To prepare for the table, very thin slices of young specimens should be cut and either allowed to slowly simmer on the back of the range, or soaked in milk and then fried in butter. Of the genus Fistulina but one species, Fistulina hepatica, figured in Plate X, is recorded as edible and indigenous to this country. [Illustration: Plate X. FISTULINA HEPATICA 1 Specimen, upper view. 2 Same, under view. 3 Specimen, upper view. 4 Same, under view. 5 Spores. K. MAYO, del.] PLATE X. =Fistulina hepatica= Bull. "_Beefsteak Mushroom_," "_Liver Fungus_." EDIBLE. _Genus Fistulina_ Bull. Hymenophore fleshy, hymenium inferior, that is, on the under surface of the cap, at first papillose; the papillae at length elongated, and forming distinct tubes. Besides Fistulina _hepatica_, five species of this genus are recorded in Saccardo's Sylloge, viz., F. _radicata_ Schw., F. _spathulata_ B. & C., F. _pallida_ B. & R., F. _rosea_ Mont., and F. _antarctica_ Speg.; the last indigenous to Patagonia. F. _hepatica_ is the only species with which I am familiar. The plants of this species are very irregular in form, rootless, epiphytal, often stemless, and sometimes attached to the matrix by a very short stem. This fungus is frequently found upon old oak, chestnut, and ash trees, developing in the rotting bark. It appears first as a rosy pimple, or in a series of red granules. In a very short time it becomes tongue-shaped, sometimes kidney shaped, assuming the color of a beet root. As it increases in size it changes form again, becoming broad in proportion to its length, and changing in color to a deep blood red, and finally to a dull liver tint. Its lower surface is often paler than its upper, it being tinged with yellow and pinkish hues. One author states that it requires about two weeks to attain its highest development, after which it gradually decays. It varies in size from a few inches to several feet in circumference. Rev. M. J. Berkeley mentions one which weighed thirty pounds. It has been styled, the "_poor man's fungus_," and in flavor resembles meat more than any other. The substance is fleshy and juicy in the early stage. The pileus is papillose, the papillae elongated, and forming distinct tubes as the pileus expands. These tubes are separable from each other, and with age become approximate and jagged at their orifices. The tubes are at first yellowish, with a pink tinge, becoming dingy with age. The fleshy substance, or hymenophore, is often veined in light and dark red streaks. The juice is pellucid, red, and slightly acid. Spores at first nearly round, becoming elliptical, salmon color. This fungus is esteemed in Europe, where it is eaten prepared in a variety of ways.