R. ves´ca Fr.—vesco, to feed. Pileus red-flesh-color, disk darker, fleshy, slightly firm, plano-depressed, slightly wrinkled with veins, with a viscid pellicle, margin at length spreading. Flesh cheesy, firm, shining white. Stem solid, compact, externally rigid, reticulated and wrinkled in a peculiar manner, often attenuated at the base, shining white. Gills adnate, crowded, thin, shining white, with many unequal and forked ones intermixed, but scarcely connected by veins.
Of middle stature. Taste mild, pleasant. Fries.
Spores globose, echinulate, white, 9–10µ diameter. Massee.
In mixed woods. Common. August to frost.
R. vesca is frequent in woods or margins, and under trees in the open. It is especially fond of growing in the grass under lone chestnut trees. The caps seldom exceed 2-½ in. across.
It is one of the best.
R. cyanoxan´tha (Schaeff.) Fr. Gr—blue; Gr—yellow. (From the colors.) (Plate XLIV, fig. 1, p. 184.) Pileus 2–3 in. and more broad, lilac or purplish then olivaceous-green, disk commonly becoming pale often yellowish, margin commonly becoming azure-blue or livid purple, compact, convex then plane, then depressed or infundibuliform, sometimes even, sometimes wrinkled or streaked, viscous, margin deflexed then expanded, remotely and slightly striate. Flesh firm, cheesy, white, commonly reddish beneath the separable pellicle. Stem 2–3 in. long, as much as 1 in. thick, spongy-stuffed, but firm, often cavernous within when old, equal, smooth, even, shining white. Gills rounded behind, connected by veins, not much crowded, broad, forked with shorter ones intermixed, shining white.
Allied to R. vesca in its mild, pleasant taste and in other respects, but constantly different in the color of the pileus, which is very variable, whereas in R. vesca it is unchangeable. The peculiar combination of colors in the pileus, though very variable, always readily distinguishes it. Fries.
Spores 8–9µ, cystidia numerous, pointed, Massee; 8–10×6–8µ Sacc.
In mixed woods. Common. August to October.
Pronounced one of the best esculent species by all authorities.
R. heterophyl´la Fr. Gr—differing; Gr—a leaf. (Gills differing in length.) Pileus very variable in color, but never becoming reddish or purple, fleshy, firm, convexo-plane then depressed, even, polished, the very thin pellicle disappearing, margin thin, even or densely but slightly striate. Flesh white. Stem solid, firm, somewhat equal, even, shining white. Gills reaching the stem in an attenuated form, very narrow, very crowded, forked and dimidiate, shining white.
Taste always mild, as in R. cyanoxantha, from which it differs in its smaller stature, in the pileus being thinner, even, never reddish or purplish, with a thin closely adnate pellicle, in the stem being firm and solid, and in the gills being thin, very narrow, very crowded, etc. The apex of the stem is occasionally dilated in the form of a cup, so that the gills appear remote. Fries.
Spores echinulate, 5×7µ W.G.S.; 7–8µ diameter Massee.
Common. Woods. July to November.
Edible, of a sweet nutty flavor. Stevenson.
R. heterophylla is very common. Its smooth, even pileus, colored in some dingy shade of green, distinguishes it. It is much infested by grubs. Specimens for the table should be young and fresh. Wilted specimens are unpleasant.
R. fœ´tens Fr.—fœtens, stinking. Pileus 4–5 in. and more broad, dingy yellow, often becoming pale, thinly fleshy, at first bullate, then expanded and depressed, covered with a pellicle which is adnate, not separable, and viscid in wet weather, margin broadly membranaceous, at the first bent inward with ribs which are at length tubercular. Flesh thin, rigid-fragile, pallid. Stem 2 in. and more long, ½-1 in. thick, stout, stuffed then hollow, whitish. Gills adnexed, crowded, connected by veins, with very many dimidiate and forked ones intermixed, whitish, at the first exuding watery drops.
