Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc. Part 12

The dark color of the lamellae in _L. corrugis_ is due to the number of brown cystidia or setae, in the hymenium, which project above the surface of the gills, and they are especially abundant on the edge of the gills.

These setae are long fusoid, 80--120 10--12 . The variations in the color of the gills, in some plants the gills being much darker than in others, is due to the variations either in the number of these setae or to the variation in their color. Where the cystidia are fewer in number or are lighter in color the lamellae are lighter colored. Typical forms of _Lactarius volemus_ have similar setae, but they are very pale in color and not so abundant over the surface of the gills. In the darker forms of _L. volemus_ the setae are more abundant and darker in color, approaching those found in _L. corrugis_. These facts, supported by the variation in the color of the pileus in the two species and the variations in the rugosities of the pileus, seem to indicate that the two species are very closely related.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 119.--Lactarius lignyotus. Cap and stem sooty, cap wrinkled, gills white, then tinged with ochre (natural size, sometimes larger). Copyright.]

=Lactarius lignyotus= Fr.--This is known as the sooty lactarius and occurs in woods along with the smoky lactarius. It is distinguished from the latter by the dark brown color of the pileus and by the presence usually of rugose wrinkles over the center of the cap. In size it agrees with the smoky lactarius.

The =pileus= is convex, then plane, or somewhat depressed in the center, dry, sometimes with a small umbo, dark brown or sooty (chocolate to seal brown as given in Ridgeway's nomenclature of colors), covered with a very fine tomentum which has the appearance of a bloom. The margin of the cap, especially in old plants, is somewhat wavy or plicate as in _Lactarius fuliginosus_. The =gills= are moderately crowded when young, becoming distant in older plants, white, then cream color or yellow, changing to reddish or salmon color where bruised. The =spores= are yellowish in ma.s.s, faintly so under the microscope, globose, strongly echinulate, 6--10 . The taste is mild, or sometimes slowly and slightly acrid. The plants from North Carolina showed distinctly the change to reddish or salmon color when the gills were bruised, and the taste was noted as mild.

Figure 119 is from plants (No. 3864, C. U. herbarium) collected in the Blue Ridge Mountains, at Blowing Rock, N. C., September, 1899.

=Lactarius fuliginosus= Fr.--The smoky or dingy lactarius occurs in woods and open gra.s.sy places. It is widely distributed. The plants are 4--7 cm. high, the cap 3--5 cm. broad, and the stem 6--10 mm. in thickness. The light smoky color of the cap and stem, the dull yellowish white color of the gills, and in old plants the wavy margin of the cap make it comparatively easy to recognize the species.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 120.--Lactarius fuliginosus. Cap and stem smoky, cap usually not wrinkled; gills white, then light ochre, distant (natural size). Copyright.]

The =pileus= is thin, at first firm, becoming soft, convex, then plane and often somewhat depressed in the center, usually even, dry, the margin in old plants crenately wavy, dull gray or smoky gray in color, with a fine down or tomentum. The =gills= are adnate, distant, more so in old plants, white, then yellowish, sometimes changing to salmon color or reddish where bruised. The =spores= are yellowish in ma.s.s, faintly yellow under the microscope, strongly echinulate or tuberculate, globose, 6--10 . The =stem= is usually paler than the pileus, firm, stuffed. The milk is white, slowly acrid to the taste.

Figure 120 is from plants (No. 3867, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

=Lactarius gerardii= Pk.--This plant was described by Dr. Peck in the 26th Report, N. Y. State Mus., p. 65, and in the 28th Rept. p. 129.

According to the descriptions it differs from _Lactarius fuliginosus_ only in the spores being white, the gills more distant, and the taste being constantly mild. Since the taste in _L. fuliginosus_ is sometimes mild, or slowly acrid, and the lamellae in the older plants are more distant, the spores sometimes only tinged with yellow, there does not seem to be a very marked difference between the two species. In fact all three of these species, _fuliginosus_, _lignyotus_ and _gerardii_, seem to be very closely related. Forms of _fuliginosus_ approach _lignyotus_ in color, and the =pileus= sometimes is rugose wrinkled, while in _lignyotus_ pale forms occur, and the pileus is not always rugose wrinkled. The color of the bruised lamellae is the same in the two last species and sometimes the change in color is not marked.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 121.--Lactarius torminosus. Cap ochraceous and pink hues, with zones of darker color, margin of cap wooly (natural size, often much larger). Copyright.]

