''Gymnopilus luteofolius'', known as the yellow-gilled gymnopilus, is a large and widely distributed

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

. It has a rusty orange

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing warm orange ("tussock") color spore print. ...

and a bitter taste. It can be found throughout North America.

Taxonomy

''Gymnopilus luteofolius'' was first described as ''Agaricus luteofolius'' by

Charles Horton Peck Charles Horton Peck (March 30, 1833 – July 11, 1917) was an American mycologist of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the New York State Botanist from 1867 to 1915, a period in which he described over 2,700 species of North American fu ...

in 1875. It was renamed ''Pholiota luteofolius'' by

Pier Andrea Saccardo Pier Andrea Saccardo (23 April 1845 in Treviso, Province of Treviso, Treviso – 12 February 1920 in Padua, Italy, Padua) was an Italian botany, botanist and mycology, mycologist. His multi-volume ''Sylloge Fungorum'' was one of the first attempt ...

in 1887, and was given its current name by mycologist

Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a German mycologist and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist of gilled mushrooms (agarics). He wrote the book "The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy (biology), Taxonomy". He fled to various countries d ...

in 1951.

Description

The

fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...

have reddish to purplish to yellow

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s in diameter, which can stain bluish-green. This cap surface is covered with fasciculate scales that start out purplish, soon fade to brick red, and finally fades to yellow as the mushroom matures. The

context In semiotics, linguistics, sociology and anthropology, context refers to those objects or entities which surround a ''focal event'', in these disciplines typically a communicative event, of some kind. Context is "a frame that surrounds the event ...

is reddish to light lavender, fading to yellowish as the mushroom matures. The

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

have adnate attachment and start off yellow, turning rusty brown as the spores mature. The stipe is the same color as the cap, often dusted with rusty-brown

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

, fibrillose, measuring 3–9 by 3–10 mm thick, equal to enlarged near the base. The stipe often has greenish stains near the base. The taste is bitter. The spores are bright rusty brown in deposit, measuring 6–8.5 x 4–4.5

μm The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...

, ellipsoid to subellipsoid, inequilateral, roughened and dextrinoid, with no germ pore. The

basidia A basidium (: basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of reproductive bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the group. These bodies are also ...

measure 24–28 x 6–7 μm and are 4-spored. The basidioles are often brown. The pleurocystidia (

cystidia A cystidium (: cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that are o ...

on the gill face) measures 30–38 x 5–10 μm, hyaline, fusoid to subventricose. The cystidia on the gill edge (cheilocystidia) measures 23–28 x 4–7 μm, ventricose to flash shaped, often

capitate The capitate bone is a bone in the human wrist found in the center of the carpal bone region, located at the distal end of the radius and ulna bones. It articulates with the third metacarpal bone (the middle finger) and forms the third carpomet ...

. The lamellar flesh (trama) is made up of parallel hyphae 5–18 μm across, frequently

septate In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatrial se ...

, with yellowish

pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

that is dissolved by potassium hydroxide. The pileus trama is interwoven, and the pileus cuticle has brown tufts of brown incrusted hyphae. The pileocystidia measure 44–53 μm, and are club-shaped,

cylindrical A cylinder () has traditionally been a Solid geometry, three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a Prism (geometry), prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may ...

or ventricose terminal elements on the hyphae that forms the scales on the cap.

Cystidia A cystidium (: cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that are o ...

on the stipe (caulocystidia) are 20–63 x 3–15 μm, club shaped, ventricose or flask shaped. The gill trama and pileus trama are pale yellowish-brown in KOH and reddish brown in

Melzer's reagent Melzer's reagent (also known as Melzer's iodine reagent, Melzer's solution or informally as Melzer's) is a chemical reagent used by mycologists to assist with the identification of fungi, and by phytopathologists for fungi that are plant pathogens ...

Clamp connections A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of basidiomycete fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), recei ...

are present.

Similar species

It resembles '' Tricholomopsis rutilans'', which has a white spore print.

Habitat and distribution

It grows in dense clusters on dead hardwoods and conifers in North America, where it is common. It appears generally from June to October, or September to March on the West Coast.

Potential uses

Its edibility is unknown. Mycologist David Arora notes that the related '' G. aeruginosus'' is

psychoactive A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, mind-altering drug, consciousness-altering drug, psychoactive substance, or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that alters psychological functioning by modulating central nervous system acti ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5624857 Fungi described in 1875 Fungi of North America luteofolius Taxa named by Charles Horton Peck Fungus species