Figure 101.Figure 101.—Marasmius oreades. Two-thirds natural size.
Figure 101.—Marasmius oreades. Two-thirds natural size.
Oreades, mountain nymphs.Pileus is fleshy, tough and pliable when moist, brittle when dry, convex, becoming flat, somewhat umbonate, brownish-buff at first, becoming cream-color; when old it is usually quite wrinkled.
The gills are broad and wide apart, creamy or yellowish, rounded at the stem end, unequal in length.
The stem is solid, equal, tough, fibrous, naked and smooth at base, everywhere with a downy surface. The spores are white, 8×5.
To my mind there is no more appetizing mushroom than the "Fairy Ring" mushroom. Figure 101 will give an accurate notion of the plant and Figure 102 will show how they grow in the grass. It is found in all parts of Ohio. Every old pasture field or lawn will be full of these rings. The plant is small but its plentifulness will make up for its size.
There are many conjectures why this and many other mushrooms grow in a circle. The explanation is quite obvious. The ring is started by a clump or an individual mushroom. The ground where the mushroom grew is rendered unfit for mushrooms again, the spores fall upon the ground and the mycelium spreads out from this point, consequently each year the ring is growing larger. Sometimes they appear only in a crescent form. One can tell, by looking over a lawn or pasture, where the rings are, because, from the decay of the mushroom, the grass is greener and more vigorous there.
Long ago, in England and Ireland, before the peasantry had begun to question the reality of the existence of the fairy folk and their beneficent interference in the affairs of life, these emerald-hued rings were firmly believed to be due to the fairy footsteps which nightly pressed their chosen haunts, and to mark the"little people's" favorite dancing ground. "They had always fine music among themselves, and danced in a moonshiny night around or in a ring, as one may see to this day upon every common in England where mushrooms grow," quaintly says one old writer. And the Rev. Gerard Smith still further voices the belief of the people as to the nature of these grassy rings:
"The nimble elvesThat do by moonshine green sour ringlets make,Whereof the ewe bites not; whose pastime 'tisTo make these midnight mushrooms."
"The nimble elvesThat do by moonshine green sour ringlets make,Whereof the ewe bites not; whose pastime 'tisTo make these midnight mushrooms."
It is a very common plant, and it will pay any one to know it, as we cannot find anything in the markets that will equal it as a table delicacy.
Found in pastures and lawns during rainy weather from May till frost.
Figure 102.Figure 102.—Marasmius oreades. Showing a fairy ring.
Figure 102.—Marasmius oreades. Showing a fairy ring.
The Stinging Marasmius.
Urens means burning; so called from its acrid taste.
The pileus is pale-buff, tough, fleshy, convex or flat, becoming depressed and finally wrinkled, smooth, even, one to two inches broad.
The gills are unequal, cream-colored, becoming brownish, much closer than in the Fairy Ring, hardly reaching the stem proper, joined behind.
The stem is solid above and hollow below, fibrous, pale, its surface more or less covered with flocculent down, and densely covered with white down at the base.
It will be well for collectors to pass by this and M. peronatus, or to exercise the greatest caution in their use. They have been eaten without harm, but they also have so long been branded as poisonous that too great care cannot be taken. Its taste is acrid, and it grows in lawns and pastures from June to September.
Figure 103.Figure 103.—Marasmius androsaceus. Natural size.
Figure 103.—Marasmius androsaceus. Natural size.
Androsaceus is from a Greek word which means an unidentified sea plant or zoophyte.
The pileus is three to six lines broad, membranaceous, convex, with a slight depression, pale-reddish, darker in the center, striate, smooth.
The gills are attached to thestem, frequently quite simple and few in number, about fifteen, with shorter ones between, sometimes forked, whitish.
The stem is one to two inches long, horny, filiform, hollow, quite smooth, black, often twisted when dry. The spores are 7×3–4µ.
This is a very attractive little plant found on the leaves in the woods after a rain. They are quite abundant. Found from July to October.
Figure 104.Figure 104.—Marasmius foetidus.
Figure 104.—Marasmius foetidus.
Fœtidus means stinking or fœtid.
The pileus is submembranaceous, tough, convex, then expanded, umbilicate striato-plicate, turning pale when dry, subpruinose.
The gills are annulato-adnexed, distant, rufescent with a yellow tinge.
The stem is hollow, minutely velvety, bay, base flocculose.
