^ r^ 



Fungi with Gills 



Stem or Stipe — Usually reddish brown, paler above than below. 

 Uniform in thickness, narrowed or slightly thickened at the 

 base. Firm externally; soft and spongy, or hollow 



within. 1-6 inches long. 

 ^ ' — -.,.,^^ Ring or Annuliis — Cottony to 



^^y^""^ ^\ membranous, sometimes 



lacking in old plants. 

 Gills or Lainellce — Simply 

 joined to the stem or run- 

 ning down it. White or 

 whitish ; sometimes va- 

 riegated with reddish- 

 brown spots. 

 Spores — White, elliptical. 

 F/esh — White or whitish. 

 Section of A. meiiea Taste unpleasant or acrid. 



Quality inferior. 

 Habitat — Common in woods or in cleared land, on the ground or 



on decayed wood. Solitary or clustered. 

 Time — Abundant in September. ■ Found in June. 



Var. obsciira has cap covered with numerous small, blackish 

 scales. 



Var. flava has cap yellow or reddish yellow. 



Var. glabra has cap smooth. 



Var. radicata has tapering stem which penetrates the earth 

 deeply. 



Var. Imlhosa has bulbous base. 



Var. exannulata has cap smooth, margin even, stem tapering, 

 annulus slight and evanescent, or wholly wanting. 



The Armillaria mellea has a disagreeable taste when raw, but 

 when cooked it is thought by some to be very good. Dr. Peck says 

 he does not know of any unwholesome species for which it may 

 be mistaken. The Armillaria mellea has the habit, very unusual 

 for a member of the group of Agaracales, of producing from its my- 

 celial threads tuber-like masses of fungal substances from which 

 the fruiting caps arise. The fungal masses of the Armillaria, 

 the so-called sclerotia, are ribbon or string like, and may be 

 found between the wood and bark of cone-bearing trees. These 

 sclerotia send out cylindrical branches, called rhizomorphs, 

 which may penetrate the soil and attack the roots of other trees, 

 and so continue their work of destruction in the forest. 



