Report of the Botanist. 115 



The species of this genus are most readily known by the milky 

 or rarely colored juice which oozes from the laraellse when cut 

 or broken. The pileus is generally rather thick, fleshy, at first 

 convex, then more or less centrally depressed, often subfunnel 

 form ; the lamellae are rather close, attached and appearing 

 decurrent from the form of the pileus ; the stem is most fre- 

 quently short and thick, either solid, spongy, stuffed or hollow. 

 The taste is often acrid, hot or peppery, yet some species are 

 mild and considered not only esculent but delicious. The spores 

 are globose and minutely papillose. 



Synopsis of the Species. 



Pileus viscid when moist a. 



a. Milk white, not changing color 2. 



a. Milk white, becoming purplish or lilac 3. 



a. Milk orange-colored 4. 



Pileus drj' or not clearly viscid when moLst b. 



b. Taste mild c. 



c. Stem solid ; pileus yellowish-tawny d. 



d. LamellfE close 5. 



d. Lamellas distant, connected by veins 6. 



c. Stem stuffed or hollow ; pileus dark rufous 7. 



b. Taste acrid (hot like pepper) e. 



3. Milk white, becoming yellow f . 



f . Pileus pinkish-yellow 11. 



f . Pileus sooty-brown 1 '. 



e. Milk white, unchangeable g 



g. Margin of the pileus tomeutose 1. 



g. Margin of the pileus naked h. 



h. Stem solid i. 



i. Pileus white I'i. 



i. Pileus brown 15. 



h. Stem stuffed k. 



k. Pileus dai'k rufous 9- 



k. Pileus cinereous or brown, plant odorous — 18. 



k. Pileus cinereous or brown, plant inodorous 14. 



h. Stem at length hollow 1. 



1. Stem thick m. 



m. Lamellae broad (4") 10. 



m. Lamellae narrow (2") 13. 



1. Stem slender n. 



n. Pileus cinereous 17. 



n. Pileus pale reddish-ochraceous 8- 



* 1. Lactarius torminosus Ft. 



Pileus depressed with the margin decurved and villous- 

 tomentose, pallid, sometimes banded or zonate ; lamellse nar- 

 row, close, whitish, inclining to yellowish flesh-color ; stipe 

 equal, smooth, hollow, whitish. 



Height 2'- 4', breadth of pileus 2-4', stipe 4"- 8" thick. 



AVoods. North Elba. August. 



The pileus is generally pale ochraceous, somewhat mot- 

 tled with flesli-color. Sometimes the tomentum extends over 

 nearly the whole surface of the pileus. Taste acrid. 