The caps are light brownish-red in color, fading when dry. When fresh it has a fœtid odor quite perceptible for such small plants. It is found on decayed sticks and leaves in woods. During wet weather or after heavy rains it is quite common in the woods about Chillicothe.
Found from July to October.
This is also called Heliomyces fœtens (Pat.) and is so classified by Prof. Morgan in his very excellent Monogram on North American Species of Marasmius.
Figure 105.Figure 105.—Marasmius velutipes.
Figure 105.—Marasmius velutipes.
Velutipes means velvet-footed, from the velvety stem. The pileus is thin, submembranaceous, smooth, convex, or expanded, grayish-rufous when moist, cinereous when dry, a half to one and a half inches broad.
The gills are very narrow, crowded, whitish or grayish.
The stem is slender, three to five inches long, equal, hollow, clothed with a dense grayish velvety tomentum.Peck.
They usually grow in a very crowded condition, many plants growing from one mat of mycelium. It is quite a common plant with us, found in damp woods or around a swampy place. The pileus with us is convex. Some authorities speak of an umbilicate cap. The plant is quite hardy and easily identified because of its long and slender stem, with the grayish tomentum at the base. Found from July to October.
The specimens in Figure 105 were found at Ashville, Ohio.
The Stemmed-Massed Marasmius. Edible.
Figure 106.Figure 106.—Marasmius cohærens. Two-thirds natural size, showing how the stems are massed together.
Figure 106.—Marasmius cohærens. Two-thirds natural size, showing how the stems are massed together.
Cohærens means holding together, referring to the stems being massed together.
The pileus is fleshy, thin, convex, campanulate, then expanded, sometimes slightly umbonate, in old specimens the margin upturned or wavy, velvety, reddish tan-color, darker in the center, indistinctly striate.
The gills are rather crowded, narrow, adnate, sometimes becoming free from the stem, connected by slight veins, pale cinnamon-color, becoming somewhat darker with age, the variation of color due to the number of cystidia scattered over the surface of the gills and on their edge. Spores, oval, white, small, 6×3µ.
The stem is hollow, long, rigid, even, smooth, shining, reddish-brown, growingpaler or whitish toward the cap, a number of the stems growing together at the base with a whitish myceloid tomentum present.
The plant grows in dense clusters among leaves and in well rotted wood. I have found it quite often about Chillicothe. It is called Mycena cohærens, Fr., Collybia lachnophylla, Berk., Collybia spinulifera, Pk. The plants in Figure 106 were found near Ashville, Ohio. September to frost.
The White Marasmius.
Figure 107.Figure 107.—Marasmius candidus. Natural size.
Figure 107.—Marasmius candidus. Natural size.
Candidus means shining white. This delicate species grows in moist and shady places in the woods. It grows on twigs, its habitat and structure are fully illustrated in the Figure 107.
The pileus is rather membranaceous, hemispherical, then plane or depressed, pellucid, wrinkled, naked, entirely white.
The gills are adnexed, ventricose, distant, not entire.
The stem is thin, stuffed, whitish, slightly pruinose, base tinged with brown. Spores are elliptical, 4×2µ.
This plant has a wide distribution in this country. The specimens figured were collected by H. H. York near Sandusky, Ohio, and were photographed by Dr. Kellerman. I have found them at various points in Ohio.
The Collared Marasmius.
Figure 108.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Figure 108.—Marasmius rotula. Natural size. Caps white or pale-buff.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Figure 108.—Marasmius rotula. Natural size. Caps white or pale-buff.
Rotula means a little wheel.
The pileus is one to three lines broad, hemispherical, umbilicate, and minutely umbonate, plaited, smooth, membranaceous, margin crenate, white, or pale buff, with a dark umbilicus.
The gills are broad, distant, few, equal, or occasionally with a few short ones, of the color of the pileus, attached to a free collar behind.
The stem is setiform, slightly flexuous, white above, then tawny, deep shining brown at the base, striate, hollow, frequently branched and sarmentose, with or without abortive pilei.—M. J. B. This plant is very common in woods on fallen twigs. The plants in Figure 108 were collected near Cincinnati. This plant has a wide distribution. It is in all our Ohio woods.
Strong-Scented Marasmius. Edible.
Figure 109.Figure 109.—Marasmius scorodonius.
Figure 109.—Marasmius scorodonius.
Scorodonius is from a Greek word meaning like garlic.