=Lactarius torminosus= (Schaeff.) Fr.--This plant is widely distributed in Europe, Asia, as well as in America. It is easily recognised by the uneven mixture of pink and ochraceous colors, and the very hairy or tomentose margin of the cap. The plants are 5--10 cm. high, the cap about the same breadth, and the stem 1--2 cm. in thickness. It occurs in woods on the ground during late summer and autumn.

The =pileus= is convex, depressed in the center, and the margin strongly incurved when young, the abundant hairs on the margin forming an apparent veil at this time which covers up the gills. The upper surface of the pileus is smooth, or sometimes more or less covered with a tomentum similar to that on the margin. The color is an admixture of ochraceous and pink hues, sometimes with concentric zones of darker shades. The =gills= are crowded, narrow, whitish, with a tinge of yellowish flesh color. The =stem= is cylindrical, even, hollow, whitish.

The milk is white, unchangeable, acrid to the taste. Figure 121, left hand plants, is from plants (No. 3911, C. U. herbarium) collected in the Blue Ridge Mountains, N. C., in September, 1899, and the right hand plant (No. 2960, C. U. herbarium) collected at Ithaca, N. Y.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 122.--Lactarius piperatus. Entirely white, milk very peppery (natural size, often larger). Copyright.]

=Lactarius piperatus= (Scop.) Fr.--This species is very hot and peppery to the taste, is of medium size, entirely white, depressed at the center, or funnel-shaped, with a short stem, and very narrow and crowded gills, and abundant white milk. The plants are 3--7 cm. high, the cap 8--12 cm. broad, and the stem 1--2 cm. in thickness. It grows in woods on the ground and is quite common, sometimes very common in late summer and autumn.

The =pileus= is fleshy, thick, firm, convex, umbilicate, and then depressed in the center, becoming finally more or less funnel-shaped by the elevation of the margin. It is white, smooth when young, in age sometimes becoming sordid and somewhat roughened. The =gills= are white, very narrow, very much crowded, and some of them forked, arcuate and then ascending because of the funnel-shaped pileus. The =spores= are _smooth_, oval, with a small point, 5--7 4--5 . The =stem= is equal or tapering below, short, solid.

The milk is white, unchangeable, very acrid to the taste and abundant.

The plant is reported as edible. A closely related species is _L.

pergamenus_ (Swartz) Fr., which resembles it very closely, but has a longer, stuffed stem, and thinner, more pliant pileus, which is more frequently irregular and eccentric, and not at first umbilicate. Figure 122 is from plants (No. 3887, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., during September, 1899.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 123.--Lactarius resimus. Entire plant white, in age scales on cap dull ochraceous (natural size). Copyright.]

=Lactarius resimus= Fr.?--This plant is very common in the woods bordering a sphagnum moor at Malloryville, N. Y., ten miles from Ithaca, during July to September. I have found it at this place every summer for the past three years. It occurs also in the woods of the damp ravines in the vicinity of Ithaca. It was also abundant in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, during September, 1899. The plants are large, the caps 10--15 cm. broad, the stem 5--8 cm. long, and 2--3 cm.

in thickness.

The =pileus= is convex, umbilicate, then depressed and more or less funnel-shaped in age, white, in the center roughened with fibrous scales as the plant ages, the scales becoming quite stout in old plants. The scales are tinged with dull ochraceous or are light brownish in the older plants. The ochre colored scales are sometimes evident over the entire cap, even in young plants. In young plants the margin is strongly involute or inrolled, and a loose but thick veil of interwoven threads extends from the surface of the roll to the stem. This disappears as the margin of the cap unrolls with the expanding pileus. The margin of the pileus is often sterile, that is, it extends beyond the ends of the gills. The =gills= are white, stout, and broad, decurrent, some of them forked near the stem. When bruised, the gills after several hours become ochraceous brown. The spores are subglobose, minutely spiny, 8--12 .

