Geoglossum fallax

Description

Geoglossomycetes is a relatively small class, and the fungus species it includes are commonly called black earth tongues. According to Hustad et al. (2013), Geoglossomycetes fungi are characterized by large, dark brown, or black ascoma. The members of the Geoglossaceae family normally are terrestrial, with apothecial ascoma. Measuring up to 10 cm in height, these fungi have cartilaginous, serous consistency and may have a stipe.

Geoglossum fallax resembles another local earth tongue, Trichoglossum hirsutum, but differs in color, brown to dark brown, rather than black, and lacks velvety, dark hairs on the stipe. The two species sometimes fruit together.

Common names: Deceptive Earthtongue.

Mushroom Identification

1. Fruiting Body

   Club-shaped, 2-7 cm tall, fertile "head," 2-6 mm thick, flattened, sometimes grooved, brown to dark-brown, rarely black, minutely hairy from projecting asci (not setae); stipe round, 1-2 mm thick, solid at the base, often hollow near the apex, colored like the "head," roughened or with scattered small scales.

2. Spores

   Ascospores eight per ascus, 55-85 x 4-6 µm, smooth, rod-like, tapered at each end, variable in color from hyaline to brown; brown spores 0 to 13 septate, hyaline spores non-septate.

3. Spore Print

   Light brown.

4. Habitat

   Scattered in moss or duff in mixed hardwood/conifer woods; fruiting from late winter to early spring.

Look-Alikes

1. Xylaria polymorpha

   Is an ascomycete of similar size. It grows on dead hardwood and its stromata (compound ascomycetous fruitbodies) are not usually laterally compressed or indented.

2. Trichoglossum hirsutum

   Has a stem that is minutely hirsute rather than scaly.

History

In 1908 American mycologist and botanist Elias Judah Durand (1870 - 1922) described this species and gave it the scientific binomial name Geoglossum fallax which is still its generally-accepted name.

The genus Geoglossum, set up by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1794, is named from Geo- meaning earth and -glossum meaning tongue - hence fungi in this genus are referred to as earth tongues (or, as some authors prefer to write it, earth tongues). The specific epithet fallax is Latin and means deceptive.

Synonyms of Geoglossum fallax include Geoglossum proximum S. Imai & Minakata, Geoglossum fallax var. proximum (S. Imai & Minakata) S. Imai, Geoglossum subpumilum S. Imai, and Geoglossum fallax var. subpumilum (S. Imai) S. Imai.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Nathan Wilson (nathan) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Enrico Tomschke (CC BY-SA 4.0)