E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Aleurodiscus grantii Lloyd
no common name
Stereaceae

Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.

Introduction to the Macrofungi

© Rosemary Taylor  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #88089)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Aleurodiscus grantii
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Species Information

Summary:
Also included in Crusts category. Features include 1) growth on the lower surface of small dead branches on live conifers, 2) disc-shaped or cup-shaped fruitbodies at first 0.1-0.4cm across, sometimes becoming confluent, surface pale orange-pink to pink, with distinct margin ringed with tiny white hairs, the abhymenial surface white, gray, or pale brown and finely hairy or matted, 3) spores large and nearly round to broadly elliptic, with amyloid spines, 4) hymenium of a) basidial elements, b) hyphidia, and c) crystals up to 10 microns wide (which also occur in the context), and 5) context monomitic with some septa clamped. Aleurodiscus grantii is more common in the Pacific Northwest than the very similar Aleurodiscus amorphus.

Aleurodiscus grantii is found from the Pacific Coast to the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Collections were examined from BC, WA, OR, ID, AB, YT, CA, and MT, (Ginns(16)).
Upper surface:
disc-shaped or pezizaeform [shaped like Peziza cup fungus], 0.1-0.4cm across, "scattered to gregarious, sometimes confluent", 0.05-0.1cm thick, surface flat to slightly convex; typically pale orange pink to pink, sometimes faded when old or after storage; finely granulose; margin determinate [distinct], ringed with white, shiny fascicles of hyphal hairs up to 0.02cm long, (Ginns(16))
Underside:
"white, grey or pale brown, finely hirsute or matted", (Ginns(16))
Stem:
"attached by a short, central base"
Microscopic:
spores 22-32(39) x 18-24(28) microns, broadly elliptic to nearly round, with amyloid spines up to 4 microns long, wall colorless, acyanophilic, up to 1 micron thick, apiculus broad (up to 3 microns), blunt; basidia 4-spored, +/- 230 x 25-28 microns, clavate, tapering to a 4 microns wide base, with clamp connection, sterigmata up to 21 microns long; hyphidia colorless, thin-walled to rather thin-walled, infrequently thick-walled, straight to wavy, unbranched or with up to 4 short branches, cylindric or with the apex irregularly swollen or strangulated, swellings sometimes moniliform, 4-6 microns wide; pseudocystidia lacking; crystals: hymenium, subhymenium, and adjacent context "with few to numerous, square to angular crystals up to 10 microns wide"; hyphae monomitic, generative hyphae in the context colorless, branched, "thin- to sometimes rather thin-walled, the wall often with a 1.5 microns thick gelatinized exterior as viewed in 2% KOH", about 10% of the septa with clamp connections; abhymenial surface "sometimes with hyphae parallel, compact", rather thin-walled to thick-walled, brownish yellow, up to 7 microns wide, hyphal "hairs" on the abhymenial surface and the margin 3-5(6) microns wide, straight, rarely branched (branching dichotomously), thin-walled to rather thin-walled, simple-septate, (Ginns(16))

Habitat / Range

typically on lower surface of small (1-6cm diameter), dead branches in the lower crown of live conifers, sometimes on trunks of dead saplings or on fallen stems; most often collected on Abies (fir), especially A. grandis (Grand Fir) and A. lasiocarpa (Subalpine Fir), and less often on other conifers, (Ginns(16))

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Carcinomyces effibulatus (Ginns & Sunhede) Oberw. & Bandoni
Christiansenia effibulata Ginns & Sunhede

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Additional Photo Sources

Related Databases

Species References

Ginns(16), Ginns(5)

References for the fungi

General References