|Major Groups > Gilled Mushrooms > Pale-Spored > Pleurotoid > Panellus stipticus|
by Michael Kuo
Panellus stipticus is a widely distributed, hardwood-rotting saprobe, but it is more common in eastern North America than in the West. It can be recognized by its small size (caps 1-3 cm across); the tiny, lateral stem that terminates in an abrupt line where it meets the gills; the tan to whitish, woolly cap surface; the (usually) bitter taste; and the white spore print. It is quite tough, and revives in rainwater after drying out, like many Marasmius species.
This little mushroom has reportedly been used as a styptic (blood thickening) agent, and it has luminescent gills. I have not had very good luck seeing the luminescence of glow-in-the-dark mushrooms (see Omphalotus illudens for details), so I had my doubts--but on a family camping trip last year I saw several logs full of Panellus stipticus emitting a dull yellowish glow in the dead of night, much to my amazement.
"Panellus stypticus" is an alternate spelling.
Ecology: Saprobic on the deadwood of hardwoods; usually growing in shelving clusters; spring through fall (also over winter in warm climates, or during winter warm spells in temperate areas); widely distributed in North America but more common in the east. The illustrated and described collections are from Illinois, Kentucky, and Québec.
Cap: 0.5-2 cm wide; convex with an inrolled margin, becoming planoconvex with the margin even or slightly curved under; semicircular to kidney-shaped in outline; dry; finely velvety to woolly; often becoming wrinkled and somewhat cracked-scaly in age; tan to pale yellowish brown or orangish brown, sometimes fading to off-white.
Gills: Terminating abruptly at the stem; crowded; short-gills frequent; often forked; with cross-veins; pale golden tan.
Stem: Up to about 3 x 3 mm; lateral or off-center; fuzzy-velvety with whitish, tan, or rusty brown fuzz.
Flesh: Whitish or pale brownish; tough.
Odor and Taste: Odor not distinctive; taste usually bitter, but mild in some collections.
Spore Print: White.
Chemical Reactions: KOH negative to gray on cap surface.
Microscopic Features: Spores 2.5-3 x 1-2 µ; ellipsoid to suballantoid; smooth; hyaline in KOH; amyloid. Cheilocystidia 25-75 x 2.5-5 µ; cylindric to filiform; irregular; often diverticulate; smooth; thin-walled; hyaline to brownish in KOH. Pleurocystidia in bundles; 40-50 x 3-4 µ; long-fusiform, with apices sometimes submucronate or slightly diverticulate. Pileipellis a densely tangled cutis with some erect elements; hyaline to yellowish in KOH; terminal elements occasionally cystidium-like or forked. Clamp connections present.
REFERENCES: (Bulliard, 1783) Karsten, 1879. (Fries, 1821; Saccardo, 1887; Kauffman, 1918; Miller, 1970; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Arora, 1986; Breitenbach, J. & Kränzlin, 1991; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Barron, 1999; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006; Miller & Miller, 2006; Binion et al., 2008; Kuo & Methven, 2014; Desjardin, Wood & Stevens, 2015; Siegel & Schwarz, 2016.) Herb. Kuo 10010406, 10220403, 09270505, 10021601. Herb EIU 004.
Further Online Information:
Panellus stipticus at MykoWeb
This site contains no information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms.
Cite this page as:
Kuo, M. (2017, May). Panellus stipticus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/panellus_stipticus.html