SPECIES FACT SHEET
Scientific Name: Phaeocollybia californica A.H. Smith
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Order: Agaricales
Family: Continariaceae
Conservation Rankings and Status:
Global Rank: G3
State Rank: OR S3, WA no ranking
Oregon Biodiversity Information Center (ORBIC) List: 1
(Ranks from ORBIC, http://orbic.pdx.edu accessed August 16, 2013)
Type: A.H. Smith 55610 (MICH) November 23, 1956. Crescent City, Del Norte
County, California.
Technical Description: Cap (20) 30-80 mm, conic when young, soon
campanulate with a low broad umbo, generally glabrous, viscid, hygrophanous,
faintly striate, yellowish brown to pale brownish orange when young, becoming
uniformly reddish brown in age, and is brassy copper metallic when dried.
COontext white in central disc, staining red. Gills ascending, nearly free to
attached, ventricose, thin with even, uneven, or wavy, edges, crowded,
regularly to irregularly polydymous, narrow to broad, originally pink-brown or
yellow-brown, whitish to pale orange buff, turning rusty brown in age. Aging to
bright rusty-brown. Stem aerial portion (15-) 40-90 x 6-10 mm, cartilaginous,
watery tan to pale pinkish brown, soon becoming ferruginous from base up,
drying dark bay-brown, hollow with thick cartilaginous cortex surrounding
central cavity lined with whitish long fibrils below solid pileus context.
Pseudorhiza long undetermined length, gradually tapering red-brown ending
in a salmon-colored thready rhizomorph. Odor slightly tart (similar to chlorine
when old) or pungent, particularly in age. Taste slightly raphinoid, faintly
bitter. Cheilocystidia 20-30 x 2-5 (base), 1.5-2 (neck) 2.5-3 (capitellum) µm, a
mixture of hyaline, thin-walled lageniform and thick-walled secretory tibiiform
elements, with narrow, distinctively regractive necks frequently surrounded by
apical secretory droplets, necks frequently bent over making elements difficult
to locate also frequently obscured by surrounding clavate elements, hyaline or
with oily amber contents beneath the refractive neck walls. Clamp
connections absent. Spores 9 x 5+/-0.5 x 0.4 µm, limoniform in profile with
eccentric short apciulus and short beak, ovate with short apical beak in face
view, rugulose-roughened to warty except over 0.5-1 µm long apical beak,
suprahilar plage an ill-defined zone of lowered ornamentation, in KOH tawny to
rusty brown with ornamentation distinctly darker especially at low
magnification, inamyloid and nondextrinoid in Melzer’s. Spore print color
reddish brown.
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Distinguishing Features: Characterized by a cartilaginous stem extending well
below ground level as a pseudorhiza, a pale amber-brown to dark orange brown
cap with a hollow stem, a long thready pseudorhiza, and a dark cinnamonbrown spore print. Phaeocollybia kauffmanii is much larger, has a densely
stuffed stem which does not become hollow, and it has clavate cheilocystidia.
Phaeocollybia piceae is uniformly orange colored, has a stuffed stem, and
clavate cheilocystidia. Phaeocollybia sipei is uniformly orange colored, has
smaller, less ornamented spores, and clavate cheilocystidia. Phaeocollybia
spadicea is larger, lacks amber or orange tones to the cap, has a densely
stuffed stem covered with dense fibrillose patches, and smaller spores.
Life History: This taxon is a gilled mushroom that emerges above the soil
surface at maturity. It grows in fasciculate to gregarious large clusters on the
ground, often forming arcs or fairy rings in humic soils of moist coniferous
(Abies, Tsuga, Pseudotsuga) and mixed (Abies, Arbutus, Quercus, Pseudotsuga,
Tsuga) coastal and coastal montane forests. It is presumed ectomycorrhizal
with Pinaceae and has been observed associated with the roots of Abies
amabilis, Picea sitchensis, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Tsuga heterophylla. It is
dependant on wind for dispersal of spores, but animal, especially arthropod,
dispersal is also possible. It fruits in March, May, October, and November.
Range, Distribution, and Abundance: Endemic to the Pacific Northwest,
coastal to inland lowlands, western central Oregon, south to extreme northern
California. Known from approximately 60 sites.
