178 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



fairly good subject for the table. I have eaten it freely without expe- 

 riencing any evil consequences, though some writers advise the rejection 

 of all species of Lactarius and R u s su 1 a that have an acrid taste. 



Russula nigricans {Bul^ Fr. 

 BLACKISH RUSSULA 



PLATE 71, FIG. 6-9 



Pileus fleshy, thick, firm, convex and umbilicate, with the margin 

 incurved, becoming expanded and centrally depressed, at first white or 

 white clouded with smoky brown, then wholly brown or blackish, flesh 

 white, slowly changing to reddish where cut or broken, taste mild ; 

 lamellae broad, subdistant, slightly rounded behind, adnexed, white \ 

 stem short, solid, white ; spores white, globose or subglobose, .0003-. 0004 

 of an inch broad. 



The blackish russula is a large and firm mushroom, sordid and unat- 

 tractive in its general appearance, but, when sound specimens are 

 obtained and properly cooked, they afl"ord a much better dish than their 

 appearance indicates. They are so large and fleshy that a few are suf- 

 ficient for a meal for a family. When young and vigorous in growth, 

 the cap is wholly white, but it soon becomes clouded with sordid brown, 

 and, being slightly viscid when moist, it is often soiled by adhering dirt. 

 With advancing age it becomes wholly brown or blackish. The flesh 

 slowly assumes a dull, reddish hue where wounded. The white gills of 

 the young plant are sometimes studded with drops of moisture. They 

 are rather wide apart, slightly rounded at the inner extremity and 

 attached to the stem, which is short, firm, solid and white, though it 

 becomes brown or blackish when old. In drying, the whole plant usually 

 becomes blackish. 



The cap is 3-5 inches broad; the stem r-2.5 inches long and 6-12 

 lines thick. The plants grow in woods and in open places, on bare 

 earth or among fallen leaves, and may be found from July to September. 



Russula brevipes Pk, 



SHORT STEMMED RUSSULA 



PLATE 71, FIG. 1-5 



Pileus fleshy, firm, convex and umbilicate, becommg expanded and 

 infundibuliform, dry, glabrous or sometimes slighdy downy on the mar- 

 gin, white or whitish, often with yellowish or rusty yellow stains in the 

 center, flesh white ^ lamellae thin, close, adnate or decurrent, rarely 



