Klstiilliiii lu-|i:ttli'ii. 



bv ^itlc, liur they arc st'j)arate fnmi oacli othfr, and do not form 

 a coiitinnous conipaet mass, as in the genera Boletus ami Polypo- 

 riis. They arc at first very sliort, and reseml)lc minute warts or 

 pnuiihe, bnt they become lon<icr, cylinih-ical and Imlldw with a^e. 

 AVc liavc f)nc species, the T.ivcr fistulina, Fishiliiui hepnlica. 

 This name was jn-ol)ably suggested l)v its (hirk-rcil ciilor. It has 



other common names, such as 

 "Oak tongue," "Chestnut 

 tongue,'' **J>eef tongue," and 

 "15c('t"stcak fungus," given in 

 allusion to its place of growtli, 

 its sliaj)e or its texture. Like 

 many other wood-inliabiting 

 fiiiiLii, it is a "side grower." 



its caj) is rougli, especially 

 wlicn young, with minute 

 pajiillie on the upper surface, and this, with its shape and color, 

 may have suggested the name Beef tongue. Its stem is short, 

 and often quite thick. The flesh is soft and juicy, but tough and 

 fibrous when old and dry. The juice is reddish, and the flesh is 

 streaked with red. The pores or tubes are ])inkish or yellowish- 

 pink when young, but they become dingy or brownish-ochraceous 

 when old. The cap is commonly two to six inches broad, but it 

 sometimes attains a much greater size. It grows in warm, wet 

 weather from the base or from stumps of oak and chestnut trees, 

 and may be found from July to Septend)er. 



I'liis vegetable beefsteak has been highly j)raised by some Eu- 

 ropean writers, as the following quotiitions show: "The taste re- 

 sembles meat in a remarkal)le manner;" "It is good broiled with 

 a steak and properly seasoned;" "If it is not beef itself, it is the 

 sauce for it;" "Xo fungus yields a richer gravy, and though rather 

 totic:h when broiled, it is scarcelv to be distincuished from broiled 

 meat." It sometimes has a slightly acid flavor, but this is by no 

 means disagreeable. 



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