Gautieria monticola
Cal. Acad. Sci. Bull. 1: 30. 1884.
Common Name: none
Synonym: Hymenogater monticola (Hark.) Hark.
For description see Zeller & Dodge & 'California Mushrooms'.
Solitary to scattered or in fused clusters, hypogeous under montane conifers (fir, pine); common, fruiting from late spring through early fall in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges.
Probably edible.
Gautieria monticola can be distinquished by its relatively large, strongly odoriferous fruitbodies cloaked with thin rhizomorphic strands, a thin peridium that turns red in KOH, and a minutely chambered, orangish brown gleba. Other Gautieria species described from California differ in micromorphology and habitat. Many remain undescribed, some known only by provisional names like Gautieria pterosperma and Gautieria saximontana. The genus needs intensive study to clarify its taxonomy. Phylogenetically, Gautieria is related to the coral fungus genus Ramaria. The mycelium of Gautieria monticola provides nutrients to fringed pinesap (Pleuricospora fimbriolata), a non-photosynthetic, mycoheterotrophic plant.
Desjardin, D.E., Wood, M.G. & Stevens, F.A. (2015). California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 560 p.
Harkness, H.W. (1884). New species of California fungi. Bulletin of the California Academy of Sciences. 1: 29-47. (Protologue)
Stewart, E. L. (1974). The Genus Gautieria Vitt. (Hymenogastrales - Basidiomycetes). Ph.D. Dissertation. Oregon State University: Corvallis, OR. 210 p.
Trappe, J.M., Molina, R., Luoma, D.L., Cázares, E., Pilz, D., Smith, J., Castellano, M.A., Miller, S.L. & Trappe, M.J. (2009). Diversity, Ecology, and Conservation of Truffle Fungi in Forests of the Pacific Northwest. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station: Portland, OR. 194 p. (PDF)
Zeller, S.M. & Dodge, C.W. (1918). Gautieria in North America. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 5: 133-142. (PDF)
