Gymnopilus luteofolius

Description

✨ This striking mushroom, Gymnopilus luteofolius, also known as the Yellow-Gilled Gymnopilus, is a large wood-loving fungus that’s as fascinating as it is colorful! Growing in dense clusters on dead hardwoods and conifers, it can be found from late summer to fall in the eastern parts of North America and throughout winter on the west coast.

🌈 This handsome mushroom often sports bluish-green stains on the cap and stem, especially in some conditions, though this isn’t always the case. It’s these subtle color changes and the tough yet fragile ring left by the veil that make it stand out from other fungi.

💫 Gymnopilus luteofolius is a psychoactive mushroom that contains psilocybin, a psychedelic compound. This makes it a hallucinogenic mushroom, and in some regions, it has been used for its mind-altering effects.

Mushroom Identification

🍄 Cap: Ranging from pinkish red to purplish to yellow, the cap is 0.79 to 3.15 inches (2 to 8 cm) wide and covered with tiny scales. As it matures, it fades from purplish to brick red, eventually turning yellow. Sometimes, you'll see greenish stains on the cap—a unique feature! 🔍 The cap's flesh is purplish-pink when sliced, but as the mushroom matures, it fades to yellowish. The cap becomes broadly convex or nearly flat as it ages.

🌸 Gills: Adnate attachment—the gills start pale yellow and deepen to rusty brown as the mushroom matures. Covered by a partial veil when young, they release a beautiful bright orange spore print. Short gills are frequent, and the mature gills turn rusty overall.

🦶 Stem: The 1.18 to 3.54 inches (3 to 9 cm) long stem matches the cap in color, with rusty brown spores often dusting its surface. Sometimes, you'll notice bluish-green stains near the base. The stem is fibrillose and may have a fragile ring or ring zone from the partial veil.

👅 Taste & Odor: Bitter! Not for the faint of heart, this mushroom has a strongly bitter taste, but the odor is not distinctive.

🌲 Ecology & Habitat: Saprobic—this wood-loving mushroom thrives on dead hardwoods and conifers, including wood chips and even treated lumber! It grows in clusters from late summer to fall (July–November) on the East Coast, and through the winter on the West Coast. You might spot it popping up in forests, parks, or even your own yard!

🍁 Spore Print: Bright rusty orange.

🔬 Microscopic Features

• Spores: Rusty brown, 6–8.5 x 4–4.5 μm, ellipsoid, and roughened.

• Cheilocystidia: Abundant and flask-shaped.

• Basidia: 4-spored.

Look-Alikes

1. Tricholomopsis rutilans

   It is similarly colored, also grows on wood, but can be distinguished by a white spore print and the lack of a veil.

2. Gymnopilus penetrans

   Is yellow-brown, much smaller and lacks a stem ring; it occurs in similar habitat, but unlike Gymnopilus junonius it is more frequently seen on conifer stumps and sawdust heaps.

3. Phaeolepiota aurea

   A rare mushroom with a granular cap and lower stem; its spores are light yellow-brown.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Caleb Brown (Caleb Brown) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Caleb Brown (Caleb Brown) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Caleb Brown (Caleb Brown) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Alan Rockefeller (Public Domain)

Photo 5 - Author: Alan Rockefeller (Public Domain)