Kretzschmaria deusta
When I first discovered these resupinate velvety, "gray fried eggs" I was with my friend Diana. We were spending more time looking at logs and learning how to observe fungi beyond the showy gilled variety. Looking at a decomposing log, we saw some mosses and lichens and then found these grey splatters all over the surface of the log. We had no idea what it was, but decided to take a closer look.
I brought it home and took a section to look at under my microscope. I discovered it was an ascomycete and from there decided to look through my favorite book by Michael Beug, Ascomycete Fungi of North America: A Mushroom Reference Guide, where I found the description for Kretzschmaria deusta. I think it took me another 6 months to learn how to say that name! Reading about this mushroom, in the comments, Beug says, "Mature specimens are easily overlooked. This species is essentially a resupinate Xylaria" (p332). I can agree that older specimens are overlooked, because when this ages, it turns into this black crunchy crust that looks like charcoal (see the photo below). And to the other comment, that it is a resupinate Xylaria just fascinates me because, I love finding the Xylaria hypoxylon, especially with its little white tipped fingers! Xylaria and Kretzchmaria are two genera in the same family of fungi.
I brought it home and took a section to look at under my microscope. I discovered it was an ascomycete and from there decided to look through my favorite book by Michael Beug, Ascomycete Fungi of North America: A Mushroom Reference Guide, where I found the description for Kretzschmaria deusta. I think it took me another 6 months to learn how to say that name! Reading about this mushroom, in the comments, Beug says, "Mature specimens are easily overlooked. This species is essentially a resupinate Xylaria" (p332). I can agree that older specimens are overlooked, because when this ages, it turns into this black crunchy crust that looks like charcoal (see the photo below). And to the other comment, that it is a resupinate Xylaria just fascinates me because, I love finding the Xylaria hypoxylon, especially with its little white tipped fingers! Xylaria and Kretzchmaria are two genera in the same family of fungi.
|
Note the older K. deusta that looks like charred black crust just below the young grey and white K. deusta.
|
|
|
Kretzschmaria deusta
Classification:
Fungi
Dikarya
Ascomycota
Pezizomycotina
Sordariomycetes
Xylariomycetidae
Xylariales
Xylariaceae
Kretzschmaria
Description:
Young: 5-9 cm irregular rounds that have a gray center with a white ring around the margin. The surface is soft and powdery and can be lumpy. This is only about 2mm thick. When collecting a sample it just peels off of the hardwood it is on.
Old: A few of the rounds may have morphed together to create a larger sheet of fungi. The older specimen is hard, black, finely roughened and looks like burned wood. When collecting a sample of this, it snaps brittlely like charcoal.
Spores: 34x10 um, irregularly elliptic with one side flattened, smooth, dark brown.
Habitat: Grows on stumps and roots of hardwood trees year round, found all over North America and pretty common
|
|
|
Resources:
Beug, Michael, Alan E. Bessette & Arleen R Bessette. (2014) Ascomycete Fungi of North America: A Mushroom Reference Guide.
https://www.mycobank.org/page/Simple%20names%20search
https://www.crustfungi.com/html/sidebar/introduction.html
Beug, Michael, Alan E. Bessette & Arleen R Bessette. (2014) Ascomycete Fungi of North America: A Mushroom Reference Guide.
https://www.mycobank.org/page/Simple%20names%20search
https://www.crustfungi.com/html/sidebar/introduction.html
