AGARICS WITH WHITE SPORES 



pounds. This same species is also generally 

 used in many other regions. In England 

 it is known as St. George's mushroom, ap- 

 pearing usually in the spring. It is cream 

 white, often somewhat darker at the middle 

 and may appear in definite ''fairy rings" in 

 pastures and meadows. It has thick flesh 

 and a very strong odor. The fresh mush- 

 rooms become objectionable in a closed 

 room, but in cooking all objectionable char- 

 acters are said to be lost. 



Pleurotus, As a type of this genus we 

 may name P. ostreatus, the Oyster Mush- 

 room, a fungus widely distributed and 

 often abundant throughout moist tempera- 

 ture regions. These plants are produced 

 in clusters, or aggregates of individuals 

 constituting an attractive complex bracket 

 (Plate IX^, e) or "comb." Its special 

 habitats are the decaying trunks and fallen 

 logs of many deciduous trees. The upper 

 surface varies in color, from white to gray- 

 ish (the latter ordinarily when conditions 

 are less favorable) and the gills are also 



169 



