THE SULPHURY POLYPOUS. 



(Po/yporus sulphureus.) 



This attractive mushroom may be 

 easily known by its bright colors and its 

 clustered mode of growth. Our illustra- 

 tion is a faithful reproduction of beauti- 

 ful specimens of the Sulphury Poly- 

 porus which grew on a living black oak 

 tree about fifteen feet from the ground. 

 Though the habit of this mushroom is 

 to grow only on dead wood, the host of 

 the two illustrated was seemingly sound 

 throughout. 



When young, if cut or broken in warm 

 weather, a yellowish juice will exude. 

 The caps overlap each other and are 

 frequently five inches or more in width. 

 The flesh is white and usually not more 

 than one-half an inch in thickness. The 

 young cap has a yellowish-red or light 

 orange color which fades as growth con- 

 tinues, to a beautiful yellow color, espe- 

 cially on the margins. A large cluster 

 of the caps of this mushroom with their 

 bright colors and wavy margins form a 

 beautiful picture on the dark background 

 of a stump, a log or a tree. It is not 

 particular about the kind of wood on 

 which it grows. The dead wood of al- 

 most any species of trees may serve as 

 its host and not infrequently it will 

 grow upon those in an orchard. 



There is a variety of the Sulphury 

 Polyporus which Dr. Peck has suggest- 

 ed might be named glomcratns. "In it 

 a multitude of small caps are so closely 



and intimately united that their individu- 

 ality is lost in the large mass which they 

 form. Irregular and unequal holes or 

 cavities in the general surface of the 

 mass, afford opportunity for a partial 

 development of the spores on the imper- 

 fect caps." The spore tubes of the ty- 

 pical form are very short, of a bright 

 sulphur-yellow color and situated on 

 the underside of the cap. The very 

 small spores are white and elliptical in 

 form. 



The Sulphury Polyporus is an excel- 

 lent illustration of the fallacy of the be- 

 lief that the highly colored mushrooms 

 are all poisonous. It is not only edible 

 but palatable as well. However, only 

 the young caps should be used as food, 

 for mature specimens are not only tough 

 but very indigestible and unpleasant to 

 the taste. Thinly slicing the young caps 

 and frying them in butter, is perhaps 

 the most satisfactory method of prepar- 

 ing this Mushroom for the table, though 

 it may be prepared in other ways. This 

 species has a wide distribution. It may 

 be found in the forests or in the or- 

 chards ; on the dead wood of trees, on 

 the lawn or anywhere where conditions 

 are favorable for its growth. Though 

 it may be found from May to November, 

 it is more common and grows more lux- 

 uriantly in wet weather. 



