16G REPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST. 



Cap one to six inches broad, stem one to six inches long, one- 

 fourth to three-fourths of an inch thick. 



The Honey-colored armillaria is very common and grows either 

 in woods or in cleared land, on the ground or on decaying wood. 

 A favorite habitat is about stumps and prostrate trunks in 

 recently cleared places or in bushy ])astures. Its mode of growth 

 is either solitary, gregarious or in dense tufts or clusters. Tufts 

 a foot in diameter and composed of twenty or more plants 

 are not uncommon. The plants are especially abundant in hilly 

 and mountainous districts in autumn. They rarely appear 

 plentifully before the first of September, though occasional 

 specimens have been seen as early as June. 



Monstrous forms sometimes occur, and thei-e is an abortive 

 form which consists of a whitish irregular rounded mass of cellu- 

 lar matter without any distinction of stem cap or gills. This 

 usually grows in company with the ordinary form, and is an inch 

 or two in diameter. The mycelium of this fungus is thought to 

 be destructive to the wood in which it grows. Probably most 

 of the plants which appear to grow on the ground really take 

 their rise from mycelium which permeates some fragment of 

 wood or some root buried in the ground. It attacks both the 

 hard woods and soft woods. 



Authors disagree concerning its edible qualities. Some of the 

 older authors considered it poisonous, but modern writers gen- 

 erally agree that it is harmless and edible, but of inferior quality. 

 Cordier says it is edible and loses its acriility in cooking, but the 

 stems are tough and not used. 



Richon and Roze affirm that its taste is astringent and that its 

 acridity does not entirely disappear in cooking, but that it is 

 edible though of indifferent quality. 



According to Vittadini, it is preserved in vinegar, salt and oil 

 for use in winter, and its acridity is lost in cooking. Gillet also 

 says that in reality it is harmless, though it !uis an acrid, disa- 

 greeable taste, which disappears in cooking. " Esculent but not 

 commendable," is the verdict of Berkeley ; " edible but tougii," 

 says Stevenson, while Cooke tells us that it is very common and 

 much used on the Continent, but is not recommended. 



My own ex|)erienc;e in eating it at v^arious times, both fried and 

 stewed, has always beeu without any harm. Cooking has 



