Chapter XIX: Part 19

=H. spongio´sipes= Pk. =Pileus= convex, soft, spongy-tomentose, but tough in texture, rusty-brown, the lower stratum more firm and fibrous. but concolorous. =Spines= slender, 1–2 lines long, rusty-brown, becoming darker with age. =Stem= hard and corky within, externally spongy-tomentose, colored like the pileus, the central substance often transversely zoned especially near the top. =Spores= subglobose, nodulose, purplish-brown, 4–6µ broad.

=Pileus= 1.5–4 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–3 in. long, 4–8 lines thick.

Woods. Rensselaer and Saratoga counties. August.

This plant was formerly referred to Hydnum ferrugineum Fr. _Peck_, 50th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Found in pine woods, near Haddonfield, N.J., by T.J. Collins, September, 1897. =Cap= and =stem= dark brown. =Spines= darker. =Stem= swelling toward base, which then tapers in a long rooting way. =Cap= umbilicate. Specimens identified by Professor Peck.

Edible but tough and uninviting. Yields a good fungoid flavor to the water in which it is boiled.

=H. gelatino´sum= Scop. Transferred to Tremelledon as T. gelatinosum, under which heading it is described and its edible qualities noted.

Photographed by Dr. J.R. Weist. PLATE CXXXIV.
HYDNUM CORALLOIDES.
]

MERIS´MA. _Gr_—a division.

(Very much branched or of an irregular form without a distinct margin.)

=H. coralloi´des= Scop. (Plate CXXXIV.) 6–18 in. across. Tufts on wood. Pure shining white growing yellow with age, composed wholly of attenuated interlacing branches ½ in. at base, tapering to a point. =Spines= growing from one side of the branches, 3–4 lines in length, awl-shaped.

=Spores= globose, 4–6µ diameter _Massee_.

_Peck_, Rep. 22; Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; Massachusetts, _Sprague_; California; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

Edible. _Curtis._

Grows upon standing and fallen timber which is attacked by decay. Fir, oak, beech, ash, birch, hickory and other trees are inhabited by it. August to frost.

This beautiful species can not be mistaken for any other. Its name is the best guide to its identification. Dame Nature has made many exquisite decorations for herself and this is one of them.

It is generally eaten, but is rare. Professor Peck speaks affectionately of it as a gratuitous adjunct to his bill of fare when on botanical tramps in the Adirondacks.

=H. caput-ur´si= Fr.—bear-head. 6–8 in. high, 6–8 in. across. Tufts usually pendulous, compact, white, becoming yellow and brownish. =Spines= up to 1 in. long, round, pointed. =Branches= in every direction, short.

Closely resembling H. coralloides and in small forms with shorter spines easily mistaken for it. Position of growth has much to do with its shape and appearance. On fallen timber the branchlets and spines may be erect.

New York, _Peck_, 44th Rep.; North Carolina, _Curtis_; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

Edible. _Curtis._ Edible. _Peck._

Hydnum caput-ursi is common in West Virginia forests. It is conspicuous on standing oaks, and at a distance a puzzling object to one not familiar with such excrescences. It grows on standing oaks near Haddonfield, N.J., and sparsely at Mt. Gretna, Pa.

It is more compact, and is tougher than H. coralloides and H. Medusæ, but cooks tender and is very good.

Photographed by Dr. J.R. Weist. PLATE CXXXV.
HYDNUM CAPUT-MEDUSÆ.
]

=H. caput-Medu´sæ= Bull.—head of Medusæ. (Plate CXXXV.) 3–18 in. across, 2–8 in. high. Tufts pendulous. White then grayish. Body compact, tapering to a solid base, more or less stem-like. =Spines= covering entire surface. Those upon top are long, thin, straight or distorted, growing shorter around and to the under side where they are short and straight. The wavy appearance of the slender spines remind of the snaky locks of Medusa, hence the name.

Edible. _Curtis._ Edible. _Leuba._

On elms at Haddonfield, N.J.; on oaks at Mt. Gretna, Pa., and in Woodland Cemetery, and on elms in Washington Square, Philadelphia, Pa. _McIlvaine._

Commonly eaten in Italy and parts of Austria; rare elsewhere in Europe. Occurring over the United States. Specimens eighteen inches across were seen by the writer in the West Virginia mountains.

Mr. H.I. Miller, Terre Haute, Ind., sent me a fine specimen weighing 10½ pounds.

The American species, as far as seen by the writer, changes to a light yellow when ageing. The entire fungus is edible and excellent, but the tender spines and more delicate parts make a dish equaled by few fungi.

=H. erina´ceum= Bull.—_erinaceus_, a hedgehog. 2–8 in. and more across. Tufts pendulous. White and yellowish-white becoming yellow-brownish, fleshy, elastic, tough, sometimes emarginate (broadly attached as if tuft was cut in two, sliced off where attached), a mass of latticed branches and fibrils. =Spines= 1½-4 in. long, crowded, straight, equal, pendulous. =Stem= sometimes rudimentary.

On trunks of oak, beech, etc. July to October.

=Spores= subglobose, 5–6µ diameter _Massee_; white, plain, 5×6µ _W.G.S._

Alabama, _Miss K. Skehan_; Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_; Massachusetts, _Sprague_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 22.

Eaten in Germany and France. _Cooke._

A dead beech trunk at Eagle’s Mere, Pa., in August, 1898, bore at least fifty pounds of it. It draped one side of the tree from root to top with yellowish, pendulous tufts, with spines up to 3 in. long, which waved in the wind. The spines and tender parts were stewed, and enjoyed by many. It shrinks very much in drying, becoming sour.

A´PUS. _Gr_—without; a foot.

(Stemless, dimidiate, margin distinct.)

=H. septentriona´le= Fr.—Northern. Fleshy-fibrous, becoming pale, imbricated. =Pilei= not numerous, growing one above the other, plane, behind thick, consolidated, margin straight, whole. =Spines= very crowded, slender, equal.

The largest known Hydnum.

Received from E.B. Sterling, Trenton, N.J., September, 1897. The specimens formed part of a dense fasciculate mass weighing over 20 pounds, growing on a beech stump. Edges of the young plant are edible, but have little taste.

=IR´PEX= Fr.

A harrow.

Hymenium inferior, toothed from the first. Teeth firm, somewhat coriaceous, acute, concrete with the pileus, arranged in rows or like network, connected at the base by folds, which are gill-like (in sessile species) or resemble honeycomb (in resupinate ones). Sporophores 4-spored. Growing on wood, somewhat growing from the side or upon the back, approaching Lenzites and Dædaleæ.

Irpex differs from Hydnum in having the spines connected at the base, and in their being less awl-shaped and pointed.

It is reported as found well up in the northern States, but its species prefer warm climates. Irpex contains no choice species, but all I have tested can be eaten.

=I. obli´quus= Fr.—oblique. White, inclining to pale, effused (spread), forming an adnate crust, circumference flaxy. Teeth _extended from a base resembling honeycomb, compressed, unequal, incised_, oblique, 2–3 lines long.

At first abundantly porous, but toothed from the first, at length quite as in Hydna.

On stumps and dead branches. November to February. _Stevenson._

This spreads in irregular patches on the surface of decaying wood. The pores for a small space round the margin are round and distinct, but toward the center are greatly lengthened out, lying one upon another in an imbricated manner. The color is white at first, when old it changes to a yellow-brown, and at last to a dirty fuscous black. _Bolton._

At first it looks more like a small white orbicular resupinate Polyporus than an Irpex. _Peck._

The species is common and can be collected at most times of the year. When fresh and moist it can be shaved from its host plant. Goodly quantities can thus be obtained. It stews to a firm gelatinous mass of pleasant flavor. The lost hunter need not die of starvation in any woods if he will but study the tree-growing fungi, and especially the small species, hitherto insignificant in food circles.

