86 



MINNESOTA MUSHROOMS 



PORE FUNGI POLYPORACEAE 



Many of these resemble the gill fungi in form, but they are distinguished by 

 having the spores borne in tubes or pits, opening by pores, rather than on gills. They 

 are often bracket-like or shelf-like, and in some forms are mere layers of pores en- 

 crusting twigs. In texture, they range from fleshy, as in Boletus, to tough, 

 leathery, papery and woody. The family includes the great majority of the shelf 

 fungi found on stumps and trunks. The fleshy species are usually edible, but some 

 of them are reputed to be poisonous. 



2. 



KEY TO THE GENERA 



Cap fleshy, soft, decaying readily 



a. Stem central 



(1) Cap shaggy with large scales 



(2) Cap smooth or scaly, not shaggy 



b. Stem excentric or lateral in our species 



(1) Tubes free i:)ut touching each other 



(2) Tubes united to each other 



Cap tough-fleshy, leathery, papery or woody, not de- 



a. 



caving readily 



Tubes with pore-like openings 



( 1 ) Tubes in several layers ; cap woody, perennial 



(2) Tubes in a single layer; cap tough-fleshy to 



leathery 



(a) Cap thick, tough-fleshy to leathery 



(b) Cap thin, leathery or papery 



Tubes angled or oblong, not pore-like, often gill- 

 like 



( 1 ) Tubes angled, in radiating rows 



(2) Tubes gill-like, radiating 



(3) Tubes gill-like, concentric 



Fomes 



Page 



93 



STKOBILUMYCES 



Cap fleslw, with large scales, the stem central. Closely related to Boletus, 

 "but distinguished by the conspicuous scales, and the greater difficulty with which the 

 layer of tubes separates from the flesh of the cap. The name refers to the char- 

 acteristic thatch of scales. 



Strobilomyces strobilaceus Pore Cone 



Cap 5-10 cm. wide, densely covered with large, hairy, black-brown or blackish 

 scales, which project beyond the margin as a curtain, hemispheric or bell-shaped to 

 convex; flesh whitish, changing to reddish and blackish when bruised; stem 7-12 

 cm. bv 1-2 cm., blackish, scalv-hairv. solid : t u 1) e s adnate. whitish, then brownish 



