. Mushrooms and their use . Mushrooms. In species ttat belong to the genus Lactarius, the gills exude drops of a milky or colored juice wliere cut or broken. In most species this juice exudes from any part of the plant, but most freely, perhaps, from the gills. This character, combined with the brittle vescicular substance, is sufficient to separate these fun- gi from all others. The stems, though thick and stout, are easily broken, and the fracture is even, not ragged and shreddy, as ia a more fibrous substance. In shape and size the species bear con- siderable resemblance to species of Clito
. Mushrooms and their use . Mushrooms. In species ttat belong to the genus Lactarius, the gills exude drops of a milky or colored juice wliere cut or broken. In most species this juice exudes from any part of the plant, but most freely, perhaps, from the gills. This character, combined with the brittle vescicular substance, is sufficient to separate these fun- gi from all others. The stems, though thick and stout, are easily broken, and the fracture is even, not ragged and shreddy, as ia a more fibrous substance. In shape and size the species bear con- siderable resemblance to species of Clitocybe, but the flesh, juice, and often the markings of the cap, easily distiaguish them. Many species have a very acrid or hot and burning flavor like that of cayenne pepper. Some writers have recommended the re- jection of all such species, and it is a very good rule to observe. The only objection to it is that its observance would deprive us of the use of a few of these species in which the acrid taste is de- stroyed by cooking. Dr. Curtis records the Unsavory lactarius, Lactarius insulsus, and the Peppery lactarius, Lactarius pipera- tus, as edible, though both, when fresh, have a very acrid taste. The two species here described have been long and well known as safe and edible. One has an orange-colored juice, the other a white or milky juice. The Delicious lactarius, Lactarius deliciosus, is well marked by its peculiar colors, and easily distinguished from all others by its orange-colored juice. The cap is broadly convex in the young plant, but in maturity it is centrally depressed, or, by the elevation of the margin, it becomes funnel-shaped. It is smooth and moist, or very slightly viscid, and of a yel- lowish or pale orange hue, and adorned with circles or mottled zones of deeper hues. These zones or bands appear to be made of conflu- ent spots. In old plants they are less distinct, and the general color becomes faded, and often varied with greenish stains. Such plants ar
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmushrooms, bookyear18