=I. car´neus= Fr.—resembling the color of flesh. Reddish, effused, 1–3 in. long, _cartilaginous-gelatinous_, membranaceous, adnate. Teeth obtuse and awl-shaped, entire, united at the base.

It inclines to Radula and Phlebia. _Stevenson._

On tulip poplar, Haddonfield, N.J., September, 1892; on hickory, Angora, Philadelphia, September, 1897. _McIlvaine._

The entire fungus is good, cooking like a Hydnum.

=I. defor´mis= Fr.—deformed. White, effused, crustaceous, thin, circumference pubescent, somewhat flaxy. Teeth _extended in awl-shape from a minutely porous base, thin_, somewhat digitato-incised (cut in finger-shape), 1–2 lines long. _Fries._

It approaches the Polypori. Grows on wood. _Stevenson._

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Massachusetts, _Frost_.

Common on stumps and trees. The awl-shaped teeth, which have the appearance of shreds, can be scraped from the fresh plant, or if dried plants are moistened, the teeth are detachable, and are food-giving.

=I. fusco-vioia´ceus= Fr.—_fuscus_, brown; _violaceous_, violet. =Pileus= 2 in. long, more than 1 in. broad, _white inclining to hoary_, effuso-reflexed, coriaceous, silky, zoned. Teeth in rows in the form of plates, _brownish-violet_, incised at the apex. _Fries._

On pine trunks. _Stevenson._

Decaying trunks of spruce, abies nigra. Adirondack mountains. July.

Our specimens are not “silky,” as required by the description, but villose or tomentose-villose as in Polyporus hirsutus and P. abietinus, the latter of which this species closely resembles. The hymenium, however, is coarser, more highly colored and lamellated to such an extent that young specimens might easily be taken for a Lenzites. _Peck_, 30th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Found in West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. _McIlvaine._

Very common on logs of coniferous trees. It is difficult to collect it entirely free from resin, which as a seasoning is not recommended.

FAMILY IV.—=THELEPHORA´CEÆ= Fr.

_Gr_—a teat; _Gr_—to bear.

=Sporophore= erect and stipitate, with a central stem, effused, with the upper portion free and bent backward, or entirely resupinate. =Hymenium= perfectly even or radiately wrinkled, glabrous or minutely bristled with projecting cystidia; basidia normally 4-spored. =Spores= without a division, colorless or colored. _Massee._

In Thelephoraceæ are shapes closely resembling those found in Hydnaceæ, Polyporaceæ and Agaricaceæ. The genus Craterellus is closely allied to Cantharellus, and, though the spore surface is much less wrinkled or veined, resembles it in several of its species. Other types show likeness to Merulius in Polyporaceæ; others to Tremellineæ and Clavariaceæ. Many puzzles are presented by its species, but the solving is interesting.

Though populous it contains but few edibles. The best of them is Craterellus cornucopoides.

SYNOPSIS OF GENERA.

_A._ SPORES COLORED.

_Spores smooth._

CONIOPHORA.

Resupinate, dry and pulverulent. (No edible species reported.)

ALDRIDGEA.

Resupinate, soft and subgelatinous. (No edible species reported.)

_Spores warted or echinulate._

THELEPHORA.

Dry and fibrous, hymenium rugulose. (No edible species reported.)

SOPPITTELLA.

Subgelatinous, effused or variously incrusting, hymenium even. (No edible species reported.)

_B._ SPORES COLORLESS.

_Parasitic on living leaves or stems._

EXOBASIDIUM.

Saprophytes growing on dead wood, branches, etc. Hymenium minutely setulose with projecting cystidia.

PENIOPHORA.

Cystidia colorless, rough at the tip with particles of lime. (No edible species reported.)

HYMENOCHÆTE.

Cystidia brown, smooth. (No edible species reported.)

_Hymenium glabrous._

CORTICIUM.

Entirely resupinate, hymenium usually cracked when dry. (No edible species reported.)

STEREUM.

Effuso-reflexed, pileus silky or strigose, hymenium even. (No edible species reported.)

CLADODERRIS.

Horizontal and attached by a narrow point behind, hymenium radiato-rugulose. (No edible species reported.)

CRATERELLUS. Page 508.

Large, erect, funnel-shaped.

CYPHELLA.

Minute, cup-shaped, mouth open. (No edible species reported.)

SOLENIA.

Minute, cylindrical, gregarious or crowded, tubular, mouth contracted. (No edible species reported.)

=CRATEREL´LUS= Fr.

_Crater_, a bowl.

=Hymenium= waxy-membranaceous, distinct but adnate to the hymenophore, inferior, continuous, smooth, even or wrinkled. =Spores= white. _Fries._

This, the only genus of Thelephoraceæ containing edible fungi, has the form and general appearance of Cantharellus to which it is allied, but it is distinguished by its nearly even hymenium, which in Cantharellus has the form of gills, fold-like and thick but still distinctly gills. The species vary from fleshy to membranaceous, all having a funnel-shaped pileus and stem merging into it. On the ground. Autumn. The slightly veined surface where the spores are borne, and the spores themselves, when a microscope is brought to bear upon them, distinguish this genus from Cantharellus; and its thin flesh and funnel-shape from the large forms of Pistillaria. Several of the species are edible. It is probable that all are.

Toadstools, despite their name, are more popularly associated with fairies than with toads. “Fairy rings,” “Fairy Bread” and “Fairy Clubs” are titles belonging to them, and these link us to the pretty belief of childhood—a belief we often do not outgrow. A group of C. lutescens or C. cornucopoides may well be likened to fairy trumpets, or to a tiny orchestrion thrusting its horns through wood earth where roots of stumps abound.

=C. cantharel´lus= Schw. (Plate XLVI, fig. 3.) =Cap=n. across, convex, often becoming depressed and funnel-shaped, glabrous, yellowish or pinkish-yellow. =Flesh= white, tough, elastic. =Hymenium= slightly wrinkled, yellow or faint salmon color. =Stem= 1–3 in. high, 3–5 lines thick, glabrous, solid, yellow. =Spores= on white paper yellowish or pale salmon.

=Spores= 7.5–10×5–6µ _Peck_.

West Virginia, _McIlvaine_.

No one not looking for minute botanic details would separate this species from Cantharellus cibarius, especially if found growing near or with it. The pinkish tinge sometimes present in C. cantharellus I have never observed in C. cibarius. The present species is of equal excellence.

FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.

1. SPATHULARIA CLAVATA, 549 6. HYGROPHORUS COCCINEUS, 156

2. PEZIZA COCCINEA, 559 7. CRATERELLUS SINUOSUS, 510
VAR. CRISPUS,

3. PEZIZA AURANTIA, 557 8. CRATERELLUS 509
CORNUCOPOIDES,

4. CANTHARELLUS AURANTIACUS, 216 9. CANTHARELLUS LUTESCENS, 218

5. HYPOMYCES LACTIFLUORUM, 562

=C. cornucopoi´des= Pers.—_cornu_ and _copiæ_, horn of plenty. (Plate CXXXVI, fig. 8, p. 508.) =Cap= dark sooty shades of gray or brown—shades of well-worn velveteen—1–2 in. across, whole plant from 2–4 in. high, trumpet-shaped, or like a funnel with its open mouth, plane, wavy, split or in folds. Substance very thin and either brittle or tough. The inside is sometimes minutely scaly, the opening extending to the base; outside, where the spores are borne, it has neither gills, pores nor protuberances, but a slightly uneven surface varying little in color. =Stem= obsolete or seldom noticeable. =Odor= slight.

