LETUS LUGIDUS. LACQUERED OOLETUS. 



BOLETUS. Lin. Gen. PL Cryptogamia Fungi. Fungus horizontalis fubtus porofus. 

 Rail Syn. Gen. i. Fungi. 



BOLETUS lucidus,,, pileo coriaceo fuperne caftaneb lucido, fulcis circularibus notato, inferne albo ; 

 poris minutiffimis. 



BOLETUS rugofus. Jacquin. ,FL Auflr. t. 169. 



FUNGUS coriaceus, pileolo latiffimo atrorubente, pediculo breviftimo. Rail Syn. ed. 3. p. n. ? 



FUNGUS fpeciofos putridis arborum truncis et ftipi- ? This handfome Fungus grows out of the trunks of 



tibus prefertim coryli inpafcitur, totus lig- | decayed trees, particularly the ftumps of the 



nofo-coriaceus et perfiflens. % , hazel, and is throughout of a leathery or 



I fomewhat woody fubftance, and permanent. 



STIPES durus, inaequalis, caftaneus, vernice veluti | STALK hard, uneven, of a chefnut colour, filming 



obduclus. $ as if varnifhed. 



PILEUS plerumque fubdimidiatus, nonnunquam orbi- | CAP for the moft part forming half a circle, fometimes 



culatus, planus, fuperne caftaneus, nitidiffi- % a whole one, flat, on the upper fide of a chef- 



mus, fulcis circularibus concentricis notatus, | nut colour, and highly polifhed, marked with 



rugofus, inferne dum recens albiffimus ; poris ^ circular concentric grooves, the edge thick 



minutiffimis. ? and wrinkled ; on the under fide, when frefli, 



I very white, the pores exceedingly fmall. 



FUNGI duo connati, rn tabula proponuntur, hinc atque | Two Fungi growing together, are reprefented on the 



illinc fpe6tati, turn fungi pars inferior lente | plate in two different views ; alfo part of the 



aucta ut pori magis luculenter appareant. | under fide magnified, to fhew the pores more 



^r plainly. 



In the month of November, 17S0, I fortunately found the fine fpecimen of this Boletus, exhibited on the 

 plate, in the Wood adjoining the Oak of Honour, near Peckham ; on firft difcovering it, the top of the Pileus 

 and ftalk were of fo bright a colour, and fo beautifully polifhed, that I fcarcely knew whether I had found a 

 natural or an artificial production, a view of its under fide, however, foon convinced me it was natural; it grew 

 out of a rotten hazel flump. 



One principal character of this Fungus, is its polifhed or rather lacquered furface, for it has all the appearance 

 of having been varnifhed; this I believe it poflefles in all its fituations ; and on this account I have given it 

 a name different from Jacquin, who has an excellent figure of it under the title of rugofus, in his F/. Aujlrl- 

 aca. The other characters which feem to be conftant, are the deprefled circles on the upper fide of the Pileus, 

 its wrinkled, thick, and fomewhat inverted edge, which is very apt to break out on the under fide of the Pi- 

 leus, as reprefented on the plate, but omitted by Jacquin ; the unufual whitenefs of the pileus on its under fide 

 and the extreme finenefs of its pores, which may be overlooked; it appears to be inconftant in the fhape of its 

 pileus (which is fometimes orbicularis, as is fhewn on the plate in a fmaller Fungus of the preceding year, and 

 fometimes dimidiatus) ; and in its ftalk, which is fometimes wanting, as I difcovered from a fpecimen growing 

 out of the bottom of an elm tree near Hyde Park. 



The ftalk of the fpecimen figured, which I preferve, has not fhrunk at all, the pileus is about one third 

 lefs, but retains its form and much of its beauty. 



There was fome reafon to fufpecl: this Boletus of being the perennis of Linn^us, but the defcription given of 

 that plant in his Flora Lapponka removed every doubt, and convinced me he had not defcribed it. 



