Thelephora terrestris Ehrh.: Fr.
common fiber vase
Thelephoraceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
common fiber vase
Thelephoraceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
Species Information
Summary:
Features include 1) light to dark brown fruitbodies that are vase-shaped, funnel-shaped, or in rosettes, 2) the upperside with radiating silky fibrils or small scales, margin usually fringed or splitting and paler, 3) the underside wrinkled or papillate or smooth, 4) stem absent or short and lateral to central, 5) flesh thin and tough, 6) odor mild to earthy, 7) growth often in clusters on the ground, (sometimes shelf-like on plant stems), and 8) spores sparsely spiny. Thelephora terrestris causes smothering disease of coniferous seedlings in nature and in nurseries, but harms only slow growing seedlings and is of benefit in its role as a mycorrhiza former, (Ginns).
Odor:
mild or earthy (Arora), none (Corner), like moldy earth (Lincoff(2))
Taste:
not distinctive (McKnight)
Microscopic:
spores 8-12 x 6-9 microns, elliptic-angular, warted (often minutely so), (Arora), spores 8-12 x 6-9 microns, angular-elliptic, sparsely spiny, (Phillips), 8-12 x 6-9 microns, angularly elliptic, more or less lobate, rather sparsely echinulate with spines 0.5 microns long, varying to nearly smooth, one to several droplets; fuscous purple, violaceous ferruginous, or purple umber; basidia 40-90 x 8-12 microns, 2-4 sterigmata 6-8.5 microns long; cystidia none; hyphae 3-10(12) microns wide, with clamp connections, with distinctly thickened brownish walls 0.5-1.5 microns thick, branched at a wide angle, fibrillose-fasciculate, not cyanescent in KOH but the hyphal fibrils of the flesh turning dark brown, (Corner)
Spore Deposit:
purplish brown (Arora), purplish to purplish brown (Phillips)
Notes:
Distribution in North America includes BC, WA, OR, ID, AB, MB, NF, ON, PQ, AK, AL, AZ, CA, CT, IA, IN, MA, ME, MI, MN, MT, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, SD, and WY, (Ginns). It widely distributed as far south as central CA and GA, (Phillips). It is also found in Jamaica, Brazil, Uruguay, Europe, South Africa, China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and is the commonest Thelephora of north temperate regions, (Corner).
EDIBILITY
not edible (Phillips)
Habitat and Range
SIMILAR SPECIES
Thelephora palmata is more branched-coralloid, and has a strong unpleasant odor. Thelephora intybacea has thicker and entire cap margin and lacks free squamules, (Burt). See also SIMILAR section of Cotylidia diaphana and Thelephora caryophyllea.Habitat
occasionally single but more often in confluent masses or clustered or in groups, growing in humus, sandy soil, decaying vegetable matter, on old stumps, climbing up herbaceous stems or tree seedlings, (Arora), year-round, mostly July to December, (Lincoff(2)), July to September, (Phillips), on the ground in coniferous woods, often on roots, stumps and seedlings, rarely in deciduous woods, mainly fall but at all seasons, (Corner)
Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Phylacteria terrestris (Ehrh.) Pat.