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Panellus serotinus

[ Basidiomycota > Agaricales > Mycenaceae > Panellus ... ]

by Michael Kuo

Panellus serotinus is, in the words of American mycological giant Alexander Smith, "the harbinger of the end of the mushroom season in late fall or winter depending on the region" (1975). It appears on the deadwood of hardwoods, usually on logs with bark still attached, and is reminiscent of oyster mushrooms—except that oyster mushrooms aren't green. Other distinguishing features for Panellus serotinus include the sticky-when-fresh surface, the rubbery flesh, and the orangish to yellowish gills that develop brownish edges.

Over the years Panellus serotinus has been placed in various genera (including Pleurotus, Hohenbuehelia, Panus, and Sarcomyxa). A 2001 study based on morphology and DNA (Jin, Hughes & Petersen) supported the idea that the genus Panellus is, well, a hot mess requiring substantial revision, and that Sarcomyxa serotina may be the most appropriate name for Panellus serotinus.

Thanks to Eric Nerino for collecting, documenting, and preserving Panellus serotinus for study; his collection is deposited in The Herbarium of Michael Kuo.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic on the recently downed (with bark still adnate) deadwood of hardwoods and occasionally on the deadwood of hemlocks; usually growing in shelving clusters but sometimes growing alone or scattered; late fall and winter; widely distributed in North America but more common in northern and montane areas and all but absent where temperatures are warm year-round. The illustrated and described collections are from Pennsylvania and Québec.

Cap: 3–11 cm wide; semicircular to shell-shaped in outline; planoconvex to flat or shallowly depressed; sticky when fresh; bald; dull, dark green to olive when fresh, fading to yellowish or greenish, or sometimes darkening to medium brown.

Gills: Radiating from the point of attachment or running down the pseudostem; close; short-gills frequent; orangish to yellowish buff, developing brownish edges.

Stem: Absent, or occasionally present as a stubby lateral pseudostem.

Flesh: Whitish; tough and rubbery; unchanging when sliced.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Spore Print: Whitish.

Microscopic Features: Spores 3.5–5.5 x 0.75–1 µm; cylindric to suballantoid; smooth; hyaline in KOH, with 1–4 oil droplets; with amyloid walls when still attached to (or recently released from) basidia. Cheilocystidia abundant; 35–60 x 7.5–15 µm; cylindric to fusiform or lageniform; hyaline in KOH; thin-walled; smooth, becoming encrusted. Pleurocystidia scattered; 25–40 x 7.5–15 µm; lageniform to widely cylindric or subutriform; thin-walled; smooth; hyaline in KOH. Pileipellis a cutis; golden in KOH; elements 2.5–5 µm wide, smooth or encrusted, tightly woven; pileocystidia present in bundles, 60–80 x 7.5–12.5 µm, cylindric, thin-walled, encrusted. Subcutis gelatinized and poorly defined. Clamp connections present.


REFERENCES: (Persoon, 1793) Kühner, 1950. (>Fries, 1821; Kummer, 1871; Saccardo, 1887; Miller, 1970; Smith, 1975; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Arora, 1986; Breitenbach & Kränzlin, 1991; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Barron, 1999; Jin, Hughes & Petersen, 2001; Roody, 2003; Miller & Miller, 2006; Binion et al., 2008; Buczacki, 2012.) Herb. Kuo 11131601.


This site contains no information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms.


 

Panellus serotinus

Panellus serotinus

Panellus serotinus

Panellus serotinus

Panellus serotinus

Panellus serotinus

Panellus serotinus

Panellus serotinus
Attached spores in Melzer's

Panellus serotinus
Spores in KOH

Panellus serotinus
Pleurocystidium

Panellus serotinus
Cheilocystidia

Panellus serotinus
Pileocystidia, pileipellis, subcutis



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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2017, January). Panellus serotinus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/panellus_serotinus.html