Figure 353.—Merulius rubellus. Natural size.
Rubellus is the diminutive of ruber, reddish. The pileus grows in tufts, sessile, confluent and imbricated, repand, thin, convex, soft, dimidiate, quite tenacious; tomentose, evenly red, margin mostly undulately inflexed, growing pale in age. Hymenium whitish or reddish, folds much branched, forming anastomosing pores. The spores are elliptical, hyaline, minute, 4–5×2.5–3µ. The pileus is two to three inches long and an inch and a half broad.
It is found very frequently on decayed beech and sugar trees and I have found it growing on a live oak. The specimens in Figure 353 were collected near Columbus and photographed by Dr. Kellerman. It is probably the same as M. incarnati, Schw.
Merulius tremellosus. Schrad.
Photo by C. G. Lloyd.
Figure 354.—Merulius tremellosus
Tremellosus, trembling. Resupinate; margin becoming free and more or less reflexed, usually radiately-toothed, fleshy, tremelloid, tomentose, white; hymenium variously wrinkled and porus, whitish and subtranslucent-looking, becoming tinged with brown in the center. The spores are cylindrical, curved, about 4×1µ. From one to three inches across, remaining pale when growing in dark places. The margin is sometimes tinged with a rose-color, radiating when it is well developed. Massee.
This plant grows in woods on wood and is quite common in our woods—both the rose-colored and the translucent-brown. Captain McIlvaine calls Merulius tremellosus and M. rubellus emergency species. He says they are rather tasteless, tough, slightly woody in flavor. They are found in October and November.