Fetid. Taste acrid. Very rigid, most distinct from all others in its very heavy empyreumatic odor. In very dry weather the odor is often obsolete. The margin is more broadly membranaceous and hence marked with longer furrows than in any other species. It differs from all the preceding ones in the gills at the first exuding watery drops. The gills become obsoletely light yellow, and dingy when bruised. Fries.
Pileus fleshy, with a wide thin margin, hemispherical or convex, then expanded or depressed, viscid when moist, widely striate-tuberculate on the margin, dull pale yellow or straw color. Lamellæ rather broad, close, venose-connected, some of them forked, whitish. Stipe nearly cylindrical, whitish, hollow. Spores white. Plant sometimes cespitose.
Height 2–4 in.; breadth of pileus 2–3 in. Stipe 4–6 lines thick.
Pine woods. West Albany. October.
Taste mild at first, then slightly disagreeable. Peck, 23d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Spores minute, echinulate, almost globular, 8µ W.G.S.; 8–10µ Massee.
In woods. Common. July to October.
Var. granula´ta has the pileus rough with small granular scales. Peck, Rep. 39.
A very coarse and easily recognized species. Reckoned poisonous, though eaten by slugs. W.G.S.
The verdict is against it. Both smell and taste are usually unpleasant. Cooked it retains its flavor, more closely resembling wild cherry bark than anything else. On two occasions I ate enough to convince me that it was not poisonous.
R. el´egans Bresad.—elegans, pretty. Mild at first, becoming acrid with age. Pileus 2–3 in. across. Flesh rather thick; convex then depressed; margin tuberculose and striate when old, viscid, bright rosy flesh-color, soon ochraceous at the circumference, everywhere densely granulated. Gills adnexed or slightly rounded, narrow behind, very much crowded, equal, rarely forked, whitish, becoming either entirely or here and there ochraceous-orange. Stem 1½-2 in. long, 5–7 lines thick, a little thickened at the base, rather rugulose, white, base ochraceous. Flesh white, turning ochraceous and acrid when old.
Spores 8–10µ diameter Massee.
Allied to R. vesca. Known by the bright rose-colored, densely granular pileus and tuberculose margin. When old the pileus is almost entirely ochraceous. Massee.
Frequent in the West Virginia forests, 1881–1885. Chester county, Pa., 1887–1890. In mixed woods. July to September. McIlvaine.
It differs from R. vesca in its cap being minutely granulated instead of streaked, and in becoming acrid with age.
The caps are of good quality, needing to be well cooked.
R. eme´tica Fr.—an emetic. (Plate XLIV, fig. 2, p. 184.) Pileus 3–4 in. broad, at first rosy then blood-color, tawny when old, sometimes becoming yellow and at length (in moist places) white, at first bell-shaped then flattened or depressed, polished, margin at length furrowed and tubercular. Flesh white, reddish under the separable pellicle. Stem spongy-stuffed, stout, elastic when young, fragile when older, even, white or reddish. Gills somewhat free, broad, somewhat distant, shining white.
Handsome, regular, moderately firm, but fragile when full grown, taste very acrid. Fries.
Spores shining white, Fries; spheroid, echinulate, 8–10µ K.; 7µ W.G.S.
Maryland, Miss Banning; New York, Peck, Rep. 22; Indiana, Illinois, H.I. Miller.
Said to act as its name implies as an emetic. Certainly poisonous. Stevenson.
Krapp says he has himself experienced rare inconveniences from eating it. Preferred to others in Indiana and Illinois. H.I. Miller, 1898.
The varying reports upon R. emetica are quoted above. In 1881, in the West Virginia mountains, I began testing this Russula and soon found that it was harmless. At least twenty persons ate it in quantity, during its season, for four years. Yet, in my many published articles, I continued, out of regard for the opinions of others and in excess of caution, to warn against all bitter and peppery fungi. But from that time until the present I have eaten it, and I have made special effort to establish its innocence by getting numbers of my friendly helpers to eat it.
It was suggested by one of its prosecutors that perhaps I was mistaking another fungus for it. In October, 1898, I sent to Professor Peck a lot of the Russula I was eating. He wrote: “It seems to be R. emetica as you state. It certainly is hot enough for it.”
