A Species of Hysterangium from Idaho Attributed to H. Separabile

Abstract

Macroscopic characters of healthy fruit body. Gregarious under conifers, pyriform or slightly lobed or flattened-takes shape of any hard object such as a root against which it is growing; up to 2.5 cm diam (usually about 1-1.5) ; peridium snow white, slowly becoming pinkish, vinaceous brown and finally natal brown on exposure and bruising, never becoming blue, unpolished, up to 1 mm thick, tough but readily separating from gleba; gleba olive green, central columella gelatinous, appearing milky opalescent, extending along ray-like branches almost to periphery and connected at base of fruit-body with non-gelatinous floccose rhizomorph. Rhizomorphs branched, extensive. Odor slight or unpleasant. Peridium 2-layered, thin epicutis of appressed interwoven hyphae (yellowish in KOH) cells soon becoming collapsed and amorphous, main part of peridium of hyaline, thin-walled inflated cells, many cells deep (FIGS. 1, 2). No clamps seen. Gleba much convoluted to give minute cavities lined with a regular hymenium (FIG. 1, 3), becoming filled with spores; columella thin. branched, gelatinous. Tramal plates of interwoven gelatinous hyphae. Clamps seen in tramal plates. Basidia 4-spored ca. 25 x 6-7 K when sporulating, hyaline. Paraphyses hyaline, abundant, 9-13 , broad.