| OCR Text |
Show The Hijlbry of p L A N T S. trees, has called it Fungus auritus jugla?dium _albicans. tom of old beeches, in Charlton foreft 10 Sufiex. 1 have met with it at the bot- 3. Agaricus undulatus glaber. Smooth, undulqted Agaric. . i [c ld xceeds' two or three inches in This is a fmll ller fpecies than the for~er. / e om fi~ broad and thick ba!e to diameter, but it is always mode;atel~ thtcki ttl t 7::sthr~~'sa fleiliy part confiderably a femicircular figure. It's fuoace IS per e Y h '0 of the Agarics but thick, and it's gills largde. .It's edges ~r~ notl~:~~~;o~/~n~~h~~;~er fide is a greyifh or varioufiy undulated, an as lt were cure · fift than many of the blui01, and on the unfder part wbhlite. }t is do~mael~oftl~i~~~~;t ~f~~he common efculent h A · s and 0 an agreea e taue an 11 , 0 • f l :u~roo~~~lc It is frequent about the roots of tre~s in lt~ly,E w~er~ It 1~e:~~~e~~r:eJe~ as the common muiliroom with us. We have 1t no~ m ?g an · 0 1' fcribes it under the name of Agaricus prre~ox albogtlvus cnftatus ; and Motcheo I under that of Agaricum efculentum fquammofum glabrum fuperne, obfcurum, 10feme al-bidum lamellatum. . . . d b 1 · th arc The other fpecies of Agaric will be eafily ddltn~Ulfl1e . y t 1eao n~m~ ;od ;{;ric' 1 The lobated Agaric. 2. The little, hairy, thm Ag~nc. 3· T e at . g , ~ith reddifl1 lamellre. 4- The little, yellow, fmooth Aganc. 5· The yel~ow, ionhloot~ , · Th 1 ° A 0 large, efculent Aganc. 6. e 1atr The iiquammous Aganc, Wlt cat- 0 ganc. 7· . Th h· 0 0 1 bated tilaginous lame\lc.e. 8. The great blutili fquamm?us Aganc. h 9· 11 e ~11 y,. 0 0 h A aric. 1 o. The white, fmooth, efculent Aganc. I I. T e ye ow ganc, ~It gh' I 11 12 The brown Agaric with purple lamellc:r. I3° The thtck, w tte arne c.e. · ' · 0 1 d 1 11 white fmooth efculent Agaric. 14. The white, hairy Aganc, Wit 1 0 re arne <E. 15. The undul~ted hollow Agaric. 16 .. T?e reddifl1, fquammouso_Aganc. 17. The yellow, fpoon-like Agaric. 18. The !bnkmg, yellow, fatty Aga11C. . FUNG.l Clajs the Firjl. Genus the Seco1zd. P 0 R I A. P 0 R 1 A is a genus of Fungus's growing horizontally, but having i.t's u~d~rfide not formed into Jamell~, but full of little holes or pores; and pro~ucmg dtftmtt ~ale and female flowers on the fame plant. The male flowers have )letther calyx, cmolla~ nor ftamina, but confi!l: only of fi~gle antherre of an oblong figure, one or I?ore 0 of which are affixed to the edge of every hole. The female flowers have nothmg vifible but the feed which adheres to the inner fur face of the tube. Of the Pori~, fame confi!l: of a fimple, uniform fu.bftance,o the under-part of which is perforated to a greater or lefs depth, and formed mto a. kmd of tuobule~. Others confift of two perfettly different fubftances. The ~pper one fo~1d, _the under one, which is eafily feparable from it, formed of a multitude of cyltndnc . tubes applied clofely and evenly together, fo as to reprefent an unioform fubftance, pterced with holes as in the other~. The flowers of many of the PomP. hang fo loofely to ~ he mouths of the tubes, that it is fcarce poffible to avoid fhaking them off in g~ t hen ng_ the plant ; in others they adhere more firmly, and are eafily feen. They are 10 all of an oblong figure, and the feeds, in all that I have yet examined, are oval and fmall. I. Poria cra.lfior foraminibus parvis rotundis. 'The thick Poria, with final!, round foramina. This is one of the fimple Porire, whofe under-part is pierced for th: reception of the feeds. It is a very large and thick Fungus. It adheres to the ~~tter It grows on by a broad bafe, from which it extends itfelf into an irregularly femtcJrcular figure ; ufu ally fomewhat longer than broad, and ofren nearly as thick as it is long; feldom of lefs than two or three inches in thicknefs : it's b readth is from three or four to ten or twelve inches. It is of a very firm and folid fubfl:ance ; fmooth on the upper furface, and The Hijlory of P L A N T S. and of a greyiili-white colour. It's under furface is at firft whitiili, but it grows brown in time, and is full of innumerable little holes, on the edges of which hang little oblong antherCE, without pedicles, ufually four to every hole ; and within each are placed a great number of extremely minute oval feed s, adhering fall: to the fides, in feveral circular feries. There frequently grow three or four of thefe plants over one another, fometimes they ftand fingle. They are common with us on old elms, and other trees, and frequently grow to a vaft lize. Dillenius calls it Agaricus porofus igniarius fagi, fuperne albus, inferne fufcus; and Ray, Fungus pedem equinum referens. The common people in fome parts of England dip it in a folution of falt-petre, and dry it again, after which it is an excellent matter to ufe infiead of tinder, to receive the fparks of fire from a flint and il:eel. 2. Poria lata rufifcens foraminibus majufiult's. 