Onnia tomentosa (Fr.) P. Karst.
woolly velvet polypore
Hymenochaetaceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
woolly velvet polypore
Hymenochaetaceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
Photograph
Species Information
Summary:
Onnia tomentosa grows on the ground near conifers or shelf-like on them, forming a yellow-brown to brown, soft, hairy or velvety cap that is circular to fan-shaped, with yellow brown flesh that has a soft upper layer and a firm lower layer, a pale to dark brown or grayish or hoary pore surface, a stem that is colored as the cap when present, and microscopic characters including abundant setae.
Chemical Reactions:
cap tissue blackening in KOH (sometimes with a fleeting red intermediate phase), (Arora)
Odor:
pleasantly like curry (Breitenbach), fragrant (Miller)
Taste:
mild (Breitenbach)
Microscopic:
spores 4.5-7 x 2.5-4 microns, elliptic, smooth, colorless; brown setae abundant among basidia, straight and pointed, (Arora), spores 5-6 x 3-4 microns, elliptic, smooth, inamyloid, acyanophilous, colorless; basidia 2-4-spored, 13-15 x 5-6 microns, clavate; setae abundant, mostly 50-70 x 7-11 microns, but some up to 140 microns long, "mostly subulate, some ventricose, straight"; hyphal system monomitic: upper context hyphae 3-9 microns wide, pale yellowish to almost colorless in KOH, thin-walled, simple-septate, lower context hyphae 3-4 microns wide (thin-walled) or 5-8 microns wide (thick-walled), all pale yellowish, simple-septate, trama hyphae 3-6 microns wide, thin-walled, pale yellowish, simple-septate, (Gilbertson)
Spore Deposit:
pale yellow to pale brown (Arora), whitish buff (Miller)
Notes:
Onnia tomentosa has been found in BC, WA, OR, ID, AB, MB, NS, ON, PE, PQ, SK, AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, DE, CT, IA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NY, PA, TN, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, and WY, (Gilbertson).
EDIBILITY
unknown, too tough, (Arora)
Habitat and Range
SIMILAR SPECIES
Onnia leporina has larger thicker fruitbodies that grow on wood and mostly hooked setae microscopically (Gilbertson). O. triquetra (as O. leporina) typically grows under pine, with cap up to 18cm across, and the setae have hooked apices, whereas O. tomentosa typically grows under spruce, with cap up to 11cm across, and the setae have straight apices, (Ginns(28)). Pseudoinonotus dryadeus always grows shelf-like on wood, has a bald or nearly bald cap, has minute pores, and attains sizes of 30cm broad or more, (Arora). Phaeolus schweinitzii is usually larger and brighter in color, the fruiting body is compound, and the pore surface is mustard yellow to greenish when fresh rather than brown to grayish or hoary, (Arora). Coltricia species are not as thick and spongy (Arora). Coltricia perennis is distinctly zoned. See also SIMILAR section of Coltricia montagnei.Habitat
annual, single or in groups on ground under conifers, "(presumably arising from roots or buried wood), sometimes also on stumps or bases of trunks", (Arora), associated with conifers, particularly common with spruce, causes white pocket rot of the heartwood in roots and butt, distinguished by large empty pockets separated by apparently sound firm wood, (Gilbertson), sometimes enclosing plant remains (Breitenbach), fruiting in summer and fall (Miller)
Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Laricifomes officinalis (Vill.) Kotl. & Pouzar
Polyporus officinalis Vill.: Fr.