228 



NEW YOEK STATE MTJ8EUM 



Most French authors say that it is excellent when young, and 

 Cooke says that when fresh it has a pleasant nutty flavor and is 

 an excellent substitute for morels. Badham also affirms that all 

 helvellas are esculent and have a general resemblance, in flavor, 

 to morels. I do not know of any deleterious fungus that could 

 reasonably be mistaken for this or any other helvella. 



Mitrula Fr. 



The genus Mitrula has been made by Saccardo in Sylloge Fun- 

 gorum to include species having a club-shaped cap. In conse- 

 quence of this enlargement of the generic character we find Geo- 

 glossum vitellinum Bres. and a variety of it, or a closely allied 

 species, Geoglossum irregulare Peck, placed with the mitrulas. 

 This pretty little fungus might easily be referred to the genus 

 Clavaria, but for the fact that its spores are contained in asci or 

 sacks. Nor is it sharply separated from the genus Geoglossum 

 except by its spore characters. The New York plant differs from 

 the European in its more compressed and irregular cap, and in 

 consequence it has been kept distinct as a variety, in Sylloge, and 

 stands as 



Mitrula vitellina Sacc. var. irregularis Peck. 

 Irregular Mitrula. 



Plate 5. Figs. 8 to 14. 



Pileus clavate, often irregular or compressed and somewhat 

 lobed, obtuse, glabrous, yellow, tapering below into the short* 

 rather distinct, yellowish or whitish stem ; spores narrowly ellip- 

 tical, .0003 to .0004 inch long. 



When the Irregular mitrula is well grown and symmetrical it 

 closely resembles the typical European plant, but usually the 

 clubs or caps are curved, twisted, compressed or lobed in such a 

 way that it is difficult to find two plants just alike. The plants 

 are usually only one or two inches high, so that they would 

 scarcely be thought of any importance as an edible species. But 

 sometimes it grows in considerable profusion in wet mossy places 

 in woods, so that it would not be difficult to gather a pint of them 

 in a short time. Its beautiful bright yellow color makes it a very 

 attractive object. It is our largest species of Mitrula and occurs 

 in autumn. 



