Armillaria mellea - Honey Fungus

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

There are many forms of Honey Fungus, and in some books they are all given the scientific name Armillaria mellea even though it is now accepted that there are several distinct species.

This parasitic fungus can do immense damage to forests; it attacks both coniferous and broad-leaf trees. By the time the fruit bodies are in evidence, the damage internally is usually so great that the tree is doomed.

Identification Guide

	Cap 5 to 15cm in diameter; colour ranging from honey-yellow to red-brown, with a darker area near the centre. The cap flesh is white and firm. Initially deeply convex, the caps flatten and often develop wavy, striated margins. Fine scales cover the young caps, most noticeably towards the centre. These scales do not always remain evident as the caps reach maturity.
	Gills The weakly decurrent gills are crowded and flesh coloured, gradually becoming yellowish and finally developing rusty spots at maturity.
	Stem When young, the stems are white, turning yellow or yellowish-brown and finely woolly as the fruitbody matures. 5 to 15mm in diameter and 6 to 15cm tall with a finely woolly surface. The stem flesh is white, full and fairly firm. A pale yellow ring usually persists to maturity.
Spore print	White.
	Spores 7 to 9 x 5 to 6 μm, ellipsoid, smooth, with an apiculus; nonamyloid.
Odour/taste	Faint acidic odour and taste strongly acidic. (Considered edible if well cooked, but some people find this mushroom indigestible.)
Habitat	Parasitic on or up against broad-leaf and conifer trees; also occurring as a saprobe on stumps and dead roots, and occasionally on fallen branches.
Season	July to November.
Occurrence	Very common.
Similar species	Some experts sub-divide the Honey Fungus into several species; others lump them together. For example, some varieties of Honey Fungus have very scaly caps and small stem rings; others are almost devoid of scales but have large white rings. Armillaria tabescens, sometimes referred to as the Ringless Honey Fungus, is very similar but has no stem ring and its gills turn pinkish-brown at maturity. Pholiota squarrosa is generally similar in colour and covered in scales; it retains an in-rolled margin, its gills turn uniformly rusty-brown, and it has a radish-like smell and taste.