Possible ID: Schizophyllum sp., probably Schizophyllum commune
Classification:
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Schizophyllaceae
Genus: Schizophyllum
Collection location:
Schizophyllum commune is a very common and widely distributed fungus in North America.1 The fungal samples my group and I collected on April 9th, 2018, were found near each other attached to a decaying hardwood tree log along Dale’s Ridge trail in Lewisburg, PA.
Fruiting body appearance and growth:
Collected fruiting bodies lacked stipes and were pretty small, measuring around 1-1.2 cm in width. The grayish white pilei of the fungal samples had a somewhat shell or fan-like shape to them. The upper surfaces of the pilei looked somewhat fuzzy and had little white hairs on them. On their undersides, the fruiting bodies seemed to have gill-like hymenia that appeared to be split. However, these gills were actually just folds on their undersides, and these split gill-like folds are an identifying feature of Schizophyllum commune.1
Schizophyllum commune is a perennial saprobic, white-rot fungus on decaying wood.1 However, it can also be parasitic on living hardwood trees, although this is pretty uncommon.1 Additionally, Schizophyllum commune is typically gregarious,1 and these fungal samples shown below were found alongside each other and a few other Schizophyllum commune fruiting bodies. Unfortunately, pictures of the retrieval site were lost.
Sample pictures:
Spore production:
Schizophyllum commune will release its spores via ballistospory, which is a very common trait among basidiomycetes which takes advantage of the water tension between water droplets by using it as the motive force to launch their spores from their hymenium.1 After releasing its spores, Schizophyllum commune will produce a white spore print.1 Spores appear smooth and are cylindrical to elliptical in shape, measuring around 3-7 x 1-2.5 µm.1
Collector: Tommy Brouse Group: Andriana, Tommy, AJ
References
1http://www.mushroomexpert.com/schizophyllum_commune.html