R. pectina´ta Fr.—pecten, a comb. Pileus 3 in. broad, at first gluey, toast-brown, then dry, becoming pale, tan, with the disk always darker, fleshy, rigid, convex then flattened and depressed or concavo-infundibuliform (basin-shaped); margin thin, pectinato-sulcate (deeply ribbed), here and there irregularly shaped. Flesh white, light yellowish under the pellicle, which is not easily separable. Stem curt, 3 in. long, ¾–1 in. thick, rigid, spongy-stuffed, longitudinally slightly striate, shining white, often attenuated at the base. Gills attenuato-free behind, broader toward the margin, somewhat crowded, equal, simple, white.
Odor weak, but nauseous, approaching that of R. fœtens. Fries.
Spores 8–9µ diameter Massee.
New York, Peck, 43d Rep. West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. Common in woods, grassy, mossy places. July to frost. McIlvaine.
Named from the furrows of the margin being like the teeth of a comb.
Both the appearance and smell of this Russula will detect it. The peculiar comb-like furrows of its margin, viscid or varnished-looking cap, and strong but more spicy smell than cherry-bark are noticeable.
It is edible, but so strong in flavor that a piece of one will spoil a dish if cooked with other kinds.
R. ochroleu´ca Fr. Gr—pale yellow; Gr—white. Pileus yellow, becoming pale, fleshy, flattened or depressed, polished, with an adnate pellicle, the spreading margin becoming even. Stem spongy, stuffed, firm, slightly reticulato-wrinkled, white, becoming cinereous. Gills rounded behind, united, broad, somewhat equal, white becoming pale.
Odor obsolete, but pleasant. The pileus is never reddish. It agrees wholly with R. emetica in structure and stature, as well as in the acrid taste; it differs however in the stem being slightly recticulato-wrinkled, white becoming cinereous, in the adnate pellicle of the pileus, in the margin remaining for a long time even (remotely striate, but not tubercular, only when old), and in the gills being rounded behind and becoming pale. The color of the pileus is constant. The gills remain free and do not exude drops. Fries.
Cap 2–4 in. across. Stem 2–3 in. long, up to ¾ in. thick.
Spores papillose, 7µ W.G.S., 8×9µ Massee.
Frequent in woods. July to October.
Not as common as R. emetica, yet frequently found, usually solitary, at times gregarious. It is quite peppery, but loses pepperiness in cooking. Myself and others have frequently eaten it.
R. ci´trina Gillet—citrina, citron colored. Mild. Pileus 2–3 in. across, slightly fleshy at the disk, margin thin; convex then more or less expanded and slightly depressed, rather viscid when moist, smooth, slightly wrinkled at the margin when old, bright lemon-yellow, color usually uniform, sometimes paler at the margin, occasionally with a greenish tint, center of pileus at length becoming pale-ochraceous; pellicle separable. Gills slightly decurrent, broadest a short distance from the margin, and gradually becoming narrower towards the base, forked at the base and also sometimes near the middle, white, 1½ lines deep at broadest part. Stem 2–3 in. long, about 4 lines thick, equal or slightly narrowed at the base, slightly wrinkled, straight or very slightly waved, solid.
Spores subglobose, echinulate, 8µ diameter.
In woods.
Known by the clear lemon-yellow or citron-colored pileus and the persistently white gills and stem. The taste is mild at first, but becomes slightly acrid if kept in the mouth for a short time. Massee.
R. citrina can hardly be classed among the acrid species. The taste is slightly of cherry-bark and disappears in cooking. It is usually found in patches which contain ten to twenty individuals. It is a species of fair quality.
R. fra´gilis Fr.—fragile. Pileus 1–1½ in. broad, rarely more, flesh-color, changing color, very thin, fleshy only at the disk, at the first convex and often umbonate, then plane and depressed, pellicle thin, becoming pale, slightly viscid in wet weather; margin very thin, tuberculoso-striate. Stem 1½-2 in. long, spongy within, soon hollow, often slightly striate, white. Gills slightly adnexed, very thin, crowded, broad, ventricose, all equal, shining white. Fries.