=Spores= pointed, 11–12×7–8µ _Massee_.

Grows single, clustered or in troops along shaded roads, or from leaf mold and ground in woods. July to frost.

Large patches, clustered, grow near stumps in moist places on Botanic Creek, West Philadelphia. It is plentiful near Haddonfield, N. J., at Mt. Gretna, Pa., and many other places in the United States.

It is not pleasant to look upon, because of its peculiar color, but when one gets used to it it has an attractiveness of its own. Its graceful shape, even its funereal hue and name—Trompet du Morte—are alluring.

It dries well, and when moistened expands to its normal size. It is a first-class edible fungus. It should be stewed slowly until tender.

=C. clava´tus= Fr.—_clava_, a club. =Pileus= 2 in. broad, somewhat light-yellowish, fleshy, _top-shape, truncate_ or depressed, flexuous, unpolished, _attenuated into the solid stem_. =Flesh= thick, white. =Hymenium= even, then corrugated, purplish then changing color. _Fries._

=Spores= elliptical, pale-yellow, 10–12×4–5µ _Massee_.

Professor Peck notes that the species so closely resembles Cantharellus cibarius that it might easily be mistaken for a deformed condition of it.

The resemblance to the yellow forms of Clavaria pistillaria is marked.

Massachusetts, _Sprague_, _Farlow_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 32; West Virginia, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

An excellent species. Its scarcity is regrettable.

=C. du´bius= Pk. =Pileus= infundibuliform, subfibrillose, lurid-brown, pervious to the base, the margin generally wavy and lobed. =Hymenium= dark cinereous, rugose when moist, the minute crowded irregular folds abundantly anastomosing, nearly even when dry. =Stem= short. =Spores= broadly elliptical or subglobose, 6–7.5µ long.

=Plant= simple or cespitose, 2–3 in. high. =Pileus= 1–2 in. broad.

Ground under spruce trees. Adirondack mountains. August.

In color this species bears some resemblance to Cantharellus cinereus. From Craterellus sinuosus it is separated by its pervious stem, and from C. cornucopoides by its more cespitose habit, paler color and smaller spores. _Peck_, 31st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

Its edible qualities are in every way equal to those of C. cornucopoides.

=C. sinuo´sus= Fr.—_sinus_, a curve. Strong scented. =Pileus= funnel-shaped, downy, grayish-brown, margin undulated. =Stem= pale yellow, elongated, stuffed. =Hymenium= with anastomosing ribs, grayish. =Spores= elliptical, pale yellow, 8–9×5µ.

In woods. =Pileus= ½-1 in. high and broad. =Stem= about 1 in. high, sometimes very short. =Smell= strong, musky. =Hymenium= becoming tan-color when dry. =Pileus= more or less villose. _Massee._

The above description is given so that Var. crispus which follows may be compared with it. Fries considered var. crispus a good species.

Var. _cris´pus_—_crispus_, curled. (Plate CXXXVI, fig. 7, p. 508.) Margin of hymenium sinuous and crisped. =Pileus= pervious. =Stem= stuffed at base only. =Hymenium= almost even. _Massee._

Solitary and cespitose in mixed woods.

Found by _Dr. S.C. Schmucker_ near West Chester, Pa., 1896; _Wm. H. Rorer_, Mt. Gretna, Pa., August, 1897.

=Cap= varies in color from dark to light brownish-gray. =Gills= brownish-gray, almost even. =Stem= hollow, dark yellow. =Smell= strong, musky, much like A. silvicola.

Substance tender and of markedly high and pleasant flavor.

FAMILY V.—=CLAVARIA´CEÆ.=

=Hymenium= not distinct from the hymenophore, covering entire outer surface. Somewhat fleshy, not coriaceous, vertical, simple or branched. _Fries._

For the most part growing upon the ground.

In this family there is no separation into stem and pileus, with the spore-bearing surface restricted to gills or tubes, but the substance of the plant is continuous, and the spores are produced on the clubs or branches.

But three genera—Clavaria, Sparassis and Pistillaria—include species of food value. They are easily recognized.

The genus Calcocera resembles Clavaria in form, but is very different in material, being a jelly-like viscid, cartilaginous substance, horny when dry, resembling that of Tremella.

SYNOPSIS OF GENERA.

SPARASSIS. Page 512.

Very much branched, branches compressed, plate-like, crisped.

TYPHULA.

Simple or club-shaped, with a thread-like stem.

CLAVARIA. Page 513.

Fleshy, simple or branched, branches typically round, some forms club-shaped.

PISTILLARIA.

Club-shaped, simple, rigid when dry; usually minute.

PTERULA.

Branches numerous, slender, forming a tuft, or single, leathery, round or compressed.

=SPARAS´SIS= Fr.

_Gr_—to tear in pieces.

Fleshy, branched, with flat leaf-like branches, composed of two plates, fertile on both sides, with four-spored sporophores. _Fries._

Very beautiful plants of striking appearance.

Unfortunately they are not common, although they generally occur yearly in the same locality.

=S. Herb´stii= Pk. Plants much branched, forming tufts 4–5 in. high and 5–6 in. broad, whitish, inclining to creamy-yellow, tough, moist, the branches numerous, thin, flattened, concrescent, dilated above and spatulate or fan-shaped, often somewhat longitudinally curved or wavy, mostly uniformly colored, rarely with a few indistinct, nearly concolorous, transverse zones near the broad, entire apices.

=Spores= subglobose or broadly elliptical, 5–6×4–5µ.

Trexlertown. August.

Closely allied to S. spathulata Schw., but differs in its paler color with no rufescent hues, more branching habit and absence of any distinct zones.

Four specimens were found at Mt. Gretna, Pa., during August, 1898. These were not as symmetrical as S. crispa, which they closely resembled in fold and texture. They were of equal excellence cooked.

=S. lamino´sa= Fr.—a thin plate. =Base= branching, straw-color. =Branches= erect, crowded, growing together, straight at the top, zoneless, entire.

North Carolina, _Curtis_. On oak log.

Edible, _Curtis_. “Deliciosa,” _Fries_.

Photographed by Luther G. Harpel, Lebanon, Pa. PLATE
CXXXVII.
SPARASSIS CRISPA.
]

=S. cris´pa= Fr.—_crispus_, curly. (Plate CXXXVII.) =Height= 3–12 in., width 4–24 in. Tufts very handsome, whitish, oyster color or pale-yellow, very much branched. =Branches= flat, leaf-like. Spore surface on both sides, sometimes crimped on edges. Compacted into a round mass, ending below in a solid rooting base.

=Spores= pale-ochraceous, 5–6×3–4µ _Massee_.

Very variable in size. On ground in woods and grassy places in open woods. Summer, autumn. North Carolina, _Curtis_; West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

Have seen it 2 ft. across. “Delicosissima.” _Fries._

A perfect specimen of S. crispa resembles a huge rosette, round and many-folded in tortuous design. The folds are wide, flattened branches springing from a common base, thin, semi-transparent, not unlike damp sheets of gelatine although thicker. Surfaces of the leaves are dull, like the flattened seaweeds and the light-colored sea-rock mosses. S. crispa may be easily dried, and though shrinking much in size, retains its shape, forming a very pretty ornament for the desk of the mycologist. It is not common. Where it has chosen a habitat several tufts may be found during the moderate season. The writer found three specimens ranging from 6–12 in. in diameter near Haddonfield, N.J., others, not as large, in West Virginia and in Chester county, Pa.

It has long been known as edible. It makes an ever-to-be-remembered dish.

=CLAVA´RIA= L.

_Clava_, a club.

