''Neolentinus lepideus'' is a

basidiomycete Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basid ...

mushroom of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Neolentinus ''Neolentinus'' is a genus of wood-decaying agarics with tough (leathery to woody) fruit bodies composed of dimitic tissue, serrated lamella edges, and nonamyloid white binucleate basidiospores among other features. It was segregated from ''L ...

'', until recently also widely known as ''Lentinus lepideus''. Common names for it include scaly sawgill, scaly lentinus and train wrecker.

Description

''Neolentinus lepideus'' fruit bodies are tough, fleshy,

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool) ...

s of variable size. The

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 ...

is at first convex and flattens with maturity while the margin remains enrolled. The cap may grow up to about , while the

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

grows to in height. The white, cream to pale-brown cap cuticle is distinctively covered with concentrically arranged dark scales which become denser towards the depressed cap centre. 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 ...

are white and their attachment to the stem is adnate to subdecurrent or decurrent. The gills and stipe can become dark reddish with age. The white stem is covered in dark scales in the region below the white

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

. The odor is somewhat like

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, ...

, and the taste is indiscernible. The flesh is tough, increasingly so with maturity. The

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. ...

is white and the

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 ...

are cylindrical in shape. The spore dimensions are 8–12.5 by 3.5–5

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 ...

Similar species

'' Neolentinus ponderosus'' is similar but has no

partial veil In mycology, a partial veil (also called an inner veil, to differentiate it from the "outer", or universal veil) is a temporary structure of tissue found on the fruiting bodies of some Basidiomycota, basidiomycete fungus, fungi, typically agarics. ...

, and thus no ring. ''

Pleurotus levis ''Lentinus levis'' is a species of fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It can be found in subtropical to tropical climates in North America and is edible. Taxonomy It was described by Miles Joseph Berkeley and Moses Ashley Curtis in 1853 and gi ...

'' grows on hardwoods, with a more fuzzy cap lacking scales.

Habitat and distribution

The

fruiting 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 ...

of ''Neolentinus lepideus'' are found singly or in tufts emerging from dead and decaying

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

ous wood, favouring

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

s (''Pinus'') including old stumps,

log Log most often refers to: * Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut ** Logging, cutting down trees for logs ** Firewood, logs used for fuel ** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs * Logarithm, in mathe ...

s, and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

. It may also be found in gardens, on man-made wooden structures such as old

railroad tie A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper ( Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties trans ...

s, and in such unusual places as

coal mines Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

. Less frequently, it is also found on non-coniferous

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

. Its fruiting season is spring to autumn and it is common in Europe and North America. In the latter, it appears from May to November (slightly shorter in the west). There have also been multiple reports of its occurrence in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

, South Africa.

Ecology

''Neolentinus lepideus'' has a

saprotrophic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

mode of nutrition and is an important woodland

decomposer Decomposers are organisms that break down dead organisms and release the nutrients from the dead matter into the environment around them. Decomposition relies on chemical processes similar to digestion in animals; in fact, many sources use the word ...

and a cause of

wet rot Wet rot is a generic term used to define a variety of fungal species, such as '' Coniophora puteana'' ( otherwise known as cellar fungus) and '' Choanephora cucurbitarum''. Some species obtain their food by breaking down the cell walls of woo ...

in building materials. The fungus has shown tolerance of wood treated with

creosote Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood, or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics. Some creosote types w ...

and other preservatives, and has been used in experiments to evaluate the efficacy of treatment methods.

Edibility

Some authors consider the species

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from " eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

, especially when young, but it requires cooking to soften. While there have been no recorded poisonings, the fungus may come in contact with

hazardous chemicals A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that ...

because its fruiting bodies tend to grow on human-made wooden structures, such as wooden

s smeared with

References

External links

Rogers Mushrooms species description
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1513545 Wood-decay fungi Gloeophyllales Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Fungi described in 1985 Fungus species