(43) STUDIES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF MUSHROOMS : II. 503 



if one partly splits a stem and then gently pulls the halves apart. 

 At the same time if the stem is held toward the light a very deli- 

 cate mesh of threads, reminding one of the finest gauze, is seer- 

 extending from the cord to the wall of the tubular stem. The 

 gills form a large portion of the plant for they are very broad and 

 lie closely packed side by side. They are nowhere attached to 

 the stem but at the upper end round off to the pileus leaving a 

 well defined space between their ends and the stem. The pileus, 

 while it is rather thick at the center, i. e., where it joins the stem, 

 becomes comparatively thin where it spreads out over the gills. 

 At this age of the plant the gills are of a rich salmon color, i. <?., 

 before the spores are ripe, and the taste when raw is a pleasant 

 nutty flavor reminding one of the meat of fresh green hickory 

 nuts. In a somewhat earlier stage the edges of all the gills are 

 closely applied to the stem which they surround. So closely are 

 they applied to the stem in most cases that threads of 

 mycelium pass from the stem to the edge of the gills, so that 

 they might be said to be "sewed" together. As the- pileus 

 expands slightly in ageing, these threads are torn asunder and 

 the stem is covered with a very delicate down or with flocculent 

 particles which easily disappear on handling or by the washing 

 of the rains. The edges of the gills are also left in a frazzled 

 condition as one can see by examining them with a good hand 

 lens. 



The spores now begin to ripen and as they become black the 

 color of the gills changes. At the same time the gills and the 

 pileus begin to dissolve into an inky fluid, first becoming dark and 

 then melting into a black liquid. As this accumulates it forms 

 into drops which dangle from the pileus until they fall away. This 

 change takes place on the margin of the pileus first, and advances 

 toward the center, and the contrast of color, as the blackening 

 invades the rich salmon, is very striking. The pileus now begins 

 to expand outward more, so that it becomes somewhat umbrella 

 shaped. The extreme outer surface of the pileus does not dili- 

 quesce so freely, and the thin remnant curls upward and becomes 

 enrolled on the upper side as the pileus with wasted gills becomes 

 nearly flat. 