Fleshy, branched or simple, somewhat round, without a distinct stem. =Hymenium= continuous, dry, homogeneous. _For the most part growing on ground._ _Fries._

The members of this genus vary greatly in form, which in some is that of a club growing singly or cespitose, while others present a more or less bush-like appearance, being slightly or excessively branched.

The color of the plant covers a wide range, as it may be white, red, yellow, violet or their various shades, and to be in harmony the spores do not confine themselves to one color, but are white, ochraceous or cinnamon. In cases where the plant is not otherwise well defined the spore colors will be found a valuable aid in placing it.

ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.

RAMARIA (_ramus_, a branch). Page 514.

Branched, branches attenuated upward.

_A._ SPORES WHITE OR PALLID.

* Plant, color bright, red, yellow or violet.

** Plant white, gray or yellowish.

_B._ SPORES OCHRACEOUS OR CINNAMON.

* Plant yellow or dingy ochraceous.

** Growing on wood.

SYNCORYNE (_Gr_—together; a club). Page 523.

Clubs almost simple, tufted at the base.

HOLOCORYNE (_Gr_—entire; a club). Page 524.

Clubs almost simple, distinct at the base.

Excepting to toadstool hunters the Clavaria, though numerous, are not known to those who “Know a toadstool when they see it.” They bear no semblance to the stereotyped toadstool. They seem to possess an imitative faculty. Those growing among grasses harmonize with the faded stalks under debris or the bleached surfaces of blades famishing for sunlight; those of the woods take on the color of the leaf mat or of the lichens, and shapes of club and deer-horn mosses, or assemble in groves as pigmy trees, boled and sturdy-branched in mimicry of their giant protectors towering above them. In their forms many are delicate, graceful, beautiful, others are intricate. There is fascination for eye and brain in looking through the vistas and labyrinths of their branches.

A few species are tough as shoe-strings; a few bitter; one, C. dichotoma, on the authority of Leuba, contains a minor poison. The genus is plentiful and reliable. Many individuals are of marked excellence. In soups, stews, patties, they remind one of noodles; sometimes of macaroni. The hard parts of the stem should be removed, the branches broken or cut in ½ in. lengths. If stewed, they require time and slow cooking; if fried in butter they are crisp, choice bits.

RAMA´RIA—_ramus_, a branch.

Branched, branches attenuated upward.

_A._ SPORES WHITE OR PALLID.

* _Plant, color bright, red, yellow or violet._

=C. fla´va= Schaeff.—yellow. Fragile, trunk thick, fleshy, white, very much branched. =Branches= even, round, fastigiate, obtuse, yellow. _Fries._

=Height= 2–4 in., 2–4 in. across; pale-yellow, dingy-yellow. =Stem= or trunk short, robust, whitish. =Branches= very numerous, dense, fragile, erect, straight, lighter than the yellow tips (fading with age) which are toothed. =Flesh= white. =Spores= white. Taste and odor pleasant.

Woods and open places. June to frost.

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

The C. flava and C. botrytes have long been noted edible species, liberally commended abroad and in the United States. Variations in their structure are interchangeable; variations in their quality are due to environment. There is a slight difference in the measurement of their spores, but the difference is not so great as between spores of the same specimen. Specific differences may exhibit themselves in young plants, yet disappear with age.

Plants for the table should be young and fresh. When aged or when the ravages of insects appear, they should not be used, as they then have an unpleasant taste which will effect a whole dish.

They should be cut into small pieces and stewed slowly for fully thirty minutes. They can be seasoned and eaten as a stew or made into patties.

=C. botry´tes= Pers. _Gr_—a cluster of grapes (from shape). =Height= 3–4 in., 3–6 in. across, white, yellow, pinkish, dingy in shades of these colors. =Base= thick, short, fleshy, unequal. =Branches= many, swollen, thick, crowded, unequal, enlarged at the ends and divided into several small branchlets which are sometimes reddish at tips. =Flesh= white.

=Spores= ellipsoid, sub-transparent, white, 8×5µ _Massee_.

On wood earth. Common.

New York, _Peck_, Rep. 24; West Virginia, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.

A general favorite and highly esteemed in Europe. Edible. _Curtis._

“When old the branches both of this species and of C. flava become elongated, obtuse, very fragile, and of a uniform color. The yellow tips of the latter and the red ones of the former species wholly disappear.” _Peck_, 32d Rep.

Excepting when young (not always then) the red tips to the branchlets can not be relied upon as distinctive features of this species. The place of its growth and the character of the soil have very much to do with its size, and the color and quality of its flesh. A well-shaded thin-soiled spot will, after a rain, grow pale, spindling, tender bunches, having but a tinge of red upon the points; perhaps not any. A rich, better lighted spot will produce more robust and highly colored plants. The same can be said of C. flava. C. botrytes is plentiful in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and like latitudes. It must be well cooked.

=C. amethys´tina= Bull.—amethyst in color. (Plate CXXXIX, fig. 1, p. 516.) =Height= ½-3 in. =Color= violet, very much branched or almost simple. =Branches= round, even, fragile, smooth, obtuse, known by its color.

=Spores= elliptical, pale ochraceous, sub-transparent, 10–12×6–7µ _Massee_.

Common in open woods and grassy places.

New York, _Peck_ 30th Rep.; West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_. August, September.

Eaten in Europe, and by some preferred to any other.

A handsome species, very brittle, and though large, delicate.

=C. fastigia´ta=—_fastigium_, the top. =Height= 1–2 in., tufted, yellow. =Branches= numerous, flexible, tough, equal, fastigiate (branches pointing upward), sometimes short and simple, when higher very much branched.

=Spores= white, irregularly globose, 4–6µ _Massee_.

In pastures and grassy places, during warm months.

North Carolina, _Curtis_; California, West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

Commonly eaten throughout Europe. In Germany they call it Ziegenbart—goat’s beard.

This is one of the species that has to be looked for. Grass tufts hide it. Its yellowish stools are not unlike them in color. It is freely found, and, though not of the best, well rewards the seeker.

FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE. 1. CLAVARIA AMETHYSTINA, 516 3. CLAVARIA FORMOSA, 520 2. CLAVARIA AUREA, 520

=C. muscoi´des=—_muscus_, moss. =Height= 1–1½ in., slightly tufted, yellow. =Stem= slender, tomentose at base, becoming two or three times forked. =Branchlets= thin, tapering, crescent-shaped, acute.

=Spores= white, subglobose, 5–6µ _Massee_.

In pastures.

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Ohio; New York, _Peck_, 47th Rep.

Edible. _Curtis_.

=C. Her´veyi= Pk. Gregarious or subcespitose, simple or with a few branches, often compressed or irregular, scarcely 1 in. high, golden-yellow, sometimes brownish at the apex. =Flesh= white. =Branches= when present, short, simple or terminating in few or many more or less acute denticles. =Spores= globose, 7.5µ broad, minutely roughened; mycelium white.

Ground under hemlock trees. Orono, Me. September. _F.L. Hervey._

Allied to C. fastigiata and C. muscoides, but distinct from both by its more irregular and less branching character and by its larger spores. _Peck_, 45th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Near Haddonfield, N.J., August, 1890, among scrub pines and spruce. A pretty species of medium flavor.

** _Plant white, gray or yellowish._

=C. coralloi´des= Linn. =Height= 2–4 in., usually tufted, growing into each other, white. =Trunk= thick, short, much branched. =Branches= repeatedly forked, compressed, hollow within, fragile, dilated upward, tips crowded acute.

Occasionally the branches do not develop entirely and are obtuse; they then somewhat resemble in shape C. rugosa, but are not wrinkled.

