Fleshy Fungi of New Brunswick >> Cheimonophyllum candidissimum

Cheimonophyllum candidissimum (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Singer

1. Gregarious to clustered (many) on rotting hardwood branch on the ground in mixed forest of Acer saccharum, Betula alleghaniensis, B. papyrifera and Abies balsamea, Nepisiguit Protected Natural Area, New Brunswick (15-08-16/01)

Basidiospores white in spore print, spherical or nearly so, smooth, inamyloid, 4.1-5.3 X 4.1-5.3 μm, Q = 1.0-1.15 (average[24]: 4.8 X 4.7 μm, Q = 1.01). Cheilocystidia forming a continuous and conspicuous fimbriate margin, narrowly lanceolate to irregularly ventricose, often swollen near the apex and provided with a short beak or tapered out to an acute apex, with clamped septa, sparingly branched, >50 μm in length. Pileipellis a loose tangled tomentum

2. Gregarious on a dead fallen branch of Acer saccharum in forest dominated by Abies balsamea, Acer saccharum, Populus grandidentata and Picea rubens, Spednic Lake Protected Natural Area, New Brunswick (12-08-17/02)

Basidiospores white in spore print, spherical or nearly so, smooth or minutely roughened, inamyloid, 4.6-5.5 X 4.4-5.3 µm, Q = 1.00-1.07 (average[52]: 4.9 X 4.8 μm, Q = 1.01). Cheilocystidia forming a continuous and conspicuous fimbriate margin, lanceolate to irregularly ventricose, with an acute apex, with clamped septa, sparingly branched, >50 µm in length. Pileipellis a loose tangled tomentum

3. Numerous on rotten hardwood log in mature hardwood forest dominated by Acer saccharum, A. rubrum, and Betula alleghaniensis, Hell’s Gate Hardwoods Protected Natural Area, New Brunswick (14-09-19/08)

Basidiospores with spore print weak but probably white, broadly ellipsoidal to nearly spherical, smooth, inamyloid, 4.5-5.8 X 4.0-5.2 μm, Q = 1.05-1.33 (average[34]: 5.2 X 4.6 μm, Q = 1.13). Cheilocystidia irregularly lageniform, with a swollen lower portion and long cyclindrical neck, with neck rarely branched. Pileipellis a compact cutis or weak compact trichoderm

This little mushroom is common in hardwood forests in our area. The basidiomata are very small and may easily be overlooked when more showy species are fruiting. Our collections differ slightly from those reported from northern Europe in Funga Nordica and by Delivorias & Gonou-Zagou (Mycotaxon 104: 1-8. 2008) from Greece. The European collections have larger basidiospores, and narrow and highly branched cheilocystidia. Of the collections shown here, two (15-08-16/01 and 12-08-17/02) have densely tomentose pilei in contrast to the smooth glabrous ones described from Europe. Collection 14-09-19/08 has a smooth pileus like those from Europe but differs in having unbranched cheilocystidia. This collection is also unlike the others presented here in having basidiomata with narrow lamellae and in lacking a strict perperdicular relationship to the substrate.

In spite of the variation noted in our material and differences with European collections we have maintained ours under C. candidissimum in NBM, but the matter should be investigated further.

Photo: D. Malloch (15-08-16/01, 12-08-17/2 and 14-09-19/08)