The pileus is one-half inch or more broad, reddish when young, but becoming pale, whitish; somewhat fleshy, tough; even, soon plane, rugulose even when young, at length rugulose and crisped.
The gills are attached to the stem, often separating, connected by veins, crisped in drying, whitish.
The stem is at least one inch long, hollow, equal, quite smooth, shining, reddish. The spores are elliptical, 6×4µ.
It is found in woods growing on sticks and decayed wood. It is strong-smelling. It is frequently put with other plants to give a flavor of garlic to the dish. Found from July to October.
Calopus is from two Greek words meaning beautiful and foot, so called because of its beautiful stem.
The pileus is rather fleshy, tough, convex, plane then depressed, even, at length rugose, whitish.
The gills are emarginate, adnexed, thin, white, in groups of 2–4.
The stem is hollow, equal, smooth, not rooting, shining, reddish-bay. It is found growing on twigs and fallen leaves, in the woods. Smaller than M. Scorodonius but with longer stem.
The Leek-Scented Marasmius.
Prasiosmus means smelling like a leek; from,prason, a leek. The pileus is one-half to one inch broad, somewhat membranaceous, tough, bell-shaped, pale yellow or whitish, disk often darker, wrinkled.
The gills are adnexed, somewhat close, white.
The stem is tough, hollow, pallid and smooth above, dilated at the base, tomentose and brown. It is found in woods adhering to oak leaves after heavy rains. It is very near M. porreus but differs from it in its gills being white and caps not being striated. It differs from M. terginus mainly in its habitat and leek-like scent.
Anomalus, not conforming to rule, irregular. The pileus is one to two inches broad, somewhat fleshy, tough, convex, even, reddish-gray.
The stem is two to three inches long, hollow, equal, smooth, pallid above, reddish-brown below.
The gills are rotundate-free, close, narrow, whitish or pallid.Morgan.
This is quite a pretty plant, growing on sticks among leaves in the woods. It is larger than most of the small Marasmii found in similar habitats.
Semihirtipes means a slightly hairy foot or stem.
The pileus is thin, tough, nearly plane or depressed, smooth, sometimes striate on the margin, hygrophanous, reddish-brown when moist, alutaceous when dry, the disk sometimes darker.
The gills are subdistant, reaching the stem, slightly venose-connected, sub-crenulate on the edge, white.
The stem is equal, even or finely striate, hollow, smooth above, velvety-tomentose toward the base, reddish-brown.Peck.
These plants are very small, often no doubt overlooked by the collector. They are gregarious in their mode of growth.
Longipes means long stem or foot.
The pileus is thin, convex, smooth, finely striate on the margin, tawny-red.
The gills are not crowded, attached, white.
The stem is tall, straight, hollow, equal, covered with a downy meal, rooting, brown or fawn-color, white at the top.
These plants are quite small and slender, sometimes four to five inches high. They are rather common in our woods after a rain.
Graminum is the gen. pl. ofgramen, which means grass.
The pileus small, membranaceous, convex, then nearly plane, umbonate, deeply and distinctly striate or sulcate, tinged with rufous, the furrows paler, disc brown.
The gills are attached to a collar that is free around the stem, few in number, slightly ventricose, cream-color.
The stem is short, slender, equal, smooth, shining, black, whitish above.
The spores are globose, 3–4µ.
This species is very near M. rotula but it can be easily distinguished by the pale rufescent, distinctly sulcate pileus, and its growing on grass. I have frequently found it on the Chillicothe high school lawn.
The Bell-Shaped Marasmius.
Figure 110.Plate XVII. Figure 110.—Marasmius siccus.Natural size. The cap ochraceous red, the disks somewhat darker, the stems shining and blackish-brown.
Plate XVII. Figure 110.—Marasmius siccus.Natural size. The cap ochraceous red, the disks somewhat darker, the stems shining and blackish-brown.
Figure 111.Figure 111.—Marasmius siccus. Natural size. Caps deeply furrowed and pinkish.
Figure 111.—Marasmius siccus. Natural size. Caps deeply furrowed and pinkish.
This is a very beautiful plant found in the woods after a rain, growing from the leaves. They are found singly, but usually in groups.
The pileus is at first nearly conical, then campanulate, membranaceous, dry, smooth, furrows radiating from almost the center, growing larger as they approach the margin, ochraceous-red, the disk a little darker.
The gills are free or slightly attached, few, distant, broad, narrowed toward the stem, whitish.
