History of Name:
Laccaria laccata var. pallidifolia
(Peck) Peck. Figures 12-14, 54d-f, 68c.
Clitocybe laccata var. pallidifolia Peck, Annual Rep. New
York State Bot. 43: 274. 1890. Laccaria laccata var. pallidifolia (Peck)
Peck, Annual Rep. New York State Bot. 157: 92. 1912. Laccaria laccata
var. decurrens Peck, Annual Rep. New York State Bot. 157: 92. 1912. Laccaria
laccata f. minuta Imai, J. Fac. Sci. Hokkaido Imp. Univ., Ser. 5, Bot.
18: 90. 1938. Laccaria laccata var. minuta (Imai) Hongo, Mem.
Shig. Univ. 9: 58. 1959.
Laccaria laccata var. anglica Singer, Bull. Soc. Mycol. France
83: 110-111. 1967.
Laccaria anglica (Singer) Bon, Doc. Mycol. 11: 22. 1981 [not val. publ.,
basionym lacking]. Laccaria affinis var. anglica (Singer) Bon, Doc.
Mycol. 13: 50. 1983.
Laccaria laccata var. affinis Singer, Bull. Soc. Mycol. France 83:
111. 1967.
Laccaria affinis (Singer) Bon, Doc. Mycol. 13: 49. 1983.
Laccaria laccata var. chilensis Singer, Bull. Soc. Mycol.
France 83: 109. 1967. Laccaria laccata var. subalpina Singer,
Pl. Syst. Evol. 126: 365. 1977. Laccaria tetraspora var. peladae
Singer, Bull. Soc. Mycol. France 83: 117. 1967. Laccaria laccata var. peladae
(Singer) Singer, Pl. Syst. Evol. 126: 366. 1977.
Laccaria laccata var. tatrensis Singer, Pl. Syst. Evol. 126:
367. 1977.
Laccaria laccata var. intermedia Singer, Pl. Syst. Evol. 126:
368. 1977.
Type: U.S.A.: New York, Selkirk, October, C. H. Peck s.n. (NYS!, holotype).
Species Synopsis:
Pileus mostly 10-45 mm broad, not striate to striate, orange brown when fresh, becoming
buff. Lamellae pinkish flesh color. Stipe mostly 20-65 mm long, often finely striate,
concolorous with pileus; basal mycelium white. Pileipellis interwoven with scattered
fascicles of ± perpendicular hyphae. Basidia 4-sterigmate. Cheilocystidia 23-55
X 2.5-7.5 µm, undifferentiated to subclavate, absent to abundant. Basidiospores
mostly 7.5-10 X 7-10 µm (excluding ornamentation), globose to subglobose, occasionally
broadly ellipsoid, echinulate; spines mostly 1-2 µm long, * 1 µm wide at
base. Found throughout North America.
Habitat and Distribution:
Solitary to gregarious, occasionally caespitose, associated with Pinaceae, Fagaceae
and Betulaceae; cosmopolitan; abundant. Collected throughout North America. See Specimens Examined for a list
of specimens studied.
Observations:
Laccaria laccata var. pallidifolia is characterized by having small-
to moderate-sized, orange-brown, glabrous to finely scaly basidiomata, and basidia
that bear four globose to subglobose, moderately echinulate basidiospores.
Mueller and Vellinga (1986) and Mueller (1991a) included collections now treated
as L. ohiensis (= L. tetraspora) within the concept of this taxon.
Reasons for this given by Mueller and Vellinga (1986) included: 1) the macro- and
micromorphology of several of the proposed varieties intergraded between the two
putative species; 2) basidioma and basidiospore size, as well as basidiospore ornamentation
length, appeared to form a continuum for collections in this group; and 3) somatic
culture mat morphology did not appear to vary between isolates referable to either
of these taxa. It was not possible for Fries and Mueller (1984) to distinguish between
collections of the two intersterility groups (Mating groups III & IV) that they
detected within the tested Swedish material of L. laccata using basidioma
and basidiospore size and basidiospore ornamentation length.
Several additional intersterility groups have since been detected within North America
(Mueller, 1991c). Each of these groups were found to differ markedly in RFLPs of
mtDNA and rDNA (Gardes et al., 1990, 1991a). Subsequent morphometric analyses
have shown that collections of some of these intersterility groups, but not others,
were segregated during morphometric analyses of basidiospore data (Mueller, 1991c).
Two groups were clearly delimited during morphometric analyses; one group consisted
of collections with globose basidiospores with echinulae > 1.5 µm long and
> 1.2 µm wide at the base while the other group consisted of specimens with
globose to subglobose basidiospores with echinulae 0.7-2 µm long and * 1 µm
wide at the base (Mueller, 1991c). The first group consisted of collections referable
to L. ohiensis and L. striatula while collections in the second group
are referable to either L. laccata var. pallidifolia, L. laccata
var. moelleri, or L. longipes.
Laccaria laccata var. pallidifolia is differentiated primarily from
L. ohiensis by having narrow basidiospore echinulae. Collections of L.
laccata var. pallidifolia with small basidiomata and globose basidiospores
(characteristics of L. ohiensis) are occasionally encountered.
Laccaria laccata var. pallidifolia is differentiated from L. striatula
on differences in basidiospore ornamentation and macromorphological features. Collections
of L. striatula have relatively long, glabrous stipes which are usually darker
than the strongly striate pileus.
Laccaria laccata var. pallidifolia is differentiated from L. longipes
by having shorter stipes and larger basidiospores.
