Hysterangium coriaceum R. Hesse
Diseases of Field and Garden Crops 1: 101. 1891.

Common Name: none

• Description

  For description see Castellano, Zeller & Dodge, & 'California Mushrooms'.

• Habitat

  Solitary to scattered, hypogeous under conifers; common, fruiting from spring through fall, widely distributed.

• Edibility

  Unknown.

• Comments

  Hysterangium coriaceum can be distinguished by a separable white peridium that bruises pink, a rubbery gelatinous olive-green gleba, coarse, basal white rhizomorphs, a two-layered peridium and growth under conifers, both along the coast and in the mountains. Several other Hysterangium species have been reported from California, differing from Hysterangium coriaceum mainly in habitat and micromorphology: Hysterangium separabile is nearly indistinguishable but has broader spores, shorter basidia, and grows under oaks; Hysterangium aureum has fruitbodies that dry dark golden brown, a single-layered peridium, and slightly wrinkled spores; Hysterangium crassirhachis has a very thick, gelatinous, translucent-white columella and is associated with Douglas fir; Hysterangium setchellii grows under Douglas fir, has larger spores, and different peridium anatomy. Lastly, Hysterangium occidentale  grows in mixed forests with redwoods and differs from all other species by a pink to red gleba.

• References

  Castellano, M.A. (1988). The taxonomy of the genus Hysterangium (Hysterangiaceae, Basidiomycotina) with notes on its ecology. Ph.D. Dissertation. Oregon State University: Corvalis, OR. 238 p. (PDF)
  Desjardin, D.E., Wood, M.G. & Stevens, F.A. (2015). California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 560 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. (1929). Hysterangium in North America. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 16: 83-128. (PDF)
  

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Michael Castellano: Hysterangium coriaceum (CP)
  
  

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