Gymnopus dryophilus and Syzygospora mycetophila

November 17, 2018

Gymnopus dryophilus (Bull.) Murrill is a common mushroom with very common features.

(A) Habitat photo for G. dryophilus. (B) Reddish-brown stipe and white gills of G. dryophilus. (C) Brown cap and white spore print of G. dryophilus (spore print on the stick).

Gymnopus dryophilus (Bull.) Murrill is a common mushroom with very common features. It has a tannish-brown cap, white gills, reddish-brown stipe, and produces a white spore print. Honestly, kind of a boring mushroom.

However, in some instances, G. dryophilus hosts another fungus, Syzygospora mycetophila (Peck) Ginns & Sunhede. S. mycetophila is a jelly-like fungus that parasitizes G. dryophilus, so S. mycetophilatakes on the tannish-brown color of its host. S. mycetophila is capable of parasitizing the cap and stipe, but does not parasitize the gills.

Syzygospora mycetophila Figure 2 — (A) Cap of G. dryophilus parasitized by S. mycetophila. (B) A second cap of G. dryophilus parasitized by S. mycetophila. (C) Cap and stipe of G. dryophilus parasitized by S. mycetophila.

Phylum: Basidiomycota	Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes	Class: Tremellomycetes
Order: Agaricales	Order: Tremellales
Family: Marasmiaceae	Family: Syzygosporaceae
Genus: Gymnopus	Genus: Syzygospora
Species: dryophilus	Species: mycetophila

References:

Kuo, M. (2013, January). Gymnopus dryophilus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com.
Kuo, M. (2005, January). Syzygospora mycetophila: Collybia jelly. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com.
Ginns, J. (1986). The Genus Syzygospora (Heterobasidiomycetes: Syzygosporaceae). Mycologia, 78(4), 619-636. doi:10.2307/3807775.