Lichenomphalia chromacea
Synonyms
Agaricus alpinus, Lichenomphalia alpina, Omphalia luteovitellina, Omphalina luteovitellina
Family
Hygrophoraceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Basidiomycete
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the terricolous habit; and the bright-yellow stipe and mushroom fruiting body.
Distribution
South Island: Nelson (St Arnaud Range, Lewis Pass), Canterbury (Arthur’s Pass, Woolshed Hill, Mt Peel, Kirkliston Range), Otago (Dublin Bay, Lake Wanaka, Remarkables, Old Man Range, Mt Benger, Mt Teviot, Lake Onslow, Rock & Pillar Range, Blue Mountains).
Known also South Australia, New South Wales, and Tasmania.
Habitat
On soil, among mosses in damp places, often on farm tracks, subalpine to alpine, to 2000 m. Still rather poorly collected.
Detailed description
Pileus to 15 mm broad, convex to plane, margin striate when wet, becoming undulate or scalloped, disc shallowly depressed, surface glabrous, often shining, appearing moist, bright yellow, paler with age and drying. Context thin, concolorous with pileus surface. Lamellae short-decurrent to long-decurrent, distant, often somewhat thickened, narrow, yellow like moist pileus, edges even. Stipe to 18 mm long, 1-2 mm thick, equal or base slightly enlarged often curved, base often tomentose but glabrous to fibrillose or subpubescent above, moist, solid, concolorous with lamellae and pileus. Spores 7-8.5(-9) × 4-4.5 µm, elliptical. Basidia 25-45 × 5-8 µm, mainly 4-spored sometimes 2-spored. Clamp connections absent. Scattered or gregarious, with lichenised association Botrydina vulgaris Bréb.
Similar taxa
Similar to other yellow non-lichenised basidio fungi but can be separated by the presence of green algal cells at the stipe base. It can be separated from other New Zealand entities of Lichenomphalia by its orange-yellow fruit.
Substrate
Terricolous
Previously known in New Zealand as Omphalia luteovitellina (Pilat et Nannfeldt) M. Lange and Lichenomphalia alpina (Britzelm.) Redhead, Lutzoni, Moncalvo & Vilgalys.
It is thought there may be up to three species under the name Lichenomphalia chromacea in Australasia.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (2 June 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, and Features sections copied from Galloway (1985, 2007).
References and further reading
Galloway D.J. 1985: Flora of New Zealand: Lichens. Wellington: PD Hasselberg, Government Printer. 662 pp.
Galloway D.J. 2007: Flora of New Zealand: Lichens, including lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi. 2nd edition. Lincoln, Manaaki Whenua Press. 2261 pp.