=Spores= pale-ochraceous, pointed, 10×8µ _Massee_.

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

A common edible species in Europe. Common in United States.

The writer has eaten it for many years. It is not always tender. It should be young, fresh, and the branches alone cooked. It requires slow, patient cooking if at all old. It does dry well, as stated by some writers, but it does not wet well again.

(Plate CXL.)

CLAVARIA CINEREA.
Two-thirds natural size.
]

=C. cine´rea= Bull.—_cinis_, ashes. (Plate CXL.) =Height= 1–3 in., gregarious or tufted, sometimes in rows. Gray. =Stem= either thin or thick, short, lighter than branches. =Branches= very numerous compressed, wrinkled, irregular, somewhat obtuse or flattened and divided into slender points.

Its gray color easily distinguishes it from others. It is variable in its mode of growth and in its shape.

On ground in woods. Common. June to frost.

Eatable, but injurious in quantities. _Cordier._ Edible, but provokes indigestion in delicate stomachs. _Leuba._

Eaten generally in Europe. In France it is called _pied de coq_.

Plentiful in United States, in mixed woods. June to frost.

The writer and his friends have eaten it for fifteen years, and know of no Clavaria equalling it.

=C. tetrago´na= Schw.—Four-angled. Very fragile, deep orange-yellow, twice forked. =Stem= and =branches= quadrangular, 1–1½ in. tall.

Moist shady places.

New York. Ground in shaded places. August and September. Poughkeepsie, _Gerard_, _Peck_, 24th Rep.; North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania, _Schweinitz_.

Edible. _Curtis._

Photographed by Dr. J.R. Weist. PLATE CXLI.
CLAVARIA CRISTATA.
]

=C. crista´ta= Pers.—_crista_, a crest. (Plate CXLI, p. 518.) =Height= 1–5 in., whitish, tufts of broad flattened branches cut on margins or crested. =Base= short, stout. =Branches= numerous, irregular, flattened upward and divided like moose horns, tough, stuffed, dingy. This peculiarity distinguishes it and separates it from C. coralloides.

=Spores= pale ochraceous, pointed, 10×8µ _Massee_.

Woods. Common. Summer and autumn. Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.

Edible. _Curtis._

After a summer rain the crested Clavaria is usually abundant where there is good encouragement of mossy beds or mats of rich wood-soil in woods where leaves and mold accumulate. It is not as tender as many other species, but chopped fine and stewed slowly for an hour it will be eaten with enjoyment.

=C. rugo´sa= Bull.—_ruga_, a wrinkle. White or dingy, simple or tufted, 2–4 in. high, branched from the base with irregular blunt branches wrinkled lengthwise, sometimes thickened upward.

Distinguished by the distinct, irregular, longitudinal wrinkles.

=Spores= white, irregularly globose, 8–10µ _Massee_.

In woods, solitary or gregarious. August to November.

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_. Pennsylvania, Ohio.

It is reported edible by Dr. Curtis, M.C. Cooke and Dr. Badham.

=C. pyxida´ta= Pers.—_pyxis_, a small box. Tufted, light tan-color, shaded with red, 1–3 in. high. =Stem= or trunk thin, smooth, variable in length, dividing into many erect forked branches, which are cup-shaped at the tips. The margins of these tips have slender branchlets issuing from them (proliforme).

Distinguished by the cup-like tips. =Spores= white, 4×3µ _Massee_.

On rotten wood, on rotten roots in ground. June and into the autumn.

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

Specimen sent by writer to Prof. Peck, June, 1897, and identified by him. Not tested by writer, but is in Dr. Curtis' list of edible species.

=C. subtil´is= Pers. Scattered, slender, subtenaceous, pallid-white, bases smooth and of equal thickness, branches few, forked, subfastigiate.

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania.

Edible. _Curtis._

=C. den´sa= Pk. =Tufts= 2–4 in. high, nearly as broad, whitish or creamy-yellow, branching from the base. =Branches= very numerous, nearly parallel, crowded, terete, somewhat wrinkled when dry, the tips dentate, concolorous. =Spores= slightly colored, elliptical, 7.5–10×5–8.5µ.

Ground in woods. Selkirk. August.

Apparently closely allied to C. condensata, but differing decidedly in color. _Peck_, 41st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Specimens identified by Professor Peck.

Large masses of it grew at Mt. Gretna, Pa., July, August and September, 1898, in mixed woods.

Brittle; when young it is very compact. It is without much flavor, but stews tender and makes a good dish.

_B._ SPORES OCHRACEOUS OR CINNAMON.

** _Plant yellow or dingy ochraceous._

=C. au´rea= Schaeff.—_aurum_, gold. (Plate CXXXIX, fig. 2, p. 516.) =Trunk= thick, elastic, pallid. =Flesh= white, dividing into numerous thick branches that become repeatedly divided in a dichotomous manner upward, and terminate in slender, erect, round, yellow branchlets. =Spores= pale ochraceous, elliptical, 10–11×5–6µ.

In woods. Forming large tufts 2–3 in. high, colorless or almost so below, tips yellow. _Massee._

North Carolina, _Curtis_; Ohio, Alabama. Found in West Virginia, 1882; Devon, Angora, Eagle’s Mere, Mt. Gretna, Pa.; Haddonfield, N.J. August and September. _McIlvaine._

Eaten in Europe. Edible. _Curtis._

In structure it reminds one of a miniature cropped Lombardy poplar. The color is not bright, but dingy-yellow. Resembles C. flava; distinguished by different color of spores. The branches (not stem) are tender and good.

Var. _rufes´cens_ Schaeff.

This plant occurs after heavy rains. It sometimes grows in continuous rows several feet in extent. The pinkish-red tips of the branches fade with age. The axils are rounded and the plant is quite fragile. Fries considers it a variety of C. aurea. _Peck_, 25th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Found at Springton, Chester county, Pa., August, 1887. It is edible and good. The plant is tender and easily cooked.

=C. formo´sa= Pers.—_formosus_, finely formed. (Plate CXXXIX, fig. 3, p. 416.) =Height= 2–4 in. =Trunk= 1 in. and more thick, whitish or yellowish, elastic. =Branches= numerous, crowded, elongated, divided at ends into yellow branchlets which are thin, straight, obtuse or toothed.

=Spores= ochraceous 9×3–4µ _Massee_; elongated, oval, rough, 16×8µ _W.G.S._

On ground in woods, in large tufts, frequently in rows several feet long.

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.

Esteemed in Europe. Edible. _Dr. Curtis._

Common in the United States in woods. Variable. An orange-rose color is sometimes prominent on the tips. The tenderer portions of the plant are excellent, but must be well cooked.

=C. spinulo´sa= Pers.—spined. =Height= 2–3 in. high. =Stem= ½-1 in. thick. =Trunk= stout, short, whitish. =Branches= numerous, crowded, erect, tense, elongated, tapering upward. =Color= cinnamon-brown or darker.

=Spores= ochraceous, elliptical, 11–13×5–6µ _Massee_.

On ground in pine woods. August to October.

New York, _Peck_, 24th Rep.; New Jersey, _Sterling_; Pennsylvania, _McIlvaine_.

Of same edible quality as C. aurea, which it resembles, excepting that it is darker and less abrupt in the ending of its clusters.

=C. flac´cida= Fr.—_flaccidus_, flaccid. =Height= 1–3 in., bright ochraceous, slender. =Stem= short, smooth, sometimes wanting, thin, 1–2 lines thick, repeatedly branched. =Branches= crowded, unequal, flaccid, upper ones forcep-shaped, pointed. Does not turn green when bruised like C. abietina. The whitish mycelium creeps over the leaves on which it grows. Brittle, tender, flesh white.

