Dave W Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 But not much more. This is not to say "I" is uninteresting. In fact, it's the genus Inocybe that adds the most color and character to the letter. But first, a few common mushrooms, fairly easily IDed. All three represent examples of split-offs from older larger genera (larger, for the time being, that is). Imleria badia used to be Boletus badius. This is an edible bolete that bruises slate-blue, mostly on the pores. It's a conifer-lover. Infundibulicybe is split-off from Clitocybe. The two species I know are virtually identical to the eye, and are field-separated on the basis of whether associated trees are hardwood or conifer. Infundibulicybe gibba, the "Funnel Clitocybe", is a hardwood associate. Infundibulicybe squamulosa is a conifer associate, and has reportedly smaller spores than its hardwood counterpart. Inocybes are small mostly brownish bad-smelling toxic mushrooms. Can't wait to find some, right :-) Actually, Inocybes can be photogenic little creatures. And, there are striking micro-characters that an amateur can access using only a decent 400x microscope and a few easily obtained solutions. But ID to species within this genus is usually perplexing. I have sent preserved collections to an amateur mycologist who'se conducting his own DNA analysis within the genus. He has provided a few species names, and has come across at least one which appears to represent an unnamed species. Spore shape can be "nodular" --unique to the genus, as far as I can tell-- or bean-shaped, or almost elliptical. Size varies among the many species. And some types feature large prominent cystidia crowned by crystal-encrusted caps. I have applied species names to collections over the years. But Inocybe mushrooms provide a great illustration of how it's sometimes true that, the more one knows the less one believes they know. For instance, the shiny little golden yellow haystacks I had once called "fastigiata", well I've examined such collections that had nodular spores, and other collections that had the bean-shaped ones. Seems clear that the shiny yellow radially-streaked "Fiber Heads" fall into at least two different species. So, let's just call all the ones in the next bunch "Inocybe". Sometimes I still believe that I can apply a species name for an Inocybe. The white ones fall into a species, or maybe group of species, called Inocybe geophylla. And, courtesy of Linas Kudzma's molecular and microscopic assistance, here's Inocybe rimosoides. A polypore. Ischnoderma resinosum first appears as a softish brown and white shelf fungus that exudes little dark drops of "resin" and has a velvety appearance on the darker upper surface. It becomes hard and flatter as it matures. And finally, not sure what to call this fungus... actually, I do know. It's Chaga. Inonotus obliquus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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