Possible ID: Trametes pubescens
Classification:
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Polyporales
Family: Polyporaceae
Genus: Trametes
Collection location:
Trametes pubescens 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 on a branch from a hardwood tree in Dale’s Ridge trail in Lewisburg, PA.
Fruiting body appearance and growth:
Collected fruiting bodies were growing outwards from the end of a hardwood branch, presenting very short lateral stipes. Fungal samples were clustered together and appeared to be laterally fusing with each other at the end of the branch. The pilei of the fungal samples were somewhat semicircular and kidney-like in shape and were concentrically lined and furrowed with colors ranging from white to gray to even a cream color at the margin. In addition, these samples had flesh that was pretty tough and rather corky.
Moreover, the caps of the fruiting bodies of these shelf, or bracket, fungi were relatively thin, measuring around 1-3 mm in thickness. The pilei of the fungal samples also measured around 1.9 and 3.8 cm across. Similarly, the upper surfaces of the pilei looked (and felt) somewhat fuzzy as a result of the little white hairs on them. Interestingly, the name Trametes pubescens refers to the observation that the fruiting bodies of species in the genus Trametes tend to be thin in nature and likewise, that younger brackets of this particular species tend to be covered in short, fine hairs on the upper surfaces of their pilei.2
Whitish, cream-colored pores were observed on the underside of the smaller, presumably younger, Trametes pubescens fruiting body, while the seemingly older, more mature, fruiting body displayed pores that were a darker tannish-brown color. As a matter of fact, the pores of Trametes pubescens fruiting bodies will progressively become more yellow and will darken with age.1
Trametes pubescens is an annual saprobic, white-rot fungus on the deadwood of hardwood trees and is almost never seen on the wood of conifers.1,2 Trametes pubescens fruiting bodies usually grow in clustered tiers, and adjacent fruiting bodies will occasionally fuse together laterally.1,2
Sample pictures:
Spore production:
Trametes pubescens 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, Trametes pubescens will produce a white spore print.1,2 Spores appear smooth and are cylindrical to allantoid in shape, measuring around 5-7 x 1.5-2.5 µm.1,2
Collector: Tommy Brouse Group: Andriana, Tommy, AJ
References
1http://www.mushroomexpert.com/trametes_pubescens.html
2https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/trametes-pubescens.php