Very acrid. Smaller and more fragile than the rest of the group, directly changing color. The color is variable, often opaque, typically flesh-color, when changed in color white externally and internally, often with reddish spots. Among varieties of color is to be noted a livid flesh-colored form, with the disk becoming fuscous.
It is not easy to define it from fragile forms of R. emetica, but the gills are much more crowded, thinner, and often slightly eroded at the edge, ventricose; the pileus thinner and more lax, etc. Stevenson.
Var. nivea Fr.—nivea, snowy. Whole plant white.
Spores minutely echinulate 8–10×8µ Massee.
Though one of the peppery kind, I have not, after fifteen years of eating it, had reason to question its edibility. The caps are not meaty, but what there is of them is good.
R. puncta´ta Gillet—punctata, dotted. Mild. Pileus 1½-2½ in. across. Flesh thin, white, reddish under the cuticle; convex then flattened, viscid, rosy, disk darkest, punctate with dark reddish point-like warts, pale when old; margin striate. Gills slightly adnexed, 2 lines broad, white then yellowish, edge often reddish. Stem about 1 in. long, 4–5 lines thick, attenuated and whitish at the base, remainder colored like the pileus, stuffed.
Spores 8–9µ diameter Massee.
Among grass.
Edible. Boston Myc. Club Bull. 1896.
R. in´tegra Fr.—integer, entire, whole. Pileus 4–5 in. across, typically red, changing color, fleshy, campanulato-convex then expanded and depressed, fragile when full-grown, with a gluey pellicle, at length furrowed and somewhat tubercular at the margin. Flesh white, sometimes yellowish above. Stem at first short, conical, then club-shaped or ventricose, as much as 3 in. long, up to 1 in. thick, spongy-stuffed, commonly stout, even, shining white. Gills somewhat free, very broad, up to ¾ in., equal or bifid at the stem, somewhat distant, connected by veins, pallid-white, at length light yellow, somewhat powdered yellow with the spores.
Taste mild, often astringent. The most changeable of all species, especially in the color of the pileus which is typically red, but at the same time inclining to azure-blue, bay-brown, olivaceous, etc. Sometimes the gills are sterile and remain white. Fries.
Spores ellipsoid-spheroid or spheroid echinulate, globose, rough, 8–9µ C.B.P.; 9–10µ diameter, pale ochraceous. Massee.
It is difficult to separate R. integra from R. alutacea. The spores usually show upon the gills as pale dull yellow powder. It is of equal excellence.
R. decolo´rans Fr.—de and coloro, to color. Pileus 3–5 in. broad, color various, at first orange-red, then light yellow and becoming pale, fleshy, spherical then expanded and depressed, remarkably regular, viscid when moist, thin and at length striate at the margin. Flesh white, but becoming somewhat cinereous when broken, and more or less variegated with black spots when old. Stem elongated, 3–5 in., cylindrical, solid, but spongy within, often wrinkled-striate, white then becoming cinereous especially within. Gills adnexed, often in pairs, thin, crowded, fragile, white then yellowish.
Taste mild. Colors changeable according to a fixed rule, but not variable. The gills are not ochraceous-pulverulent as in R. integra, nor shining and pure yellow as in R. aurata, etc. Fries.
Spores yellow, 8.3µ Morgan.
New York, Peck, 23d Rep. Angora, West Philadelphia, Pa., 1897, in mixed woods. August to October. McIlvaine.
Esculent and of good quality. Morgan.
Meals of it make one regret its scarcity.
R. basifurca´ta Pk.—forked near stem. Pileus 2–3 in. broad, firm, convex, umbilicate, becoming somewhat funnel form, glabrous, slightly viscid when moist, the thin pellicle scarcely separable except on the margin, dingy-white, sometimes tinged with yellow or reddish-yellow, the margin nearly even. Lamellæ rather close, narrowed toward the base, adnate or slightly emarginate, many of them forked near the base, a few short ones intermingled, white becoming yellowish. Stem 8–12 lines long, 5–6 lines thick, firm, solid, becoming spongy within, white.
Spores elliptical, pale yellow, uninucleate or shining, 9×6.5µ. Flesh white, taste mild, then bitterish.
