Byssocorticium atrovirens

[ Basidiomycota > Atheliales > Byssocorticiaceae > Byssocorticium . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

Grayish blue, semi-fuzzy, mold-ish-looking patches on deadwood and other forest litter. Byssocorticium atrovirens may challenge your idea of what constitutes a "mushroom," but it is, at least, a fungus large enough to be seen with the naked eye—and, believe it or not, researchers (Tedersoo et al. 2010) believe it may me mycorrhizal.

Byssocorticium pulchrum is identical to the naked eye, but features larger spores that measure 4.5–5.5 µm across. To my knowledge, contemporary DNA-based study of the species in the genus Byssocorticium has not been done.

Thanks to Lawrence Millman for documenting, collecting, and preserving Byssocorticium atrovirens for study; his collection is deposited in The Herbarium of Michael Kuo.

Description:

Ecology: Possibly mycorrhizal (Tedersoo et al. 2010 ); growing alone or gregariously on deadwood and forest debris—frequently on the undersides of well-rotted logs; late summer through fall; originally described from Sweden (Fries 1828) and neotypified from Great Britain (Hjortstam 1987); widely distributed in Europe and North America. The illustrated and described collection is from New Hampshire.

Fruiting Body: Forming resupinate patches 2–5 cm across; surface finely fuzzy, grayish blue with greenish tints, dry; flesh extremely thin, cottony; edges poorly defined.

Microscopic Features: Spores 3–4 µm; subglobose, with an apiculus; smooth; thick-walled; hyaline and often uniguttulate in KOH; inamyloid. Basidia about 20 x 5 µm; clavate; 4-sterigmate. Cystidia not found. Hyphal system monomitic; hyphae 2–4 µm wide, smooth, frequently branched, hyaline to bluish in KOH; clamp connections not found.

REFERENCES: (E. M. Fries, 1828) A. S. Bondartsev & R. Singer, 1944. (Eriksson & Ryyvarden, 1973; Tedersoo et al., 2010; Ezhov et al., 2012; Læssøe & Petersen, 2019.) Herb. Kuo 09172301.

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Spores

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2024, January). Byssocorticium atrovirens. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/byssocorticium_atrovirens.html.