dylan4fungi's Identifications

Bright yellow in color. Growing on wet tree branch in the woods. Microscopic pictures included that show perithecia. The shape was slightly raised which helped with identifying it because it was hard to tell if it was tightly attached or not. I was having a hard time deciding between Trichoderma and Hypocrea. I referenced Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States.

This specimen was found on a fairly well-decayed large hardwood log in one of the most diverse parts of NATL. The fruiting bodies are ~7mm across and are semi-circular and have gills of varying sizes on their undersides.The cap is brown in the center and becomes tan as you move outwards. The cap wasn't hairy. The mushroom possessed a very small stipe that connected the fruiting body to the wood. The gills were very minimally attached to the stipe. Interestingly, as the specimen dried, it became almost completely reduced in size. The spore print was a light brown.
Following the key set out in Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast States (Bessette et al. 2019), due to the mushroom's fleshy yet wood-growing nature and the cap not feeling warty or waxy, I was left with 6 genera. It's dull color made me rather confident it wasn't Anthracophyllum; it's non-rough gills excluded Lentinellus; I felt the mushroom was too small and thin to be Plerotus; the gills weren't crimped like in Plicaturopsis crispa; and it wasn't a split gill. This left Panellus, as it was least dissimilar to my specimen. Of Panellus, Panellus stipticus is ostensibly most common in Florida (and I wasn't able to readily access information on any other Panellus species with similar gills), so I suspect it is this individual, but am not confident enough to declare it as such.

ST-16
Date: 7 November 2022
Collector: Sophia R. Torla
Location: Pi Beta Phi at University of Florida
Habitat: Found fruiting in the ground surrounded by mulch.

Notes: Approximately 8 fruiting bodies were observed in the same location, all of different maturity levels. The description that follows resembles the specimen of average maturity (not super young and not super old): The cap was circular, approximately 4 inches wide, brown, and smooth. Although the surface of the cap had some cracking throughout, which appeared as a mild white spiderweb appearance. The underside of the cap was a porous, yellow hymenium. The pores were tiny, less than 1 mm in size, and appeared dark in color, possibly from the presence of spores. The specimen possessed a distinct ring zone approximately 1 cm down the stipe from where the cap attached. The stipe was thick and sturdy, roughly an inch in diameter, and had a netted appearance. Although the stipe was yellow, the "netting" was a darker orange color. There were several navy blue spots on the hymenium that appeared as the result of bruising.

Microscopic observations:

• Spores were fusiform in shape, possessing a central circular drop. They were olive in color and they were abundant.
• Spores were 13 microns in length and 4.5 microns in width

Rationale for ID: This species was identified using the Boletes dichotomous key found in the Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast book. The result of the dichotomous key led to a list of potential species, which upon individual search were compared directly with the specimens collected. It was determined that the collected specimen was B. luridellus on the basis of several factors, including the fusoid spore shape with a pale yellow to brown color, the pores that immediately stain blue when bruised, and having found the specimen among litter under oak trees. Several other characteristics that were used during the dichotomous key were the presence of a distinct ring zone, and a reticulated stipe.

Another species that is very similar is Alessioporus rubriflavus, although the stipe of this species is on average, much thicker.

Bessette, A.E., Bessette, A.R., & Lewis, D.P. Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast: A Field Guide to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Austin, TX, University of Texas Press, 2019.

Date: 09/26/22
Collector: Roshni Panwala
Location: North of Lake Alice on UF Campus

-Found growing alone near the base of the tree
-Body consists of several white rimmed spiraling caps that originate from a single stem structure
-Caps have an irregular outline; and seem to have a flower like shape to them; the caps are velvety or leathery and have white rims with a light brown coloring otherwise
-Underside pore surface is whitish with tiny pores running down to the stem
-Stem is yellowish and is very dry and tough

Based on the white, rosette coloration and structure of the polypore and the velvety texture of the specimen, I have determined that this is a Bondarzewia berkeleyi.

Source: Polypores and Similar Fungi in Eastern and Central North America

ST-16
Date: 7 November 2022
Collector: Sophia R. Torla
Location: Pi Beta Phi at University of Florida
Habitat: Found fruiting in the ground surrounded by mulch.

Notes: Approximately 8 fruiting bodies were observed in the same location, all of different maturity levels. The description that follows resembles the specimen of average maturity (not super young and not super old): The cap was circular, approximately 4 inches wide, brown, and smooth. Although the surface of the cap had some cracking throughout, which appeared as a mild white spiderweb appearance. The underside of the cap was a porous, yellow hymenium. The pores were tiny, less than 1 mm in size, and appeared dark in color, possibly from the presence of spores. The specimen possessed a distinct ring zone approximately 1 cm down the stipe from where the cap attached. The stipe was thick and sturdy, roughly an inch in diameter, and had a netted appearance. Although the stipe was yellow, the "netting" was a darker orange color. There were several navy blue spots on the hymenium that appeared as the result of bruising.

Microscopic observations:

• Spores were fusiform in shape, possessing a central circular drop. They were olive in color and they were abundant.
• Spores were 13 microns in length and 4.5 microns in width

Rationale for ID: This species was identified using the Boletes dichotomous key found in the Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast book. The result of the dichotomous key led to a list of potential species, which upon individual search were compared directly with the specimens collected. It was determined that the collected specimen was B. luridellus on the basis of several factors, including the fusoid spore shape with a pale yellow to brown color, the pores that immediately stain blue when bruised, and having found the specimen among litter under oak trees. Several other characteristics that were used during the dichotomous key were the presence of a distinct ring zone, and a reticulated stipe.

Another species that is very similar is Alessioporus rubriflavus, although the stipe of this species is on average, much thicker.

Bessette, A.E., Bessette, A.R., & Lewis, D.P. Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast: A Field Guide to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Austin, TX, University of Texas Press, 2019.