42 CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY. [Bull. 



plant is even more abundant than L. piperatus. It frequently 

 becomes discolored with yellow stains, thus lacking the pure 

 white color of L. piperatus. 



Lactarius deliciosus (L.) Fr. is considered the most de- 

 sirable of the edible species of Lactarii, but the writer has seldom 

 found it in large quantities. In the vicinity of Mansfield it is 

 usually found growing singly or in small, scattered patches. Its 

 botanical characters are very striking. The cap varies from two 

 to four inches in diameter; before maturity it is depressed in the 

 center, and usually becomes deeply funnel-shaped with age. The 

 color varies through red and yellow shades, frequently assuming 

 a gray tint. The surface of the cap is smooth, slightly viscid, 

 and more or less distinctly zoned. The margin of the cap is 

 usually inrolled. The stem is quite short, from one to two inches 

 in length; and striking features of the species are spots or pits 

 of the same color as the cap which appear on the outside of the 

 stem. The flesh of L. deliciosus is gray-white when freshly 

 broken, becoming quickly stained with green, due to discoloration 

 of the tissue caused by chemical changes in the milk. This milk 

 is safifron-yellow when the flesh is first broken, but immediately 

 changes in color. 



RUSSULA Pers. 



Members of this genus are viewed with suspicion by many 

 people, while by others they are considered edible. One instance 

 has come to the writer's attention where extreme nausea followed 

 a meal of plants supposed to be Russula alntacea. It is probable 

 that the species may have been confused with R. emetica, which 

 often causes attacks of this kind. The genus contains some of 

 the most brilliantly colored species to be found in the whole 

 group of fleshy fungi. These colors vary much in shades of red, 

 green, and yellow. 



Russula alutacea Fr. The chief characteristics of this species 

 are its mild taste and its yellow gills. This fungus is abundant 

 in woodland during the summer and early fall. The cap varies 

 from one and one-half to three inches in diameter, and is of a 

 bright or a deep red color inclining to shades of purple. The 

 surface is smooth in the center, but becomes ridged and uneven 

 near the margin. It is covered with a somewhat viscid outer 

 skin. The flesh is very white, and has the peculiar mealiness 



