62 
TWO JAPANESE EDIBLE FUNGI. 
On twigs, peduncles, and fruit of Vitis vinifera . Brisbane ( F . 
M. Bailey 881). 
Very destructive to vines. 
BXarsonia deformans, CJce. # Mass. 
Epiphyllous. Pustules gregarious, often confluent, brown, 
distorting the foliage, convex or flattened, sometimes on large 
indeterminate, discoloured spots. Conidia oblong, uniseptate, con- 
stricted at the septum, hyaline, 15-16 x 5 /x. 
On cultivated peas, chiefly on the leaves, stipules, petioles, etc. 
Victoria ( Martin 593). 
TWO JAPANESE EDIBLE FUNGI. 
We have been somewhat surprised to receive a copy of two 
numbers of a Botanical Magazine from Japan, which contain 
descriptions of two new species of edible fungi, by Mr. N. Tanaka, 
accompanied by two excellent and characteristic coloured plates, 
not in the style of Japanese, but in that of European art. The 
descriptions are as follows : — 
“ In Japan Hatsudake has a very wide range of growth, and is 
one of the common edible fungi, highly appreciated almost all over the 
country. It appears chiefly in pine woods, and in great abundance 
in early autumn, previous to many other edible species ; hence the 
name of ‘Hatsudake’ or ‘first fungus.’ In the vicinity of Tokyo 
it grows abundantly at Matsudo and Kogane, in the province of 
Shimosa. In its season it is sold in vegetable markets in small 
shallow baskets made of bamboo. In preparing it for the market 
the lower portion of the stalk is cutoff, and the pileus placed upside 
down in the basket. Each basket contains about twenty or thirty 
of the fungi, and the whole is covered with large fresh leaves, such 
as those of Lappa major , to prevent the fungi from drying. Of 
these fungi thus exposed to sale we can distinguish two different 
species, one of which is the ordinary Hatsudake, and the other an 
allied species commonly called ‘ Akahatsu.’ They are often put 
together in one basket, and are collectively called by the common 
name of ‘ Hatsudake ; ’ but they can easily be distinguished one 
from the other by the difference in colour of their gills. Akahatsu 
is much inferior in its taste to Hatsudake ; hence its market value 
is also much less than that of the latter. 
Although these fungi were already described by our old writers 
in many botanical works, yet their systematic position has yet been 
unsettled. Hatsudake and Akahatsu can easily be recognized to 
be species of Lactarius by their general characters, and especially 
by their milky gills. On account of this well-marked character 
and its esculent nature, Hatsudake has been confounded with 
Lactarius deliciosus (L.), Fr., by different writers. The specific 
characters of Hatsudake, Akahatsu, and Lactarius deliciosus (L-), 
Fr., are as follows : — 
