Laccaria trullisata

[ Basidiomycetes > Agaricales > Hydnangiaceae > Laccaria . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

This interesting species of Laccaria can be found in sand dunes on the East Coast, the Gulf Coast, and along the Great Lakes. Its habitat and its thick, purple gills distinguish it from just about anything else--though if you are in eastern Canada, the similar sand-loving Laccaria maritima can only be reliably separated with a microscope (details below).

The illustrated specimens, from northern Michigan, were not in good shape by the time I found them--but I have gone ahead and used the photo to illustrate the species because 1) it's my only photo, and 2) I imagine that Laccaria trullisata often (usually?) looks like this when found by mushroom hunters, since direct exposure to sunlight and the elements in a sand dune quickly weathers most specimens.

The edibility description for Laccaria trullisata recorded by Nancy Weber (1985, p. 183) is priceless: "Edible but dangerous to dental work and teeth because of the adhering sand."

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal, usually with pines (Pinus species); growing scattered or gregariously; late summer and fall; on the East Coast, the Gulf Coast, and along the Great Lakes.

Cap: 2-7 cm; convex, becoming flat and sometimes depressed; the margin often inrolled, not lined; finely hairy to finely scaly or more prominently roughened; purplish when young but soon reddish brown, brownish, or buff.

Gills: Attached to the stem; close or nearly distant; dark purple.

Stem: 4-9 cm long; up to about 2.5 cm thick; usually with an enlarged base; hairy and often longitudinally lined; the surface frequently splitting near the apex; colored like the cap; with purplish basal mycelium that you are unlikely to see beneath the covering of sand; often nearly entirely submerged in the sand.

Flesh: Pale purplish or whitish.

Taste: Not distinctive; odor not distinctive.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 14-20 x 5.5-8 µ; elliptical or broadly spindle-shaped; roughened, but without the clearly defined, measurable spines typical of Laccaria species. Basidia 4-spored.

REFERENCES: (Ellis) Peck, 1912. (Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Weber & Smith, 1985; Lincoff, 1992; Mueller, 1997; Barron, 1999.) Herb. Kuo 09110411.

Laccaria maritima has whitish basal mycelium, and spores with the spiny ornamentation typical of the genus; it is recorded from the East Coast of Canada.

Further Online Information:

Laccaria trullisata at Mueller's Laccaria

© MushroomExpert.Com

Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2005, February). Laccaria trullisata. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/laccaria_trullisata.html