Dry hard ground in paths and wood roads. Canoga, N.Y. July.
This species closely resembles pale forms of R. furcata, from which it is separated by the absence of any silky micor and by the yellowish color and elliptical shape of the spores and by the yellowish hue of the lamellæ. Peck, 38th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Mt. Gretna, Pa., September, 1898, to frost. Gravelly ground. Solitary. Gills adnate. Identified as his species by Professor Peck.
The slight bitterish taste disappears in cooking. It is edible and of fair quality.
R. aura´ta Fr.—aurum, gold. Pileus 2–3 in. broad, varying lemon-yellow, orange and red, disk darker, fleshy, rigid, brittle however, hemispherical then plane, disk not depressed, pellicle thin, adnate, viscid in wet weather, margin even, and slightly striate only when old, but sometimes wrinkled. Flesh lemon-yellow under the pellicle, white below. Stem 2–3 in. long, solid, firm, but spongy within, cylindrical, obsoletely striate, white or lemon-yellow. Gills rounded free, connected by veins, broad, equal, shining, never pulverulent, whitish inclining to light yellow, but vivid lemon-yellow at the edge. Fries.
West Virginia, 1881–1885; Pennsylvania, 1887–1898. In woods under pines. July to October. McIlvaine.
Pileus sometimes depressed in center, very viscid when wet.
A troop of this Russula upon brown wood mat is a pretty sight. Its rich and brightly-colored cap attracts the eye from a distance. The yellow edge of its gills is the distinctive mark of the species.
The smell is pleasant, the taste slightly of cherry bark.
Cooked it is one of the best Russulæ.
R. atropurpu´rea Pk.—atre, black; purpureus, purple. Dark purple Russula. Pileus 3–4 in. broad, at first convex, then centrally depressed, glabrous, dark purple, blackish in the center, the margin even or slightly striate. Flesh white, grayish or grayish-purple under the separable pellicle, taste mild, odor of the drying plant fetid, very unpleasant. Lamellæ nearly equal, subdistant, sometimes forked near the stem, at first white, then yellowish, becoming brownish where bruised. Stem 2–3 in. long, 5–8 lines thick, equal, glabrous, spongy within, white, brownish where bruised. Spores subglobose, minutely rough, pale ochraceous with a salmon tint, 8–10µ.
Open woods. Gansevoort. July.
In color this species resembles R. variata, but in other respects it is very different. It is very distinct in the peculiar color of its spores, and in the brownish hue assumed by wounds. Peck, 41st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
West Philadelphia, Pa. July, 1897. Open woods. Solitary. Philadelphia Myc. Center.
Many were eaten and enjoyed. Only fresh plants are acceptable, and they should be cooked as soon as gathered. Even in wilting they become unpleasant.
R. aluta´cea Fr.—aluta, tanned leather. Pileus 2–4 in. broad, commonly bright blood-color or red, even black-purple, but becoming pale, especially at the disk, fleshy, bell-shaped then convex, flattened and somewhat umbilicate, even, with a remarkably sticky pellicle, margin thin, at length striate, tubercular. Flesh snow-white. Stem 2 in. long, solid, stout, equal, even, white, most frequently variegated-reddish, even purple. Gills at first free, thick, very broad, connected by veins, all equal, somewhat distant, at first pallid light yellow, then bright ochraceous, not pulverulent.
It is distinguished from R. integra by its gills not being pulverulent. Fries.
Spores yellow 7–9µ Massee; 11–14×8–10µ Sacc., Syll.
July to frost. McIlvaine.
R. alutacea is easily recognized among Russulæ by its mild taste and broad yellow gills. In young specimens one sometimes has to look at the gills at an angle to detect the yellow. It is quite common but a solitary grower. It is everywhere eaten as a favorite. Only fresh plants yield a good flavor. When the stem is soft, it should be thrown away.
