the touch. Gregarious, fragile. Very similar to A. corrugis, and there is a variety corrugated. _Stevenson._

=Spores= ellipsoid, 13–14×7–8µ _K._; 5×12µ _W.G.S._; 7×3–3.5µ _Massee_; 14×8µ _Morgan_.

New York, _Peck_, Rep. 23; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, common, rich ground, June to October. _McIlvaine._

A common and beautiful fungus, growing in patches on rich ground. It is decidedly prim. Its conical cap is regular as an extinguisher. It pays to gather it for flavoring other species. I have not seen the corrugated form mentioned by Fries. P. graciloides Pk. lacks the rosy-edged gills; gills are whitish.

(Plate CX.)

=P. graciloi´des= Pk.—slender. =Pileus= thin, conical or bell-shaped, glabrous, hygrophanous, brown and striatulate when moist, whitish and subrugulose when dry. =Lamellæ= ascending, rather broad, subdistant, brown, becoming blackish-brown, the edge whitish. =Stem= long, straight, fragile, hollow, smooth, white. =Spores= blackish, elliptical, 15–16.5×8–8.5µ.

=Plant= gregarious, 4–6 in. high. =Pileus= 1 in. broad. =Stem= 1 line thick.

Ground in an old dooryard. Maryland. September.

This is allied to A. gracilis Fr., but the edge of the gills is not rosy. When drying the moisture leaves the disk of the pileus first, the margin last. When dry the plant bears some resemblance to large forms of A. tener. Under a lens the texture of the surface of the pileus is seen to be composed of matted fibrils. _Peck_, 30th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey, on ground about houses and stables, often in barn yards, after they have been cleaned out and are empty for the summer. _McIlvaine._

The whitish-edged gills with entire absence of rosiness on gill edges distinguish this species from P. gracilis Fr. It is frequent but not plentiful. Often a pint can be gathered. It has a fine mushroom flavor, resembling the delicate forms of Coprinus.

=P. atoma´ta= Fr.—_atomatus_, atomate. =Pileus= ½-1 in. broad, livid, when dry becoming pale tan or pale flesh-color, sometimes reddish, hygrophanous, membranaceous, bell-shaped, obtuse, _slightly striate_, when dry without striæ, slightly wrinkled, _sprinkled with shining atoms_. =Stem= 2 in. long, almost 1 line thick, tubular, equal, not rooted, _lax_, slightly bent (not tense and straight), _white and white pulverulent at the apex_. =Gills= adnate, broad, _ventricose, slightly distinct_, whitish, but cinereous-blackish with the black spores. _Fries._

Solitary or gregarious. Pileus changing like A. gracilis from livid to whitish and rose-color, but more fragile. _Stevenson._

=Spores= elliptical, 10×4µ _Massee_; 14×9µ _W.G.S_.; 11×8µ _Morgan_.

Chester county, Pa., June to September. _McIlvaine._

Several specimens were eaten. In flavor they could not be distinguished from C. micaceus. The scarcity and small size of the species make it of little value, save as a flavoring.

(Plate CXI.)

=P. dissemina´ta= Pers.—_dissemino_, to scatter. Found everywhere. Densely tufted. =Pileus= about ½ in. across, membranaceous, ovate, bell-shaped, at first scurfy, then naked, coarsely striate, margin entire, yellowish then gray. =Gills= adnate, narrow, whitish, then gray, finally blackish. =Stem= 1–1½ in. long, rather curved, mealy then smooth, fragile, hollow. _Massee._

Crowded. =Pileus= ovate, conical, at length bell-shaped, ⅓-½ in. from the base to the apex, striate and plicate, membranaceous, pale buff or reddish-brown, at length gray, becoming flaccid and dissolving. =Gills= distant, narrow, pale brown. =Stipes= 1–3 in. long, slender, weak, brittle, crooked, hollow, pale yellowish, whitish or grayish. Particularly partial to old willow trees, and when growing on a stump of a felled tree often covering nearly a square yard. _Grev._

=Spores= 8×6µ _W.G.S_.; 7.6×5µ _Morgan._

West Virginia, New Jersey, Mt. Gretna, Pa., about abandoned camp. Densely tufted. May to frost. _McIlvaine._

Patches of it are very common on old trunks, about decaying trees, on ground. The caps rarely reach 1 in. in diameter. The plants cook away to almost nothing, but they are of fine flavor, which they impart to the cooking medium.

=GOMPHI´DIUS= Fr.

A wooden bolt or nail.

=Hymenophore= decurrent. =Gills= distant, composed of a mucilaginous membrane, which can be readily separated into two plates, continuous at the edge which is acute and powdered with the blackish fusiform spores. =Veil= viscoso-floccose. Fleshy, putrescent, pileus at length the shape of an inverted cone.

A small genus with great difference among the species. Intermediate in habit between Cortinarius and Hygrophorus.