The =stem= is solid, cylindrical, minutely tomentose, spongy within when old.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 124.--Lactarius resimus. Section of young plant showing inrolled margin of cap, and the veil (natural size). Copyright.]

The taste is very acrid, and the white milk not changing to yellow.

While the milk does not change to yellow, broken portions of the plant slowly change to flesh color, then ochraceous brown. Figures 123, 124 are from plants collected in one of the damp gorges near Ithaca, during September, 1896. The forked gills, the strongly inrolled margin of the cap and veil of the young plants are well shown in the ill.u.s.tration.

=Lactarius chrysorrheus= Fr.--This is a common and widely distributed species, from small to medium size. The plants are 5--8 cm. high, the cap 5--10 cm. broad, and the stem 1--1.5 cm. in thickness. It grows in woods and groves during late summer and autumn.

The =pileus= is fleshy, of medium thickness, convex and depressed in the center from the young condition, and as the pileus expands the margin becomes more and more upturned and the depression deeper, so that eventually it is more or less broadly funnel-form. The color varies from white to flesh color, tinged with yellow sometimes in spots, and marked usually with faint zones of brighter yellow. The zones are sometimes very indistinct or entirely wanting. The =gills= are crowded, white then yellow, where bruised becoming yellowish, then dull reddish. The =stem= is equal or tapering below, hollow or stuffed, paler than the pileus, smooth (sometimes pitted as shown in the Fig. 125).

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 125.--Lactarius chrysorrheus. Cap white or flesh color, often tinged with yellowish, and with darker zones (natural size). Copyright.]

The plant is acrid to the taste, the milk white changing to citron yellow on exposure. Figure 125 is from plants (No. 3875, C. U.

herbarium) collected in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Blowing Rock, N. C., September, 1899. The species was quite abundant in this locality during August and September, in chestnut groves, mixed woods, and borders of woods.

=Lactarius deliciosus= (L.) Fr. =Edible.=--_Lactarius deliciosus_ grows in damp woods, is widely distributed and sometimes is quite common. It occurs from July to October. It is one of the medium or large sized species, being 3--10 cm. high, the cap 5--12 cm. broad, and the stem 1--2 cm. in thickness. It is easily recognized by its orange color and the concentric zones of light and dark orange around on the pileus, and by the orange milk which is exuded where wounded.

The =pileus= is first convex, then slightly depressed in the center, becoming more expanded, and finally more or less funnel-shaped by the elevation of the margin. It is usually more or less orange in color or mottled with varying shades, and with concentric bands of a deeper color. The =gills= are yellowish orange often with darker spots. The =stem= is of the same color as the pileus but paler, sometimes with darker spots. The flesh of the plant is white, shaded with orange. In old plants the color fades out somewhat and becomes unevenly tinged with green, and bruised places become green. Peck states that when fresh the plant often has a slight acrid taste.

Being a widely distributed and not uncommon plant, and one so readily recognized, it has long been known in the old world as well as here. All writers on these subjects concur in recommending it for food, some p.r.o.nouncing it excellent, some the most delicious known. Its name suggests the estimation in which it was held when christened.

=Lactarius chelidonium= Pk. =Edible.=--This pretty little _Lactarius_ was described by Peck in the 24th Report, N. Y. State Mus., p. 74. It is closely allied to _Lactarius deliciosus_, from which it is said to differ in its "more narrow lamellae, differently colored milk, smaller spores." The plant is about 5 cm. high, the cap about 5 cm. broad, and the stem 1--1.5 cm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is fleshy, firm, convex and depressed in the center, smooth, slightly viscid when moist, "of a grayish green color with blue and yellow tints, and a few narrow zones on the margin." The =gills= are crowded, narrow, some of them forked at the base, and sometimes joining to form reticulations. The =spores= are yellowish. The short =stem= is nearly equal, smooth, hollow, and the same color as the pileus.

