11 October 2008 West Sussex. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. Synonymns Nyctalis asterophora Cap Convex, white, then brown, surface powdery, to about 4cm across Gills Rudimentary, grey-brown Stem White, then grey-brown Flesh Pale, thin Smell Mealy Taste Mealy Season Summer to winter Distribution Infrequent Habitat On rotting Russula nigricans, and very rarely, Russula adusta Microscopic Features Spores ellipsoidal, smooth (5-5.5) x (3.5-4) µm2. Chlamydospores star-shaped, knobbly (12-15) µm2 Edibility Unknown Notes This is an extremely unusual species as it forms a powdery layer of chlamydospores on the cap surface. These unusual asexual spores are created by hyphal budding rather than on basidia as is usually the case for basidiomycetes. Take care not to confuse young specimens with Asterophora parasitica. 
Young specimens. 11 October 2008 West Sussex. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
Chlamydospores viewed with a x100 immersion objective. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. 
Spores viewed with a x100 immersion objective and x2.5 projection lens. 5 September 2009. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. |