Pholiota alnicola, an uncommon species occurring
on dead or dying alder trees, is on the increase as many alder trees are
now infected by a fungal disease of the Phytopthora genus.
Cap
|
2 to 8 cm in diameter, bright yellow and with
a greasy surface in wet weather. Veil fragments often cling to the cap
margin.
|
Gills
|
A cortina-like veil covers the gills of young
caps.
The crowded adnate gills are lemon yellow, turning cinnamon as the
spores develop. |
Stipe
|
5 to 10 mm in diameter and 3 to 7 cm tall; lemon-yellow becoming rust-tinged
towards the base; smooth surface, with a pale ring zone (retaining fragments
of the partial veil). The stem is solid with fibrous yellow flesh. |
Spore print |
Brown. |
Odour/taste |
No distinct odour; taste is rather bitter. |
Habitat |
On stumps and dead trunks and branches of
alder, willow and birch; beside streams and lakes and in other shaded,
damp places. |
Season |
September to December. |
Occurrence |
Infrequent. |
Similar species |
Kuehneromyces mutabilis can be very similar, although its cap is usually two-toned. It also has a
more obvious sign zone and a dark tan stem below the ring zone; its gills
are ochraceous when young, becoming cinnamon at maturity. |
|
