Alpova alexsmithii - USDA Forest Service

SPECIES FACT SHEET Common Name: false truffle Scientific Name: Alpova alexsmithii Trappe 1975 Division: Basidiomycota Class: Agaricomycetes Order: Boletales Family: Paxillaceae Conservation Rankings and Status: Global: G2 State: OR S2, WA Not ranked Oregon Biodiversity Infromation Center (ORBIC) List 1 (Ranks from ORBIC, http://orbic.pdx.edu accessed January 24, 2014) Technical Description: Sporocarps 4-40 mm wide, smaller specimens subglobose, larger specimens flattened to elongate or irregular with lobes and furrows. Peridium 0.2-0.5 mm thick, yellow-brown to dark brown, felty to somewhat scabrous, drying dark olive to nearly black; rhizomorphs appressed on lower side, originating from a basal tuft. Gleba gelatinous; young tissue pale, turning gray-yellow-pink at maturity and pale yellow-brown when dried. Locules white-walled, rounded, 0-3-0.6 mm in diameter, give the gleba a marbled appearance. Odor faint, pleasant. KOH on fresh and dried peridial surface, instantly dark brown and soon black. Basidia borne among gelatinizing hyphae filling the locules. Spores ellipsoid or a few subpyriform to obovoid, 5-7 (-8) x 3-4 (-5) um, smooth, thin-walled, in KOH hyaline singly, gray-yellow in mass, in Melzer’s reagent pale yellow singly, orange-yellow in mass, strongly absorbing cotton blue in youth, but not at maturity. The marbled interior of this false truffle resembles that of true truffles of the Ascomycota, however, the latter have a firmer, non-gelatinous interior and bear their spores inside of asci. Among the false truffles, a chambered gleba and smooth, ellipsoid to cylindrical spores are also found in species of Melanogaster, however spores of the latter tend to be singly darker, and in most common species, the mature gleba is dark brown to black. Life History: This sequestrate fungus appears to be mycorrhizal with various species of Pinaceae, particularly Tsuga heterophylla and Tsuga mertensiana and is dependent on mycophagy (consumption by animals) for spore dispersal. Sporocarps found August – December. Range, Distribution and Abundance: Endemic to the Pacific Northwest. Known from within Oregon and Washington portions of Northwest Forest Plan Area, including the Washington Western Cascades, Oregon Western Cascades and Oregon Eastern Cascades Physiographic Provinces; also known from 1

British Columbia. Known from approximately 15 sites in Oregon and Washington, with the large majority in Oregon. There were no detections of this species during Random Grid CVS/FIA plot surveys. FS/BLM lands in Oregon and Washington: Documented on Deschutes, Mt. Hood and Willamette National Forests. Habitat Associations: Known from Mountain Hemlock (62%), Pacific Silver Fir (23%), Rock (8%) and Western Hemlock (8%) vegetation zones at elevations of 2852-5805 feet. Associated species include Pacific silver fir, lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce and mountain hemlock. Other woody associates include Vaccinium membranaceum and Vaccinium scoparium. Threats: As with mycorrhizal fungi in general, current literature suggests that threats to local occurrences of this species include events and/or activities that negatively impact either the fungal mycelium or the mycorrhizal hosts. Such impacts can be caused by moderate to severe fire, removal of a large percentage of host plants (and the attendant reduction in canopy cover and reduction in moisture content of upper soil layers ), removal of large woody debris, and soil compaction. Such impacts can reduce both fungal biomass and species diversity within communities of ectomycorrhizal fungi for periods ranging from several years to multiple decades. Conservation Considerations: Revisit known localities to confirm persistence and determine extent of populations. Conduct surveys to locate new populations. Buffer known sites from adjacent vegetation management activities. When conducting vegetation management activities in areas with good habitat potential, consider leaving scattered and clumped host trees and ample coarse woody debris, while minimizing soil compaction and burn severity of activity-related fires. Other pertinent information (includes references to Survey Protocols, etc): The survey protocol for sensitive fungi is located on the ISSSSP website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/documents/inventories/inv-sp-fuver1-2008-12.pdf. The survey protocol for Survey and Manage fungi is located on the Survey and Manage website: http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/surveyandmanage/protocols/ Prepared by: Rick Dewey, Deschutes NF Date: April, 2013 Edited by: Rob Huff, BLM/FS Portland, Oregon Date: January, 2014 2

ATTACHMENTS: (1) References (2) Map of Species Distribution (3) Photographs of Species

ATTACHMENT 1: References Arora, David. 1979. Mushrooms Demystified – A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California. 959 pp. Castellano, M.A., J.E. Smith, T. O’Dell, E. Cazares, and S. Nugent. 1999. Handbook to Strategy 1 Fungal Species in the Northwest Forest Plan. PNWGTR-476. Cushman, Kathleen and Rob Huff. 2007. Conservation Assessment for Fungi Included in Forest Service Regions 5 and 6 Sensitive and BLM California, Oregon and Washington Special Status Species Programs. R6 USFS and OR/WA BLM Interagency Special Status/Sensitive Species Program ISSSSP). http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/planning-tools/ Ferriel, Jenifer and Katie Grenier. 2008. Annotated Bibliography of Information Potentially Pertaining to Management of Rare Fungi on the Special Status Species List for California, Oregon and Washington. R6 USFS and OR/WA BLM Interagency Special Status/Sensitive Species Program (ISSSSP). http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/planning-tools/ Oregon Biodiversity Information Center. 2010. Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species of Oregon. Portland State University, Institute for Natural Resources. 109 pp. http://orbic.pdx.edu/rte-species.html

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ATTACHMENT 2: Map of Species Distribution in OR/WA

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ATTACHMENT 3: Photo of Alpova alexsmithii

Photo courtesy of J. Trappe

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