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The Coxe-IvIke Mushroom (EdibeE) 

 Strobiloiiiyccs sfrobilaceiis Berk. 



The peculiar name of this plant refers to the cone-like appearance 

 of the cap, and the plant is very easily recognized by this character. 

 This plant is a basidiomycete, that is, it produces its spores on the 

 ends of club-shaped basidia, just as do the gill-bearing mushrooms, but 

 instead of having gills on the under side of the cap it has little pores 

 or tubes, and the basidia making up the hymenium are arranged on 

 the inner surface of these tubes. It grows on the ground in woods 

 from July to September. 



The cap is 5 to 10 cm. (2 to 4 inches) broad, hemisi)herical or 

 nearly so, dry, and very shaggy owing to numerous thick, coarse, 

 hairy scales, of a blackish color, which project from the surface. The 

 flesh is very interesting. It is thick and of a whitish color, but when 

 it is cut or w^ounded in anv wav it quicklv changes to red and then to 

 black. 



The layer of tubes does not separate easily from the flesh; a char- 

 acter which separates this plant from the genus Boletus. The tube 

 layer is attached to the stem (adnate) and whitish, becoming brown 

 or blackish in old plants. The mouths of the tubes are large in com- 

 parison with those of sc^ne other pore-mushrooms, and angular, and 

 when they are bruised they change color just as the flesh of the cap 

 does. The spores are dark brown or l)lackish when viewed in mass. 



The stem is 8 to 15 cm. (3 to 6 inches) long, nearly even or some- 

 times tapering slightly ui;ward, often grooved near the top, and very 

 shaggy, having soft scales similar to those on the cap. 



Before cooking this mushroom the stem should be removed, the 

 scales cut away from the cap, and unless the tubes are very firm and 

 fresh they, too, should be removed. The thick flesh that remains will 

 cook well by any method. It has a rather strong taste, but is a great 

 favorite with some people. Usually it is not very common, but occa- 

 sionally one finds a troop that will make a good meal. Its appearance 

 is so unique and its color-changes are so interesting that it is alwa3'S a 

 pleasure to find it. 



Collected in Champaign and Union counties. 



