Summary:
{See also Otidea Table.} Features include spoon-shaped to ear-shaped fruitbodies that are brown to deep purple-brown inside both when fresh and when dry, and somewhat darker purple-brown outside, short off-white base, and microscopic characters.

Microscopic:
spores (12)13.5(15.5) x (6)6.5(8) microns, narrowly elliptic, smooth, with 2 droplets; asci 8-spored, inamyloid; paraphyses colorless, curved or hooked at tips, (Castellano), spores 10-12(14) x 6-7 microns, narrowly elliptic, smooth, colorless (or faintly yellowish), with 2 droplets; asci 8-spored, 100-160 x 12-14 microns, inamyloid; paraphyses with large hooked or bent tips, hooks sometimes ornamented by small irregular protuberances, (Kanouse), spores 12-14(14.5) x 6-7.5 microns, elliptic, sometimes fusoid, inequilateral, smooth, colorless, with two large droplets; asci 175-251 x 9-11 microns; paraphyses "curved to hooked, of the same width to slightly enlarged at apices", 3-5 microns wide, "sometimes with 1-3 notches or with a low notch near the apex", when dried containing refractive, pale yellow droplets; external surface with conic warts, 34-71(102) microns high; resinous exudates "rather abundant on the outside, dark brown", partly dissolving and turning reddish in Melzer''s reagent, (Olariaga)

Notes:
Otidea smithii is found in BC, WA, ID, CA, (Larsen), and OR (Castellano). Collections were examined from BC, WA, OR, and CA, (Olariaga).

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Corticium galactinum (Fr.) Burt
Thelephora galactina Fr.