Agaricaceae 



Lentinus. current (by no means sinuate}, narrow, crowded, unequal, toothed like 

 a saw, white. 



Somewhat gregarious, even cespitose, thinner and more coriaceous 

 and regular than L. lepideus B., wholly blackish with squamules. Fries. 



On old stumps. Rare. Stevenson. 



When fresh very tender and easily torn, when dry coriaceous. Sow. 

 Smell strong, acrid, like that of some Lactarii. M '. J. B. 



Spores 6.6x3.3/0, Morgan; elliptical, smooth, 7x3.5^ Massee. 



Agreeable taste and odor, eaten in Europe. Roques. 



Edible, tough when old and never very delicate or digestible. M. 

 C. Cooke. 



Not found in sufficient quantity to test. 



lepi'deus Fr. Gr. scaly. (Plate XVI, fig. 3, 4, 

 p. 52.) Pileus 2-4 in. broad, pallid-ochraceous, 

 variegated with adpressed > darker, spot-like scales, 

 fleshy, very compact and firm, irregular, com- 

 -*-'*F?-.~-^-Tf --- monly excentric, convex then depressed, but not 



truly umbilicate, sometimes broken up into cracks. 



Flesh pliant, white. Stem short, commonly I in. long, solid, stout, 

 very irregularly formed, almost woody, tomentose-scaly, whitish, rooted 

 at the base, at tlie first furnished with a veil toward the apex. Gills 

 decurrent, but sinuate behind, crowded broad, transversely striate, 

 whitish, edge torn into teeth. 

 Odor pleasant. Fries. 

 Spores 1 1 x 5/i W.G.S., 7x3^ Massee. 



Lentinus lepideus is a sort of commercial traveler. It is common 

 wherever railroads are. It is partial to oak ties and its mycelium is in- 

 jurious to them. It is found upon pine and other timbers. The writer 

 has collected large clusters of it from oak sawdust. The European 

 plant is noted as "almost always solitary." In the United States it is 

 seldom so. It is noted as growing in damp, dark places, but it loves 

 the sun. 



As a food it is about on a par with P. ulmarius, not as tough, but 

 harder when old. It is a reliable species from spring until late autumn, 

 is persistent and dries well. It is neat, handsome, prolific. When 

 young it makes a good dish, and when old can be used to advantage in 

 soups. 



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