Panellus stipticus

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

by Michael Kuo

Panellus stipticus is a widely distributed, hardwood-rotting saprobe, but it is more common in eastern North America than in the West. It can be recognized by its small size (caps 1–3 cm across); the tiny, lateral stem that terminates in an abrupt line where it meets the gills; the tan to whitish, woolly cap surface; the (usually) bitter taste; and the white spore print. It is quite tough, and revives in rainwater after drying out, like many Marasmius species.

This little mushroom has reportedly been used as a styptic (blood thickening) agent, and it has luminescent gills. I have not had very good luck seeing the luminescence of glow-in-the-dark mushrooms (see Omphalotus illudens for details), so I had my doubts—but on a family camping trip last year I saw several logs full of Panellus stipticus emitting a dull yellowish glow in the dead of night, much to my amazement.

"Panellus stypticus" is an alternate spelling.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic on the deadwood of hardwoods; usually growing in shelving clusters; spring through fall (also over winter in warm climates, or during winter warm spells in temperate areas); widely distributed in North America but more common in the east. The illustrated and described collections are from Illinois, Kentucky, and Québec.

Cap: 0.5–2 cm wide; convex with an inrolled margin, becoming planoconvex with the margin even or slightly curved under; semicircular to kidney-shaped in outline; dry; finely velvety to woolly; often becoming wrinkled and somewhat cracked-scaly in age; tan to pale yellowish brown or orangish brown, sometimes fading to off-white.

Gills: Terminating abruptly at the stem; crowded; short-gills frequent; often forked; with cross-veins; pale golden tan.

Stem: Up to about 3 x 3 mm; lateral or off-center; fuzzy-velvety with whitish, tan, or rusty brown fuzz.

Flesh: Whitish or pale brownish; tough.

Odor and Taste: Odor not distinctive; taste usually bitter, but mild in some collections.

Spore Print: White.

Chemical Reactions: KOH negative to gray on cap surface.

Microscopic Features: Spores 2.5–3 x 1–2 µm; ellipsoid to suballantoid; smooth; hyaline in KOH; amyloid. Cheilocystidia 25–75 x 2.5–5 µm; cylindric to filiform; irregular; often diverticulate; smooth; thin-walled; hyaline to brownish in KOH. Pleurocystidia in bundles; 40–50 x 3–4 µm; long-fusiform, with apices sometimes submucronate or slightly diverticulate. Pileipellis a densely tangled cutis with some erect elements; hyaline to yellowish in KOH; terminal elements occasionally cystidium-like or forked. Clamp connections present.

REFERENCES: (Bulliard, 1783) Karsten, 1879. (Fries, 1821; Saccardo, 1887; Kauffman, 1918; Miller, 1970; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Arora, 1986; Breitenbach, J. & Kränzlin, 1991; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Barron, 1999; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006; Miller & Miller, 2006; Binion et al., 2008; Kuo & Methven, 2014; Desjardin, Wood & Stevens, 2015; Siegel & Schwarz, 2016.) Herb. Kuo 10010406, 10220403, 09270505, 10021601. Herb. EIU 004.

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

Spores

Cheilocystidia

Pleurocystidia

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2017, May). Panellus stipticus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/panellus_stipticus.html