The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Part 79

Reduced. Natural size being 2 feet across.]

_Polyporus giganteus. Fr._

THE GIANT POLYPORUS. EDIBLE.

Giganteus is from _gigas_, a giant. The pileoli are very numerous, imbricated, fleshy, tough, somewhat coriaceous, flaccid, somewhat zoned; color a grayish-brown in young specimens, the deep cream pore surfaces tipping the pileoli, rendering it a very attractive plant; this cream-color is quickly changed to black or deep-brown by touching it.

The pores are minute, shallow, round, pallid, at length torn.

The stem is branched, connate from a common tuber.

This is a large and certainly a very attractive plant, being very often two to three feet across. When young and tender it is edible. Found growing on decayed stumps and roots, it is somewhat common in our state.

I have found some quite large specimens about Chillicothe. It is easily distinguished by its pore surface turning black or dark-brown to the touch. When young and tender it makes a good stew, but it must be well cooked.

_Polyporus squamosus. Fr._

THE SCALY POLYPORUS.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._

Figure 325.--Polyporus squamosus. Natural size.]

Squamosus means abounding in scales. The pileus is from three to eighteen inches broad, fleshy, fan-shaped, expanded, flattened, somewhat ochraceous, variegated, with scattered, brown, adpressed scales.

The stem is eccentric and lateral, blunt, reticulated at apex, blackish at the base.

The pores are thin, variable; at first minute, then broad, angular and torn; pallid. Spores are white and elliptical, 146.

It is found from Ma.s.sachusetts to Iowa, and grows very large. Specimens have been reported seven feet in circ.u.mference and attaining a weight of 40 pounds.

The specimen in Figure 325 was found by Mr. C. G. Lloyd in the woods at Red Bank, near Cincinnati. It is quite a common plant in Europe.

It is tough, but it is prepared for eating by being cut fine and stewed for a half hour or more.

In Figure 325 the angular and torn pores are obvious, as well as the scales which give rise to its name. Found on trunks and stumps from May to November.

_Polyporus sulphureus. Fr._

THE SULPHUR-COLORED POLYPORUS. EDIBLE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._

Plate XLVI. Figure 326.--Polyporus sulphureus.]

Sulphureus, pertaining to sulphur, so called from the color of the tube-bearing surface. In mature specimens the growth is horizontal, spreading fan-like from the stem, undulating with radiating flutings.

The upper surface is salmon, orange, or orange-red; flesh cheesy, light-yellow, the edge being smooth and unevenly thickened with nodule-like prominences. In young specimens the ascending, under yellow surface outwardly exposed.

The pore surface is a bright sulphur-yellow, which is more persistent than the color of the cap; pores very minute, short, often formed of inflexed ma.s.ses.

The stem is short, a mere close attachment for the spreading growth. The taste is slightly acid and mucilaginous when raw. The spores are elliptical and white, 7-84-5.

It grows on decayed logs, on stumps, and on decayed places in living trees. The mycelium of this species will frequently be found in the hearts of trees and remain there for years before the tree is injured sufficiently for the mycelium to come to the surface. It may take months, or a century, to accomplish this.

When this plant is young and tender it is a prime favorite with all who know it. It is found from August to November. Its favorite host is an oak stump or log.

_Polyporus flavovirens. B. & Rav._

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 327.--Polyporus flavovirens. Two-thirds natural size.]

Flavovirens means yellowish-green or olivaceous.

The pileus is quite large, three to six inches broad, convex, expanded funnel-form or repand, fleshy, tomentose, yellowish-green or olivaceous; frequently the pileus is cracked when old; flesh white.

The pores are not large, toothed, white or whitish, decurrent upon the stem which is tapering.

This plant is very common on the oak hillsides about Chillicothe. The plants in Figure 327 were found by Miss Margaret Mace on the Governor Tiffin farm, about twelve miles north of Chillicothe, growing in large groups under oak trees. It is edible though often tough. It is found in August and September. It is very abundant in this region.

_Polyporus heteroc.l.i.tus. Fr._

THE BOUQUET POLYPORUS. EDIBLE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 328.--Polyporus heteroc.l.i.tus. One-fourth natural size. The Pileoli bright orange.]

Heteroc.l.i.tus is from two Greek words; one of two and to lean, referring to its habit of growth, leaning apparently upon the ground or the base of a tree or stump. It is caespitose and coriaceous. The pileoli are two and a half inches broad, orange and sessile, expanded on all sides from the radical tubercle, lobed, villous, zoneless.

The pores are irregularly shaped and elongated, golden yellow. _Fries._

The specimen in Figure 328 was found by Mr. Beyerly at Richmond Dale, Ohio. It was over a foot in diameter and eight inches high, growing in many caespitose layers, on the ground under an oak tree, from a radical tubercle. The flesh was juicy and tender, breaking easily. The radical tubercle from which it grew was filled with a milky juice. The flesh was somewhat lighter in color than the outside pilei, which extended horizontally from the tubercle. It is a very showy and attractive plant, and as Captain McIlvaine remarks, it looks like a "mammoth dahlia" in bloom. When young and tender it is good, but in age it becomes rank.

This plant was found July 1st. It grows in the months of June and July.

_Polyporus radicatus. Schw._

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 329.--Polyporus radicatus. One-third natural size.]

Radicatus, from the long root the plant has. The pileus is fleshy, quite tough, cus.h.i.+on-shaped, slightly depressed, pale sooty, somewhat downy.

The pores are decurrent, quite large, obtuse, equal, white.

The stem is very long, often eccentric, tapering downward, sometimes ventricose as in Figure 329, rooting quite deep, black below.

It is found on the ground in the woods and in old clearings beside old trees and stumps.

The blackish or brown pileus, which is more or less tomentose, with a black stem more or less deformed, will serve to distinguish the species.