556 



MUSHROOMS, EDIBLE AND OTHERWISE 



is rough, warty, depressed, globose, corky and hard, yellowish, opening by irregu- 

 lar fissures to scatter the spores ; inner mass bluish-black, spores dingy. The plant 

 remains solid until it is quite old. It is sessile, with a rooting base which is never 

 sterile. 



I have followed Mr. Lloyd's classification in separating the species, calling 

 the rough-surfaced one S. aurantium, and the smooth-surfaced S. cepa. 



In labeling it edible I wish only to indicate that it is not poisonous, as it is 

 generally thought to be ; however, it cannot be claimed as a very good article of 

 food. 



It has a wide distribution over the states. The plants in Figure 475 were 

 found on Cemetery Hill, Chillicothe, and photographed by Dr. Kellerman. 



Found from August to Novem- 

 ber. 



r 



Photo by C. G. Lloyd 

 Figure 476. Scleroderma tenerum. 



Scleroderma tenerum. Berk. 



This species is often regarded 

 as a small form of S. verrucosum, 

 but it always seemed strange to 

 me that this rather smooth plant 

 should be called "verrucosum" 

 when its frequently near neigh- 

 bor, S. aurantium, is very verru- 

 cose. 



S. tenerum is a very widely 

 distributed species in the United 

 States, somewhat constant as to 

 form and quite frequent in occur- 

 rence. Mr. Lloyd, in his Myco- 

 logical Notes, gives a very clear 

 photograph of a plant that is 

 quite local in this country and 

 which he thinks should be called 

 S. verrucosum of Europe. 



The plant differs very widely 

 from the one we find so com- 

 monly which by many authors 

 has been called S. verrucosum. 

 Some have even called it Sclero- 

 derma bovista. 



The plant is nearly sessile, 

 somewhat irregular, peridium 



