Gymnopilus sapineus

Gymnopilus sapineus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Hymenogastraceae
Genus:	Gymnopilus
Species:	G. sapineus
Binomial name
Gymnopilus sapineus (Fr.) Maire
Synonyms [1]
Agaricus sapineusFries (1815)

Gymnopilus sapineus Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is convex
	Hymenium is adnate
	Stipe has a ring
	Spore print is reddish-brown
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is inedible

Gymnopilus sapineus, commonly known as the scaly rustgill or common and boring gymnopilus, ^[2] is a species of fungus. The small mushroom has a rusty orange spore print and a bitter taste. It grows on dead conifer wood throughout North America.

G. sapineus growing from rotten wood chips

Taxonomy

Speciation in Gymnopilus is not clearly defined. ^[3] This is further complicated by the macroscopic morphological and ecological similarities between members of the G. sapineus complex such as G. penetrans and G. nevadensis. Michael Kuo explicates upon this by speaking of the arbitrary distinction made between G. sapineus and G. penetrans made by Elias Magnus Fries. ^[4] He at first labeled G. penetrans to merely be a form of G. sapineus in 1815, but then recanted and labeled them separate in 1821.

Description

The cap is 2–8 cm (3⁄4–3+1⁄8 in) across, is convex to flat, and is golden-yellow to brownish orange, ^[5] darker at the center with a dry scaly surface which is often fibrillose and may have squamules. The cap margin is inrolled at first and curves outward as it matures, becoming almost plane and sometimes developing fibrillose cracks in age. ^[5] The flesh is yellow ^[5] to orange and delicate when compared to larger and firmer members of Gymnopilus, such as G. junonius .

The gills are crowded, yellow at first, turning rusty orange as the spores mature, with adnate attachment. ^[6] The spores are rusty orange ^[5] to rusty brown, elliptical, rough, and 7–10 x 4–6  μm.

The stipe is 3–7 cm (1+1⁄8–2+3⁄4 in) long and 0.5–1 cm thick. ^[5] It has either an equal structure, or becomes thinner near the base. It is light yellow, bruising rusty brown. The stipe has an evanescent veil which often leaves fragments on the upper part of the stipe ^[5] or the margin of young caps.

The species sometimes tastes bitter, and has a mild, ^[5] fungoid or sweet smell. It is nonpoisonous, but considered inedible. ^[7]

It does not stain blue and lacks the hallucinogen psilocybin.^{[ citation needed ]}

Similar species

This mushroom is often mistaken for G. luteocarneus which grows on conifers and has a smoother and darker cap. Another lookalike is G. penetrans which grows in the same habitat and has minor microscopic differences. ^[4]

Other similar species include G. aeruginosus , G. luteofolius , ^[5] and G. hybridus . ^[8] It can also resemble members of Pholiota and Cortinarius section Callistei. ^[6]

Habitat and distribution

G. sapineus can be found on rotting wood under conifer trees throughout North America, generally from June to September, or September to February on the West Coast. ^[6]

See also

• Fungi portal

• List of Gymnopilus species

References

1. "Gymopilus sapineus (Fr.) Murrill".
2. Arora, David (1986) [1979]. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press. p. 408. ISBN   978-0-89815-170-1.
3. Guzmán-Dávalos, Laura; Mueller, Gregory M.; Cifuentes, Joaquín; Miller, Andrew N.; Santerre, Anne (Nov–Dec 2003). "Traditional infrageneric classification of Gymnopilus is not supported by ribosomal DNA sequence data" (PDF). Mycologia. 95 (6): 1204–1214. doi:10.2307/3761920. JSTOR   3761920. PMID   21149021.
4. Gymnopilus sapineus at MushroomExpert
5. Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 246–247. ISBN   978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC   797915861.
6. Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 653. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.
7. Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. p. 296. ISBN   978-0-7627-3109-1.
8. Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 182. ISBN   978-0-88192-935-5.

Further reading

• Hesler, L. R. (1969). North American species of Gymnopilus. New York: Hafner. p. 117.

External links

• Fungi of California - Gymnopilus sapineus Archived 2008-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
• Mushroom Observer - Gymnopilus sapineus

Media related to G. penetrans at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to G. sapineus at Wikimedia Commons