Mythicomyces corneipes

SPECIES FACT SHEET Common Name: mushroom Scientific Name: Mythicomyces corneipes (Fries) Redhead & A. H. Smith Division: Basidiomycota Class: Agaricomycetes Order: Agaricales Family: Psathyrellaceae Conservation Ranking and Status: Global:G3G4 State: OR S2?, WA Not ranked Oregon Biodiversity Information Center (ORBIC) List 2 (Ranks from ORBIC, http://orbic.pdx.edu accessed August 16, 2013) Technical Description: Cap 10-30 mm in diameter, campanulate or broadly convex with or without an obtuse to conic umbo, moist, marginally translucent-striate, hygrophanous, smooth, initially orange to bright orangebrown, becoming overall ochraceous tawny. Gills rounded, attached to adnexed and soon seceding, close, broad, pale to off-white becoming somewhat green in age. Stem central, 30-57 mm long, 1-2 mm wide at the apex, equal or slightly enlarged above, apex faintly pruinose, base sometimes strigose with pale tan to dark brown hairs, otherwise glabrous and cartilaginous to corneous, terete, yellow or pale orange to tan at the apex, darkening to dark red-brown below and gradually blackening upwards from the base, which is always surrounded by a tawny basal mycelium. Odor not distinctive, or faintly of Pelargonium. Taste not distinctive or faintly bitter. Cystidia on edges and sides of gills abundant, 37-86 x 10-24 um, thick-walled and sometimes encrusted with prominent amyloid crystals. Spores ovoid to sub-ellipsoid, 68.5 x 4-5.5 um, walls slightly thickened, slightly cyanophilic, punctate with short ridges and projections, pale gray-brown with a vinaceous tinge, dextrinoid, spore print pale purple-brown. In the field, Mythicomyces corneipes can be confused with the extremely similar Stagnicola perplexa with which it shares similar stature, two-toned stems, coloration, and tawny basal mycelium. It can, with difficulty, be differentiated in the field by the bitter taste, more faded coloration, and brown spore print lacking purple tones. Mircoscopically, the smooth spores and absence of thickwalled, encrusted gill cystidia are distinguishing features. Mythicomyces corneipes may also be mistaken for Phaeocollybia attenuata, which has a similarly colored campanulate cap and which also frequently grows amidst mosses. Phaeocollybia attenuata can be readily distinguished in the field by the long wire-like pseudorhiza extending below the substrate, and in the lab by the much more heavily ornamented limoniform-globose spores and by the 1

absence of cystidia on the sides of the gills. In color and stature, Mythicomyces corneipes also resembles Hypholoma udum or H. elongatum, both of which have smooth spores, and smooth, thin-walled gill cystidia. Life History: This mushroom is a litter saprobe; sporocarps are produced in the fall. Range, Distribution and Abundance: Has a boreal distribution, known from the Pacific Northwest, Canada, England, and Scandinavia. In the Pacific Northwest, known from approximately 11 locations in Oregon and Washington, including the Washington Eastern Cascades, Washington Western Cascades, Washington Olympic Peninsula and Oregon Western Cascades Physiographic Provinces. There were no detections of this species recorded during Random Grid CVS/FIA plot surveys. FS/BLM lands in Oregon and Washington: Documented on Colville, Mt. BakerSnoqualmie, Mt. Hood, Okanogan-Wenatchee and Willamette National Forests. Habitat Associations: Occurs along bog margins among mosses or on wet soil under conifers and Alnus. Found in Western Hemlock (50%), Pacific Silver Fir (33%), Mountain Hemlock (8%) and Parklands (8%) vegetation zones at elevations of 969-6081 feet. Threats: It is reasonable to anticipate that threats to local occurrences of this species include events and/or activities that negatively impact either the fungal mycelium or its litter substrate. Such impacts can be caused by moderate to severe fire, removal of large woody debris and litter-producing canopy layer, and soil compaction. Conservation Considerations: Revisit known localities to confirm persistence and determine extent of populations. Conduct surveys to locate new populations. Consider buffering 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/

2

Prepared by: Rick Dewey, Deschutes NF Date: April, 2013 Edited by: Rob Huff, BLM/FS Portland, Oregon Date: January, 2014

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

ATTACHMENT 1: References Castellano, M.A., E. Cazares, B. Fondrick and T. Dreisbach. 2003. Handbook to Additional Fungal Species of Special Concern in the Northwest Forest Plan. PNW-GTR-572. 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

3

ATTACHMENT 2: Map of Species Distribution in OR/WA A recent detection of this species on Colville National Forest is not reflected in this map.

4

ATTACHMENT 3: Photo of Mythicomyces corneipes

Photo courtesy of S. Loring

5