Hydnotrya variiformis Gilkey
Mycologia 39: 444. 1947.

Common Name: none

• Sporocarp

  Ascocarp 0.7-4cm broad, globose to subglobose to flattened; cinnamon-buff to cream-buff; perdium minutely velutinous; interior variable from a simple cavity to extemely lobed with numerous small chambers; the interior usually opening to the exterior at one or more points.

• Spores

  Spores 24-28 X 36-36 , ellipsoid, yellow-brown, irregularly lacuno-rugose at maturity. Asci 8 spored.

• Habitat

  Solitary to gregarious, hypogeous in soil or buried in well rotted wood, Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains; spring, summer, and fall.

• Edibility

  Unknown.

• Comments

  Hydnotrya variiformis and its close relative, Hydnotrya cerebriformis both have a penchant for fruiting in well rotted logs.

• References

  Beug, M.W., Bessette, A.E. & Bessette, A.R. (2014). Ascomycete Fungi of North America. University of Texas Press: Austin, TX. 488 p.
  Gilkey, H.M. (1947). New or otherwise noteworthy species of Tuberales. Mycologia 39: 441-452. (Protologue)

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  Main Photo
  • Michael Wood: Hydnotrya variiformis (CP)
  • Herb Saylor: Hydnotrya variiformis (CP) — asci & ascospores
  • Matt Trappe (NATS): Hydnotrya variiformis (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 848 (D)
  • Trappe, Evans & Trappe: p. 51 (D & CP)
  
  

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)