Polyporus umbellatus

[ Basidiomycetes > Polyporales > Polyporaceae > Polyporus . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

Polyporus umbellatus fruits from the ground, near the bases and roots of hardwoods across northern North America. It is apparently fairly rare, and is encountered far less frequently than the somewhat similar Grifola frondosa. The fruiting body consists of many small, smoky brown, roundish caps (as opposed to the larger, fan-shaped and irregular caps of Grifola frondosa); the undersurfaces are white; and the individual branches are fused together into one solid structure.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic or parasitic on the roots and wood of hardwoods; causing a white rot; fruiting at the bases of trees; summer and fall; widely distributed in northern North America, southwards to Tennessee and Kansas.

Fruiting Body: Cluster 30-50 cm across or more; individual caps 1-4 cm, circular, pale smoky brown or whitish; pore surface white, running down the stems; 2-4 pores per mm; stem branches white, irregular, central to the caps, fusing into one or more larger stem structures; arising from an underground knot of tissue.

Flesh: Firm; white.

Odor and Taste: Mild.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 7-9.5 x 3-4 µ; smooth; cylindrical.

REFERENCES: (Persoon, 1801) Fries, 1821. (Saccardo, 1888; Overholts, 1953; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Arora, 1986; Gilbertson & Ryvarden, 1987; Lincoff, 1992; Barron, 1999; Roody, 2003.) Herb. Kuo 09190301.

Grifola umbellata is a synonym.

Further Online Information:

Grifola umbellata at Roger's Mushrooms

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2004, November). Polyporus umbellatus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/polyporus_umbellatus.html