Universal =Veil= glutinous, at first terminating on the stem in a floccose ring soon disappearing. The =Gills= frequently admit of being detached and stretched out into a continuous membrane. _Fries._

A genus possessing several well-marked characters. The very decurrent gills differ from all others in their soft mucilaginous consistency. The spores are larger than usual in the Agaricaceæ and have the elongated spindle-shape found in Boleti. The stem and pileus are of the same substance, and the pileus and veil are both glutinous when moist. The spores have been described as greenish-gray becoming black, and as dingy-olive.

I have had opportunity to see but two species of this small genus—G. rhodoxanthus and G. viscidus. Of these the spores are decidedly olivaceous. If the six other species recorded as found in the United States are as creditable, they are well worth hunting for. G. Oregonensis Pk. is reported as edible and as a valuable food species in Oregon. The glutinous coatings to pileus and stem do not appear on the American form of G. rhodoxanthus in the localities I have found it in during fifteen years.

=G. glutino´sus= (Schaeff.) Fr.—_glutin_, glue. =Pileus= 2–5 in. broad, purple-brown, often mottled with black spots, fleshy, convex, obtuse, at length plane, even depressed, even, smooth, very glutinous. =Flesh= thick, about ½ in., soft, white. =Stem= 2–3 in. and more long, about ½ in. thick, solid, whitish, thickened and externally and internally yellow at the base, viscid with the veil, fibrillose or varying with black scales. =Cortina= often woven in the form of a ring, but soon fugacious. =Gills= deeply decurrent, distant, distinct, branched, quite entire, mucilaginous, 3–4 lines broad, _at first whitish, then cinereous_, clouded with the spores.

Trama none, wherefore the gills easily separate from the pileus. Taste watery, moldy. Odor not marked. _Stevenson._

=Spores= 20µ _Cooke_; 18–23×6–8µ _K._; 16–17×6µ _W.G.S._; 18–20×6µ _Massee_.

Distinguished by the bright yellow base of stem.

Pine woods. July to November. Nova Scotia. _Somers._

Edible. _Leuba._ Chiefly used for catsup. _Cooke._

Var. _ro´seus_. =Pileus= rose-color. =Stem= white, attenuated and rosy flesh-color internally at the base. Very distinguished, always smaller.

=Spores= 20–22×6µ _K._

Nova Scotia. Massachusetts. _Frost._

I have not seen this species or its variety. Eminent authorities vouch for its edibility.

=G. Oregonen´sis= Pk. =Pileus= at first convex, becoming nearly plane or somewhat centrally depressed, viscid, brown or dark-brown, becoming black in drying, taste sweet and pleasant. =Lamellæ= numerous, rather close, adnate or slightly decurrent, blackish in the dried plant. =Stem= short, solid, equal or slightly tapering upward, colored like the pileus. =Spores= oblong, 10–12.5µ long, 4–5µ broad.

=Pileus= 5–10 cm. broad. =Stem= 2.5–5 cm. long, 4–10 mm. thick.

Fir woods. Oregon. September to December. _Lane._

Dr. Lane writes that this species is edible and grows so abundantly in fir woods that it might be gathered by wagon loads and might be made a source of an abundant food supply. _Peck_. Torrey Bulletin, Vol. 25, No. 6, June, 1898.

(Plate CXII.)

GOMPHIDIUS VISCIDUS.
One-half natural size.
]

=G. vis´cidus= Fr.—viscid. =Pileus= 2–3 in. and more broad, brownish-red, compact, at first bell-shaped, then expanded, umbonate, slightly viscous, shining when dry. =Flesh= yellowish. =Stem= 3–4 in. and more long, ½ in. thick, solid, equal or attenuated at the base which is rhubarb-colored internally, scaly-fibrillose, not very viscous, yellowish. =Cortina= very evidently floccose, not glutinous, woven in the form of a ring, but readily falling off. =Gills= deeply decurrent, distant, the shorter ones adnexed to the longer, not truly branched, at first paler, somewhat olive, at length brownish-purple, clouded with the spores. _Fries._

Hymenophore descending between the gill plates. Odor not unpleasant. _Stevenson._

Chiefly used in catsup. _Cooke._ Edible. _Leuba._ _Cooke._

North Carolina, Massachusetts, _Frost_. Minnesota, California, Pennsylvania.

Many grew under pines at Mt. Gretna, Pa., September to November. The gills seemed branched, but were grown together. Taste and smell pleasant. The caps are good, but not equal to G. rhodoxanthus.

=G. rhodoxan´thus= Schw. (Plate XCVII, fig. 4, 5, p. 352.) Solitary. =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad, cushion-shaped, reddish-yellow, sometimes with dusky hues. =Gills= arched, decurrent, orange-yellow. =Stem= attenuated, short, firm.

=Spores= oblong, 10–12.5µ in length. _Peck._ Olivaceous. _McIlvaine._

Solitary, gregarious or cespitose.

Among leaves and grass in shady places. August to October.

When the student has mastered the name and memorized the description, Gomphidius rhodoxanthus can not be mistaken for any other species.

