SPECIES FACT SHEET
Common Name: false truffle
Scientific Name: Alpova alexsmithii Trappe 1975
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Boletales
Family: Paxillaceae
Conservation Rankings and Status:
Global: G2
State: OR S2, WA Not ranked
Oregon Biodiversity Infromation Center (ORBIC) List 1
(Ranks from ORBIC, http://orbic.pdx.edu accessed January 24, 2014)
Technical Description: Sporocarps 4-40 mm wide, smaller specimens
subglobose, larger specimens flattened to elongate or irregular with lobes and
furrows. Peridium 0.2-0.5 mm thick, yellow-brown to dark brown, felty to
somewhat scabrous, drying dark olive to nearly black; rhizomorphs appressed
on lower side, originating from a basal tuft. Gleba gelatinous; young tissue
pale, turning gray-yellow-pink at maturity and pale yellow-brown when dried.
Locules white-walled, rounded, 0-3-0.6 mm in diameter, give the gleba a
marbled appearance. Odor faint, pleasant. KOH on fresh and dried peridial
surface, instantly dark brown and soon black. Basidia borne among
gelatinizing hyphae filling the locules. Spores ellipsoid or a few subpyriform to
obovoid, 5-7 (-8) x 3-4 (-5) um, smooth, thin-walled, in KOH hyaline singly,
gray-yellow in mass, in Melzer’s reagent pale yellow singly, orange-yellow in
mass, strongly absorbing cotton blue in youth, but not at maturity.
The marbled interior of this false truffle resembles that of true truffles of the
Ascomycota, however, the latter have a firmer, non-gelatinous interior and bear
their spores inside of asci. Among the false truffles, a chambered gleba and
smooth, ellipsoid to cylindrical spores are also found in species of
Melanogaster, however spores of the latter tend to be singly darker, and in
most common species, the mature gleba is dark brown to black.
Life History: This sequestrate fungus appears to be mycorrhizal with various
species of Pinaceae, particularly Tsuga heterophylla and Tsuga mertensiana
and is dependent on mycophagy (consumption by animals) for spore dispersal.
Sporocarps found August – December.
Range, Distribution and Abundance: Endemic to the Pacific Northwest.
Known from within Oregon and Washington portions of Northwest Forest Plan
Area, including the Washington Western Cascades, Oregon Western Cascades
and Oregon Eastern Cascades Physiographic Provinces; also known from
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British Columbia. Known from approximately 15 sites in Oregon and
Washington, with the large majority in Oregon. There were no detections of
this species during Random Grid CVS/FIA plot surveys.
FS/BLM lands in Oregon and Washington: Documented on Deschutes, Mt.
Hood and Willamette National Forests.
Habitat Associations: Known from Mountain Hemlock (62%), Pacific Silver Fir
(23%), Rock (8%) and Western Hemlock (8%) vegetation zones at elevations of
2852-5805 feet. Associated species include Pacific silver fir, lodgepole pine,
Engelmann spruce and mountain hemlock. Other woody associates include
Vaccinium membranaceum and Vaccinium scoparium.
Threats: As with mycorrhizal fungi in general, current literature suggests that
threats to local occurrences of this species include events and/or activities that
negatively impact either the fungal mycelium or the mycorrhizal hosts. Such
impacts can be caused by moderate to severe fire, removal of a large percentage
of host plants (and the attendant reduction in canopy cover and reduction in
moisture content of upper soil layers ), removal of large woody debris, and soil
compaction. Such impacts can reduce both fungal biomass and species
diversity within communities of ectomycorrhizal fungi for periods ranging from
several years to multiple decades.
Conservation Considerations: Revisit known localities to confirm persistence
and determine extent of populations. Conduct surveys to locate new
populations. Buffer known sites from adjacent vegetation management
activities. When conducting vegetation management activities in areas with
good habitat potential, consider leaving scattered and clumped host trees and
ample coarse woody debris, while minimizing soil compaction and burn severity
of activity-related fires.
Other pertinent information (includes references to Survey Protocols,
etc): The survey protocol for sensitive 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: Rick Dewey, Deschutes NF
Date: April, 2013
Edited by: Rob Huff, BLM/FS Portland, Oregon
Date: January, 2014
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ATTACHMENTS:
(1) References
(2) Map of Species Distribution
(3) Photographs of Species
ATTACHMENT 1: References
Arora, David. 1979. Mushrooms Demystified – A Comprehensive Guide to the
Fleshy Fungi. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California. 959 pp.
Castellano, M.A., J.E. Smith, T. O’Dell, E. Cazares, and S. Nugent. 1999.
Handbook to Strategy 1 Fungal Species in the Northwest Forest Plan. PNWGTR-476.
Cushman, Kathleen and Rob Huff. 2007. Conservation Assessment for Fungi
Included in Forest Service Regions 5 and 6 Sensitive and BLM California,
Oregon and Washington Special Status Species Programs. R6 USFS and
OR/WA BLM Interagency Special Status/Sensitive Species Program ISSSSP).
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/planning-tools/
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/
Oregon Biodiversity Information Center. 2010. Rare, Threatened and
Endangered Species of Oregon. Portland State University, Institute for Natural
Resources. 109 pp.
http://orbic.pdx.edu/rte-species.html
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ATTACHMENT 2: Map of Species Distribution in OR/WA
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ATTACHMENT 3: Photo of Alpova alexsmithii
Photo courtesy of J. Trappe
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