Pleurotus uhnarius Bull. " Elm Fleurotus.'''' Edible. 



The Elm Pleurotus is quite conspicuous by reason of its large size and 

 light color. The cap is smooth and compact, usually whitish with a dull 

 yellowish tinge in the center. Flesh white. The skin cracks very easily, 

 giving it a scaly appearance. The gills are broad, and toothed or notched 

 near their point of attachmeiit to the stem as in the Tricholomas, white in 

 color, turning yellowish with age. The stem is firm and smooth, solid 

 and rather eccentric, thick and sometimes slightly downy near the base, 

 from two to four inches in length. Although this mushroom seems to 

 prefer the elm and is most frequently found on trees of that species, it is 

 found also upon other trees, but principally the maple, the ash, the 

 willow, and the poplar. It grows upon live trees, usually where the 

 branches have been cut away, and upon stumps as well. Most authors 

 recommend it as an esculent, although it has not the rich flavor of some 

 other mushrooms. It dries well and can be kept thus for winter use. 

 This species has a wide range and grows most abundantly in the autumn. 

 Its resistance to cold has been frequently remarked. 



AGARICINI. 



Subgenus Amanita. The Amanitas are usually large and somewhat 

 watery, the flesh brittle rather than tough. The very young plants are 

 enveloped in a membranous wrapper, which breaks apart with the expan- 

 sion of the plant, leaving a more or less persistent sheath at the base of 

 the stem. The universal veil is distinct and free from the cuticle of the 

 cap. The cap is convex at first, then expanded ; in some species naked 

 and smooth ; in others, clothed with membranaceous patches of the volva. 

 The stem is distinct from the fleshy substance of the cap, ringed and 

 furnished with a volva or sheath. In some of the species this sheath 

 is connate with the base of the stem, firm and persistent. In others, it 

 is friable, at length nearly obsolete. 



The ring is usually persistent, deflexed, more or less prominent, in rare 

 cases pressed close against the stem, and sometimes scarcely distinguish- 

 able from it. The gills in most of the species are free from the stems, 

 but there are exceptions to this rule. Spores white. As to geograph- 

 ical distribution, according to M. C. Cooke, seven-eighths of the species 

 are distinctly located in the temperate zone, one-twentieth at a temperate 

 elevation, and only one- twentieth presumably tropical. Out of the eighty 

 species, about sixty are North American and European, and one species is 

 found on the slopes of the Andes, in South America. As heretofore 

 stated, this group among mushrooms is made responsible for most of 

 the well authenticated cases of fatal poisoning by mushrooms. It would 

 be judicious, therefore, for those who are not thoroughly familiar with the 

 characteristics of the edible Amanitas to defer making experiments with 

 them for table use until that familiarity is acquired. 



