No. 15.] HYMENIALES OF CONNECTICUT. 45 



CANTHARELLUS Adanson. 



This genus contains many edible species, and is pcrhai)s the 

 best-known by the amateur collector. The striking colors of the 

 plants and their blunt, branching gills make them especially con- 

 spicuous. All writers agree that they form a most desirable 

 article of diet. The writer has observed that during compara- 

 tively dry weather the flavor is much better than during a rainy 

 season, as there seems to be a tendency in C. cibarius and 

 C. aurantiacHS to become water-soaked and tasteless. Like many 

 other edible species, these are also quite liable to become infested 

 with larvse, and need careful examination before preparation for 

 the table. While the number of species is not large, the plants 

 grow abundantly in rich leaf-mold in open woods. 



Cantharellus cibarius Fr. (Plate XIV, Bull. No. 3.) This 

 is considered one of the most desirable of the edible species. The 

 cap is of a delicate yellow color, fleshy, with a thick, blunt 

 margin, at first inrolled, then expanding at maturity, and later 

 becoming somewhat uprolled, giving the center of the cap a 

 sunken or vase-shaped appearance. The cap varies in diameter 

 from two to three inches. The stem is rather short, is somewhat 

 unequal, and frequently occurs at one side of the cap. The flesh 

 is white, firm and solid. The gills are thick, distant, and more 

 or less branched. They extend down the stem, and are colored 

 like the cap. The plants may occur singly but are usually 

 abundant within a limited range. The odor is suggestive of 

 apricots, although in some specimens this is not noticeable. 



Cantharellus aurantiacus Fr. This is similar in color to 

 C. cibarius, but is very different in shape. The cap is fleshy, 

 nearly plane when mature, and not depressed in the center like 

 C. cibarius. The margin is somewhat inrolled even at maturity. 

 The cap frequently attains a diameter of four or five inches. 

 The gills are narrow, close, and repeatedly branched, and are 

 colored like the cap or may be lighter. The stem has a similar 

 color, tapers downward, and is from two to three inches in 

 length. The flesh is finn, white, tinted with yellow. The writer 

 has enjoyed several meals of this orange chanterelle, and has 

 experienced no ill effects, although by some writers it is viewed 

 with suspicion. 



