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- ›Phyllotopsidineae
- ›Phyllotopsidaceae
- ›Phyllotopsis
Stinking Orange Oyster
Phyllotopsis nidulans
Phyllotopsis nidulans, commonly known as the mock oyster or the orange oyster, is a species of fungus in the family Tricholomataceae, and the type species of the genus Phyllotopsis. It is widely dispersed in temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, where it grows on decaying wood. The fungus fruit body consists of a fan-shaped, light orange fuzzy cap up to 8 cm (3 in) wide that grows singly or in overlapping clusters. On the cap underside are crowded...
From the article Phyllotopsis nidulans on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The caps are 2–10 centimetres (3⁄4–4 in) wide. The stems are either very short or nonexistent. The flesh has a thiol-like odor similar to rotten cabbage or rotten eggs. The spore print is pink to tannish. The smooth, sausage-shaped to cylindrical basidiospores measure 5–7 μm long by 2–3 μm wide. Clamp connections are present in the hyphae.
Chemistry. The predominant pigments in the fruit bodies include beta-carotene (58%), alpha-carotene (29%), echinenone (8%), and astaxanthin (4%). P. nidulans also produces a unique amino acid, 3-(3-carboxyfuran-4-yl) l-alanine.
Similar species. Phyllotopsis subnidulans, found in the eastern United States, is similar in appearance. It can be distinguished by a deeper orange color, thinner gills with wider inter-gill spacing, and curved to sausage-shaped spores. Other similar species include Lentinellus ursinusus, Crepidotus mollis, Panus rudis, Panus conchatus, and Pleurotus ostreatus.
Range & habitat
Fruit bodies grow singly or in overlapping clusters on dead wood. Phyllotopsis nidulans is widely distributed in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Its range extends north to Alaska, and includes Costa Rica, where it has been recorded in the Talamanca mountains and on the Poas Volcano. In Asia, it has been recorded in Korea.
Wikipedia: “Habitat and distribution”
At the table
Although not known to be poisonous, the disagreeable odor would deter most from eating the mushrooms.
Wikipedia: “Edibility”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Phyllotopsis nidulans in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 52529.