54 MUSHEOOMS. 



Order 3. HYDNEI, OE SPINE-BBARmG FUNGI. 



The name is derived from a word meaning a 

 spine. This order contains many genera, two 

 of which we will mention, Hydnum and Tre- 

 mellodon. 



HYDNUM. 



Hydnum is derived from a Greek word, the 

 name of an edible fungus. The plants in this 

 genus are furnished with spines or teeth, instead 

 of gills or tubes, and these contain the spores. 

 The species are divided according to the stem. 

 In some it is central and grows on the ground, 

 in others it is lateral, and the cap is semicircu- 

 lar (dimidiate), and others again have no stem. 

 There are some species that have no cap, and 

 the spines are either straight or oblique. There 

 are a few that are edible, but generally they 

 have a bitter taste. However, some writers 

 say that Hydnum repandum, or the spreading 

 Hedgehog, is "delicious." This mushroom 

 and the one named " Medusa's head," H. caput 

 Medusae, are perhaps the most conspicuous of 

 the order. The latter is very large. Its color 

 is at first white, then becoming ashy gray. The 

 spines on the upper surface are twisted, while 