It is not common in localities I have frequented, but its presence is pretty general in the United States, specimens having been sent to me from Georgia, Iowa, New York, New Jersey, etc., and I have found it in West Virginia, North Carolina, Woodland Cemetery, Philadelphia, and other places in Pennsylvania, from July to September, 1898, inclusive. Having enjoyed it in West Virginia in 1882, I was delighted to find it in generous quantity at Mt. Gretna, Pa., and to eat many meals of it. Its caps are not excelled by any edible fungus. They have solid, delicious substance and rich full flavor.

The plant is often cespitose. I have never found its cap viscid or glutinous. The cooked flesh has the latter consistency.

=MONTAGNITES= Fr.

After Montagne. (Plate CI, fig. 6, p. 368.)

The universal veil forming a volva, persistent. =Stem= dilated at the apex into a plane round disk, even on both sides, _to the margin_ of which are _adfixed the gills which are free, not joined by any membrane_, radiating, razor-shaped, persistent, obtuse at the edge. =Trama= cellulose. =Spores= oblong, even, black fuscous. _Fries._

A single species is reported from Texas.

FAMILY II.—=POLYPORACEÆ.=

Hymenophore inferior, facing the ground. Hymenium consisting of tubes with poriform mouths which are round or angular, sometimes sinuous or torn, lined with 4-spored sporophores and cystidia.

Fleshy, coriaceous or woody fungi, most abundant and luxuriant in warm countries. Intermediate between the Agaricaceæ and the Hydnaceæ, connected with the former by Dædalea and Lenzites, and with the latter by Fistulina and Irpex. _Fries._

Within this large family are famed edible species, notably in Boletinus, Boletus and Fistulina. In the woody species the razor-strop man finds material for his strops (Polyporus celulinus); the surgeon styptics; the peasant punk to catch sparks from his flint, and the 4th of July urchin a fire-holder to light his pyrotechnics. The Chinese have placed some species in their fathomless materia medica, while the Polyporus of the locust tree is used in America as a medicine for horses. No fungoid growth is more universal. They are the ever active pruners of our trees and converters of forest debris. They begin the task in Nature’s laboratory of changing decaying wood into assimilable shape as food to feed the very trees that dropped it. Some are of annual growth, others add to their substance year after year, often attaining enormous size. In summer and in winter they are ever present objects for interesting study.

SYNOPSIS OF GENERA.

BOLETINUS. Page 398.

Hymenium composed of broader radiating gills connected by very numerous more narrow anastomosing branches or partitions and forming large angular pores. Tubes somewhat tenacious, not easily separable from the hymenophore and from each other, adnate or subdecurrent, yellowish. _Peck._

BOLETUS. Page 404.

Stratum of tubes easily separable from the hymenophore. Stem central.

STROBILOMYCES. Page 475.

Tubes like Boletus, but pileus with large scales. Stem central.

FISTULINA. Page 477.

Fleshy, lateral, tubes crowded but distinct.

POLYPORUS. Page 479.

Stratum of tubes distinct from hymenophore, but not separable, not stratose; fleshy and tough, stipitate or sessile.

FOMES.

Tubes as in Polyporus, often stratose; woody, sessile; dimidiate. (No edible species reported.)

POLYSTICTUS.

Tubes as in Polyporus, not stratose, generally developing from the center to the margin, at first shallow and punctiform, coriaceous or membranaceous. (No edible species reported.)

PORIA.

Tubes as in Polyporus, not stratose; entirely resupinate. (No edible species reported.)

MUCRONOPORUS.

Tubes studded with reddish-brown spines, intermingled with the basidia, otherwise as in Polystictus (and also as in Polyporus and Fomes). _Atkinson._ (No edible species reported.)

TRAMETES.

Tubes immersed in flesh of pileus, of various depths, hence not forming a heterogeneous stratum, subcylindrical, not stratose; corky; sessile.

DÆDALEA.

Tubes as in Trametes, but sinuous and labyrinthiform; corky; not stratose; sessile. (No edible species reported.)

HEXAGONIA.

Tubes from the first dilated in hexagonal channels, not stratose; plants corky, sessile. _Atkinson._ (No edible species reported.)

FAVOLUS.

Tubes large at first, radiating from a central stem, or from a lateral attachment in sessile or dimidiate forms; plants tough and fleshy. _Atkinson._ (No edible species reported.)

CYCLOMYCES.

Gills or tubes in concentric circles. Stem central, subcentral or none. _Atkinson._ (No edible species reported.)

MERULIUS. Page 490.

Subgelatinous. Tubes very shallow, formed by anastomosing wrinkles; resupinate.

=BOLETI´NUS= Kalchb.

(Plate CXIII, p. 402.)

=Hymenophore= not even (as in Boletus), but extended in blunt points descending like a trama among the tubes. =Tubes= not easily separable from the hymenophore and from each other. =Stem= ringed, hollow. =Spores= pale yellowish. Sylloge, Vol. VI, p. 51.

