Summary: Features include 1) resupinate growth on dead wood, 2) ocher-brown to olive-brown, membranous, tightly attached patches several centimeters across, with the margin finely filamentous and lighter in color to whitish, 3) spores that are ovoid, smooth, thick-walled, weakly dextrinoid, and light brown, and 4) a monomitic hyphal system, the hyphae without clamp connections or sometimes with scattered multiple clamp connections.
Microscopic: SPORES 9-13 x 5.5-8 microns, ovoid, smooth, weakly dextrinoid, weakly cyanophilic, light brown, thick-walled; BASIDIA 4-spored, 45-85 x 6-10 microns, sinuous, clavate, without basal clamp connection; CYSTIDIA not seen; HYPHAE monomitic 2-4 microns wide, colorless to yellowish, thin-walled, smooth (if encrusted = var. suffocata (Peck) Ginns), without clamp connections, sometimes with scattered multiple clamp connections, (Breitenbach)
Notes: Coniophora arida has been found in BC, WA, OR, ID, MB, NB, NS, Northwest Territories, ON, PE, PQ, YT, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MO, MT, NC, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, VT, and WI, (Ginns). It has also been found in Europe including Switzerland, and Asia, (Breitenbach).
Habitat and Range
SIMILAR SPECIES
Coniophora puteana has practically the same microscopic characters as Coniophora arida, and the two differ only in the thickness of the fruitbodies, the nature of the surface, and the dextrinoid or non-dextrinoid spores, (Breitenbach). Coniophora olivacea is differently colored, has smaller spores, and has cystidia, (Luther(4)).
Habitat
on dead wood of Pinus (pine), on underside of barkless branches on the ground, (and according to literature on the wood of hardwoods and conifers in general), summer to fall, (Breitenbach), on "dead, rotting wood and bark of branches; slash; trunks; logs; stumps; discarded lumber, burlap matting"; rarely associated with decay behind wounds in live spruce; associated with a brown rot, (Ginns), all year (Buczacki)