Pluteus lutescens

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by Michael Kuo

Pluteus lutescens is one of a few species of Pluteus with a yellow stem and a brownish cap. The stem is bright greenish yellow or lemon yellow, which helps separate it from Pluteus melleipes, which has a more golden yellow stem. Since most of the other brown-capped, yellow-stemmed species are imperfectly recorded in Pluteus literature, I recommend treating almost any tiny Pluteus meeting this description as Pluteus lutescens, a well documented and well established species. Microscopic features that will confirm your identification include the cystidia, spores, and cells in the "skin" of the cap (the gory details can be found below).

Pluteus lutescens is apparently edible, but it is so small (and so difficult to identify) that it is not worth eating.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic on decaying hardwood logs and debris (especially in beech-maple forests); growing alone or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed in North America.

Cap: 1-5 cm; convex becoming broadly convex or flat, often with a central bump; olive brown to brown (often olive brown in the center and paler brown elsewhere); somewhat wrinkled, especially over the center; not slimy or sticky, but with a greasy or almost waxy texture; the margin finely lined.

Gills: Free from the stem; almost distant; whitish at first, becoming yellowish and finally pinkish as the spores mature.

Stem: 2-3 cm long; up to 3 mm thick; equal; smooth or with tiny fibers; bright yellow to greenish yellow (often brighter toward the base).

Flesh: Insubstantial; pale.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Spore Print: Pink.

Microscopic Features: Spores 6-7 x 5-6 µ; broadly elliptical to nearly round; smooth. Pleurocystidia 48-74 x 14-49 µ; variously shaped; without projections. Pileipellis a hymeniform layer with brownish-filled (in a KOH mount) elements 23-62 x 17-52 µ.

REFERENCES: (Fries, 1838) Bresadola, 1929. (Saccardo, 1887; Kauffman, 1918; Singer, 1956; Homola, 1972; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Arora, 1986; States, 1990; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006.) Herb. Kuo 09300403.

Pluteus romellii is a synonym, according to some authors.

Further Online Information:

Pluteus lutescens at Roger's Mushrooms
Pluteus romellii at Fungi of Poland

Pileipellis

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Cite this page as:

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