Professor Peck has for excellent reasons, given in his Boleti of the United States, emended the generic diagnosis of Fries thus: _Hymenium composed of broader radiating lamellæ connected by very numerous more narrow anastomosing branches or partitions and forming large angular pores. Tubes somewhat tenacious, not easily separable from the hymenophore and from each other, adnate or subdecurrent, yellowish._

Professor Peck classifies Boletinus as follows:

Stem hollow B. cavipes
Stem solid 1
1. Stem lateral or eccentric B. porosus
1. Stem central 2
2. Pileus pale yellow, silky B. decipiens
2. Pileus red or adorned with red scales 3
3. Pileus red B. paluster
3. Pileus soon red-squamose B. pictus
Boleti of the United States, p. 76.

There are six species given as found in the United States—B. cavipes Kalchb., B. pictus Pk., B. paluster Pk., B. decipiens Pk., B. porosus Pk., B. appendiculatus Pk.—of these I have found and eaten four. B. decipiens has, at this writing, not been seen by Professor Peck, but Professor Farlow, of Harvard, has informed him of authentic specimens. There is every probability of its being as edible as the others; a description of it is, therefore, given.

In consistency Boletinus is of the best, being rather like that of marshmallows, and the same as Boletus subaureus. The flavor is mild and pleasant.

Professor Peck mentions that the smell of B. porosus is sometimes unpleasant. I have been fortunate in not having had this experience.

=B. ca´vipes= Kalchb. =Pileus= broadly convex, rather tough, flexible, soft, subumbonate, fibrillose-scaly, tawny-brown, sometimes tinged with reddish or purplish. =Flesh= yellowish. =Tubes= slightly decurrent, at first pale-yellow, then darker and tinged with green, becoming dingy-ochraceous with age. =Stem= equal or slightly tapering upward, somewhat fibrillose or floccose, slightly ringed, _hollow_, tawny-brown or yellowish-brown, yellowish at the top and marked by the decurrent dissepiments of the tubes, white within. =Veil= whitish, partly adhering to the margin of the pileus, soon disappearing. =Spores= 8–10×4µ.

=Pileus= 1.5–4 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–3 in. long, 3–6 lines thick. Swamps and damp mossy ground under or near tamarack trees. New York, _Peck_; New England, _Frost_.

The pileus is clothed with a fibrillose tomentum which becomes more or less united into floccose tufts or scales. The umbo is not always present and is generally small. The young stem may sometimes be stuffed, but, if so, it soon becomes hollow, though the cavity is irregular. The freshly shed spores have a greenish-yellow or olivaceous hue, but in time they assume a pale or yellowish-ochraceous hue. This species is apparently northern in its range. It loves cold sphagnous swamps in mountainous regions. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

West Virginia mountains under spruce trees. Haddonfield, N.J., among scrub pines. Mt. Gretna, Pa., among pines.

It is of excellent consistency and of mild pleasant flavor. It is at its best in patties, croquettes and escallops.

=B. appendicula´tus= Pk. =Pileus= fleshy, convex, glabrous, ochraceous-yellow, the margin appendiculate with an incurved membranous veil. =Flesh= pale-yellow, unchangeable. =Tubes= rather small, yellow, their mouths angular, unequal, becoming darker or brownish where wounded. =Stem= solid, slightly thickened at the base, yellow. =Spores= pale-yellow, oblong, 10–12×4µ. =Pileus= 4–8 in. broad. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 4–6 lines thick.

Under or near fir trees. Washington. September to December. _Yeomans._ _Peck_, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 23, No. 10.

=B. pic´tus= Pk. =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, at first covered with a _red fibrillose tomentum which soon divides into small scales revealing the yellow color of the pileus beneath_. =Flesh= yellow, often slowly changing to dull pinkish or reddish tints where wounded. =Tubes= tenacious, at first pale yellow, becoming darker or dingy ochraceous with age, sometimes changing to pinkish-brown where bruised, concealed in the young plant by the copious whitish webby veil. =Stem= equal or nearly so, solid, _slightly_ and somewhat evanescently annulate, clothed and colored like or a little paler than the pileus, yellowish at the top. =Spores= ochraceous, 9–11×4–5µ.

=Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–3 in. long, 3–6 lines thick.

Woods and mossy swamps. New York, _Peck_; New England, _Frost_; North Carolina, _Curtis_. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

West Virginia mountains, 1882. Haddonfield, N.J., Angora, West Philadelphia, Mt. Gretna, Pa. August and September. In mixed woods, principally oak. Leominster, Mass. _C.F. Nixon_, Ph. G.

It is sometimes found upon much decayed chestnut stumps.

The caps of some species are so cracked as to appear distinctly areolate. The white webby veil is often persistent. The fungus is one of the handsomest. Its rich variegated colors impress it upon eye-memory. It is one of the very best edible species.

(Plate CXII_a_.)

BOLETINUS PALUSTER.
Natural size. (After Peck.)
]

=B. palus´ter= Pk.—=Pileus= thin, broadly convex, plane or slightly depressed, sometimes with a small umbo, floccose-tomentose, _bright red_. =Tubes= very large, slightly decurrent, yellow, becoming ochraceous or dingy ochraceous. =Stem= slender, solid, subglabrous, red, yellowish at the top. =Spores= pinkish-brown, 8–9×4µ.

