Fungus Fact Friday

Category: Fungus Fact

Coprinellus micaceus deliquescing 1

Fungus Fact

#192: Coprinellus micaceus, The Mica Cap

Coprinellus micaceus, commonly known as “The Mica Cap” or “The Glistening Inkcap” is one of the rare inky caps (FFF#177) that is easy to identify. These medium-sized mushrooms appear in dense clusters on dead wood and feature brown caps coated with a distinctive dusting of salt-like or mica-like granules (hence the scientific and common names). Mica Caps are beautiful when young, since the shiny granules make it look like fairy dust was lightly sprinkled over the mushrooms. The unique combination of size, habitat, and fairy dust makes C. micaceus instantly recognizable.

Laetiporus persicinus 4

Fungus Fact

#191: Laetiporus persicinus

For some reason, the internet lacks a good description of Laetiporus persicinus. I seek to remedy that in this post. Laetiporus persicinus does not resemble Chicken of the Woods (L. sulphureus and allies, FFF#102), despite the fact that they belong to the same genus. Instead, it is closer in appearance to Inonotus hispidus or Phaeolus schweinitzii. To me, the only part of this mushroom that resembles Chicken of the Woods is the way its surface ripples. Laetiporus persicinus, sometimes called the “White Chicken Mushroom” or “Spring Chicken,”1 is a medium to very large fleshy polypore that grows on dead trees and logs. The surface of the mushroom is light orange-brown with tones of red, white, and purple, while the pores underneath are white and instantly stain dark brown when handled.

Phallus rubicundus 5

Fungus Fact

#190: Common Mulch Stinkhorns

Stinkhorns love humans. These mushrooms can eke out a living in natural habitats, but they really thrive in artificial ones like mulch beds. Unfortunately, humans don’t feel the same way about stinkhorns. We tend to find them offensive, thanks to their foul odors and phallic shapes. Perhaps no one disliked stinkhorns more than Etty Darwin (Charles Darwin’s granddaughter); legend has it that she would diligently remove stinkhorns from her property and burn them to discourage impure thoughts in her servants.1 Appropriately (or perhaps inappropriately), the most common mulch stinkhorns belong to two genera named for these mushrooms’ offensive shapes: Phallus and Mutinus.* Of those mushrooms, Phallus rubicundus and Mutinus elegans are the most frequently encountered in North American gardens.

arbuscules in root 2

Fungus Fact

#015: Characteristics of Division Glomeromycota

The Glomeromycota are unusual and poorly understood organisms. Fungi from this division rarely produce easily visible structures and cannot be grown without a plant host, so investigating them is very difficult. Glomeromycotan fungi are some of the most important fungi on Earth because they form arbuscular mycorrhizas, which provide essential nutrients to the vast majority of terrestrial plants.

Fomes fomentarius 4

Fungus Fact

#189: Fomes fomentarius, The Tinder Polypore

Fomes fomentarius is the Swiss army knife of the mushroom world: it has a variety of uses that are important in many different contexts. It is used by survivalists, fly fishermen, and even some hat makers. Although it isn’t edible, the mushroom is considered medicinal. Humans have used F. fomentarius for well over 5,000 years (more about that later) and probably much longer than that. The polypore grows from dead or dying trees and is shaped like a slightly irregular horse’s hoof. It has a variety of common names, which is not surprising when you consider its many uses. The two most widely used names are “Tinder Polypore” and “Hoof Fungus.”

Leotia lubrica 1

Fungus Fact

#188: Leotia lubrica, Jelly Babies

For some reason, the strange little mushrooms produced by the ascomycete Leotia lubrica are called “Jelly Babies” (or “Jellybabies”). They do look a little like the mushroom version of gummy fruit snacks, but that’s as close as I can get to understanding their common name. When fresh, these small yellow and brown mushrooms have a smooth but wrinkled and slimy cap held aloft by a gently curving stalk, so they do look somewhat like a gelatinous morsel on a stick.

Phylloporus rhodoxanthus 3

Fungus Fact

#187: Phylloporus rhodoxanthus, the Gilled Bolete

So, is it an agaric or a bolete? At first glance, the answer seems obvious: it clearly has gills and therefore must be an agaric. However, if you spend enough time around mushrooms you might get a kind of uncanny valley feeling about this mushroom; its coloration, its stature, the way its cap looks somewhat puffy, the way the cap cracks as it dries out, and other subtleties just don’t look quite right for an agaric. When you ignore the gills, the mushroom looks for all the world like a bolete! Phylloporus rhodoxanthus, commonly called “the Gilled Bolete,” is actually closely related to the boletes and evolved gills independently of the true agaric lineages.

Mycena leaiana 4

Fungus Fact

#027: Gilled Mushrooms (Agarics)

The gilled mushrooms, informally referred to as ‘agarics,’ are the type of mushroom with which we are most familiar. The most common edible mushrooms (white/button/portabella mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms), Amanita muscaria – the most recognizable mushroom in the world and the inspiration for almost all mushroom art – and the ‘magic mushrooms’ are all gilled mushrooms. All these mushrooms share one feature: vertical plates of spore-producing tissue stacked under a sterile cap.

cortinarius sp. 3

Fungus Fact

#186: The Genus Cortinarius

Cortinarius contains umbrella-like agaric mushrooms that are mycorrhizal, have a brown spore print, and produce a cobweb-like partial veil. It is the largest mushroom genus on Earth, with over two thousand species crammed into it. While the genus itself is fairly easy to recognize, identifying anything down to species is next to impossible. Most of the species listed in field guides are actually species groups and the field guide descriptions apply to a handful of closely related species.

Stropharia rugosoannulata 8

Fungus Fact

#185: Stropharioid Mushrooms

The stropharioid mushrooms include agarics from the genera Stropharia, Hypholoma, Psilocybe,* and Pholiota. Mushrooms in this group produce a brown to dark brown spore print, have attached gills, and form a partial veil. There are actually quite a few mushrooms that can fit this description, so you might have to check some microscopic features to be sure your mushroom belongs to this group. Stropharioid mushrooms should have a cap surface composed of thread-like cells and have smooth spores with distinctive germ pores.