=Spores= ochraceous, broadly elliptical 4–5×3µ _K._

Received from E.B. Sterling, Trenton, N.J.

Two specimens eaten. These were quite dry. After soaking they were tender and had good flavor.

(Plate CXLII.)

CLAVARIA CIRCINANS.
(After Peck.)
]

=C. cir´cinans= Pk.—_circino_, to make round. (Plate CXLII.) =Stem= short, solid, dichotomously or subverticillately branched. =Branches= slightly diverging or nearly parallel, nearly equal in length, the ultimate ones terminating in two or more short acute concolorous ramuli. =Spores= ochraceous.

=Plant= 1–2 in. high, obconic in outline, flat-topped, appearing almost as if truncated, pallid or almost whitish in color, generally growing in imperfect circles or curved lines.

Under spruce and balsam trees. Adirondack mountains. August. _Peck_, 39th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Where pines have grown, but where now oak and chestnut trees make rather open woods, it grows at Mt. Gretna, Pa. A stumpy fungus impressing one as stunted. Its texture is solid. It does not cook tender, but yields a fungus flavor to the cooking medium.

** _Growing on wood._

=C. stric´ta= Pers.—_stringo_, to draw tight. =Height= 2–3 in. =Color= pale dull-yellow becoming brown when bruised. =Stem= distinct, thick, short. =Branches= numerous, repeatedly forked, straight, closely pressed, tips pointed.

=Spores= dark cinnamon, _Fries_; creamy yellow 4×6µ _W.G.S._

Var. _fu´mida_. The whole plant is a dingy, smoky-brownish hue, otherwise of the typical form. Catskill mountains. September. In the fresh state the specimens appear very unlike the ordinary form, but in the dried state they are scarcely to be distinguished. _Peck_, 41st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Eaten in Germany.

This form occurs in West Virginia mountains and at Mt. Gretna, Pa., Trenton, N.J., in August and September, among leaves in mixed woods. It compares favorably with the ordinary run of Clavaria.

=C. dicho´toma= God.—dividing by pairs. Cespitose, white; branches regularly dividing by pairs, elongated, flexuous, diverging, somewhat compressed, extremities obtuse, rounded at or just below the apex broadly compressed.

On the ground, under beeches.

“Notwithstanding its beauty this is dangerous. In 1883, when it was very plentiful, I saw entire families sick from it and in 1888 there was a repetition with new victims. “It produces nausea, vertigo and violent diarrhea.” _Leuba._

I have not seen the plant.

SYNCO´RYNE. _Gr_—together, a club.

Clubs almost simple, tufted at the base.

FIG. PAGE. FIG. PAGE.

1. CLAVARIA FUSIFORMIS, 523 3. CLAVARIA PISTILLARIS 524
(DARK VAR.),

2. CLAVARIA PISTILLARIS 524 (YELLOW VAR.),

=C. fusifor´mis= Sow.—_fusus_, a spindle. (Plate CXXXVIII, fig. 1, p. 522.) _Yellow_, cespitoso-connate, slightly firm, soon hollow. =Clubs= somewhat fusiform, simple and toothed, even, attenuated to the base which is of the same color. _Stevenson._

=Spores= pale yellow, globose, 4–5µ _Massee_.

Closely resembles C. inæqualis Fl. Dan.

Woods and pastures. August to November.

Received from _E.B. Sterling_, Trenton, N.J., August, 1897.

The clubs are 1⁄16 in. through, 4 in. high, light clear yellow, translucent, clustered in groups of four or five united at the base.

Tender, well flavored, cooks easily.

=C. auran´tio-cinnabari´no= Schw.—_aurantius_, orange; _cinnabaris_, vermilion. Orange-red; base white with a sub-hairy powder; clubs simple, flexuous, fleshy, somewhat tenacious, fasciculate, thickened in the middle and attenuated toward either end, at first cylindrical then compressed, 6–7 mm. thick, 2–4 in. high.

Pennsylvania. On the ground among rhododendrons.

Received from _E.B. Sterling_, Trenton, N.J.

The plant when fresh is a beautiful rose color, inclining to orange at the tips. It reminds one of the peach-blow vase color in some of its shades. The single clubs, growing in cluster, to the height of four inches, graceful in outline, exquisitely shaded, are a sight one lingers over. While they invite the mycophagist to eat them, his voracity is checked by their beauty. They are tender and delicious. It is regrettable that thus far it has not been reported in quantity.

=C. inæqual´is= Fl. Dan.—unequal. =Height= 2–3 in. club-shaped, yellow, gregarious, single or in loose tufts, fragile, _stuffed_. =Clubs= club-shaped or almost equal, simple, sometimes forked or variously cut at tip, one color.

=Spores= colorless, elliptical, 9–10×5µ _Massee_.

Woods and pastures. August to October.

Distinguished from C. fusiformis by the tips not being sharp-pointed and colored.

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_; New Jersey, _Sterling_.

This Clavaria is quite common in New Jersey. Its clusters are clear bright yellow and conspicuously pretty. The clubs are translucent and smooth. Excepting in color it resembles C. aurantio-cinnabarino. In the many specimens seen there was nothing to suggest the propriety of the name, excepting height of clubs.

A dish of it is a delicacy.

=C. vermicula´ris= Scop.—_vermis_, a worm. =Height= 1–2½ in., white, tufted. =Clubs= simple, quill-shaped, stuffed, awl-shaped, brittle, pointed.

=Spores= white, elliptical, 4×3µ _Massee_.

New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio. Thin grassy woods and among grass. July to October.

Edible. _Cordier._

Common in southern New Jersey, and in warm soils from June to frost. When growing among grass it is not conspicuous and is often missed unless specially sought for. Its purity, its choice of refreshing abode, its excellent qualities, make it select among Clavaria.

HOLOCO´RYNE. _Gr_—entire; _Gr_—a club.

Clubs almost simple, distinct at the base.

=C. pistillar´is= L.—_pistillum_, a pestle. (Plate CXXXVIII, figs. 2, 3, p. 522.) =Height= 2–12 in., up to 1 in. and more thick, color light yellow, ochraceous, brownish, chocolate. =Clubs= Indian-club shape, ovate-rounded, puckered at top, simple, fleshy, white within, spongy, exterior smooth or more or less wrinkled, usually with smooth base.

=Spores= white, 10×5µ _W.G.S._; 9–11×5–6µ _Massee_.

Mixed woods, moss and grassy places. August until November.

North Carolina, Pennsylvania, California, Alabama.

Eaten in Poland, Russia and Germany.

The writer first found this truly club-like species in West Virginia in 1882, and ate it. But few specimens were found, and those of a dark chocolate color. At Mount Gretna in 1897 and 1898 the yellow variety grew in considerable quantity from July until after frost. The largest specimen found measured 5½ in. and was 1 in. in diameter at its thickest part. The average height is 2½ in. Both varieties grew in mixed woods from the leaf-covered ground. They are often clustered, four or five together, and of different sizes. The surface, especially of the dark variety, is regularly, vertically wrinkled, truncated in few places, very much resembling that of the Craterellus cantharellus. The stems of both are white. The apex of the clubs is folded inward as though pulled by drawing-strings.

The flesh is soft, white, fine grained. A slight bitter is present in the dark variety, when raw, which entirely disappears upon cooking. This is one of the best of Clavariæ.

=C. clava´ta= Pk. Simple, straight, clavate, obtuse, smooth, not hollow, yellow when fresh, rugose-wrinkled and orange-colored when dry, 4–6 lines high.

