181 BEPOET OF THE STATE BOTANIST 



region, growing freely under the shade of the brakes {Pteris 

 aquilina) that cover tliem. It thus shows a great adaptability 

 to varying conditions. It grows either singly, in groups or in 

 clusters, and may be found from June to September. It is 

 especially abundant in the Adirondack region. 



Having experimented with this species twenty years ago I was 

 agreeably surprised to find it scarcely surpassed by any in ten- 

 derness of substance and agreeableness of flavor. It was first 

 recorded as an edible species in the Twenty-sixth Report of the 

 State Museum. 



A common species that closely resembles it is the Chantarelle 

 hygrophorus, Ihjijropliorus Cantharelluti. This is a smaller and 

 more graceful plant, having a long slender stem and gills running 

 very distinctly down on it. The colors of the two plants are the 

 same, and they might easily be confused unless the character of 

 the gills is noticed. 



Lactarius Fr. 



In the genus Lactarius the gills exude a milky or colored juice 

 where cut or broken. This character alone is sufficient to dis- 

 tinguish this genus from all others, but there are other features 

 whicli are quite characteristic. The texture is such that while 

 the flesh seems firm and rigid it is nevertheless very brittle and 

 easilj' 1)roken. The fracture is quite even and not ragged or 

 t )rn as in more fibrous or filamentous substances. The species 

 are mostly stout and fleshy in appearance and resemble in 

 outline those of the genus Clitocybe. In the mature plant 

 the cap is generally somewhat funnel-shape or like a broad 

 inverted cone. The gills are more or loss decurrent and the 

 stem is mostly stout and short. Some of the species have the 

 cap adorned with circular zones or bands more highly colored 

 than the adjacent parts. This feature is rarely seen in any other 

 genus. The taste of the juice and ilesh in man}' species is very 

 acrid or hot and burning, like that of cayenne pepper. UnlefS 

 this can be destroyed by cooking or drying such species must bo 

 considered wholly unfit for food. There is much uniformity in 

 the spores of ail the species. They are globose or nearly so and 

 roughened by minute jioints or jjrotuberances. Their color may 

 be white or yellowish, according to the species. 