The taste is mild, the milk not abundant, and of a yellowish color, "resembling the juice of Celandine or the liquid secreted from the mouth of gra.s.shoppers." Wounds on the plant are first of the color of the milk, changing on exposure to blue, and finally to green. The plant occurs during late summer and in the autumn in woods. Peck reported it first from Saratoga, N. Y. It has been found elsewhere in the State, and it has probably quite a wide distribution. I found it during September, 1899, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of N. C. Figure 1, plate 39, is from some of the water color drawings made by Mr. Franklin R. Rathbun.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE 39.

FIG. 1.--Lactarius deliciosus.

FIG. 2.--L. chelidonium.

FIG. 3.--L. indigo.

Copyright 1900.]

=Lactarius indigo= (Schw.) Fr.--The indigo blue lactarius is a very striking and easily recognized plant because of the rich indigo blue color so predominant in the entire plant. It is not very abundant, but is widely distributed in North America. The plant is 5--7 cm. high, the cap 5--12 cm. broad, and the stem is 1--2 cm. in thickness. The plants occur during late summer and in the autumn.

The =pileus= when young is umbilicate, the margin involute, and in age the margin becomes elevated and then the pileus is more or less funnel-shaped. The indigo blue color is deeply seated, and the surface of the pileus has a silvery gray appearance through which the indigo blue color is seen. The surface is marked by concentric zones of a darker shade. In age the color is apt to be less uniformly distributed, it is paler, and the zones are fainter. The _gills_ are crowded, and when bruised, or in age, the indigo blue color changes somewhat to greenish. The milk is dark blue.

RUSSULA Pers.

The species of _Russula_ are very characteristic, and the genus is easily recognized in most cases after a little experience. In the very brittle texture of the plants the genus resembles _Lactarius_, and many of them are more brittle than the species of this genus. A section of the pileus shows under the microscope a similar vesicular condition, that is the grouping of large rounded cells together, with threads between. But the species of _Russula_ are at once separated from those of _Lactarius_ by the absence of a juice which exudes in drops from bruised parts of _Lactarius_. While some of the species are white and others have dull or sombre colors, many of the species of _Russula_ have bright, or even brilliant colors, as red, purple, violet, pink, blue, yellow, green. In determining many of the species, however, it is necessary to know the taste, whether mild, bitter, acrid, etc., and in this respect the genus again resembles _Lactarius_. The color of the gills as well as the color of the spores in ma.s.s should also be determined. The genus is quite a large one, and the American species are not well known, the genus being a difficult one. In Jour. Mycolog., =5=: 58--64, 1889, the characters of the tribes of Russula with descriptions of 25 species are quoted from Stevenson, with notes on their distribution in N. A. by MacAdam.

=Russula alutacea= Fr. =Edible.=--This handsome _Russula_ differs from the others described here in the color of the gills and spores. The plant is common and occurs in mixed woods during the summer and early autumn. It is 5--10 cm. high, the cap 5--12 cm. broad, and the stem 1.5--2.5 cm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is fleshy, oval to bell-shaped, becoming plane, and sometimes umbilicate. It is red or blood red in color, sometimes purple, and becoming pale in age, especially at the center. It is viscid when moist, the margin thin and striate-tuberculate. The =gills= are free from the stem, stout, broad, first white, becoming yellow, and in age ochraceous. The gills are all of the same length, not crowded, and they are connected by vein-like elevations over the surface. The =stem= is stout, solid, even, white, portions of the stem are red, sometimes purple.

The taste is mild, and the plant is regarded as one of the very good ones for food.

=Russula lepida= Fr. =Edible.=--This elegant _Russula_ occurs in birch woods or in mixed woods during late summer and autumn. It is 5--8 cm.

high, the cap 6--8 cm. broad, and the stem 1--2 cm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is fleshy, convex, then expanded, obtuse, not shining, deep red, becoming pale in age, often whitish at the center, silky, in age the surface cracking, the margin blunt and not striate. The =gills= are rounded next the stem, thick, rather crowded, and sometimes forked, white, sometimes red on the edge near the margin of the pileus. The gills are often connected by vein-like elevations over the surface. The =stem= is equal, white or rose color. The taste is mild.