Image of Guepinia helvelloides (DC.) Fr. 1828

Description:

Slo.: uhati drhtave, donk, uhelj - syn.: Guepinia rufa (Jacq.) Beck, Phlogiotis helvelloides (DC.) G.W. Martin, Tremella helvelloides DC., Tremiscus helvelloides (DC.) Donk - Habitat: River bank, wood edge, Picea abies dominant, next to a trail, almost flat terrain, quite-open place, partly sunny, air and ground humid place; calcareous, alluvial, sandy ground; exposed to direct rain, average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, elevation 565 m (1.850 feet), alpine phytogeographical region. Substratum: soil, possibly buried wood in the last phase of disintegration. Comments: Guepinia helvelloides is not a rare find in Trenta valley. However, this time the find was extremely large, exceeding in size all data in literature I am aware off. Usually the sporocarps are about 5-6 cm tall. Interestingly, also spore width does not fit into expected limits. Spores are significantly larger, so one could suspect a wrong determination of the find. However, to my knowledge, there is nothing similar to this mushroom growing in Slovenia. Growing solitary, two pilei fuzzed at the base; dimensions of the larger 11.5 x 10 cm across and 10.5 cm tall; stipe rudimentary, about 2 cm long and 1.5 cm in diameter, partly hollow; taste mild pleasant, mushroomy; smell indistinctive, on moss(?), SP white, oac909. Spores minutely warty. Dimensions: 9.6 [10.8 ; 11.2] 12.4 x 6.1 [7 ; 7.3] 8.2 microns; Q = 1.3 [1.5 ; 1.6] 1.8; N = 38; C = 95%; Me = 11 x 7.1 microns ; Qe = 1.6. Olympus CH20, NEA 100x/1.25, magnification 1.000 x, oil, fresh material; in water. AmScope MA500 digital camera. Herbarium: Mycotheca and lichen herbarium (LJU-Li) of Slovenian Forestry Institute, Vena pot 2, Ljubljana, Index Herbariorum LJF Ref.: (1) M.Bon, Parey's Buch der Pilze, Kosmos (2005), p 324. (2) R.Phillips, Mushrooms, Macmillan (2006), p 350. (3) R.Lueder, Grundkurs Pilzbestimmung, Quelle & Meyer (2008), p 143. (4) R.M. Daehncke, 1200 Pilze in Farbfotos, AT Verlag (2009), p 1071. (5) A. Poler, Veselo po gobe, Mohorjeva druba Celovec (2002) (in Slovenian), p 324. SP 9-12/4-6.5(6) G.J. Krieglsteiner (Hrsg.), Die Grosspilze Baden-Wrttembergs, Band 1., Ulmer (2000), p 128.