Tapinella panuoides (Batsch) E.-J. Gilbert
Les Livres du Mycologue Tome I-IV, Tom. III: Les Bolets: 68. 1931.

Common Name: none

Synonym: Paxillus panuoides (Fries) Fries

• Pileus

  Cap 2.0-7.0 cm broad, petaloid to fan-shaped, often shallowly lobed or wavy; margin incurved, decurved at maturity; surface hirsute at base of cap, elsewhere matted-tomentose; color tan to buff-brown, frequently tinged ochre; context pallid, firm when young, flaccid in age, up to 1.0 cm thick, darkening slightly when cut; odor faintly resinous to aromatic; taste not distinctive.

• Lamellae

  Gills close, relatively narrow, radiating from a basal attachment point, edges even, appearing wrinkled when viewed from above, especially in age; gills intervenose, occasionally forked, sometimes appearing poroid at maturity, easily separated from the cap context; color cream-buff, becoming apricot-buff to warm tan-brown, unchanging when bruised; lamellulae poorly defined.

• Stipe

  Stipe absent; adjoining fruiting bodies typically fused at the base; laterally attached to the substrate.

• Spores

  Spores 4.0-5.5 x 3.0-3.5 µm, broadly ellipsoid, smooth, thin-walled, hilar appendage not distinct, variably dextrinoid in Melzer's reagent; spore print tan-brown to pale ochraceous-brown.

• Habitat

  Solitary to clustered, often in overlapping shelves on conifer wood, occasionally in wood chips; fruiting from mid to late winter.

• Edibility

  Unknown.

• Comments

  This inconspicuous wood rotter is characterized by a dull ochre-brown, often shallowly-lobed cap, wavy intervenose gills, and a conifer fruiting habit. Because of its nondescript appearance, it is sometimes confused with a number of other gilled, shelf fungi. In the San Francisco Bay Area these include Phyllotopsis nidulans, Lentinellus ursinus, Crepidotus mollis and Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca. Phyllotopsis nidulans can be distinguished by a hardwood habit, apricot-orange, pubescent cap, straight, not wavy gills, and skunk odor. Lentinellus ursinus has a dull-brown, similarly-shaped cap but has gills with serrulate edges and an unpleasant taste. Crepidotus mollis mimics the overlapping shelves of Paxillus panuoides, but grows largely on hardwoods; additionally, its cap lacks ochre tones, and the gills are not intervenose or wrinkled; The occasional fruitings of Tapinella panuoides on wood chips should be compared with Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, a distant relative with a similar colored cap, often abundant on this substrate. Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca is distinguished by a more centrally attached stipe and distinctly forked, bright-orange gills.

• References

  Bougher, N.L. & Syme, K. (1998). Fungi of Southern Australia. University of Western Australia Press: Nedlands, Australia. 391 p.
  Thiers, Harry D. (1985). The Agaricales (Gilled Fungi) of California. 4. Paxillaceae. Mad River Press: Eureka, CA. 9 p.
  Watling, R. & Hills, A.E. (2005). British Fungus Flora: Agarics and Boleti. Vol 1. Boletes and their Allies. Royal Botanic Garden: Edinburgh. 173 p.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Fred Stevens: Tapinella panuoides (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Tapinella panuoides (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Tapinella panuoides (CP)
  • Agaricales of the Hawaiian Islands: Paxillus panuoides (D & CP)
  • R. A. Chilton: Paxillus panuoides (D & CP)
  • Na Grzyby: Tapinella panuoides (D & CP)
  • Mushroom Observer: Tapinella panuoides (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 476 (D), p. 477 (P) [as Paxillus panuoides]
  • Breitenbach & Kränzlin (vol. 3): sp. 68 (D, I, & CP)
  • Lincoff: p. 672 (D), plate 499 (CP) [as Paxillus panuoides]
  • Miller: sp. 216 (D & CP) [as Paxillus panuoides]
  • Thiers (1985): p. 5 (D) [as Paxillus panuoides]
  
  

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)