POLYPORUS. 233 



fugally arranged, brown scales, flesh thick at the base, 

 becoming thin towards the margin ; pores short, variable, 

 at first minute, becoming large, angular, and torn, pallid ; 

 stem excentric or almost lateral, short, thick, corky, black 

 at the base, reticulated with the rudiments of the decurrent 

 pores ; spores elliptical, colourless, 12 x 5 /*. 



Polyporus squamosus, Fries, Syst. Myc. i. p. 343 ; Greville, 

 Scut. Cr. Fl., t. 207. 



On trunks, stumps, &c. Fan-shaped or flabelliform, 6-12 

 in. across, often larger, sometimes imbricated ; pileus often 

 infundibuliform and stem almost central when young, 

 becoming flabelliform as growth proceeds. 



Pileus in the very young state scarcely more than the 

 diameter of the stipes, but it rapidly enlarges, and ultimately 

 attains a foot or more in breadth. In its form it is ex- 

 ceedingly irregular, but most commonly it is rather orbi- 

 cular, at first slightly convex, then plane, and at length 

 concave, the margin somewhat waved, entire, rarely lobed. 

 Colour ochraceous, darker in the centre, surface covered 

 more or less with adpressed (rarely revolute), fimbriated, 

 reddish, blotchy scales. Substance white within, fleshy, 

 rather firm. Pores yellowish-white, very large, irregular, 

 towards the stipe becoming very shallow, often pentagonal 

 or hexagonal, and ending in a mere reticulation. Stipes 

 variable ; lateral, sublateral, or, rarely, subcentral, very short 

 and unequally thickened, or much elongated ; in the latter 

 state it is frequently branched, in rather a palmate manner, 

 the summit being either quite simple, or the terminating 

 pileus imperfectly developed ; this is the Boletus rangiferinus 

 of authors. The stipe is always solid, blackish at the base, 

 paler upwards. This species sometimes attains to an 

 enormous size. My esteemed friend, Dr. Hooker, relates an 

 instance given him by Mr. Hopkirk, of one which measured 

 7 ft. 5 in. in circumference, and weighed, after having been 

 cut four days, 34 Ibs. avoirdupois. It was only four weeks in 

 attaining the above size, gaining thus an acquisition of 

 weight of above 1 Ib. 3 oz. in the day. (Grev.) 



Solitary or imbricated. From a subglobose or turgid 

 scaly blackish knob arise one or more stems, which are at 

 first slightly compressed, flat, and hollowed out above where 

 they are furfuraceous ; gradually the depressed surface 