Damp shaded banks by road-sides. Sandlake. June. _Peck_, 25th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Patches of it are conspicuous—golden-hued upon somber background. They are seen at Eagle’s Mere, Mt. Gretna, and on the Springton Hills, Pa., along wooded road-sides. Raw, they have a mild, pleasant flavor, and have the same when cooked. A small species seldom found in sufficient quantity to make a comforting dish.

FAMILY VI.—=TREMELLA´CEÆ= Fr.

Whole fungus homogeneous, gelatinous, shrivelling when dry, reviving when moistened, pervaded internally with branched filaments, terminating toward the surface all round in sporophores. Spores transparent, from globose to sausage-shape and curved, sometimes septate. _Fries._

The Tremellaceæ, as their name signifies, tremble, because jelly-like when moist. They are hard, tough, horny when dry, but swell and become gelatinous when wet. In the typical genus, Tremella, there is often but little consistency. Whoever has climbed an old rail fence on a rainy day has had the doubtful pleasure of acquaintance with some of them. Sections for the microscope are obtainable by hardening them in alcohol.

There are several edible species in the family. They are good in soups, giving them flavor and body, and some are excellent when stewed.

SYNOPSIS OF GENERA.

Sub-Family—=Auricularieæ=. Page 528.

AURICULARIA.

Broadly attached, margin free and reflexed. (No edible species reported.)

HIRNEOLA. Page 528.

Cartilaginous, ear-shaped, attached by a point.

Sub-Family—=Tremellineæ=. Page 529.

EXIDIA.

Cup-shaped, truncate, or irregularly lobed; spores reniform, producing curved sporidiola on germination. (No edible species reported.)

ULOCOLLA.

Pulvinate and gyrose; spores reniform, producing rod-shaped sporidiola on germination. (No edible species reported.)

TREMELLA. Page 529.

Brain-like or lobed; spores globose or ovoid.

NÆMATELIA.

Firm, convex, with a central hard nucleus. (No edible species reported.)

GYROCEPHALUS.

Erect, spathulate. (No edible species reported.)

TREMELLEDON. Page 533.

Gelatinous, tremelloid, fan-shaped, fleshy; hymenium with distinct spines.

Sub-Family—=Dacryomyceteæ=.

DACRYOMYCES.

Small, pulvinate and gyrose. (No edible species reported.)

GUEPINIA.

Irregularly cup-shaped, hymenium on one surface only. (No edible species reported.)

DACRYOPSIS.

Hymenium at the apex of a short stem, bearing conidia and spores. (No edible species reported.)

DITIOLA.

Stem distinct, bearing the hymenium at its expanded apex. (No edible species reported.)

APYRENIUM.

Subglobose or lobed, hollow. (No edible species reported.)

CALOCERA.

Subcylindrical and erect, simple or branched (No edible species reported.)

Sub-Family—=Auricularieæ=.

=HIRNE´OLA= Fr.

_Hirnea_, a small jug.

Gelatinous, rather cartilaginous, soft and tremulous when moist, but not distended with jelly, horny when dry, becoming somewhat cartilaginous when moistened. The hard skin forming the hymenium, which covers the cup-shaped cavity and is of a different color, can be separated entire after a thorough soaking in water. =Sporophores= (spore-bearing processes) not involved in jelly. =Spores= oblong, curved. _Fries._

A very peculiar and distinct genus separated from the neighboring genera by its disk-like, somewhat cup-shaped cavity and by its not being distended with jelly.

(Plate CXLIII.)

HIRNEOLA AURICULA-JUDEA.
About two-thirds nat. size.
]

=H. auri´cula—Jude´a= (Linn.) Berk.—Jew’s ear. 1–4 in. across, thin, and flexible when moist, hard when dry, date-brown or blackish. =Hymenium= venoso-plicate (vein-plaited), forming irregular depressions such as are in the ear, yellowish-gray or grayish beneath and hairy. The large depressions or corrugations branch from smaller ones near the center of the plant.

=Spores= 20–25×7–9µ _Massee_.

H. auricula-Judea is not very particular in the trees it patronizes. Elm, maple, hickory, balsam-fir, spruce, alder bear it. When the plant grows on upright timber it usually turns upward. It is not generally reported in the United States.

Ohio, Maryland, _Miss Banning_; Indiana, _H.I. Miller_; New York, _Peck_; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, _McIlvaine_. Extensively used in China, where eating it probably antedates all European records by several thousand years. It is brought there dried from Tahiti in great quantities and made into soup.

The writer has found and eaten several specimens of it. It is not as tender as other gelatinous species, but it is an oddity that pleases.

Sub-Family—=Tremellineæ=.

=TREMEL´LA= Dill.

_Tremo_—to tremble.

Distended with jelly when moist, tremulous, without a defined margin and without nipple-like elevations. Spore-bearing processes globose, becoming divided into four parts, each division producing an elongated free point terminating in a simple spore. _Fries._

Distinguished by its peculiarly convoluted habit and jelly-like substance, which is more or less inclined to be cartilaginous.

Exidia, similar in form, is separated by possessing minute nipple-like elevations and Hirneola by its distinct difference in form.

Generally growing on dead wood; some species are found on trees and others on the ground, etc.

Old tradition, in many countries, attests that the Tremellas are Fairy bread, and T. albida the choicest baking. Pretty, indeed, must have been the feasts when piles of such purity filled the board, and the brilliant Pezizae were wassail cups.

They are better suited to Fairy appetites than to those of mortals; being watery their nutritive value is small. Nevertheless they have dainty flavor.

So far as tested no suspicion rests upon Tremellæ.

ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.

MESENTERIFOR´MES (_Gr_—the mesentery). Page 530.

Gelatinous inclining to cartilaginous, foliaceous, naked.

CEREBRINÆ (_cerebrum_, the brain). Page 530.

Firm, then pulpy, somewhat pruinose with the spores.

CRUSTA´CEÆ (_crusta_, a crust).

Diffused, becoming plane.

TUBERCULIFOR´MES (_tuberculum_, a little tuber).

Small, somewhat erumpent.

I.—MESENTERIFOR´MES. Gelatinous, inclining to cartilaginous.

=T. fimbria´ta= Pers.—_fimbriæ_, fringe. Olivaceous inclining to black, cespitose, clusters 2–3 in. high and even broader, _erect, corrugated_; _lobes_ flaccid, incised at the margin, _undulately fringed_.

When soaked with water it has a dark tawny tinge. _Stevenson._

=Spores= subpyriform.

On roots, dead branches, stumps, rails, etc.

From July to December, 1898, tufts five inches in diameter grew from an oak stump close by the writer’s cottage at Mt. Gretna, Pa. These tufts dried, and revived after rain into a gelatinous condition. They were nibbled at raw, and several were cooked. Tufts were found elsewhere in the same woods and eaten by others. They were unanimously approved. The species dries hard, like thin glue, but is darker. A dried piece swells in the mouth, grows tough, and has but little taste. Flavor develops in cooking.

=T. lutes´cens= Pers.—_luteus_, yellow. _Yellowish_, cespitose, small, cluster ½-1 in. broad, very soft, circling in wavy, undulating folds; lobes entire, naked.

Inclining to be fluid. Whitish when young. _Stevenson._

=Spores= subglobose, 12–16µ diameter _Massee_.

North Carolina, common. _Curtis._ On decaying branches, stumps, etc. July to February.

It dries and revives, or swells with moisture, very soft and tremulous.

Edible. _Leuba._

II.—CEREBRINÆ. Firm then pulpy, etc.

(Plate CXLIV.)

TREMELLA MESENTERICA.
Natural size.
]

=T. mesenter´ica= Retz. _Gr_—the mesentary. Gelatinous but firm, bright orange-yellow, variously contorted; lobes short, smooth, pruinose with the white spores at maturity. =Spores= broadly elliptical, 6–9µ diameter; conidia 1–1.5µ diameter.

