36 



TWENTT-SIXTM REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. 



Classified Tabular Statement. 



—_ 2»k 



New to the 

 Herbarium. 



New to 

 Science. 





' Flowering plants 



Ferns 



1 

 1 



4 

 210 





Plants collected - 



Lichens 



Funefi 



104 









Total 



216 



104 





^ Flowering plants 



Characese 







11 



2 



10 



25 





Plants contributed . . - 



Lichens 





Funsri 



T 









Total 



48 



7 





ited .* 





Collected and contribi 



264 



111 









New species with their descriptions, previously unreported species, 

 new stations of rare plants, etc., are given in a section marked (4). 



The plan of making colored sketches of the jleshy fungi to accom- 

 pany the dried specimens has been continued. The number of spe- 

 cies and varieties figured is sixty -five. 



It has been my purpose to test the edible qualities of the most 

 promising of our wild plants as opportunity might occur, and also to 

 prove by experiment those fungi already reported in books as edible. 

 Having found some thrifty young plants of the giant Solomon's Seal, 

 Polygonatum giganteum^ it occurred to me that they might be of some 

 value as an article of food. The succulent character of the plant and 

 its botanical relations suggested the mode of preparation for the 

 table. It was the same as that usually employed in the preparation 

 of the asparagus plant. As might have been expected, the flavor of 

 the plant, when cooked, closely resembled that of asparagus. It 

 does not appear to me to be at all inferior to asparagus as an article 

 of food, and it only remains to determine whether it can be cultivated 

 with equal facility and profit before pronouncing this indigenous 

 plant to be of equal value with the introduced asparagus plant. 



It is with pleasure that I record the vermilion Hygrophorus, 

 HygropTioTus miniatus, as edible. It is a valuable addition to our 

 list of esculent species, as it has not hitherto been classed among 



