Thelephora terrestris - Earthfan

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Thelephorales

Family: Thelephoraceae

This strange fungus is well camouflaged on the floor of needle-strewn conifer plantations. It is nearly always found on dry sandy soil, where it forms mycorrhizae with pines and with spruce trees, but it also occurs in mossy coastal dune slacks, even where there are no obvious large plant associates.

Thelephora terrestris is most commonly found in association with conifers, but it has also been shown to form ectomycorrhizal associations with certain kinds of Eucalyptus.

The saprophytic capacity of this fairly common fungus is evident from the fact that a resupinate (crust-forming) variety is sometimes found lightly attached to rotting conifer wood.

Identification guide

Fruitbody	Rosette-like fans; the upper surface reddish brown to dark chocolate brown, sometimes paler at margin and often with faint darker circular banding; no stem; petals splitting irregularly at margin; covered in radial fibres; 6 to 15cm across, with individual petals 2 to 6cm long. The fertile underside is clay brown to mid brown or reddish brown; wrinkled but less fibrous than the upper surface.
Spore print	Purplish-brown.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	In dry sandy areas under pines and occasionally with eucalyptus trees..
Season	July to November.
Occurrence	Infrequent.
Similar species	The rather more common Thelephora penicillata is seen most often in damp coniferous forests.