NC, Smokies, 20071119
CabinCove, fungi.

Fungi

Prissy Bear's Run and knoll near the yellow gate.

Pleurotus ostreatus [] [voucher]

On the bell tree where PBR turns away from creek to the left for the first time. Downed two years ago, but elevated.
GEN large gilled shelf mushroom, on 6" diameter bell tree, no odor
ST stubby, lat to off-center, white scurfy, solid white inside, tough
CAP depressed, to 150mm wide, pale buff or whitish, glab but min soft-bumpy all over, margin flares up sl and is a bit scalloped and erose
FLESH white, tough but flex, to 6mm thick
VEIL none
GILL sl decur, dist, unbr but joined by pinches here and there, sl dker than cap, wavy, 10mm deep
SPORE print faintly pinkish almost w lilac tinge

Galerina autumnalis [] [voucher]

Up in drainage to the left at the top of PBR.
GEN medium mushroom, clustered on mossy well-rotted hardwood stump in moist hardwood forest, no odor
ST curved, 60x3-4mm, even to broader bel, tough, bending but not breaking at all, fairly solid, pale buff (not as yellow), striate from innate fibers, discoloring brown from spores in age, white fuzz near base, staining dk brown near edge when cut except near top
CAP to 40mm wide, broadly convex, v faint small umbo, smooth, pale yellowish buff near marg to rich brown in center, marg v thin and min erose
FLESH to 2-3mm in center, pale yellowish, tough but flexible, not breaking
VEIL partial, superior, skirt, v thin, memb, brown (probably from spores)
GILL att, dirty yelloish-buff aging darker brown, not crowd or dist, straight, unbr, brown spores visible as dusting at 20x
SPORE print rich brown almost yellowish
Rich brown spores, veil, and clustered habit on wood lead to Pholiota and Arora's Galerina and Tubaria group. Pholiota leads to the G-T group and Agrocybe. The former keys to G. autumnalis; the latter keys to A. aegerita. The former is deadly, the other a prized edible. Hmmm. Microscopic study of spores would solve the problem: the former is rough, the latter smooth. Ah, yes, and the cap cuticle is filamentous in the former versus cellular in the latter. (Also, the latter is generally much larger.) (Since G. autumnalis is so common everywhere right now, and since the ring looks much more substantial on A. aegerita, I'm going with G. autumnalis for now. -JPH 20071126)

Flammulina velutipes [] [voucher]

On the big hickory just past the property line, the one I ruined the chain on.
GEN small mushroom, great many small clusters scattered, on two-year-old downed hickory, in moist hardwood valley, interesting odor a little like enoki
ST to 30x5mm, deep brown to yellowish at v top w some reddish tints where it changes color, whole thing min white spreading puber giving it a kind of sheen, d brown shaggy at and near base, nearly solid if not completely, tough and rubbery, not breaking at all and springing right back into shape
CAP up to 30-40mm wide, broadly convex, smooth, shiny, yellowish near marg to rich reddish brown through most of the center, tacky but maybe viscid when more fresh (a leaf was stuck permanently to a large specimen)
FLESH pale yellowish, v thin to quite thick in ctr (up to 3mm thick), not fragile but easily flexible
VEIL none
GILL v notched to almost free, pale yellow to v sl reddish tint, 4mm deep, clean, straight, unbr, avg dist
SPORE print v faintly yellowish

Tubaria furfuracea-group [] [voucher]

On log just above the Daedaleopsis about 30' below the road.
GEN medium mushroom, single to small clusters on v rotten hardwood log, in moist hardwood forest, standard fungal odor
ST 30x2-2.5mm, even, curved, dk brown to sl paler near top, smooth, dry, striate from innate fibers, conspic white cottony at base, flesh v dark, solid to hollow at v base, dirt sticking at base making it look bulbous
CAP to 30mm wide, v broadly convex to almost flat, dark brown to lt brown right at marg, smooth, dry, translucent striate for outer 5mm, marg v thin, hygraphanous (fading to pale yellowish brown)
FLESH thin, 1mm thick, brown, fragile, soft
VEIL none
GILL dirty brown to yellowish brown, adnate to v sl decur, unbr, somewhat wavy, ~2mm deep
SPORE print chocolate brown (but scanty)
Nondescript brown print doesn't lend itself to keying out the "family": comes to either Psathyrella, Pholiota, or Arora's Galerina and Tubaria group. It doesn't key out in Psathyrella or Pholiota, leaving the nasty G-T group. Too bad this is such a nasty bug-eaten specimen, otherwise this would be a real find.