The stem is hollow, tough, smooth, shining, blackish-brown, two to three inches long. The pileus is about a half inch broad.
The plant is quite common in our woods. I have not found it elsewhere. The plants in the photograph represent the pink form, which is not so common as the ochraceous-red. In the pink form the center of the cap and the apex of the stem is a delicate pink, which gives the plant a beautiful appearance.
Found from June to October. I have not tested it but have no doubt of its esculent qualities.
Fagineus means belonging tobeech.
Pileus a little fleshy, convex then plane or depressed, at length somewhat repand, rugose-striate, reddish-pallid or alutaceous.
The gills are short-adnate, somewhat crisped, close, pale reddish.
The stem is short, hollow, pubescent, thickened upward, concolorous; the base somewhat tuberculose.Morgan, Myc. Flora M. V.
This plant is quite frequently found in our woods growing on the bark at the base of living beech trees. Its habitat, its reddish or alutaceous cap, and its paler gills will clearly identify the species.
The Masked Marasmius.
Figure 112.Figure 112.—Marasmius peronatus. Natural size. Cap reddish-buff. Gills creamy or light reddish-brown.
Figure 112.—Marasmius peronatus. Natural size. Cap reddish-buff. Gills creamy or light reddish-brown.
Peronatus is frompero, a boot.
The pileus is reddish-buff, convex, slightly flattened at the top, quite wrinkled when old; diameter, at full expansion, between one and two inches, margin striate.
The gills are thin and crowded, creamy, becoming light reddish-brown, continuing down the stem by a short curve.
The stem is fibrous-stuffed, pale, densely clothed at the base with stiff yellowish hairs.
It grows in the woods, among dead leaves, from May till frost.
It is usually solitary yet is sometimes found in clusters. It has been eaten frequently without injury, but by most writers is branded poisonous. It is quite acrid, but that disappears in cooking. The dense yellow hairs at the base of the stem appear to constitute the distinguishing characteristic. Found from July to October.
Figure 113.Figure 113.—Marasmius ramealis. Natural size.
Figure 113.—Marasmius ramealis. Natural size.
Ramealis means a branch or stick; so called because the plant is found growing on sticks, in open woods.
The pileus is very small, somewhat fleshy, plane or a trifle depressed, obtuse, not striate, slightly rugulose, opaque.
The gills are attached to the stem, somewhat distant, narrow, white.
The stem is about one inch long, stuffed, mealy, white, inclined to be rufescent at the base.
The spores are elliptical, 4×2µ.
This is a very pretty plant, but easily overlooked. It is found on oak and beech branches, frequently in large groups. Figure 113 illustrates their mode of growth and will assist the collector in identifying the species. Not poisonous, but too small to gather. Found from July to October. The specimens in Figure 113 were found in Haynes' Hollow near Chillicothe and photographed by Dr. Kellerman.
Granular Marasmius. Edible.
Saccharinus is fromsaccharum, sugar; it is so called because the white pileus looks very much like loaf sugar.
The pileus is entirely white, membranaceous, convex, somewhat papillate, smooth, sulcate and plicate.
The gills are broadly and firmly attached to the stem, narrow, thick, very distant, united by veins, whitish.
The stem is quite thin, thread-form, attenuated upward, at first flocculose, at length becoming smooth, inserted obliquely, reddish, pale at the apex. Spores, 5×3µ.
Quite common in wet weather on dead oak limbs in woods. This plant differs from M. epiphyllus in its habitat, in the papillate form of its pileus and the stem's being flocculose, then smooth; also in that the gills are united in a reticulated manner. Common. July to October.
The Leaf Marasmius. Edible.
Epiphyllus means growing on leaves.
The pileus is white, membranaceous, nearly plane, at length umbilicate, smooth, wrinkled, plicate.
The gills are firmly attached to the stem, white, connected by veins, entire, distant, few.
The stem is rather horny, bay, minutely velvety, apex pale, inserted. The spores are 3×2µ. This plant is abundant everywhere, on fallen leaves in woods during rainy weather. July to October.
Figure 114.Figure 114.—Marasmius delectans. Natural size. Caps white. Gills broad and distant.
Figure 114.—Marasmius delectans. Natural size. Caps white. Gills broad and distant.
Delectans means pleasing or delightful.
The pileus is subcoriaceous, convex, then expanded and depressed, glabrous, rugulose, white, changing in drying to pale alutaceous.
