Hemileucoglossum alveolatum

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by Michael Kuo

One of a gazillion little black club fungus species growing in moss, Hemileucoglossum alveolatum is not very distinct until you look at it under the microscope: it is one of only a few such species with colorless spores—and its spores are much longer than those of the other hyaline-spored species. Additionally, the paraphyses of Hemileucoglossum alveolatum become intertwined in a brown, agglutinated matrix.

Geoglossum alveolatum is a synonym.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic; growing alone or gregariously on the ground in moss, in hardwood forests; summer and fall; widely distributed in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The described and illustrated collection is from Illinois.

Fruiting Body: Club-shaped, with a well defined head that is clearly separate from the stem; 15–30 mm high.

Head: 2–6 mm wide; 5–12 mm high; with a central, spathulate fold on each side; black; bald; dry or a little greasy.

Stem: 2–3 mm wide; 6–16 mm high; bald or very finely adorned with scurfy scales that are easily rubbed off; blackish brown; dry.

Flesh: Thin; blackish.

Odor: Not distinctive.

Microscopic Features: Spores 70–100 x 4–6 µm; cylindric with slightly narrowed ends; slightly curved; smooth; variably septate; with hyaline walls in KOH. Asci 8-spored. Paraphyses 2–4 µm wide; cylindric; not swollen; often curved toward the apex; occasionally septate but not constricted at the septa; individually hyaline to brown in KOH; becoming intertwined in a brown, agglutinated matrix.

REFERENCES: (E. J. Durand ex Rehm) S. Arauzo, 2014. (Nannfeldt, 1942; Seaver, 1951; Mains, 1954; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Kučera, 2012; Arauzo & Iglesias, 2014.) Herb. Kuo 07211501.

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Spores

Paraphyses

Paraphyses in agglutinated matrix

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2019, January). Hemileucoglossum alveolatum. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/hemileucoglossum_alveolatum.html