R. puella´ris Fr. (Plate XLIV, fig. 7, p. 184.) Mild. Pileus 1–1½ in. across, flesh almost membranaceous except the disk; conico-convex then expanded, at first rather gibbous, then slightly depressed, scarcely viscid, color peculiar, purplish-livid then yellowish, disk always darker and brownish; tuberculosely striate, often to the middle. Gills adnate but very much narrowed behind, thin, crowded, white then pale-yellow, not shining nor powdered with the spores. Stem 1–1½ in. long, 2–4 lines thick, equal, soft, fragile, wrinkled under a lens, white or yellowish; stuffed, soon hollow; taste mild.
Spores subglobose, pale-yellow, echinulate, 10×8–9µ Massee.
In woods.
Among the most frequent and readily recognized of species, occurring in troops. Always small, thin, taste mild. Allied to R. nitida, but more slender; color paler, and not shining. Fries.
Distinguished from R. nitida and R. nauseosa by the absence of smell. Massee.
Var. inten´sior Cke. Nearly the same size as the typical form; pileus deep purple, nearly black at the disk.
The stem has a tendency to become thickened at the base, and turns yellowish when touched.
Var. rose´ipes Sec., given by Massee, has been retained as a distinct species by Professor Peck, Rep. 51, and is described in place. R. pusilla Pk., 50th Rep., is closely allied to it.
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina. Common in woods and under trees in short grass. July to September. McIlvaine.
This little Russula is ubiquitous. It does not amount to much when other fungi are plenty, because of its very thin cap, but it thrives in all sorts of summer weather. When its companions are scarce or parched R. puellaris is gladly gathered by the mycophagist, its numbers making up for its lightness and lack of flavor.
R. pusil´la Pk.—little. Pileus very thin, nearly plane or slightly and umbilicately depressed in the center, glabrous, slightly striate on the margin, red, sometimes a little darker in the center, the thin pellicle separable. Flesh white, taste mild. Lamellæ broad for the size of the plant, subventricose, subdistant, adnate or slightly rounded behind, white, becoming yellowish-ochraceous in drying. Stem short, soft, solid or spongy within, white.
Spores faintly tinged with yellow, 7.6µ broad.
Pileus scarcely 1 in. broad. Stem 6–12 lines long, 2–3 lines thick.
Bare ground in thin woods. Port Jefferson. July.
The coloring matter of the pileus may be rubbed upon paper and produce on it red stains if the surface is previously moistened with water or dilute alcohol. This is one of the smallest Russulas known to me. The pileus was less than an inch broad and the stem less than an inch long in all the specimens seen by me. The species is closely allied to R. puellaris, and especially resembles the variety intensior in color. It differs in its smaller size, even or but slightly striate margin, broad lamellæ and in the stem or flesh not becoming yellowish spotted where touched. Peck, 50th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
West Virginia, 1881–1885. Pennsylvania, 1896–1897. July to September. McIlvaine.
It makes up in quality what it lacks in quantity.
R. rose´ipes (Secr.) Bres.—rosa, a rose; pes, a foot. (Plate XLIV, fig. 5, p. 184.) Pileus 1–2 in. broad, convex becoming nearly plane or slightly depressed, at first viscid, soon dry, becoming slightly striate on the thin margin, rosy-red variously modified by pink orange or ochraceous hues, sometimes becoming paler with age, taste mild. Gills moderately close, nearly entire, rounded behind and slightly adnexed, ventricose, whitish becoming yellow. Stem 1½-3 in. long, 3–4 lines thick, slightly tapering upward, stuffed or somewhat cavernous, white tinged with red.
Spores yellow, globose or subglobose.
The plants grow in woods of pine and hemlock and have been collected in July and August. The flesh is tender and agreeable in flavor. Peck, 51st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Spores globose, minutely echinulate, pale ochraceous, 8–10µ diameter Massee.
R. roseipes is common in West Virginia under hemlocks and spruces. At Mt. Gretna, Pa., it grew sparingly under pines. It is excellent.
R. Ma´riæ Pk. Pileus fleshy, convex, subumbilicate, at length expanded and centrally depressed, minutely pulverulent, bright pink-red (crimson lake), the disk a little darker, margin even. Lamellæ rather close, reaching the stem, some of them forked, venose-connected, white, then yellowish. Stem equal, solid, colored like the pileus except the extremities which are usually white. Spores globose, nearly smooth, 7.6µ in diameter; flesh of the pileus white, red under the cuticle, taste mild.
