Fungus Fact Friday

Tagged: basidio

fungi in the phylum Basidiomycota

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Current / Fungus Fact

#071: Flammulina velutipes, The Velvet Foot or Enoki

It’s often said that you can tell how edible a mushroom is by the number of names it has. This concept certainly applies to the edible Flammulina velutipes, which goes by the common names Enokitake (and the shortened form Enoki), Velvet Foot, Winter Mushroom, and Golden Mushroom, as well as many other derivatives and regional names (if you’re outside the United States, you probably call it something else!). Another reason the species has so many names is because it looks very different in the wild than it does in the grocery store: in the wild, it grows as an orange umbrella-shaped mushroom with a black fuzzy stipe, but when cultivated it grows as a pale thin needle-shaped (or perhaps spaghetti-shaped) mushroom with a tiny pileus. I generally use the names F. velutipes, Velvet Foot, and Enoki, since each one emphasizes a different physical aspect of the mushroom.

Phleogena faginea on oak bark 0

Fungus Fact

#233: Phleogena faginea

Phleogena faginea is a bizarre little mushroom. This tiny grey-brown mushroom grows on wood or bark, making it rather difficult to spot. Even when you do find it, you’d probably think it’s a slime mold (FFF#053): the fruitbody features a round head on a small stalk, much like many slime molds. Despite that similarity, P. faginea is a basidiomycete and its closest relatives are the rust fungi (FFF#130) – something you probably wouldn’t guess by looking at the mushroom. P. faginea goes by the common name of “Fenugreek Stalkball,” which is a reference to its shape (ball on a stalk) and fenugreek or curry-like odor when dried.

Buglossoporus quercinus 4

Fungus Fact

#229: Buglossoporus quercinus

Buglossoporus quercinus is an interesting polypore that most of you probably haven’t seen before.  I’ve seen it only once, myself, brought in at a mushroom club meeting.  It reminds me of a yellow version of Ischnoderma resinosum.  B. quercinus forms brackets that are fuzzy yellow on top with a white pore surface below.  All parts of the mushroom stain brown when handled.  The coloration and staining make it a unique mushroom.  The Global Fungal Red List Initiative lists B. quercinus as “vulnerable” because it is rarely found and grows on only old oak trees – a habitat that is in decline across Europe.  Although B. quercinus is primarily known from Europe, it was recently discovered growing in eastern North America.

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Fungus Fact

#227: Polyporus umbellatus, the Umbrella Polypore

I have never found Polyporus umbellatus, but apparently I’m not alone.  This mushroom has a wide range that covers the whole northern hemisphere but the mushrooms are still uncommon.  Known as the “Umbrella Polypore,” P. umbellatus forms rosettes on the ground under hardwood trees.  The central stalk branches repeatedly and each branch ends in a circular umbrella-like cap (hence its common name).  Umbrella Polypores appear in the spring just after morel season and sometimes reappear in the fall.  The fungus is a weak parasite and can feed on its host trees for decades, so after you find one once, you know where to find some next year!  The mushroom is considered edible and medicinal, although different parts are used for each purpose.

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Fungus Fact

#225: Radulodon copelandii, The Asian Beauty

Have you seen Radulodon copelandii?  If you live in the Boston, New York, Pittsburg, or Washington DC areas, you probably have.  If you live elsewhere on the East Coast of North America, get ready to.  R. copelandii is a distinctive fungus that produces a mat of whitish teeth along the surface of recently dead broadleaf trees, usually oaks.  The mushroom recently arrived on the continent from Asia, which gives the mushroom its common name, “Asian Beauty.”  The Japanese names for the mushroom are “Sagari haritaki” and “hanging needle mushroom.”  R. copelandii is currently spreading in eastern North America and is quickly becoming one of the most common mushrooms within its range.  This is concerning, so the species warrants further study and monitoring – hopefully by people like you!

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Fungus Fact

#085: Schizophyllum commune, The Mushroom with Over 28,000 Sexes

If you think dating is complicated in the human world, be glad you’re not Schizophyllum commune.  Humans have two basic biological sexes and six or more gender identities to deal with, but S. commune has to choose from over 28,000 different sexes!  This overly complex system is based on genetics and the weird way fungi reproduce.  But this isn’t just a weird example, it’s also one of the most common mushrooms in the world.  You can probably find the mushroom out now, and identify it easily.  The little white mushroom is easily distinguished by its small gills, which appear to be split lengthwise.  This unique feature has led to its common name, the “Split Gill” or sometimes “Common Split Gill.”

Lepista nuda 0

Fungus Fact

#223: Lepista nuda, The Blewit

Lepista nuda, often called Clitocybe nuda, is a popular edible mushroom known as the “Bewit” or “Wood Blewit.” I’ve put off writing about these mushrooms for a long time because they’re one of the most difficult edible mushrooms to positively identify. Until this fall, I wasn’t completely sure of my ability to identify these mushrooms. The problem is that Blewits have very few unique characteristics and can therefore be confused with many poisonous mushrooms. Blewits are definitely not beginner mushrooms. Young Blewits are a beautiful lilac color and can be confused with Cortinarius. With age, Blewits become tan and can be confused with Cortinarius, other clitocybioid mushrooms, and probably others as well. With so many possible lookalikes, remember: “When in doubt, throw it out!”

Aleurodiscus oakesii 0

Fungus Fact

#020: Aleurodiscus oakesii, Smooth Patch Disease

Aleurodiscus oakesii is an unusual mushroom that grows on living trees but isn’t considered a parasite. The fungus decomposes the outer layer of hardwood tree bark. This doesn’t harm the bark but does cause smooth patches (thus the name “Smooth Patch Disease”). The mushrooms themselves appear occasionally inside these smooth patches. Each mushroom is a small tan roughly circular crust fungus, so some other common names for the fungus include: “Oak Parchment,” “Hop Hornbeam Disc,” and “Oake’s Crust.” These nondescript mushrooms are easier to identify by their ecology than morphology.  Additionally, you can always see the smooth patches, but the mushrooms are more elusive.  Despite regularly finding smooth patches, it took me four years to find the actual mushrooms.

Amanita amerirubescens 0

Fungus Fact

#152: Amanita rubescens Group, The Blushers

Amanita rubescens (and its close relatives) could be considered the fugu (pufferfish) of the mushroom world: both are edible but careless mistakes can be deadly. Although A. rubescens is considered edible and many people eat it, most people avoid the mushroom because it is easily confused with some deadly poisonous amanitas. A. rubescens slowly stains pinkish when injured, earning it the nickname “The Blusher.” Other than this distinctive staining reaction, the mushroom looks a lot like other species of Amanita; the Blusher is a tannish umbrella-shaped agaric with warts on the cap and a ring on the stalk.

B. frostii 0

Fungus Fact

#220: Butyriboletus frostii

Boletes are some of the most beautiful mushrooms; their striking color combinations and distinctive textures make the entire group extremely photogenic. One of my favorite boletes to photograph is Butyriboletus frostii, commonly known as the “Candy Apple Bolete” or “Frost’s Bolete.” This mushroom is bright red with yellow and orange layered underneath and has a prominently reticulated stipe. To capture all the beauty of B. frostii, you need to photograph it when it’s young and its red pores are still covered with golden droplets. You may know this mushroom under a different name; when I first learned this mushroom way back in 2015, it was called Boletus frostii. Then its name changed to Exsudoporus frostii before changing again to Butyriboletus frostii, which is the correct name as of this writing in July 2018.