16 CIRCULAR 14 3, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



PLEUROTUS 



The genus Pleurotus is chiefly distinguished among the white- 

 spored agarics by the excentric stem or resupinate cap. The stem is 

 fleshy and continuous with the substance of the cap, but it is subject 

 to great variation in the different species and may be excentric, 

 lateral, or entirely absent. The gills are decurrent or sometimes 

 adnate, edge acute. Most of the species grow on wood, buried roots, 

 or decayed stumps. The genus corresponds to Claudopus of the 



Figure 14. — Pleurotus ostreatus. (Edible) 



pink-spored and Crepidotus of the brown-spored forms. The best- 

 known species of this genus is the oyster mushroom. 



PLEUROTUS OSTREATUS. OYSTER MUSHROOM. (EDIBLE) 



(Fig. 14) 



In the oyster mushroom the cap is either sessile or stipitate, shell shaped or 

 dimidiate, ascending, fleshy, soft, smooth, moist, in color white, cream, grayish 

 to brownish ash ; the stem is present or absent (if present, short, firm, elastic, 

 ascending, base hairy) ; the gills are white, decurrent, somewhat distant, 

 anastomosing behind to form an irregular network. 



The cap is 3 to 5 inches broad ; mostly cespltose imbricated. 



This is a very fine edible species of cosmopolitan distribution growing on 

 limbs or trunks of living or dead trees, and appearing from early summer until 

 late fall. 



PLEUKOTUS SAPIDUS. SAPID MUSHROOM. (EDIBLE) 



This species very closely resembles Pleurotus ostreatus but is distinguished 

 from it by the lilac-tinged spores, a characteristic difficult or impossible for the 

 amateur to detect. From the gastronomic point of view these two species are 

 equally attractive. 



CANTHARELLUS 



In the genus Cantharellus the cap is fleshy or submembranaceous, 

 continuous with the stem, the margin entire, wavy, or lobed. The 

 gills are decurrent, thick, narrow, blunt and foldlike, regularly 



