No. 15.] HYMENIALES OF CONNECTICUT. 



43 



characteristic of the genus. The gills are thick and broad and 

 are usually connected by veins. In color they are frequently 

 sulphur-yellow. They never lack the yellow tints. 



Russula virescens (Schseff.) Fr. (Plate XVI.) This is 

 considered the best edible species of the genus, and it is quite 

 distinct from all the other species. The cap sometimes is bright 

 green, but more frequently this bright color is quickly lost and 

 the tint changes to a dingy gray. The cap is fleshy and nearly 

 globular when young, expanding until nearly plane at maturity. 

 The surface is smooth at first, but later becomes broken up into 

 wart-like patches. The margin is blunt, even, and smooth, be- 

 coming torn and split with age. The flesh is white, and is mild 

 in taste. The stem is short, smooth, white, and at first solid, but 

 soon becomes spongy within. The whole plant is especially 

 likely to be infested with the larvae of insects. This whole genus 

 seems especially liable to these insect attacks. The flavor of the 

 uncooked flesh of R. virescens is considered preferable to all 

 other species, and its crisp, mealy character recommends its use 

 for salads. 



PLEUROTUS Fr. 



Most of the members of this genus are found growing on 

 wood. As a rule, the reproductive bodies of these wood-dwelling 

 fungi are slowly developed, and the tissue of which they are 

 composed becomes somewhat tough and leather}'. The genus 

 contains one species, however, which is considered a great delicacy 

 by the epicure. 



Pleurotus ostreatus Jacq. (Plate XII, Bull. No. 3), if 

 gathered before the caps are too old, is very tender and succulent. 

 This so-called " Oyster Mushroom " receives its name, not from 

 any flavor which resembles an oyster, but from its peculiar shape. 

 The plant is not uncommon during the late summer and early 

 fall on a variety of trees — elms, hickories, but more especially 

 on dead and decaying maples. This species is especially common 

 on street trees. The plants grow in characteristic masses, so 

 closely joined that many of the caps become abnormally developed 

 because of this crowded manner of growth. The individual plant 

 is attached to the tree trunk by a very short stem, which is more 

 or less hairy at the base. This stem is attached at one side of the 

 cap. The cap is convex at maturity, with a smooth, moist, white 



