Toadstools, mushrooms, fungi, edible and poisonous; one thousand American fungi

=B. aluta´rius= Fr.—_aluta_, tanned leather. =Pileus= convex, then nearly plane, soft, _velvety_, becoming glabrous, _brownish tan color_. =Flesh= almost unchangeable, taste _mild, watery_. =Tubes= depressed around the stem, plane, short, round, white, becoming brownish where wounded. =Stem= solid, bulbous, nearly even, _small, irregular prominences at the top_. =Spores= 14×4µ. =Pileus= 3–4 in. broad. =Stem= 4–5 in. long. Grassy woods. Minnesota, _Johnson_. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S. West Virginia mountains, 1882–1885. Margins of woods. Cheltenham, Pa. Margins of woods, 1888–1889, grassy woods and margins. _McIlvaine._ Common in West Virginia mountains where it grows with B. felleus, from which it is impossible to distinguish it without tasting. It is delicious when cooked. But I long ago ceased collecting for the table any Boletus questionable for B. felleus. I have been deceived so many times—taken the bitter for the sweet—that, preferring the sweet, I take no chances for the bitter. =B. fel´leus= Bull.—_fel_, gall. Bitter. (Plate CXXII, fig. 2, 3, 4, p. 468.) =Pileus= convex or nearly plane, firm, becoming soft, _glabrous_, even, variable in color, pale-yellowish, grayish-brown, yellowish-brown, reddish-brown or chestnut. =Flesh= white, often changing to flesh color where wounded, taste _bitter_. =Tubes= adnate, long, convex, depressed around the stem, their mouths angular, white, becoming tinged with flesh-color. =Stem= variable, equal or tapering upward, short or long, sometimes bulbous or enlarged at the base, subglabrous, generally reticulated above, colored like or a little paler than the pileus. =Spores= oblong-fusiform, flesh-colored, 12.5–17.5×4–5µ. Var. _obe´sus_. =Pileus= large. =Stem= thick, coarsely and distinctly reticulated nearly or quite to the base. =Pileus= 3–8 in. broad. =Stem= 2–4 in. long, 6–12 lines thick. The variety is large and solitary in its mode of growth. It is remarkable for the coarse reticulations of the stem which extend nearly or quite to the base. After heavy rains the pileus is viscid. It may prove to be a distinct species. The flesh in the American plant does not always assume incarnate hues where wounded. The color of the fresh tubes often changes to a deeper tint where wounded. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S. West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, _McIlvaine_; Indiana, _H.I. Miller_. A very common species in woods and on thin margins, on open grassy places, and about decayed stumps. I saw hundreds of plants, var. obesus, some a foot in diameter, in a wheat stubble near oak woods. One of the most attractive of Boleti. Its cap resembles a handsomely browned cake. Its solidity is inviting; its flesh, generous in quantity, excites appetite. Until one experiences its intense lasting bitter, one clings to it with hope. Even after tasting, it is thrown away with regret. It is not poisonous, but a small piece of one will embitter a whole dish. _McIlvaine_, Bull. Phila. Myc. Center. July, 1898. =B. nigrel´lus= Pk.—blackish. =Pileus= broadly convex or nearly plane, dry, subglabrous, _blackish_. =Flesh= soft, white, unchangeable. =Tubes= plane or convex, adnate, sometimes slightly depressed around the stem, their mouths small, subrotund, whitish becoming flesh-colored, slowly changing to _brown or blackish where wounded_. =Stem= equal, short, _even_, colored like or a little paler than the pileus. =Spores= dull flesh-colored, 10–12×5–6µ. =Pileus= 3–6 in. broad. =Stem= 1.5–2.5 in. long, 6–12 lines thick. Woods and copses. New York, _Peck_. The blackish color of the pileus and stem distinguishes this species. From Boletus alboater Schw., the adnate, flesh-colored tubes will separate it. The surface of the pileus sometimes becomes cracked in areas. _Peck_, Boleti of the U.S. Mt. Gretna, Pa., August, 1898. _McIlvaine._ Another distinguishing mark from B. alboater is the velvety pileus of the latter. B. nigrellus is mild in taste and smell and an excellent species for the table. =B. eccen´tricus= Pk.—eccentric. (Plate CXVI, fig. 1, p. 420.) =Pileus= thick, firm, convex, irregular, glabrous, more or less lobed or wavy on the involute margin, gray or yellowish-gray. =Flesh= white, close-grained, elastic, unchangeable, taste and odor farinaceous. =Tubes= convex, depressed around the stem, not reaching the margin of the pileus, somewhat uneven and pitted on the surface, yellowish-brown, the mouths subangular, at first concolorous, becoming reddish or reddish-purple. =Stem= eccentric, tapering downward, solid, uneven with short irregular shallow grooves or obscure reticulations, tinged with red at the top, grayish below, tinged with red or purple within at the base. =Pileus= 5–10 cm. broad. =Stem= 4–5 cm. long, 3–4 cm. thick at the top. Sandy soil in grassy places in woods. Mt. Gretna, Pa. August and September. The species is well marked by its eccentric stem, thick irregular pileus and the reddish or reddish-purple mouths of the mature tubes. Mr. McIlvaine remarks that when it is cooked it is delicate and savory. _Peck_, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, No. 27. In commenting upon this new species to the writer, Professor Peck says: “I suspect that the spores of this (B. eccentricus) are pinkish or rosy. If so, it belongs here (in Hyporhodii). If not, it may have to go in the Luridi, or possibly may be made the type of a new tribe.” CARIO´SI—_caries_, rottenness. Stem never reticulated, stuffed with a spongy pith, at length commonly excavated. Tubes at first white, then often yellowish, their mouths minute, round. Fries adds to these characters, “spores white.” But in our species the spores are pale-yellow when shed in a mass on white paper. They are more elliptical in outline than the spores of most Boleti. The character of the stem is peculiar and easily distinguishes the tribe. The exterior is firm, the interior soft and spongy, becoming irregularly hollow or cavernous in the typical species. Flesh unchangeable 1 Flesh quickly changing to blue where wounded B. cyanescens