Fleshy Fungi of New Brunswick >> Pholiota mixta

Pholiota mixta (Fr.) Kuyper & Tjall.-Beuk.

Solitary in Pleurozium moss moss carpet but apparently not attached to wood, associated with Picea rubens, Nepisiguit Protected Natural Area, New Brunswick (19-08-16/08).

Basidiospores forming a light brown spore print, ellipsoidal to narrowly ovate, smooth, apparently without germ pores, non-dextrinoid, 5.3-6.7 X 3.2-3.7 μm, D/d = 1.55-1.93 (average[27]: 5.8 X 3.4 μm, D/d = 1.69). Cheilocystidia lageniform, often capitate, with slightly thickened walls. Pleurocystidia similar to the cheilocystidia or slightly longer. Pileipellis a thick ixocutis or ixotrichoderm of strongly encrusted hyphae. The basidiospores of this material are slightly smaller than those described in European texts.

Pholiota mixta is a member of Pholiota subgenus Flammuloides, a group of species characterized by large prominent pleurocystidia. It is closely related to Pholiota spumosa, a common species in our region, with a more yellow cap and larger basidiospores.

Photograph: D. Malloch (19-08-16/08).