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Species Information
Summary: The distinctive feature of Exidia zelleri is that the basidia are only embedded in a thin surface layer. Other features include gyrose to thin flat form, pale purplish gray color, and few scattered rounded papillae.
It is found in OR and CA (Ginns). There are multiple collections from BC by R. Bandoni deposited at University of British Columbia.
Fruiting body: at first pustulate, about 0.05cm in diameter and thickness, "expanding, quickly anastomosing or tardily anastomosing or remaining discrete", if quickly anastomosing then forming convoluted masses up to 8cm long "and appearing broadly attached by the closely spaced points of attachment", "if tardily anastomosing or remaining discrete, then becoming expanded discoid to top-shaped", 0.5-2.5cm in diameter, with a central to lateral point of attachment; at first grayish lilac, becoming brownish gray to dark brown with olive to violaceous tints, when slightly dry appearing blackish brown; outer surface flat to ridged to convoluted to highly ridged or lobed, marked by sparse to numerous conic papillae that are colored as the surface or are colorless-tipped; undersurface "sterile, free to the point of attachment or lightly appressed", usually roughened by small elevations or by vein-like to gill-like elevations; margins "free or appressed, thin, even to undulate, occasionally with papillae", (Klett), "Plant gyrose or when not developed applanate with even surface, about a mm. thick. Color when soaked pale purplish gray, subtranslucent with faintly violaceous cast, drying dark. Papillae few, scattered, globose.", (Lloyd)
Microscopic: spores (14.5)16-19(21) x 5-6 microns, cylindric-curved, colorless, white in mass, capable of germinating by repetition; basidia "arising as clavate structures subtended by clamp connections, proliferating through the clamp connections to form cymose clusters", probasidia becoming obovate to ellipsoid, (11)13.5-20 x 8-11microns, "becoming longitudinally to obliquely septate into 4 cells", hypobasidia mostly ellipsoid, 13.5-17.5-20 x (8.5)10-12.5 microns, epibasidia 2-2.5 microns wide at bases, 3.5 microns wide at tips; hyphae 2-4 microns wide, thin-walled, "with numerous, conspicuous clamp connections varying from closed to keyhole to looplike, often spurred", fertile hyphae occasionally up to 5.5 microns wide, (Klett), spores 20 x 8 microns, curved or rarely straight, colorless; basidia 12-14 microns, globose, colorless, embedded in a thin layer, close to the surface, (Lloyd)
Tremella violacea of Europe is close but Exidia zelleri is larger with papillae that are not present on T. violacea, and with larger spores, (Lloyd). Exidia glandulosa lacks violaceous tints in the fresh fruiting bodies, and has smaller spores, (Klett). Exidia iteinos nom. prov., described on willow from WA, BC, and AK, 1) lacks violaceous tones, 2) has surface that is smooth to finely asperulate (instead of being marked by conic papillae), and 3) has generally larger spores ((17)18.5-22.5(25) x 5-6 microns), (Klett).
