Pleunitii-ostri'iitiis. Il\>rr<'pl>'>'"'i^ niiiiiatus. 



cording to Kalchhrenner, it is eagerly sought for food in the 

 woods of Hungary, and is also cultivated on pieces of elm trunks 

 in gardens. 



Tlir Oyster mushroom, or Oyster jdeurotus, rieiirutu.s os- 

 tyc'iiUifi, [)r()i)al)ly takes its name from some fancied resend>lance 

 between the shape of its cap and that of an oyster shell, rather 



than from any similarity be- 

 tween its flavor and that of 

 an oyster. It is closely al- 

 lied to the Sapid mushroom, 

 has the same colors, though 

 ^vitll us it is usually white or 

 merely shaded with yellow, 

 and al)out the same size and 

 taste. It differs prinei pally 

 in having no stem at all, or 

 only a very short lateral or 

 ecceiitiic one. It gi'ows in 

 clusters, one plant arranged 

 above another on the sides of dead trunks of standing trees. Its 

 gills are white or yellowish-white and retieulately connected 

 where they run down on the short stem, or at their inner extremi- 

 ty. It is commonly found in autumn, but it may occur also in 

 summer during wet or showery weather. It has long been classed 

 as esculent, but on account of the toughness of the flesh and lack 

 of flavor, it can scarcely be placed among the mushrooms of first 

 quality. Cooke says it sliould be slowly and carefully cooked, 

 and French writers recommend it only while yet young and ten- 

 der. For culinary use it is scarcely worth while to keep the Oys- 

 ter mushroom and the Sapid mushroom apart. 



Tlie genus Ilygrophorus is chiefly distinguished by the charac- 

 ter of the gills. These are usually rather thick, wide apart and 

 of a somewhat soft waxy texture. In some species they are simi- 

 lar to the gills of Triclioloma in their attachment to the stem; in 

 others, they nm down on the stem as in the genus Clitocyhe, and 

 such sjiecies bear so close a resemblance to species of CUtorybe 

 that they were formerly associatwl with tliem. ^Fauy of them 

 have both cap and stem very viscid or glutinous, a character not 

 found in any of our clitocybes. Xo dangerous species are kno^\Ti, 

 but one or two have been suspected of being at least unwhole- 

 some. AVe have several species that have been jdaced in the 

 edible list; for example, the Ivory hygrophorus, Ilygrophoi^^is 

 eburneiis, the ^feadow hygrophorus, Tfygroplionis prafensis, and 



61 



