Summary:
Features include 1) resupinate growth on conifer wood, 2) a fruitbody that is a delicate white crust covering a loose, cottony, white subiculum, the surface smooth to sometimes wrinkled, the margin cottony and pale cream, rhizomorphic strands pallid to brown in the subiculum and in the periphery of the fruitbody, 3) spores that are small, broadly elliptic to nearly round, amyloid, and finely verrucose with rounded or oblong warts, but sometimes appearing smooth, 4) suburniform basidia, 5) cystidia that are awl-shaped, projecting, thin-walled, and sulfo-negative, and 6) a dimitic hyphal system, the hyphae with clamp connections, the narrower rhizomorphic strands with only generative hyphae, the wider ones with both generative and skeletal hyphae.

Microscopic:
SPORES 3.0-3.8 x 2.6-3.2 microns, broadly elliptic to nearly round, "finely verrucose but sometimes appearing smooth", amyloid, thin-walled, with a small, rounded, indistinct apiculus; BASIDIA 4-spored, 20-26 x 4.0-5.0 microns, suburniform, finally cylindric to subclavate, sterigmata 4.8 microns long; the hymenial elements (basidia and cystidia) appear to arise from small clavate cells, 12-14 x 5 microns: a relatively broad cylindric extension occurs from the apex of these cells and becomes either a cystidium or a basidium; CYSTIDIA 35-60 x 3.5-5.0 microns, projecting to 24 microns, subulate [awl-shaped], thin-walled, some containing a few oil droplets, the contents sulfo-negative, colorless in KOH; gloeocystidia none; HYPHAE dimitic, subicular hyphae "loosely arranged and distinct, becoming more compact near the subhymenium"; subhymenium about 30 microns thick, "the hyphae densely compacted, with all hymenial elements arising at the same level"; generative hyphae (1.6)2.0-5.0(6.0) microns wide, colorless, with clamp connections, thin-walled or up to 2.0 microns thick and obscuring the lumen; HYPHAL STRANDS when narrow (15-60 microns) pallid, monomitic, the hyphae colorless, 3-4(7) microns wide, with thin walls, "in KOH encrusted with numerous granules that are slightly refractive", 0.5-0.8 microns in diameter, hyphal strands when broad (+/- 100 microns wide) tan to brown, the generative hyphae 3-6 micron wide, with wall thin to moderately thick, the skeletal hyphae (2)3-4(5.5) microns wide, "with the rare clamp connection joining two thick-walled cells, occasionally branched, with walls pale yellow brown to pale brown, thick (typically with capillary lumen), with resinous drops on the surface", (Ginns(24)), SPORES 3.5-4.5 x 3-3.5 microns, broadly elliptic, asperulate with rounded or oblong warts, amyloid; BASIDIA 4-spored, 15-20 x 3-5 microns, clavate-suburniform, with basal clamp connection; CYSTIDIA (gloeocystidia) 45-60 x 3.5-5 microns, pointed, thin-walled, with oily contents and evidently also resinous excretions; HYPHAE "thin-walled generative hyphae, 1.5-4 microns wide, and thick-walled fibre-hyphae, 1-2 microns wide; rhizomorphic strands composed of thin-walled hyphae of various types, some very narrow and sparsely septate, some wide, more closely branched", (Eriksson), SPORES 3.0-4.0 x 2.0-3.0 microns, oval to nearly round; usually both hyphal types (generative and skeletal) can be observed in the rhizomorphs but not in the fruitbody; in addition, pseudoskeletals (thick-walled with true septa) can be observed in the rhizomorphs; the rhizomorphs arise from hyphal cordons that intertwine: it is necessary to tease these tissues apart under a dissecting scope with fine needles, because they are brittle and shatter in a crush mount, (Freeman)

Notes:
Collections were examined from BC, WA, ID, and MT, (Ginns(24)). It has not yet been recorded from Scandinavia (Eriksson).

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Bulgaria globosa (Schmidel) Fr.