On dead branches. Very variable in form but known by the bright orange color. From ½-2 in. across. _Massee._

North Carolina. Common, edible. _Curtis_; California, Ohio, West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. _McIlvaine._ Dr. J.R. Weist, Richmond, Ind., November, 1898, sent me fine specimens.

Very common as an apparent exudation from sticks, branches and rails. It can usually be collected in quantity from June until far into the winter. It can be found in every month in the year.

During the civil war the writer’s first attempt at making a dish of cornstarch resulted in getting it _into knots_. T. mesenterica, when stewed, very much resembles these same knots. It has a mild, woody flavor, slightly sweet, and is good.

(Plate CXLIV_a_.)

TREMELLA MYCETOPHILA on
COLLYBIA DRYOPHILA.
(After Peck.)
]

=T. myceto´phila= Pk. (Plate CXLIV_a_.) Suborbicular, depressed, circling in folds, tremelloid-fleshy, slightly pruinose, yellowish or pallid, 4–8 lines broad. _Peck_, 28th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Haddonfield, N.J., August, 1895. _McIlvaine._

Professor Peck notes it as found parasitic upon Collybia dryophila.

I found T. mycetophila growing parasitic upon Marasmius oreades, August, 1894. The mass was 2 in. in diameter. Separating them was taking the host from the parasite. Cooked it is glutinous, tender—like calf’s head. Rather tasteless.

=T. al´bida= Huds.—_albidus_, whitish. _Whitish_, becoming dingy-brown when dry, 1 in. broad, ascending, tough, expanded, undulated, somewhat circling in folds, _powdered_. _Stevenson._

=Spores= oblong, obtuse, curved, 2-guttate, subhyaline, 12–14×4–5µ _K._

Where birch, sugar-maple, hickory are in abundance the T. albida will be found. At Eagle’s Mere and Springton, Pa., and other wooded places, it is common during the warm months. It has slight taste, sweet, woody, but makes a pleasant dish.

=T. intumes´cens= Eng. Bot.—_intumesco_, to swell up. Gelatinous; subcespitose, rounded, broken up into numerous tortuous lobes, brown, shining, obscurely dotted, becoming darker when dry. =Spores= oblong, slightly curved, 12–14×3–4µ.

From 1–2 in. across. _Massee._

Entire year, but dried or frozen during winter, swelling in wet weather.

North Carolina. Common. _Curtis._ West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.

T. intumescens is not rare in West Virginia, or where beech logs are in plenty, though it does not confine itself to beech. It occurs on maples and some other woods.

It resembles the T. mesenterica in taste, but is sweeter. It is not as large, but is equally good.

=TREMEL´LODON= Pers.

_Tremo_, to tremble.

Gelatinous, pileate, prickly below, spines awl-shaped, equal. _Fries._

The members of this genus resemble in form the section Mesopus of Hydnum and have the same awl-shaped spines, but differ in their gelatinous consistency and fructification.

(Plate CXLV.)

=T. gelatino´sum= Pers.—_gelatina_, jelly. =Pileus= covered with a greenish-brown bloom, _gelatinous_, tremulous, dimidiate, somewhat stipitate, _covered with small pimples_. =Spines= soft, glaucous.

On fir, trunks and sawdust. September to October. _Stevenson._

Of singular beauty, almost translucent with steel-blue tints shading into violet, while the spines are of a pure soft white.

=Spores= round, somewhat irregular, white, 2µ _W.G.S._

Can not be confounded with any. The only gelatinous spiny fungus.

North Carolina, _Schweinitz_, _Curtis_; Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, _Farlow_, _Frost_; New York, _Peck_, Rep. 22. T. gelatinosum is well distributed over the United States but is not reported in quantity. It is an autumnal grower, lasting well into the winter. The writer found specimens near Haddonfield, N.J., in February, 1894, and sent them to Professor Peck. It is delicious when slowly stewed.

SUB-CLASS ASCOMYCETES.

The reproductive bodies consisting of sporidia mostly definite, contained in asci—mother cells or sacs—springing from a naked or enclosed stratum of fructifying cells and forming a hymenium or nucleus. The sporidia are often accompanied by simple or branched threads, which are abortive asci, called paraphyses.

In Hymenomycetes the spores are entirely unenclosed and are borne on stalk-like processes on the gills of Agaricaceæ, in the tubes of Polyporaceæ, on the spines of Hydnaceæ, etc. In Ascomycetes they are enclosed in sacs springing from the external layer of the fruit-bearing surface, which may be on the outer surface of the plant or enclosed.

COHORT _DISCOMYCETES_. _Gr_—a sac; _Gr_—a fungus.

The most important distinctive feature of Discomycetes consists in the disk or hymenium being fully exposed at maturity. It includes families which contain choice edible species.

FAMILY.—=HELVELLA´CEÆ.=

Fleshy, waxy or gelatinous; hymenium or sac-bearing surface exposed at first, or at length more or less exposed. Where a distinct stem is present it is surmounted by a more or less definite pileus or the stem is expanded into a club-like head. In Peziza the definite stem is absent and the plant is seated on the supporting surface.

Many more genera than are noted below are included in Helvellaceæ, but are not known to contain edible species.

SYNOPSIS OF THE GENERA.

* _Margin only or whole of pileus free from sides of stem._

HELVELLA. Page 536.

Pileus drooping, irregularly waved and lobed.

VERPA. Page 539.

Pileus drooping, regular, margin entire, thimble-shaped.

LEOTIA. Page 540.

Pileus fleshy, discoid.

** _Pileus adnate throughout to the stem._

MORCHELLA. Page 541.

Surface of pileus furnished with stout, anastomosing ribs bounding deep irregular pits.

GYROMITRA. Page 546.

Surface of pileus covered with rounded, variously contorted folds.

MITRULA. Page 548.

Pileus subglobose or clavate, surface even.

SPATHULARIA. Page 549.

Pileus flattened, running down the stem for some distance on opposite sides.

GEOGLOSSUM. Page 550.

=HELVEL´LA= Linn.

A small pot herb.

=Stem= of medium thickness. =Pileus= hanging loosely over the stem, more or less folded, but not into pits. Hymenium on the upper side only.

Helvella esculenta is now Gyromitra esculenta, and is in bad repute.

Meanings of the unfamiliar words are too lengthy to give in the descriptions of species. They are in the Glossary.

Dr. Badham says: “All Helvellæ are esculent, have an agreeable odor, and bear a general resemblance in flavor to the Morell.”

(Plate CXLVI.)

HELVELLA CRISPA.
Natural size.
]

=H. cri´spa= Fr.—curled. =Pileus= deflexed, lobed or variously contorted, white or whitish. =Stem= equal or slightly swollen at the base, deeply and uninterruptedly grooved, white or whitish. =Spores= elliptical, 18×22µ long. _Peck_, 48th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.

Distinguished from all other species by the stout, costate, lacunose, hollow stem; entirely glabrous, fragile and with a semi-transparent look. Color variable, included under the following forms:

Var. _al´ba_. Pileus whitish.

Var. _Grevil´lei_. Under surface of the pileus reddish; stem white.

Var. _incarna´ta_. Pileus and stem flesh-color.

Var. _ful´va_. Pileus yellowish or tawny. _Massee._

Pileus whitish, flesh-colored or yellowish, deflexed, lobed, at length free, crisped. =Stem= hollow, ribbed outside forming deep pits, 3–5 in. high, snowy white.

Edible. _Badham_, _Cordier_, _Cooke_, _Berkeley_, _Peck_.

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, _McIlvaine_.