Tubaria-hiemalis_cystidia_3M

Description:

Tubaria hiemalis Romagn.ex Bon, syn.: Tubaria furfuracea (Pers.: Fr.) Gill. ss. Romagn.DE: Gemainer TrompetenschnitzlingSlo.: zimska trobljicaDat.: Feb. 23. 2014Lat.: 46.36009 Long.: 13.70287Code: Bot_784/2014_DSC0011Habitat: modestly southeast inclined mountain slope, mixed forest, Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies dominant; overgrown former pasture on scree, rocks and boulders, calcareous ground, relatively warm and dry place, partly protected from direct rain by tree canopies, average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, elevation 595 m (1.950 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.Substratum: rotten organic debris on forest ground, mostly wood chips, fruits and leaves of Fagus sylvatica.Place: Lower Trenta valley, at the foot of Mt. Srebrnjak, between villages Soa and Trenta, near 'Na melu' place, East Julian Alps, Posoje, Slovenia EC.Comments: Species/Index Fungorum treats the name Tubaria hiemalis as a synonym of T. furfuracea, however MycoBank considers the name as validated. In any way, T. hiemalis it is a questionable species for several mycologists. Many do not separate it from Tubaria furfuracea Ref.:(2) stating that in most of distinguishing traits all intermediates exist and hence the existing differences rather represent natural variability than distinct species. Nevertheless,what is considered T. furfuracea grows in summer and what T. hiemalis in winter. Be as it may, this year, probably because we have unusually mild and wet winter, these LBMs ('little brown mushrooms' - according to Arora, Ref.:(6)) have been growing in large numbers everywhere in Fagus/Picea woods in Trenta valley during the whole February and the first part of March. Winter time and clearly cylindric - capitate cheilocystidia, which should not be present in T. furfuracea according to Ref.:(3), encouraged me to decide for T. hiemalis. Growing scattered around; many fruit bodies present. Growing attached to rotting beechnuts (seeds as well as on their capsules), small pieces of rotten wood, but also on pure layered rotting Fagus sylvatica leaves without observable pieces of any other substrate. The latter doesn't fit to substratum description in Ref.:(3). Pilei diameter from 1.2 to 2.8 cm; hygrophanous, pilei color fades to light pale ocher in dry weather (see Fig.: 9); taste mushroomy, mildly unpleasant; smell indistinctive; SP ocher-brown, abundant, oac846.Spores smooth. Dimensions: 7,1 [7,8 ; 8,1] 8,8 x 4,4 [4,9 ; 5,1] 5,6 microns, Q = 1,4 [1,6] 1,8; N = 41; C = 95%, Me = 8 x 5 microns; Qe = 1,6. Olympus CH20, NEA 100x/1.25, magnification 1.000 x, oil, in water (spores) and NEA 40x/0.65, magnification 400x, in water, congo red (trama, cystidia). AmScope MA500 digital camera.Herbarium: Mycotheca and lichen herbarium (LJU-Li) of Slovenian Forestry Institute, Vena pot 2, Ljubljana, Index Herbariorum LJFRef.:(1) Personal communication with Mr. Bojan Rot, www.gobenabovskem.com(2) G. J. Krieglsteiner (Hrsg.), Die Grosspilze Baden-Wrttembergs, Band 4, Ulmer (2003), p 424.(3) J. Breitenbach, F. Kraenzlin, Eds., Fungi of Switzerland, Vol.4. Verlag Mykologia (1984), p 358.(4) R.M. Daehncke, 1200 Pilze in Farbfotos, AT Verlag (2009), p 638.(5) M. Bon, Parey's Buch der Pilze, Kosmos (2005), p 246 7-8/5 (furfuracea), (6) D. Arora, Mushrooms Demystified, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley (1986), p 402.