Pluteus longistriatus

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by Michael Kuo

This little grayish brown Pluteus is recognized by the long striations that extend from the cap margin nearly to the center of the cap, revealing whitish flesh in the cracks. Like other species of Pluteus, it has a pink spore print and grows on wood. Several other tiny gray species of Pluteus with deeply grooved caps have been described and separated on the basis of microscopic characters, but most of these "species" represent single collections made long ago and never found since.

Pluteus longistriatus is listed as edible in several field guides, but I don't recommend you try it; it is very small and insubstantial, and hard to identify with certainty.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic on decaying hardwood logs and debris; growing alone or gregariously; summer and fall; primarily distributed east of the Great Plains, but reported from California.

Cap: 1-3 cm; convex becoming broadly convex or flat, sometimes with a central depression or a central bump; fragile; gray; with cracks and fissures extending from the margin almost to the center; whitish flesh revealed in the cracks; sometimes minutely granular or hairy, especially over the center.

Gills: Free from the stem; close; whitish at first, becoming pinkish; soft and collapsing.

Stem: 2-5 cm long; up to 3 mm thick; equal; whitish, with grayish fibers.

Flesh: Insubstantial; pale.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Spore Print: Pink.

Chemical Reactions: KOH on cap surface negative.

Microscopic Features: Spores 6-7.5 x 5-5.5 µ; broadly elliptical; smooth. Pleurocystidia 50-70 x 18-30 µ; variously shaped (clavate, utriform, fusoid-ventricose); without projections.

REFERENCES: Peck, 1878. (Saccardo, 1887; Kauffman, 1918; Singer, 1956; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Arora, 1986; Lincoff, 1992; Barron, 1999; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006.) Herb. Kuo 09170402, 09190605.

Pileipellis

Cystidium and spores

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2004, December). Pluteus longistriatus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/pluteus_longistriatus.html