The North American species of Pholiota, by Alexander H. Smith and L. R. Hesler.

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The North American Species of Pholiota

content hyaline fresh but revived in KOH yellowish and wrinkled, in
Melzer's the content in granules or irregular bodies and dull brown.
(Not true chrysocystidia as far as content is concerned). Cheilocystidia
versiform, clavate to vesiculose and 18-26 x 10-14 /,; narrowly clavate
to fusoid-ventricose or utriform and 26-40 x 9-13 Fu, some irregular or
with one or two protuberances in upper part, with both a yellow content
and wall (in KOH) when fresh, as revived with a distinctly yellow somewhat thickened wall in basal area or lower half, the upper part hyaline
to yellowish and the wall thinner.
Gill trama with a central area of more or less parallel hyphae hyaline
to yellowish in KOH and Melzer's, the hyphal cells inflating to 10-15 /t,
the cells greatly elongated; subhymenium of gelatinous hyphae diverging
to the hymenium and often with yellow content as revived in KOH,
no incrusted hyphae noted. Pileus cutis a thick layer of gelatinized
hyphae 3-7 /t diam., rather tangled in arrangement, the hyphal walls
breaking down somewhat, the hyphae hyaline to ochraceous in KOH;
hyphae of the gelatinous veil material breaking down almost completely
(found as patches over the cutis); hypodermial region of hyphae with
inflated cells (up to 20 /u) but walls hyaline to nearly so in KOH, in
Melzer's the content of some cells ochraceous to orange. Context of
hyaline hyphae with inflated cells hyaline in KOH and hyaline to dull
ochraceous orange in Melzer's reagent, walls smooth and thin to slightly
thickened in some ("double"). Clamp connections regularly present.
HABIT, HABITAT, AND DISTRIBUTION: Gregarious-caespitose on log of
Abies (fir), Upper Priest River Boundary County, Idaho, Oct. 13, 1966.
Smith 74173, type.
OBSERVATIONSS The distinguishing features of this species are its
habitat on conifer logs, the large flat gelatinous scales on the pileus
which finally disintegrate to dark brown discolorations which are not
at all scale-like, the pallid young gills with their bright yellow margins,
and the gelatinous as well as dry patches and squamules on the stipe. The
spores are too large for P. adiposa. P. abietis appears to be closest and is
abundant in the area, but does not have colored gill edges, and the
scales on the pileus usually show as aggregations of appressed fibrils. In
P. abietis the spores are 5.5-7 x 3.5-4 u, i.e. slightly smaller.
P. hiemalis is a late-fruiting species, if one season is any indication.
The type collection consisted of a log covered by the bright colored
basidiocarps. Only a small amount of it was collected on Oct. 13th. That
night a hard freeze came in the area, and I went back the next day to see
what the remaining specimens were like. They were still frozen stiff at
10 o'clock in the morning. I gathered the remainder on the log and took
them back to the laboratory. When set up for spore deposits they thawed
out and deposited spores just as the unfrozen material had done from
the day before. In the dried condition the frozen and unfrozen basidiocarps are indistinguishable. This is one reason for assuming that the
fungus is a late fruiting species. It has apparently adjusted to freezing