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

Wet places and sphagnous mossy swamps. New York, _Peck_. Maine, _Harvey_. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

Angora, West Philadelphia and Mt. Gretna, Pa. September. _McIlvaine._

A few specimens found at Mt. Gretna had stems slightly reticulated. Its taste is sweet, smell mild, and cooked it is of excellent body and flavor.

=B. deci´piens= (B. and C.) Pk. =Pileus= dry, minutely silky, _whitish-yellow or pale-buff_, flesh buff, one-third in. thick; hymenium plane or somewhat concave, yellow, consisting of large, unequal, flexuous radiating tubes resembling multiseptate lamellæ. =Stem= equal, solid but spongy. Veil floccose, evanescent, adhering for a time to the margin of the pileus. =Spores= rather minute, oblong, _ochraceo-ferruginous_ (rusty yellow), 8–10×3.5–4µ.

=Pileus= 2 in. broad. Stem 2–2.5 in. long, 3–4 lines thick.

Thin woods. North and South Carolina. _M.A. Curtis._

Specimens of this species have not been seen by me. The authors remark that its affinities are clearly with Boletinus flavidus and its allies, from which it is distinguished by its large radiating pores. They also say that when dry it is scarcely distinguishable from Paxillus porosus Berk., except by its spores. This would imply that its stem is eccentric or lateral, and I have been informed by Mr. Ravenel that it is sometimes so. But specimens of this kind, labeled Boletinus decipiens B. and C., have been received, which show by their spores that they are Paxillus porosus. Besides, Professor Farlow informs me that authentic specimens of B. decipiens in the Curtisian Herbarium have only central stems, from which things I suspect that the two species have been confused. The spore dimensions here given are derived from a specimen in the Curtis Herbarium, through the kindness of Professor Farlow. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

I have not recognized this Boletinus. Its affinities are with excellent edible species.

Photographed by Dr. J.R. Weist. PLATE CXIII.
BOLETINUS POROSUS.
]

=B. poro´sus= (Berk.) Pk. (Plate CXIII.) =Pileus= fleshy, viscid when moist, shining, reddish-brown. =Flesh= 3–9 lines thick, the margin thin and even; hymenium porous, yellow, formed by radiating lamellæ a line to half a line distant, branching and connected by numerous irregular veins of less prominence and forming large angular pores. =Stem= lateral, tough, diffused into the pileus, reticulated at the top by the decurrent walls of the tubes, colored like the pileus. =Spores= semi-ovate.

=Pileus= 2–5 in. broad. =Stem= 6–16 lines long, 4–6 lines thick.

Var. _opa´cus_ (Paxillus porosus Berk., Bull. N.Y. State Mus. 2, p. 32). =Pileus= dry, glabrous or subtomentose, not shining, brown or tawny-brown. =Spores= brownish-ochraceous, 9–11×6–8µ.

Damp ground in woods and open places. Ohio, _Lea_, _Morgan_; North Carolina, _Curtis_; New England, _Frost_, _Farlow_; Wisconsin, _Bundy_; New York, _Peck_.

This species is remarkable for its lateral or eccentric stem. There is often an emargination in the pileus on the side of the stem which gives it a kidney shape. In the typical form it is described as viscid when moist, and the Wisconsin plant is also described as viscid, but in all the New York specimens that I have seen it is dry and sometimes minutely tomentose. I have, therefore, separated these as a variety. The color of the pileus varies from yellowish-brown to reddish-brown or umber. A disagreeable odor is sometimes present. The tubes are rather short and tough and do not easily separate from the hymenophore and from each other. In the young plant they are not separable. They sometimes become slightly blue where wounded. As in other species they are pale yellow when young, but become darker or dingy-ochraceous with age. The spores have been described as bright yellow, but I do not find them so in the New York plant. The plant is incongruous among the Paxilli by reason of its wholly porous hymenium, but in this place it seems to be among its true allies. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

Fine specimens were sent to me by Mr. H.I. Miller, Terre Haute, and Dr. J.R. Weist, Richmond, Ind. They were in condition to be eaten and enjoyed. No disagreeable odor was perceptible.

=B. borea´lis= Pk. =Pileus= fleshy, convex, obtuse or subumbonate, brownish-yellow, obscurely and somewhat reticulately streaked with reddish-brown lines. =Pores= large, angular, unequal, slightly decurrent, brownish-yellow. =Stem= short, equal or slightly tapering upward, brownish-yellow with a whitish myceloid tomentum at the base. =Spores= oblong, 10–12.5×4–5µ.

=Pileus= 1–2 in. broad. =Stem= about 1 in. long.

Sandy soil. Capstan Island, Labrador. October. _Waghorne._

The markings of the pileus appear as if due to the drying of a glutinous substance. The radiating lamellæ and the transverse partitions of the interspaces are very plainly shown. Described from two dried specimens. _Peck_, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 22, No. 5.

=BOLE´TUS= Dill.

_Gr_—a clod.