'The broad, reddijh Poria, with large holes. This is a large and very fingular fpecies. It ufually adheres to the fubfiance it grows on by a thick, but not very broad, bafe, and from this, after it is extended in length for half an inch or more, fo as to make a kind of neck, or pedicle, it extends itfelf into a femicircular form, fometimes fimple, fometimes divided into two lobes. Ic often grows to fix or eight inches in diameter, often is fmaller; and it's manner of growing with a neck is not certain, for it fometimes extends at once £i·om a broad bafe into a femicircular figure. It is confiderably thick and fleiliy, often an inch or two, or more. It's colour on the upper furface is a dufky, ferrugineous red; when cut into, it is more red, and it's juice is of a blood colour. It is of the number of thofe Poric.e whofe under- part eafily feparates from the upper. It is of a du.fk.y-yellowiili colour, and is full of moderately large holes, or1 more properly, it is compofed of a number of pipes, or tubes, arranged together, whofe open end gives this reprefentation; at the mouths of thefe holes there hang finall anthem~ , but what number to each cannot be eafily determined, becaufe they fall off on the leafl: fl1aking of the plant. The infide of each tube affords many feries of fine, fmall, oblong feeds . The plant is of the efculent kind, though not eaten wi th us. I c's frnell is agreeable; it's taf\:e that of the common muiliroom, but richer. It is found with us fometimes in woods, growing to the trunks of old trees: I have two or three times met with it in Hornfey-woo~ in January. Dillenius calls it Agaricus porofus, rubens carnofus hepatis facie; and Merret, Fungus hepatis facie, et colore. It has, indeed, fomething of the appearance of the liver, and much of it's colour. It grows very common on the chefnuttrees in many parts of Italy, and is fometimes carried to market. 3. Poria levijjima, cra.!Jijjima, friabilis. Light, very thick and friable Poria. This fpecies is what is called Agarick in the iliops. It is of the number of thofe Poric.e which are of a fimple fubfl:ance, and whofe inferior part is pierced full of holes. It is extremely irregular in it's manner of growing, and it equals any of the Agarics or Porire in fize. It generally adheres to the fu bfiance it grows on by a broad and firm bafe, from which it extends itfelf to a great breadth and thicknefs. It's figure is often very irregular, but it ufually tends to the femicircular, and is often as thick as it is long or ~road. It's colour is grey on the outfide, and white as fnow within: it's upper furface JS finooth, it's lower very irregularly pierced with boles of an oblong and uncertain iigure: The flowers we have h~d no opportunity of feeing, but the Agaric in our druggtfts !hops frequently contains a quantity of feeds, which a microfcope eafily detetl:s, after laying open the tubular cavities. The whole Fungus is of a very difagreeable fmell, and of a very naufeous tafl:e: it is fweetifl1, when .firfl: taken into the mouth, but afterwards acrid, bitter, ~nd loathfome in the highefi degree. It is fre quent on the larch-trees in many parts of Europe, and is found on feveral others. We ?ave it not in England : we have, indeed, a Poria with all the external appearance of It, but it is not bitter. Mofi of the botanical and medical writers have defcribed it under the name of Agaric. It was long famous as a purge among the ancients, b ur, at prefent, it is quite out of ufe; it's naufeous ta!le, and the large quantity of it necelfary for a dofe, befide it's griping very much in the working, have rendered it not worth notice, I at |
