Fleshy Fungi of New Brunswick >> Rhodocollybia maculata var. scorzonerea

Rhodocollybia maculata var. scorzonerea (Fr.) Lennox

Gregarious (6) in soil at base of old (coniferous?) stump in forest dominated by Tsuga heterophylla, Spednic Lake Protected Natural Area, New Brunswick (24-06-18/02).

Bsidiospores pale orange-pink (HSV20:07:100) in spore print, obovoid to dacryoid, smooth, variably dextrinoid in Melzer’s Solution, 5.5-7.1 X 3.7-4.2 μm, D/d = 1.47-1.75 (average[29]: 6.1 X 4.0 μm, D/d – 1.54). Cheilocystidia numerous, filamentous to slightly clavate, rarely ventricose, occasionally lobed. Pileipellis a loose and tangled trichodermium, with ultimate branches often compactly branched or coralloid.

A yellow version of the more familiar R. maculata var. maculata, also differing from that variety in its obovoid to dacryoid, rather than subglobose, basidiospores. Another variety, R. maculata var. occidentalis, has the dacryoid basidiospores like R. maculata var. scorzonerea but the basidiomata, including the lamellae, lack yellow colours. All three varieties show the characteristic reddish spotting of the pileus and stipe. Collection 24-06-18/02 differs slightly from other collections of R. maculata var. scorzonerea in its more uniformly yellow basidiomata and lack of a bitter taste. Oddly the taste was described as resembling coconut.

Photograph: D. Malloch (24-06-18/02).