MUSHROOMS 



that is quite different from those that we have been 

 reading about. It is not as common as the oyster and 

 elm mushrooms. It is of a dark-red color, and is very 

 soft and juicy. One writer in describing it says that it 



looks like a big red 

 tongue sticking 

 out from the tree 

 trunk. 



This fungus is 

 called the beef- 

 steak mushroom. 

 Of course we can 

 tell why it received 



The Beefsteak Mushroom. this name. But it 



has other names, 



too. Sometimes it is spoken of as the vegetable beef- 

 steak. Why, do you think, was it given this name? It 

 is often called the oak or chestnut tongue. This 

 is because it grows mostly on oak or chestnut trees. 

 Here it may be found in wet weather from June to 

 September. 



The beefsteak mushroom usually has a short stem 

 which spreads out into the broad and thick cap. When 

 young the upper side of the cap is velvety and of a 

 beautiful peach color. As it grows older, it loses its 

 velvety look and becomes a deep red with darker red 

 lines extending toward the edge of the cap, as you may 

 see in the picture of it. 



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