The name of a fungus considered a great delicacy among the Romans, derived from _bolos_, a clod, probably to denote the round figure of the plant.

=Hymenium= wholly composed of small tubes, connected together in a stratum, the surface of which is dotted with their poriform mouths, and which is distinct from the hymenophore on account of the latter not descending into a trama. =Tubes= packed close together, easily separating from the hymenophore and from one another. =Pores= or mouths of the tubes round or angular (in the subgenus Gyrodon sinuous or gyroso-plicate). =Spores= normally fusiform, rarely oval or somewhat round. _Growing on the ground, fleshy, putrescent, with central stems. Mostly edible, and of importance as articles of food; a few poisonous._ _Fries._

No American species in Gyrodon. It is therefore omitted in synopsis of tribes. _C.M._

This genus abounds in species and is related to Boletinus on one hand and to Polyporus on the other. From the latter it is distinguished by the absence of a trama and from both by the tubes being easily separable from the hymenophore and from each other. Some of the species are very variable, others are so closely allied that they appear to almost run together.

The species are generally terrestrial, but B. hemichrysus is habitually wood-growing, and others are occasionally so.

The spores vary so much in color in such closely related species that this character is scarcely available for general classification, but it is valuable as a specific character and should always be noted.

SYNOPSIS OF THE TRIBES.

Pileus and stem yellow-pulverulent, stem
not reticulated with veins (p. 421.) Pulverulenti

Pileus and stem not yellow-pulverulent, or if so then
the stem reticulated with veins 1

1. Tubes yellowish with reddish, or
reddish-brown mouths (p. 453.) Luridi

1. Tubes of one color, or mouths not reddish. 2

2. Stem lacunose-reticulated and
lacerated. (p. 436.) Laceripedes

2. Stem reticulated with veins, not lacerated. 3

2. Stem not reticulated. 5

3. Tubes white, becoming flesh-colored. (p. 466.) Hyporhodii

3. Tubes not becoming flesh-colored. 4

4. Tubes free, or if adnate then
stuffed when young. (p. 444.) Edules

4. Tubes adnate, not stuffed when
young. (p. 438.) Calopodes

5. Pileus viscid or glutinous when moist. 6

5. Pileus dry. 7

6. Tubes adnate. (p. 406.) Viscipelles

6. Tubes free or nearly so,
yellowish. (p. 444.) Edules

6. Tubes free or nearly so, whitish. (p. 459.) Versipelles

7. Stem solid. 8

7. Stem spongy within, soon cavernous
or hollow. (p. 471.) Cariosi

8. Tubes becoming flesh-colored. (p. 466.) Hyporhodii

8. Tubes not becoming flesh-colored. 9

9. Tubes adnate. 10

9. Tubes free or nearly so. 11

10. Pileus subtomentose. (p. 430.) Subtomentosi

10. Pileus glabrous or pruinose. (p. 423.) Subpruinosi

11. Tubes yellowish or stuffed when
young. (p. 444.) Edules

11. Tubes whitish, not stuffed. (p. 459.) Versipelles

_Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

C.H. Peck, N.Y. State Botanist, has contributed to Mycological literature his careful arrangement and analysis of species of this genus, in his “Boleti of the United States.” Species of the genus are found in every state of the Union. Several species are common to all the states. Comprehending, as do the states, all sorts of climates within their vast range of latitude, differences in appearance and structure in the same species must be expected, dependent largely, as they are in most fungi, upon habitat and environment. These variations will frequently suggest new species. Descriptions which are typical and which can be recognized as standard are most desirable. Professor Peck’s are accepted by the writer as such, that there may be uniformity, and are quoted as fully as space will permit. Such variations as are attributable to locality will be noted.

Since 1882 the writer has given great attention to the edible qualities of the Boleti. He is convinced by many personal tests and those made by his family and friends, that much, if not all, of the suspicion thrown about Boleti is unjust and erroneous. He is able to state positively that change of color when bruised or broken; bitter and pepperiness have nothing whatever to do with the edible qualities of species exhibiting them, excepting in B. felleus, which exhibits an intense bitter, not lost in cooking. It is not poisonous.

The writer has the courage of his convictions, and has taken interest in eating species with a bad reputation whenever opportunity afforded, that their just dues might be given them. He has never experienced the slightest inconvenience. But others may not be so fortunate.

Before cooking Boleti the stem, unless crisp and tender, should be removed, as should the tubes unless young and fresh. They broil, fry, stew, make good soups and dry well. See recipes.

It is believed that all species of Boleti up to this time found in America are described in this volume. When no remarks of the writer follow the descriptions, he has not had an opportunity to test the edible quality of the species.

VISCIPELLES—_viscum_, bird lime; _pellís_, a skin.

=Pileus= covered with a viscose pellicle. =Stem= solid, neither bulbous, lacerated nor reticulated with veins. =Tubes= adnate, rarely sinuate, of one color.

The first four and several of the final species here described recede somewhat from the character of the central or typical species of the group.