Xylaria polymorpha [] [voucher]

On log to right of path just above Minerva.
GEN small club fungus, on dead hardwood limb
ST 15x5mm, central, same color and texture as cap, flesh white and sl more solid though still a bit rubbery
CAP 10-15mm round, irreg dimpled and pitted and squashed but overall ellipsoid shape, black, dry, matte, min cracked at 20x
FLESH white, soft, faint cauliflower-like radial structure, solid
SPORE
perithecia black, ~0.6mm round, ostioles flush, gooey
spores will have to wait

Trichaptum biformis [] [voucher]

On several logs here and there. Some are beautifully fresh and violet.
GEN small crowded shelf fungus, on dead hardwood logs and standing snags, K?
ST lateral if at all, white, min fuzzy
CAP widest I've seen is 75mm, fan to kidney to semicirc, smooth entire edge to erose or irreg shallowly lobed, flat to depressed, dry, silky, white with subtle brown zones
FLESH white, to 1mm thick maybe more, tough but flexible even when dry
PORE v quickly turning into irreg teeth, pale tan to reddish-tinged then violet-tinged right at the growing margin (only when fresh else simply sl dker near marg), ~3-4 pore per mm, v shall (less than 1mm)
SPORE print maybe white?

Trametes versicolor [] [voucher]

On several logs here and there, though not as common as .
GEN small crowded shelf fungus, on dead hardwood logs and standing snags, K?
ST none
CAP largest I saw today is 70mm wide, broadly fan-shaped turning into full funnels on top and bottom of logs, thin, dry, d hairy, conspic zoned
various colors but all pastel eg. bluish, orangish, whitish, brownish, tannish
marg irreg scalloped
FLESH white, v thin (less than 1mm), tough but flexible even when dry
PORE creamy white, lter near marg, 4-5 per mm, not turning into teeth though sometimes sl irreg, v shallow
SPORE don't hold your breath

Stereum hirsutum [] [voucher]

On several logs here and there, these by the hickory from .
GEN small crowded shelf fungus, on dead hardwood logs and standing snags, K?
ST none
CAP to 30mm wide but usually smaller, fan-shaped, marg crisped and scalloped, dry, v silky, finely zoned golden to reddish to brown to whitish to even almost black, marg v thin
FLESH v thin (much less than 1mm), orangish?
PORE smooth surface, faintly zoned reddish brown to pale golden brown, pale near marg, whitish bloom or cast from something too minute to see at 20x, smooth but undulating from cap irregularities
SPORE haha!

Chondrostereum purpureum [] [voucher]

On hickory shared with .
GEN small crowded shelf fungus, merges into long rows in furrows on bark, on dead hickory, in moist hardwood valley
CAP mostly resupinate but cap sticks out up to 10mm in places, cold reddish brown with a violet cast or bloom, smooth inside, marg shaggy lilac or with a striking violet gelatinous growing edge
FLESH watery and spongy, pale brownish to lilac, up to 2mm thick
PORE ferile surface smooth, yellowish to reddish brown with violet cast or bloom esp at marg
SPORE withered before it even had a chance

Polyporus badius []

On same hickory again with and .
GEN medium stalked polypore, solitary, on dead hickory, in moist hardwood valley
ST off center, 7x5mm, tough, black, dry, smooth, solid yellowish inside
CAP funnel, asym, ~40mm wide, ~20mm tall, golden brown to deep reddish brown even black in center and at marg, smooth
FLESH 1mm thick, tough, yellowish
PORE 5 per mm, v shall (much less than 1mm deep), golden to reddish brown
SPORE print maybe white
(Turns out this thing is all over the place, only they're all in varying states of decay.)

Merulius tremellosus [] [voucher]

Up at foot of the lefthand drainage at top of PBR.
GEN parchment fungus, on rotten log in moist hardwood forest
CAP almost completely resupinate but a few edges stick out ~5-10mm, pinkish brown, watery, shaggy
FLESH cap-colored, soft, tough enough that I could peel it off the log intact(!) but it feels gelatinous
GILL irreg shallow vein-like wrinkles, perhaps predominantly radial tendency but many cross-veins, cap-colored
SPORE print white

Daedaleopsis ambigua [] [voucher]

On dead standing bell trees, both at the start of PBR and high in the left-hand drainage at top. (Pix and notes from top one.)
GEN big shelf fungus, on dead standing bell tree (Halesia carolina), K?
ST none
CAP hoof-like, creamy white, bumpy, rel flat on top, semicirc outline, rounded marg, v faintly tomentose, v faintly zoned
FLESH thick, whitish
PORE maze-like, whitish, ~2 per mm
SPORE print whitish to faintly yellowish
This looks like the same thing I saw at Diane's place on 20071105.

Marasmius? []

GEN tiny mushroom, on hardwood twig, on moist (as in seeps most of the year) mossy rock
ST 20x1mm, white ab to dk brown bel, whitish puber, cottony at base
CAP 3-6mm wide, dome, smooth, golden brown, fairly solid, no umbo, slick to touch (either waxy or sl viscid)
VEIL none
GILL white, nearly if not completely free, clean, unbr, straight
SPORE failed to get print