The gills are moderately broad, unequal, rather distant, trabeculate between, white, emarginate, adnexed; the spores are lance-oblong, hyaline, 7–9×4µ.
The stem, arising from an abundant white-floccose mycelium, is long, slender, tapering slightly upward, smooth, brown and shining, white at the apex.
It is found growing on old leaves in woods. The plants in the figure were collected in the woods at Sugar Grove, Ohio, by R. A. Young, July 28, 1906, and photographed by Dr. Kellerman. Found from July to October.
Figure 115.Figure 115.—Marasmius nigripes. Natural size. Caps and gills white, stems black.
Figure 115.—Marasmius nigripes. Natural size. Caps and gills white, stems black.
Nigripes means black foot, so called because the stems are black.
Tremmelloid. Pileus very thin, pure white, pruinose, rugulose-sulcate, convex then expanded.
The gills are pure white, unequal, some of them forked, adnate, the interstices venulose.
The stem is thickest at the apex, tapering downward, black, white-pruinose, the base insititious.Morgan.
It is found on old leaves, sticks, and old acorns and hickory-nuts. When dry, the stem loses its black color and the gills become flesh-color. It is quite common in thin and open woods. The spores are hyaline and stellate, 3–5-rayed. Found from July to October.
This is called Heliomyces nigripes by some authors.
Pleurotus is from two Greek words meaning side and ear, alluding to its manner of growth on a log. This genus is very common everywhere in Ohio, and is easily determined by its eccentric, lateral, or even absent stem, but it must have white spores, and the characteristics of the Agaricini.
Pileus fleshy in the larger species and membranaceous in the smaller forms, but never becoming woody. Stem mostly lateral or wanting; when present, continuous with cap. Gills with sinus or broadly decurrent, toothed.
Grows in woods.
The Oyster Mushroom. Edible.
Figure 116.Figure 116.—Pleurotus ostreatus. Two-thirds natural size. Often growing very large.
Figure 116.—Pleurotus ostreatus. Two-thirds natural size. Often growing very large.
Pileus two to six inches broad, soft, fleshy, convex, or slightly depressed behind, subordinate, often cespitosely imbricated, moist, smooth, margin involute; whitish, cinereous or brownish; flesh white, the whole surface shining and satiny when dry.
Figure 117.Plate XVIII. Figure 117.—Pleurotus ostreatus.Two-thirds natural size.
Plate XVIII. Figure 117.—Pleurotus ostreatus.Two-thirds natural size.
Gills broad, decurrent, subdistant, branching at the base, white or whitish. The stem when present is very short, firm, lateral, sometimes rough with stiff hair, hairy at the base. Spores oblong, white, .0003 to .0004 inch long, .00016 inch broad.
This is one of our most abundant mushrooms, and the easiest for the beginner to identify. In Figures 116 and 117, you will see the plant growing in imbricated form apparently without any stem. In Figure 118 is a variety that has a pronounced stem, showing how the stems grow together at the base, the slight grooving on the stems, also the decurrent gills. In most of these plants the stems are plainly lateral, but a few will appear to be central. It will be difficult to distinguish it from the Sapid mushroom and for table purposes there is little need to separate them. In Ohio the Oyster mushroom is very common everywhere. I have seen trees sixty to seventy feet high simply loaded with this mushroom. If one will locate a few logs or stumps upon which the Oyster mushroom grows, he can find there an abundant supply (when conditions areright for fungus growth) during the entire season. It is almost universally a favorite among mushroom eaters, but it must be carefully and thoroughly cooked. It grows very large and frequently in great masses. I have often found specimens whose caps were eight to ten inches broad. It is found from May to December.
Figure 118.Figure 118.—Pleurotus ostreatus. One-half natural size, showing gills and stems.
Figure 118.—Pleurotus ostreatus. One-half natural size, showing gills and stems.
The Willow Pleurotus. Edible.
Salignus, fromsalix, a willow. Pileus is compact, nearly halved, horizontal, at first cushion-shaped, even, then with the disk depressed, substrigose, white or fuliginous. The stem, eccentric or lateral, sometimes obsolete, short, white-tomentose. The gills are decurrent, somewhat branched, eroded, distinct at the base, nearly of the same color. Spores .00036 by .00015 inch. Fries.
I found this species near Bowling Green on willow stumps. About every ten days the stumps offered me a very excellent dish, better than any meat market could afford. September to November.
The Elm Pleurotus. Edible.
Figure 119.Figure119.—Pleurotus ulmarius. One-third natural size.
