'Clavariace 



SPARAS'SIS Fr. 



Gr. to tear in pieces. 



Sparassis. Fleshy, branched, with flat leaf-like branches, composed of two plates, 

 fertile on both sides, with four-spored sporophores. Fries. 



Very beautiful plants of striking appearance. 



Unfortunately they are not common, although they generally occur 

 yearly in the same locality. 



S. Herb'stii Pk. Plants much branched, forming tufts 4-5 in. high 

 and 56 in. broad, whitish, inclining to creamy-yellow, tough, moist, 

 the branches numerous, thin, flattened, concrescent, dilated above and 

 spatulate or fan-shaped, often somewhat longitudinally curved or wavy, 

 mostly uniformly colored, rarely with a few indistinct, nearly concolor- 

 ous, transverse zones near the broad, entire apices. 



Spores subglobose or broadly elliptical, 5-6x4-5^1. 



Trexlertown. August. 



Closely allied to S. spathulata Schw., but differs in its paler color 

 with no rufescent hues, more branching habit and absence of any dis- 

 tinct zones. 



Four specimens were found at Mt. Gretna, Pa., during August, 1898. 

 These were not as symmetrical as S. crispa, which they closely resem- 

 bled in fold and texture. They were of equal excellence cooked. 



S. lamino'sa Fr. a thin plate. Base branching, straw-color. 

 Branches erect, crowded, growing together, straight at the top, zone- 

 less, entire. 



North Carolina, Curtis. On oak log. 



Edible, Curtis. "Deliciosa," Fries. 



S. cris'pa ^r.crispus, curly. (Plate CXXXVII.) Height 3-12 

 in., width 4-24 in. Tufts very handsome, whitish, oyster color or pale- 

 yellow, very much branched. Branches flat, leaf-like. Spore surface 

 on both sides, sometimes crimped on edges. Compacted into a round 

 mass, ending below in a solid rooting base. 



Spores pale-ochraceous, 5-6x3-4/4 Massee. 



Very variable in size. On ground in woods and grassy places in 

 open woods. Summer, autumn. 



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