Plant 2 in. high. Pileus 1.5–2 in. broad. Stem 3–6 lines thick. Dry ground in woods. Catskill mountains. July.
The minute colored granules, which give the pileus a soft pruinose appearance, are easily rubbed off on paper, and water put upon the fresh specimens is colored by them. Peck, 24th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
New York, Peck, 24th and 50th Rep.; West Virginia, 1882–1885; Mt. Gretna, Pa., solitary in mixed woods. July to September. 1897–1898. McIlvaine.
It is on a par with most Russulæ.
R. ochra´cea Fr.—ochra, a yellow earth. Mild. Pileus about 3 in. across. Flesh rather thick at the center, becoming thin toward the margin, pale ochraceous, soft; convex then expanded and depressed, margin coarsely striate, pellicle thin, viscid, ochraceous with a tinge of yellow, disk usually becoming darker. Gills slightly adnexed, broad, scarcely crowded, ochraceous. Stem about 1½ in. long, 5–7 lines thick, slightly wrinkled longitudinally, ochraceous, stuffed, soft.
Spores globose, echinulate, ochraceous, 10–12µ diameter.
In pine and mixed woods.
The mild taste and ochraceous color of every part, including the flesh, separate the present from every other species.
Commonly confounded with Russula fellea, but known at once by its mild taste. Agreeing most nearly with R. lutea in color, but differing in the softer flesh, which becomes ochraceous upward; sulcate margin of the pileus, and broader, less crowded gills. Pileus persistently ochraceous, disk usually darker. Stem sometimes yellow, sometimes white. Fries.
North Carolina, borders of woods, Curtis; California, Harkness and Moore.
Fries says that the flavor is mild, but Roze places it in the list of suspected species, although he notes it as not acrid; it may be inferred that he considers the flavor unpleasant. Macadam.
“Like chicken,” not common. Boston Myc. Club Bull. 1896.
R. lu´tea (Huds.) Fr.—luteus, yellow. Pileus 1–2 in. broad, yellow, at length becoming pale, and occasionally wholly white, thinly fleshy, soon convexo-plane or plano-depressed, sticky when moist, even or when old obsoletely striate at the margin. Flesh white. Stem ½ in. long, 3–4 lines thick, stuffed then hollow, soft, fragile, equal, even, white, never reddish. Gills somewhat free, connected by veins, crowded, narrow, all equal, ochraceous-egg-yellow.
Always small, very regular, taste mild. When young the pileus is always of a beautiful yellow. Fries.
Spores yellow, echinulate, 8µ W.G.S.; globose, rough, 6–7µ C.B.P.; 8–10×7–8µ Massee.
Allied to R. vitellina, but differs in having the margin of the cap even, and but little odor.
The plant I have so referred has the gills at first white and the stem yellow like the pileus; it may be a new species. In beech woods, Morgan; West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, in mixed woods, often under beeches, August to November, McIlvaine.
The plants I have found have white gills when young (few species have not), but rapidly become yellow. The stem is usually white when young, and sometimes remains so, but often becomes more or less yellow.
It is a pretty species. The flavor is not as strong as in some species, but is delicate.
R. nauseo´sa Fr. Pileus variable in color, typically purplish at the disk, then livid, but becoming pale and often whitish, laxly fleshy, thin, at first plano-gibbous, then depressed, viscid in wet weather, furrowed and somewhat tubercular at the somewhat membranaceous margin. Flesh soft, white. Stem short, about 1 in. long, 4 lines thick, spongy-stuffed, slightly striate, white. Gills adnexed, ventricose, somewhat distant, here and there with a few shorter ones intermixed, light yellow then dingy ochraceous.
The taste is mild, but also nauseous, as the odor often is. The habit is that of R. nitida, of the same color of pileus, but differing in the color of the gills. Fries.
Cap about 2 in. across. Stem 1–2 in. long, ¼-½ in. thick.
Spores dingy yellow, 8–9µ diameter. Massee.