Some locations include: California, Del Norte Co., near Crescent City;
Humboldt Co., near McKinleyville, Murray Rd.; King Range Conservation Park;
Mendocino Co., Van Damme State Park, Fern Canyon trail; Shasta Co., Castle
Crags State Park; Oregon, Benton Co., Dinner Creek; Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), Salem District, Bellfountain Rd.; Douglas Co., BLM,
Roseburg District, near Elk Creek; BLM, Roseburg District, Myrtle Creek;
Josephine Co., Grants Pass; Takilma; Lane Co., Bunker Hill; Cedar Creek;
Elmira; Siltcoos; Lincoln Co., Van Duzer wayside; Multnomah Co., Mount Hood
National Forest, Larch Mountain; Tillamook Co., Cape Meares State Park;
Siuslaw National Forest, Cascade Head Experimental Forest; Washington,
Jefferson Co., Olympic National Park, Twin Creek Research Natural Area.
FS/BLM lands in Oregon and Washington: Documented from the Mt Hood NF,
Rogue River-Siskiyou NF, Siuslaw NF, Coos Bay BLM, Eugene BLM, Medford
BLM, Roseburg BLM, and Salem BLM.
Habitat Associations: Ectomycorrhizal, associated with the roots of Abies
amabilis, Picea sitchensis, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Tsuga heterophylla with
Vaccinium. Gregarious in arcs under conifers, fruits late autumn. Associated
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overstory species: Acer macrophyllum, Arbutus menziesii, Calocedrus decurrens,
Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus chrysolepis, Quercus garryana, Thuja plicata,
Tsuga heterophylla , Umbellularia californica. Associated understory: Acer
circinatum, Berberis nervosa, Gaultheria shallon, Rhododendron macrophyllum,
Vaccinium sp. Elevation range 206-3855 ft.
Threats: Threats to ectomycorrhizal fungi include disturbances that damage
mycelium and host, such as severe fire, removal of host plants and
consequential loss of canopy cover, loss of large woody debris and soil
compaction.
Conservation Considerations: Revisit known sites and localities to confirm
persistence and extent of populations. Buffer known sites from management
activities. When conducting vegetation management activities in area with good
habitat potential, consider leaving scattered and clumped host trees and ample
large woody debris, while minimizing soil compaction and severity of prescribed
fires; avoid broadcast burning and pile burning in prime habitat.
Other pertinent information (includes references to Survey Protocols,
etc): The survey protocol for fungi is located on the ISSSSP website:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/documents/inventories/inv-sp-fuver1-2008-12.pdf.
The survey protocol for Survey and Manage fungi is located on the Survey and
Manage website: http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/surveyandmanage/protocols/
Prepared by: Jenifer Ferriel, Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa Whitman
National Forests
Date: April 2013
Edited by: Rob Huff, BLM/FS Portland, Oregon
Date: February 2014
ATTACHMENTS:
(1)
References
(2)
Map of Species Distribution
(3)
Photographs of Species
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ATTACHMENT 1:
References
Aurora, David. 1986. Mushrooms Demystified. Ten Speed Press. Berkeley, CA.
Castellano, Michael A.; Smith, Jane E.; O’Dell, Thom; Cázares, Efrén; Nugent,
Susan. 1999. Handbook to strategy 1 fungal taxa from the Northwest Forest
Plan. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-476. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 195 p.
Dewey, R. and J. Ferriel. 2007. Habitat Summary for Sensitive Fungi Species.
Unpublished. Available from the ISSSSP Fungi Working Group.
Ferriel, Jenifer and Katie Grenier. 2008. Annotated Bibliography of
Information Potentially Pertaining to Management of Rare Fungi on the Special
Status Species List for California, Oregon and Washington. R6 USFS and
OR/WA BLM Interagency Special Status/Sensitive Species Program (ISSSSP).
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/planning-tools/
Interagency Sensitive and Special Status Species List, December 1, 2011
available at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/agency-policy/
Norvell, L.L. 1998. PhD Dissertation: The Biology and Taxonomy of Pacific
Northwest species of Phaeocollybia Heim (Agaricales, Cortinariaceae).
University of Washington.
Norvell, Lorelei L. and Ronald L. Exeter. Phaeocollybia of Pacific Northwest
North America. 2008.
Smith, A.H. 1957. A contribution towards a monograph of Phaeocollybia.
Brittonia 9:195-217
Trudell, Steve and Joe Ammirati. 2009. Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Timber Press, Portland, OR.
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ATTACHMENT 2:
Map of Species Distribution in OR/WA
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ATTACHMENT 3:
Photographs of Species
Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Tim Rodenkirk. Photos 3 and 4 courtesy of Scott Loring.
Figure 1. Phaeocollybia californica
Figure 3. Phaeocollybia californica
Figure 2. Phaeocollybia californica
Figure 4. Phaeocollybia californica
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