CHAPTER III 



VARIOUS OBSERVATIONS 



The Suppression of the Gills of Lactarius piperatus as a Result of the Attack of 

 Hypomyces lactifluorum Sterile Fruit-bodies The Monstrous Fruit-bodies of 

 Polyporus rufescens The Grafting of Fruit-bodies The Dwarf Fruit-bodies 

 of Coprinus lagopus The Cultivation of Marasmius oreades for Food 



The Suppression of the Gills of Lactarius piperatus as a Result 

 of the Attack of Hypomyces lactifluorum. About eighteen years 

 ago, when I first began to search for fungi in the neighbourhood of 

 Winnipeg, my attention was attracted to some large, thick-fleshed, 

 infundibuliform fruit-bodies (Figs. 17 and 18) which were remark- 

 able in that they looked as though they should belong to the 

 Agaricaceae, but were nevertheless lacking in gills. The under 

 side of the pileus in these fungi was usually quite smooth (Fig. 17, 

 left-hand fruit-body), and only in some specimens were there what 

 seemed to be traces of gills in the form of slight, obtuse ridges 

 stretching radially from the top of the stipe to the edge of the 

 pileus (Fig. 17, right-hand fruit-body). The under side of the 

 pileus was remarkable not only for the absence of gills but also 

 because of its colour, for, unlike the upper surface which was creamy 

 white, it was brilliant orange. 



A closer examination of the smooth under side of the pileus 

 revealed the fact that everywhere in its surface layer were embedded 

 large numbers of bright red perithecia with slightly protruding 

 ostiola. It became evident that the fruit-body had been attacked 

 by a Hypomyces. The parasite was then identified as Hypomyces 

 lactifluorum (Schw.) Tulasne, a fungus which is not uncommon in 

 various parts of North America. 



Mcllvaine 1 states that Hypomyces lactifluorum occurs in North 



1 C. Mcllvaine and R. K. Macadam, Toadstools, Mushrooms, Fungi, edible and 

 poisonous ; One Thousand American Fungi, etc., Indianapolis, U.S.A., 1902, p. 562. 



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