cies. Just a taste will betray it. Found from fall to winter.

_Panus strigosus. B. & C._

THE HAIRY PANUS. EDIBLE.

Strigosus, covered with stiff hairs. The pileus is sometimes quite
large, eccentric, covered with stiff hairs, margin thin, white.

The gills are broad, distant, decurrent, straw-color.

The stem is stout, two to four inches long, hairy like the pileus.

The favorite host of this species is an apple tree. I found a beautiful
cluster on an apple tree in Chillicothe. Its creamy whiteness and hairy
cap and short hairy stem will distinguish it from all other tree fungi.
It is edible when young, but soon becomes woody.

_Panus conchatus. Fr._

THE SHELL PANUS.

Conchatus means shell-shaped. The pileus is thin, unequal, tough,
fleshy, eccentric, dimidiate; cinnamon, then pale; becoming scaly;
flaccid; margin often lobed.

The gills are narrow, forming decurrent lines on the stem, often
branched, pinkish, then ochre.

The stem is short, unequal, solid, rather pale, base downy.

This species will frequently be found imbricated and very generally
confluent. Its shell-like form, its tough substance, and its thin pileus
are its distinguishing marks. The taste is pleasant but its substance
very tough. Found from September to frost.

_Panus rudis. Fr._

[Illustration: Figure 179.--Panus rudis.]

This is a very plentiful plant about Chillicothe and is found throughout
the United States, although it is a rare plant in Europe. It is
generally given in American Mycology under the name Lentinus Lecomtei.
It grows on logs and stumps. The form of the plant is quite different
when growing on the top of a log or a stump, from those springing from
the side. Those in the extreme left of Figure 179 grew on the side of
the log, while those in the center grew on the top, in which case the
plant has usually a funnel-shaped appearance.

The pileus is tough, reddish or reddish-brown, depressed, sinuate,
bristling with tufts of hair, the margin quite strongly incurved,
caespitose.

The gills are narrow and crowded, decurrent, considerably paler than the
cap.

The stem is short, hairy, tawny; sometimes the stem is almost obsolete.

There is a slight tinge of bitterness in the plant when raw, but in
cooking this disappears. When prepared for food it should be chopped
fine and well cooked. It can be dried for winter use. It is found from
spring to late fall.

_Panus torulosus. Fr._

THE TWISTED PANUS. E