Stem with an annulus 1

Stem without an annulus 9

1. Stem dotted both above and below the
annulus 2

1. Stem dotted above the annulus 3

1. Stem not dotted 4

2. Tubes salmon color B. salmonicolor

2. Tubes yellowish B. subluteus

3. Annulus entirely viscose B. flavidus

3. Annulus membranous, fugacious B. elegans

3. Annulus membranous, persistent B. luteus

4. Pileus squamose B. spectabilis

4. Pileus not squamose 5

5. Tubes whitish or grayish 6

5. Tubes yellow or yellowish 7

6. Flesh white, unchangeable B. Elbensis

6. Flesh white, changing to bluish B. serotinus

7. Spores globose or broadly elliptical B. sphærosporus

7. Spores much longer than broad 8

8. Annulus fugacious B. flavus

8. Annulus persistent B. Clintonianus

9. Stem dotted with glandules 10

9. Stem not dotted 16

10. Pileus some shade of yellow 11

10. Pileus some other color 15

11. Stem rhubarb color B. punctipes

11. Stem some other color 12

12. Stem four lines or more thick 13

12. Stem less than four lines thick B. Americanus

13. Pileus adorned with tufts of hairs or
fibrils B. hirtellus

13. Pileus glabrous 14

14. Stem yellow within B. subaureus

14. Stem whitish or yellowish-white
within B. granulatus

15. Pileus white B. albus

15. Pileus not white B. granulatus

16. Stem squamulose 17

16. Stem not squamulose 18

17. Pileus dull red B. dichrous

17. Pileus some other color B. collinitus

_W.G.S._us yellow 19

_W.G.S._us bay-red or chestnut 20

_W.G.S._us some other color 21

19. Flesh pale-yellow B. unicolor

19. Flesh white B. bovinus

20. Stem short, one inch or less B. brevipes

20. Stem longer, two inches or more B. badius

21. Tubes olivaceous or golden-yellow B. mitis

21. Tubes ferruginous 22

22. Taste mild B. rubinellus

22. Taste acrid or peppery B. piperatus

_Peck_, Boleti of the U.S., p. 83.

(Plate CXV.)

BOLETUS SPECTABILIS.
Natural size.
]

=B. specta´bilis= Pk.—_spectabilis_, distinguished. =Pileus= broadly convex, _at first covered with a red tomentum, then scaly_, viscid when moist, _red_, the tomentose scales becoming grayish-red, brownish or yellowish. =Flesh= whitish or pale-yellow. =Tubes= at first yellow and concealed by a reddish glutinous membrane, then ochraceous, convex, _large, angular, adnate_. =Stem= nearly equal, annulate, yellow above the annulus, red or red with yellow stains below. =Spores= _purplish-brown_, 13–15×6–7µ.

=Pileus= 2–5 in. broad. =Stem= 3–5 in. long, 4–6 lines thick.

Thin woods in swamps. New York, _Peck_; Wisconsin, _Bundy_.

This is a rare and showy species which inhabits the cold northern swamps of the country. It probably extends into Canada. When cut, the flesh emits a strong, unpleasant odor. Wounds of the flesh made by insects or other small animals have a bright-yellow color. When young, the tomentose veil covers the whole plant, but it soon parts into scales on the pileus and partly or wholly disappears from the stem. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

London, Can., _J. Dearness_; _Peck_, Rep. 44, N.Y. State Bot.

=B. Elben´sis= Pk. =Pileus= convex, glabrous, viscid when moist, dingy gray or pinkish-gray inclining to brownish, obscurely spotted or streaked as if with patches of innate fibrils. =Flesh= white. =Tubes= at first whitish, becoming dingy or brownish-ochraceous, nearly plane, adnate or slightly decurrent, rather large, angular. =Stem= nearly equal, annulate, _whitish above the ring_, colored like the pileus below, sometimes slightly reticulated at the top. =Spores= _ferruginous_-brown, 10–12×4–5µ.

=Pileus= 2–4 in. broad. =Stem= 3–5 in. long, 4–6 lines thick. Thin woods of tamarack, spruce and balsam. New York. _Peck._

Its locality is thus far limited to the Adirondack region of this state. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

=B. sero´tinus= Frost.—late. Bulletin Buffalo Soc. Nat. Sci., 1874. =Pileus= flat or convex, viscid, sordid brown, streaked with the remnants of the veil, especially near the margin, which is white, very thin, and when partly grown singularly pendent. =Flesh= white, _changing to bluish_. =Tubes= large, angular, unequal, slightly decurrent, at first sordid white or gray, sometimes tinged with green near the stem, afterward cinnamon-yellow. =Stem= reticulated above the ring which adheres partly to it and partly to the margin of the pileus, white but stained by the brownish spores and tinged with yellow at maturity. =Spores= 10×6µ.

Shaded grassy ground. New England, _Frost_.