Figure119.—Pleurotus ulmarius. One-third natural size.
Ulmarius, fromulmus, an elm. It takes its name from its habit of growing on elm trees and logs. It appears in the fall and may be found in company with the Oyster mushroom, late in December, frozen solid. This species is frequently seen on elm trees, both dead and alive, on live trees where they have been trimmed or injured in some way. It is often seen on elms in the cities, where the elm is a common shade tree. Its cap is large, thick and firm, smooth and broadly convex, sometimes pale yellow or buff. Frequently the epidermis in the center of the cap cracks, giving the surface a tessellated appearance as in Figure 119. The flesh is very white and quite compact. The gills are white or often becoming tawny at maturity, broad, rounded or notched, not closely placed, sometimes nearly decurrent. The stem is firm and solid, various in length, occasionally very short, inclined to be thick at the base and curved so that the plant will be upright, as will be seen in Figure 119.
The cap is from three to six inches broad. A specimen that measured over ten inches across the cap, was found some thirty feet high in a tree. While it was very large, it was quite tender and made several meals for two families. But this species is not limited entirely to the elm. I found it on hickory, about Chillicothe. There are a few elm logs along my rambles that afford me fine specimens with great regularity. Insects do not seem to infest it as they do the ostreatus and the sapidus. Sometimes, when the plant grows from the top of a log or the cut surface of a stump, the stem will be longer, straight, and in the center of the cap. This form is called by some authors var. verticalis.
For my own use I think the Elm mushroom, when properly prepared, very delicious. Like all tree mushrooms it should be eaten when young. It is easily dried and kept for winter use. Found from September to November.
The Petaloid Pleurotus. Edible.
Figure 120.Figure 120.—Pleurotus petaloides.
Figure 120.—Pleurotus petaloides.
This species is so called from its likeness to the petals of a flower. Pileus fleshy, spathulate, entire; margin at first involute, finally fully expanded; villous, depressed. The stem is compressed and villous, often channelled, nearly erect. The gills are strongly decurrent, crowded, narrow, and white or whitish. Spores minutely globose, .0003 by .00015.
The plant varies very greatly in form and size. Its chief characteristic isthe presence of numerous short white cystidia in the hymenium, which dot the surface of the hymenium, and under an ordinary pocket lens give to the gills a sort of fuzzy appearance. Frequently it will have the appearance of growing from the ground, but a careful examination will reveal a piece of wood of some kind, which serves as a host for the mycelium. I have found this plant but a few times, It seems to be quite rare in our state, especially in the southern part of the state. The plants in Figure 120 were photographed by Prof. G. D. Smith of Akron, Ohio.
The Sapid Pleurotus. Edible.
Figure 121.Figure 121.—Pleurotus sapidus. One-third natural size, showing imbricated growth. Spores lilac.
Figure 121.—Pleurotus sapidus. One-third natural size, showing imbricated growth. Spores lilac.
Figure 122.Figure 122.—Pleurotus sapidus.
Figure 122.—Pleurotus sapidus.
Sapidus, savory. This plant grows in clusters whose stems are more or less united at the base as in Figure 121. The caps when densely crowded are often irregular. They are smooth and vary much in color, being whitish, ash-gray, brownish, yellowish-gray.
The flesh is thick and white. The gills are white or whitish, rather broad, running down on the stem, and slightly connected, at times, by oblique or transverse branches. The stem is generally short, solid, several usually springing from a thickened base, white or whitish and either laterally or eccentrically connected with the cap.
This plant is classed with the white-spored species, yet its spores, after a short exposure to the air, really exhibit a pale lilac tint. This can only be seen when the spores are in sufficient quantity and resting on a suitable surface.
The size of the plant varies, the cap being commonly from two to five inches long. It grows in woods and open places, on stumps and logs of various kinds. Its edible quality is quite as good as the Oyster mushroom. The only way by which it can be distinguished from the P. ostreatus is by its lilac-tinted spores. It is found from June to November.
Figure 123.Photo by C. G. Lloyd.Plate XX. Figure 123.—Pleurotus sapidus.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Plate XX. Figure 123.—Pleurotus sapidus.
The Yellowish Pleurotus. Edible.
Figure 124.Figure 124.—Pleurotus serotinoides. One-third natural size.
Figure 124.—Pleurotus serotinoides. One-third natural size.
Serotinoides, like serotinus, which means late-coming; from its appearing in the winter.
