Leotia atrovirens

[ Ascomycetes > Helotiales > Leotiaceae > Leotia . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

As a world-famous frog once reminded us, it's not easy being green--but the complete greenness ("greenitude?") of Leotia atrovirens makes it easily distinguished from the other common "Jelly Babies." It differs from Leotia lubrica, which has a yellow cap, and from Leotia viscosa, which has a green cap but a yellow stem. Additionally, the stem of Leotia atrovirens is finely scaly, while the others have smooth or merely silky stems.

The specimen illustrated by Chris Matherly is deceptively huge for a Leotia, but a close look at the photo reveals that several fruiting bodies in a cluster have grown together to create the illusion. See the page for abnormal mushrooms to see other examples of freak fungal fruitings.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic; growing gregariously or in clusters under hardwoods or conifers (and occasionally found on well-rotted wood); summer and fall; widely distributed in eastern North America.

Cap: Up to 1.5 cm across; convoluted and lumpy but generally convex in outline; with a smooth or slightly wrinkled surface; sticky or slimy when fresh, but sometimes drying out; the margin inrolled; dark green.

Stem: Up to 4 cm long; up to .5 cm wide; finely scaly; more or less equal; sticky or slimy when fresh; pale or dark green; hollow or filled with jelly.

Flesh: Gelatinous when fresh.

Microscopic Features: Spores 16-22 x 4-5 µ; smooth; more or less spindle-shaped; with many oil droplets; developing septa.

REFERENCES: Fries, 1822. (Mains, 1956; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981.) I have not collected this mushroom.

At the time of this writing, a search at Index Fungorum for Leotia atrovirens indicates that the name is no longer valid, and that Coryne atrovirens is the name currently applied. The Index further indicates that our little green mushroom is an anamorph of an Ascocoryne species. An "anamorph" is an asexual stage of a fungus--as opposed to a "teleomorph," which is sexual. Mycologists over the years have discovered that some of the fungi they thought were different were actually separate anamorphic and teleomorphic versions of the same fungus--resulting in fungi with two names. Disturbingly, anamorphic and teleomorphic stages can be incredibly different. According to Ascomycetes expert Richard Korf (pers. com.), mycologists have suspected that Leotia atrovirens is a misfit for Leotia since the days of Saccardo.

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2003, June). Leotia atrovirens. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/leotia_atrovirens.html.