Spores with a lilac tinge, oblong or a little curved and pointed, 8.3×3.7µ Morgan; oblong, 9–11.5×4–5µ Peck; 10–11×4–5µ Massee.
Not observed in England until 1887.
Quite common throughout the United States, growing upon decaying wood, whether above or under ground. It has few distinct features. The only positive one distinguishing it from P. ostreatus is its lilac-tinted spores. The tint is faint but noticeable upon white background. Excepting for purposes of the student, its separation, as a species, from P. ostreatus is not necessary. When old it has more body than the latter, but is equally superior as a food fungus.
Professor Peck remarks of it: “A stew made of it is a very good substitute for an oyster stew.”
It can be cultivated by watering the places upon which it is known to appear.
P. pome´ti Fr.—pometum, an orchard. Pileus white, fleshy, soft, sub-flaccid, irregular, involute, convex, even, smooth, disk depressed. Gills decurrent, crowded, separate behind. Stem 2–3 in. high, 3–4 lines thick, excentric, solid, tough, ascending, rooting.
On trunks of pear and apple trees.
Especially distinguished by the rooting stem.
North Carolina, edible, Curtis; California, H. and M.