Laccaria laccata var. pallidifolia is the most commonly encountered
taxon in the complex and can be found throughout the United States and Canada. No
apparent habitat preference could be determined from the material collected during
this study.
Macromorphology:
Pileus 10-45(-60) mm broad, obtuse to convex, often becoming plane to uplifted,
often depressed, striate to not striate, occasionally strongly striate to plicate-striate,
sometimes translucent-striate when fresh, finely fibrillose to fibrillose-scaly,
infrequently slightly scaly, hygrophanous, orange-brown when fresh, becoming buff
color ("Sanford's Brown," "Orange Rufous," "Hazel,"
"Cinnamon Rufous," "Pinkish Cinnamon" or "Light Vinaceous-Cinnamon"),
fading lighter ("Apricot Buff," "Salmon Color," "Light Pinkish
Cinnamon" or "Pinkish Buff"), finally to buff ("Pale Ochraceous
Buff"); disc occasionally darker orange-brown or red-brown ("Hay's Russet,"
Ochraceous Tawny" or "Buckthorn Brown"); margin incurved to decurved,
becoming plane to uplifted, entire to undulate, occasionally becoming eroded in age;
context thin, tapering quickly to margin, concolorous. Lamellae sinuate, adnate
or arcuate, rarely decurrent, close to distant, narrow to broad, relatively thin
to thick, pinkish flesh color ("Flesh Color," "Salmon-Buff,"
"Pale Salmon Color," "Flesh-Pink" or "Light Vinaceous-Cinnamon"),
some becoming slightly vinaceous with age (near "Light Grayish-Vinaceous").
Stipe (12-)20-65(-106) x 2-4(-8) mm, equal, subclavate or tapering towards
base, occasionally slightly bulbous, dry, fibrillose, not striate to finely longitudinally
striate, rarely with pronounced striations, concolorous with stipe; context stuffed,
becoming hollow, concolorous with pileus context. Basal mycelium sparse to
copious, always white. Basidiospores white in mass.
Micromorphology:
Pileipellis of interwoven hyphae with widely scattered fascicles of ±
perpendicular hyphae; fascicles composed of 5-15(-30) hyphae; terminal cells of fascicular
hyphae 6-101 x 3-37.5 µm, filamentous, subclavate, clavate, subcapitate or ventricose-rostrate;
walls up to 0.5 µm thick, light yellowish brown; contents hyaline to light yellowish
brown. Pileus trama tightly interwoven, morphologically undifferentiated,
hyaline, light yellowish brown toward pileipellis. Lamellar trama parallel;
hyphae mostly 2-17.5 µm diam, thin-walled, hyaline to light yellowish brown;
cells filamentous to barrel-shaped. Subhymenium morphologically undifferentiated.
Basidia 27.5-55 x 7.5-13.5(-16.5) µm, clavate, hyaline; sterigmata 4,
up to 7 µm long. Cheilocystidia 23-55 x 2-7.5 µm, filamentous to
subclavate, occasionally strangulate, absent or scattered to abundant, thin-walled,
hyaline. Basidiospores (excluding ornamentation) [1000/65] (6.4-)7.4-10(-13)
x (6-)7-10(11.5) µm [ = (7.3-)8.2-9(-9.6) x (6.7-)7.6-8.6 µm], Q = 1-1.13(-1.3)
[ = 1-1.15(-1.2)] , globose to subglobose, occasionally broadly ellipsoid, hyaline,
echinulate; echinulae (0.5-)1-2 µm long, * 1 µm wide at base, relatively
scarce to crowded; hilar appendix 1.3-2.2 µm long, prominent, truncate; plage
present; contents occasionally uniguttulate or biguttulate. Basal mycelium hyphae
mostly 3-10.5 µm diam, tightly interwoven, hyaline; cells filamentous to barrel-shaped.
Somatic Culture Mat Morphology
(n=11; Appendix B):
PDA: Radius at week 3 = 7-23 mm or 62-73 mm, week 6 = 18-27 or 90 mm (agar
surface covered); mat felty, thick, tightly interwoven, some appearing almost
crustose, tightly appressed to agar surface, occasionally forming cottony to felty
aerial layer away from plug, not translucent, white, in some becoming dark olive
brown or light chocolate color away from plug; margin narrow to moderately
broad, silky to subfelty, thin, white, entire to undulate; plug occasionally
covered with cottony white hyphae or with long serial aggregations of hyphae growing
away from top of plug, white, often becoming dark olive brown or light chocolate
color; hyphae morphologically undifferentiated, rarely irregularly swollen.
MMN: Radius at week 3 = 13-19 mm or (25-) 29-52 mm, week 6 = 26-45 mm or 75
mm to covering agar surface; mat subfelty, felty or silky, moderately thick,
interwoven, in one isolate (TENN 42964) with several radially arranged pie shaped
thicker sectors, tightly appressed to agar surface, translucent, white; margin
narrow, silky to subfelty, not well differentiated, even to undulate, occasionally
somewhat serrate, white; plug white; hyphae morphologically undifferentiated,
occasionally coralloid. MEA: Radius at week 3 = 12-33 mm or 53-62 mm, week
6 = 23 54 mm or covering agar surface; mat silky to subfelty, thin to moderate,
appearing combed to loosely interwoven, occasionally becoming thicker near plug,
tightly appressed to agar surface, translucent, white; margin not well differentiated,
thin, entire to slightly serrate, white; plug white; hyphae morphologically
undifferentiated.