North Carolina and Pennsylvania, Schweinitz; West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, in pine and mixed woods. August to October. McIlvaine.
The odor and taste of R. nauseosa are misnamed, therefore the plant. They are heavy at times, when the plant is wet or old, as is the case with R. fœtens, but they are always of cherry bark. Both odor and taste disappear in cooking. The species is as good as any Russula of its texture.
R. vitelli´na Fr.—vitellus, yolk of egg. Pileus 1 in. broad, uni-colorous, light yellow then wholly pallid, somewhat membranaceous, at length tuberculoso-striate, somewhat dry, disk very small, slightly fleshy. Stem thin, scarcely exceeding 1 in. long, 2 lines thick, equal. Gills separating-free, equal, distant, rather thick, connected by veins, saffron-yellow.
Pretty, very fragile, strong-smelling, mild. Fries.
Spores 7–8µ diameter Massee.
West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, August to October. In pine and mixed woods, July to October. Not common in number.
This pretty species has a cherry-bark taste and smell like R. fœtens, though not so offensively heavy. It is not poisonous. A small piece of it will affect a whole dish of other Russulæ.
R. chamæleonti´na Fr.—changing color like a chamæleon. Pileus 1–2 in. broad, thinly fleshy, soon flattened, sometimes oblique with a thin, separable, viscid pellicle, which is at first flesh-color, then presently changing color, becoming yellow at the disk and at length wholly yellow, margin even, then slightly striate. Stem as much as 3 in. long, but thin, somewhat hollow, slightly striate, white. Gills more or less adnexed, thin, crowded, equal, narrow, somewhat forked, light-yellow-ochraceous.
Mild, inodorous, very fragile. Pileus rosy blood-red, purplish lilac, etc. Sometimes even at the first yellowish at the disk. Fries.
Spores globose, ochraceous, 7–8µ diameter Massee.
In pine and in mixed woods. August to October. McIlvaine.
The change in color of the cap which gives name to this species is not remarkable. Most species of Russulæ are sensitive to light. An otherwise highly colored cap will be almost white when a leaf adheres to it. If in youth it grows under dense shade it will be very much lighter than if where light is generous, and will remain so. If in growing it thrusts itself out of shadow, its color will change and it will deepen. The apparent rarity of R. chamæleontina I think due to the close observation necessary to detect its changes in color, which, as I have found it, are by no means constant. It is quite plentiful in the pines of southern New Jersey, and at Mt. Gretna, Pa., it is frequently found.
It is a good esculent species.
Hymenophore continuous with the stem, descending unchanged into the trama. Gills thick, fleshy, waxy, fold-like, somewhat branched, obtuse at the edge. Spores white. Fleshy, putrescent fungi, without a veil. Fries.
Cantharellus Cibarius.
In Cantharellus the gills—vein-like and generally thick with an obtuse edge—are entirely different from those of all the preceding genera. In those they are thin, and distinct from the pileus and from each other. In Hygrophorus the gills are frequently thick, but the edge is always sharp. The species of Craterellus are funnel-shaped, resembling some of those in Cantharellus, but are distinguished by their lack of evident gills.
Monograph New York Species of Cantharellus, Peck, Bull. 1887.
The members of this genus are few, but they are choice. Of them is the Cantharellus cibarius, of which Trattinik quaintly says: “Not only this same fungus never did any one harm, but might even restore the dead.”
The writer first made its acquaintance when among the West Virginia mountains in 1881. The golden patches of single and clustered cibarius, fragrant as ripened apricots, tufting the short grass or mossy ground under beeches, oaks and like-growing trees, through which the sunlight filtered generously, were so tempting, that he determined there must be luxury, even in death, from such toadstools.
Experiments made by the writer in West Virginia where the species grows luxuriantly and is of much higher flavor than any he has found elsewhere, prove that it is easy to transplant within congenial habitats, either by the mycelium or spores. Nature, there, resorts to washing masses of leaves containing the propagating parts of the fungus along the depressions of the water-sheds, and it is found growing plentifully where the wind has drifted forest leaves against trees, brush, and fence-corners.