THE AGARICACEAE OF MICHIGAN 



664 



second quality for the table— the difference in quality is probably 

 due t0 th e manner of cooking. Dr. Cooke says it may be spoiled 

 by improper preparation. Hard says they must be carefully and 

 thoroughly cocked, and this is an important fact. My own prefer- 

 ence is the method used in frying oysters, only it is better to cut 

 the cap into small pieces since they do not cook as quickly as an 

 oyster. The caps should be collected within a few days of their 

 appearance, as they become infested with small beetles; these, how- 

 ever, usually hide only between the gills, and can be shaken out, 

 Leaving Hie plants still fit to eat. At the first signs of decay they 

 are no longer desirable. 



701. Pleurotus subareolatus Pk. var. 



N. Y. State Mus. Rep. 30, 1878. 



PILEUS 3-8 cm. broad, almost as long, firm, convex, spatnlate, 

 cuneate <>r flabelliform, lateral but marginate behind, white thai 

 dingy, tomentose behind, silky tomentose in front, obscurely areo- 

 late. margin a1 first involute. FLESH thick, surpassing width of 

 gills, rather soft. GILLS decurrent, scarcely or not at all anas- 

 tomosing on stem, rather broad, attenuate at ends, subdistant, 

 white, at length brownish, edge entire. STEM short, almost lateral, 

 ascending, 2-3 cm. long, about 1 cm. thick, firm, solid, sometimes 

 spongy within, equal, even, white then dingy or subrufescent, tomen- 

 tose. SPORES long, subcylindrioal, 12-15 x 4-.") micr., smooth, white. 

 CYSTIDIA none. BASIDIA about 45x7 micr., attenuated down- 

 ward, 4-spored. ODOR and TASTE mild or slightly nauseous. 



Solitary or few in cluster. On living trunks of maple, basswood, 

 etc. Ann Arbor, New Richmond. September-October. Infrequent. 



This species is referred here with some hesitancy. Peck describ- 

 ed his plants from a single collection, and emphasizes the areolate 

 character of the surface of the cap. He does not give the shape 

 of the pileus, but the stein is said to be eccentric, so that the pileus 

 was probably much more regular than in our plants. The spores, 

 gills and most of the other essential characters agree. It is prob- 

 able that it' we had accounts of the spore-size of some of the Euro- 

 pean species, our plant conld be easily placed. The margin re- 

 mains involute a long time, and Peck, in a note (Rep. 51, p. lfili 

 states that his species had a small, white membranous veil in the 

 young condition, showing its relation to Armillaria. No such veil 

 was observed in my plants. 