Probably this is only a variety of the preceding species. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

=B. salmoni´color= Frost. Bull. Buff. Soc. Nat. Sci., 1874. =Pileus= convex, soft, very glutinous, brownish or tawny-white with a faint tinge of red, wine-color when dry, the margin thin. =Flesh= _tinged with red_. =Tubes= simple, even, angular, adnate, _pale salmon_ color. =Stem= small, dotted above with bright ferruginous red, sordid below, annulus _dingy salmon-color_. =Spores= 8×2.5µ.

Borders of pine woods. New England. _Frost._

Apparently a distinct species. No specimens seen. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

=B. el´egans= Schum. =Pileus= convex or plane, viscose, _golden-yellow or somewhat rust-color_. =Flesh= pale-yellow. =Tubes= decurrent, golden or sulphur-yellow, the mouths minute, simple. =Stem= unequal, firm, golden or reddish, _dotted above the fugacious white or pale-yellowish annulus_.

=Pileus= 3–4.5 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 in. long.

Woods, especially under or near larch trees. North Carolina, _Curtis_; Wisconsin, _Bundy_; Minnesota, _Johnson_. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

Cordier and Gillet give the species as edible though not delicate.

West Philadelphia on lawns under larches, 1887–1891. _McIlvaine._

The caps are of good flavor and consistency. They are best fried or broiled.

=B. Clin´tonianus= Pk. =Pileus= convex, very viscid or glutinous, glabrous, soft, shining, _golden-yellow, reddish yellow or chestnut color_, the margin thin. =Flesh= pale yellow, becoming less bright or dingy on exposure to the air. =Tubes= nearly plane, adnate or subdecurrent, _small_, angular or subrotund, pale-yellow, becoming dingy-ochraceous with age, _changing to brown or purplish-brown where bruised_. =Stem= equal or slightly thickened toward the base, straight or flexuous, _yellow at the top_, reddish or reddish-brown below the annulus, sometimes varied with yellow stains, the annulus white or yellow, _persistent_, forming a thick band about the stem. =Spores= _brownish-ochraceous_, 10–11×4–5µ.

=Pileus= 2–5 in. broad. =Stem= 2–5 in. long, 4–9 lines thick.

Mossy or grassy ground in woods or open places, especially under or near tamarack trees. New York, _Peck_; New England, _Frost_.

This is apparently closely related to B. elegans, from which it differs in its thick persistent ring, in its stem which is not at all dotted and in its longer and darker-colored spores. Its smaller tubes and persistent ring separate it also from B. flavus. In the typical form the pileus is bay-red or chestnut color, but plants growing in open places generally have it yellowish or reddish-yellow. It is mild to the taste and I have eaten it sparingly. It sometimes grows in tufts. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

=B. inflex´us= Pk.—curving. =Pileus= convex, glabrous, viscid, yellow, often red or reddish on the disk, the margin thin, inflexed, concealing the marginal tubes. =Flesh= whitish, not changing color where wounded. =Tubes= rather long, adnate, yellowish, becoming dingy-yellow with age, the mouths small, dotted with reddish glandules. =Stem= rather slender, not ringed, solid, viscid, dotted with livid-yellow glandules. =Spores= yellowish, 10–12×4–5µ.

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

Open woods. Trexlertown. September. _Herbst._

This Boletus belongs to the tribe Viscipelles. It is remarkable for and easily recognized by the inflexed margin of the pileus, which imitates to some extent the appendiculate veil of Boletus versipellis. It sometimes grows in tufts. The paper in which fresh specimens were wrapped was stained yellow. Boletus Braunii Bres. has an inflexed margin, but that is a much larger plant with a yellowish-brown pileus, a fibrillose stem and much smaller spores. _Peck_, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. 22, No. 5.

=B. fla´vus= With. =Pileus= convex, compact, covered with a brownish separating gluten, _pale-yellow_. =Flesh= pale-yellow. =Tubes= large, angular, adnate, yellow. =Stem= yellow, becoming brownish, reticulated above the _membranous fugacious_ dirty yellowish annulus. =Spores= 8–10×3–4µ.

=Pileus= 2–5 in. broad. =Stem= 2–3 in. long, 6–10 lines thick.

Woods. Minnesota, _Johnson_; Wisconsin, _Bundy_.

This is apparently a rare species in this country. I have not seen it. It is said to resemble B. luteus, from which it is separated by the large angular mouths of the tubes. In British Fungi the spores are described as “spindle-shaped, yellowish-brown;” in Sylloge, as “ovoid-oblong, acute at the base, granulose, pale ochraceous.” _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S.

=B. fistulo´sus= Pk. =Pileus= convex, viscid, glabrous, yellow, the margin at first incurved or involute. =Flesh= yellow. =Tubes= plane or subventricose, medium size, round with thin walls, adnate or sometimes depressed around the stem, yellow. =Stem= rather slender, subequal, viscid, glabrous, hollow, yellow, with a white mycelioid tomentum at the base. =Spores= elliptical, 13×6µ.

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

Grassy woods. Auburn, Ala. July. _Underwood._

A small but pretty species of a yellow color throughout. It is remarkable for its hollow stem, which is suggestive of the specific name. It is referable to the tribe Viscipelles. _Peck_, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. 24, No. 3.