splitgill mushroom

Schizophyllum commune is usually described as a morphological species of global distribution, but some research has suggested that it may be a species complex encompassing several cryptic species of more narrow distribution, as typical of many mushroom-forming Basidiomycota. The caps are 1–4 centimetres (3⁄8–1+5⁄8 in) wide with white or grayish hairs. They grow in shelf-like arrangements, without stalks. The gills, which produce basidiospores on their surface, split when the mushroom dries out, earning this mushroom the common name split gill. The mushrooms can remain dry for decades and then be revived with moisture. The spore print is white.

Mating. It has a tetrapolar mating system with each cell containing two mating-type loci (called A and B) that govern different aspects of the mating process, leading to 4 possible phenotypes after cell fusion. Each locus codes for a mating type sublocus (α or β) and each type is multi-allelic: the A locus has 9 alleles for the α type and an estimated 32 for its β type, and the B locus has 9 alleles each for both its α and β types. When combined this gives an estimated 9 × 32 × 9 × 9 = 23328 {\displaystyle 9\times 32\times 9\times 9=23328} potential mating type specificities. …

It is common in rotting wood. It can be found throughout the world, year-round in places such as North America.

This mushroom is edible when young. The species was regarded as nonpoisonous by Orson K. Miller Jr. and Hope H. Miller, who like David Arora regard it as inedible due to its smallness and toughness. It is chewed by some natives of Madagascar.

In North America. It is consumed in Mexico (Oaxaca, Quintana Roo and Tabasco, which are tropical). The preference for tough, rubbery mushrooms in the tropics was explained as a consequence of the fact that tender, fleshy mushrooms quickly rot in the hot humid conditions there, making their marketing problematic.

In East Asia. Known locally in Chinese as baishen (白参), this mushroom is enjoyed as food in Yunnan, China.

In South Asia. In Northeast India, in the state Manipur, it is known as kanglayen and one of the favourite ingredients for Manipuri-style pancakes called paaknam. In Mizoram, the local name is pasi (pa means mushroom, si means tiny) and it is one of the highest rated edible mushrooms among the Mizo community.

Schizophyllum is derived from [the Greek] Schíza meaning split because of the appearance of radial, centrally split, gill like folds; commune means common or shared ownership or ubiquitous.