Here follows a list of fungi that we constantly see, but which cannot be classified by the color of the cap.
POLYPOREI, PORE-BEARING FUNGI.
FISTULINA HEPATICA = liver.
The Beefsteak Fungus.
This species grows on trees, oaks or chestnuts, in hot weather. Cap is of a dark-red color, which probably suggested the name. It is generally 2 to 6 inches broad, but often grows to an immense size. The surface is rough, the flesh thick, viscid above, soft when young, when old tough, covered with tenacious fibres. Stem short and thick. Pores at first pallid or yellowish-pink when young; they become brownish ochraceous when old. It is changeable in
form, is sometimes sessile (without a stem), or it has a short lateral stem.
The genus Fistulina, to which this mushroom belongs, has the under surface of the cap covered with minute hollow pores, which are separate from one another and stand side by side. The shape varies. It is sometimes long, shaped like a tongue, or roundish. It is peculiar-looking. It is considered good for food and nourishing, but the taste is said to be rather acid. The specimens we found varied from 2 to 5 inches in diameter. They were of a dark-red color, and were tough and old. They grew upon a tree in a large forest, and were not found anywhere else.
POLYPORUS BETULINUS = birch.
The Birch Polyporus.
We shall meet a great many fungi on our walks that belong to the genus Polyporus. They are generally leathery (coriaceous) fungi, and many grow on wood. A few are edible, but are not recommended as food. The species P. betulinus is found on living and dead birch trees. The specimens we found grew in great quantities, of all sizes, from 1½ to 6 inches broad. They were at first pure white, and then
assumed a brownish tinge. The edges were obtuse, the caps fleshy, then corky, smooth, the upper ends not regular, oblique in the form of an umbo or little knob, the pellicles or outside layers thin and easily separated. Pores short, small, unequal, at length separating. The shape of the fungus is peculiar, a sort of semi-circular outline that may be called dimidiate. The margins were involute. They protruded from a split in the bark of a dead birch tree which lay prostrate on the ground, several feet in length, and it was literally covered with the fungi, some an inch wide and snow white, and the largest 5 or 6 inches in width, and of a brownish-gray tinge. These specimens became as hard as wood after they had been kept for some time. The thin skin peeled off easily and disclosed the snowy flesh beneath.