The pileus is fleshy, one to three inches broad, compact, convex or nearly plane, viscid when young and moist, half-kidney-shaped, roundish, solitary or crowded and imbricated, variously colored, dingy-yellow, reddish-brown, greenish-brown or olivaceous, the margin at first involute.
The gills are close, determinate, whitish or yellowish.
The stem is very short, lateral, thick, yellowish beneath, and minutely downy or scaly with blackish points.
The spores are minute, elliptical, .0002 inch long, .0001 inch broad.
There is probably no difference between this and P. serotinus, the European species. It is a beautiful plant. The color and size are quite variable. I found it on Ralston's Run and in Baird's woods on Frankfort Pike. It is found from September to January.
Little Gray Pleurotus.
Figure 125.Figure 125.—Pleurotus applicatus. Natural size.
Figure 125.—Pleurotus applicatus. Natural size.
Applicatus means lying upon or close to; so named from the sessile pileus. The pileus is one-third of an inch across, when young cup-shaped, dark cinereous, somewhat membranaceous, quite firm, resupinate, then reflexed, somewhat striate, slightly pruinose, villous at the base.
The gills are thick, broad in proportion to the size of the cap, distant, radiating, gray, the margin lighter, sometimes the gills are as dark as the pileus.
Sometimes it is attached only by the center of the pileus; sometimes, growing on the side of a shelving log, it is attached laterally. It is not as abundant as some other forms of Pleurotus. It differs from P. tremulus in absence of a distinct stem.
Cyphellæformis means shaped like the hollows of the ears. The pileus is cup-shaped, pendulous, downy or mealy, upper layer gelatinous, gray, very minutely hairy, especially at the base, margin paler.
The gills are narrow, rather distant, pure white, alternate ones being shorter. These are very small plants, found only in damp places on dead herbaceous plants. They resemble a Cyphella griseo-pallida in habit.
Figure 126.Figure 126.—Pleurotus abscondens. Entire plant white.
Figure 126.—Pleurotus abscondens. Entire plant white.
Abscondens means keeping out of view. It is so called because it persists in growing in places where it is hidden from sight.
The pileus is often two and a half inches broad, delicate-white, strong stringent odor, usually pruinose, margin slightly incurved.
The gills are attached to the stem, rather crowded, very white, somewhat narrow.
The stem is short, solid, pruinose, usually lateral, and curved.
The plant usually grows in hollow stumps or logs, and in this case the stem is always lateral and the plant grows very much as does the P. ostreatus, except that they are not imbricated. Occasionally the plant is found on the bottom of a hollow log and in that case the cap is central and considerably depressed in the center. I have never seen it growing except in a hollow stump or log. Its manner of growth and its delicate shape of white will serve to identify it. It is found from August to November.
Circinatus means to make round, referring to the shape of the pileus.
The pileus is two to three inches broad, white, plane, orbicular, convex at first, even, covered over with silky-pruinose lustre.
The gills are adnate-decurrent, rather crowded, quite broad, white.
The stem is equal, smooth, one to two inches long, stuffed, central or slightly eccentric, rooted at the base.
The form of these plants is quite constant and the round white caps will atfirst suggest a Collybia. The white gills and its decurrent form will distinguish it from P. lignatilis. It makes quite a delicious dish when well cooked. I found some beautiful specimens on a decayed beech log in Poke Hollow. Found in September and October.
Lactarius means pertaining to milk. There is one feature of this genus that should easily mark it, the presence of milky or colored juice which exudes from a wound or a broken place on a fresh plant. This feature alone is sufficient to distinguish the genus but there are other points that serve to make the determination more certain.
The flesh, although it seems quite solid and firm, is very brittle. The fracture is always even, clean cut, and not ragged as in more fibrous substances.
The plants are fleshy and stout, and in this particular resemble the Clitocybes, but the brittleness of the flesh, milky juice, and the marking of the cap, will easily distinguish them.
Many species have a very acrid or peppery flavor. If a person tastes one when raw, he will not soon forget it. This acridity is usually lost in cooking.
The pileus in all species is fleshy, becoming more or less depressed, margin at first involute, often marked with concentric zones.
The stem is stout, often hollow when old, confluent with the cap.
The gills are usually unequal, edge acute, decurrent or adnate, milky; in nearly all the species the milk is white, changing to a sulphur yellow, red, or violet, on exposure to the air.
The Woolly Lactarius. Poisonous.