Pholiota limonella

Description

Pholiota limonella is an inedible mushroom of the genus Pholiota. It is a medium to large, orange-yellow, rounded agaric with a slimy cap. The mushroom grows in clusters on downed logs, standing dead trees, and stumps.

Common names: Lemon-yellow Pholiota.

Mushroom Identification

1. Ecology

   Saprobic and probably parasitic; growing alone or, more commonly, in clusters on living or dead wood; frequently found on the wood of birch and alder, but also documented on a variety of hardwoods and conifers; summer and fall; probably widely distributed in North America.

2. Cap

   3-13 cm; convex, becoming broadly convex, broadly bell-shaped, or nearly flat; sticky or slimy; orange-yellow to yellow; covered with brownish to reddish-brown scales that are soon scattered and often gelatinize, disappearing or becoming indistinct by maturity.

3. Gills

   Attached to the stem; close; whitish to yellowish when young, becoming rusty brown; at first covered by a whitish to yellowish, cobwebby partial veil.

4. Stem

   4-15 cm long; up to 2 cm thick; dry, or sticky near the base; silky near the apex; with a flimsy ring or ring zone (often indistinct); whitish to yellowish under reddish brown to brownish or yellowish-brown scales that may be scattered or densely packed; base sometimes covered with whitish mycelium.

5. Flesh

   Yellow or whitish.

6. Odor and Taste

   Not distinctive.

7. Chemical Reactions

   KOH red to orangish on cap surface.

8. Spore Print

   Rusty brown to brown.

9. Microscopic Features

   Spores 6-9 x 4-5.5 µ; smooth; more or less elliptical; with an apical pore; brownish in KOH. Pleurocystidia clavate to clavate-mucronate; up to 65 x 13 µ; often with greenish yellow contents (chrysocystidia). Cheilocystidia variously shaped; up to 45 x 16 µ. Pileipellis a gelatinized layer of hyphae 2.5-7.5 µ wide. Clamp connections are present.

10. Similar Species

    Pholiota aurivella has more distinctive scales.

Synonyms

1. Pholiota subsquarrosa var. limonella (Rick 1938)

2. Pholiota abietis (A.H. Sm. & Hesler 1968)

3. Pholiota connata (A.H. Sm. & Hesler 1968)

4. Pholiota subvelutipes (A.H. Sm. & Hesler 1968)

5. Pholiota ceriferoides (P.D. Orton 1988)

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: the real Kam75 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Photo 2 - Author: the real Kam75 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Photo 3 - Author: the real Kam75 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Photo 4 - Author: the real Kam75 (CC BY-SA 2.0)