grown; they are sinuous and labyrinthine.


ORDER 3. HYDNEI, OR SPINE-BEARING FUNGI.

The name is derived from a word meaning a spine. This order contains
many genera, two of which we will mention, Hydnum and Tremellodon.

+HYDNUM.+

Hydnum is derived from a Greek word, the name of an edible fungus. The
plants in this genus are furnished with spines or teeth, instead of
gills or tubes, and these contain the spores. The species are divided
according to the stem. In some it is central and grows on the ground,
in others it is lateral, and the cap is semicircular (dimidiate), and
others again have no stem. There are some species that have no cap, and
the spines are either straight or oblique. There are a few that are
edible, but generally they have a bitter taste. However, some writers
say that Hydnum repandum, or the spreading Hedgehog, is “delicious.”
This mushroom and the one named “Medusa’s head,” H. caput Medusæ, are
perhaps the most conspicuous of the order. The latter is very large.
Its color is at first white, then becoming ashy gray. The spines on the
upper surface are twisted, while the lower ones are long and straight.
It grows on trunks of trees. In the spreading Hydnum the margin of the
cap is arched and irregular. It grows on the ground.

+TREMELLODON = jelly and a tooth.+

The fungi in this genus are gelatinous. The cap is nearly semicircular
in shape, sometimes fan-shaped and rounded in front. The spines or teeth