Neolentinus lepideus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Fungi
Division:
Basidiomycota
Class:
Agaricomycetes
Order:
Gloeophyllales
Family:
Gloeophyllaceae
Genus:
Neolentinus
Species:
N. lepideus
Binomial name
Neolentinus lepideus
(Fr.) Redhead & Ginns (1985)[1]
Neolentinus lepideus
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
Gills on hymenium
Cap is convex or flat
Hymenium is adnate or decurrent
Stipe has a ring
Spore print is white
Ecology is saprotrophic
Edibility is edible

Neolentinus lepideus is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Neolentinus, until recently also widely known as Lentinus lepideus. Common names for it include scaly sawgill,[2][3][4] scaly lentinus and train wrecker.[5][6][7]

Appearance

Neolentinus lepideus fruit bodies are tough, fleshy, agarics of variable size. The cap is at first convex and flattens with maturity while the margin remains enrolled. The cap may grow up to about 12 cm, while the stem grows to about 8 cm in height.[8] The white, cream to pale-brown cap cuticle is distinctively covered with concentrically arranged dark scales which become denser towards the depressed cap centre. The gills are white and their attachment to the stem is adnate to subdecurrent or decurrent. The gills and stipe can become dark reddish with age.[9] The white stem is covered in dark scales in the region below the white ring.[9] The odor is somewhat like anise,[9] and the taste is indiscernible.[8]

The spore mass is white and the spores are cylindrical in shape. The spore dimensions are 8–12.5 by 3.5–5 µm.[10]

Habitat and distribution

The fruiting bodies of Neolentinus lepideus are found singly or in tufts emerging from dead and decaying coniferous wood, favouring pines (Pinus) including old stumps, logs, and timber. It may also be found in gardens, on man-made wooden structures such as old railroad ties, and in such unusual places as coal mines. Less frequently, it is also found on non-coniferous hardwood. The fungus's fruiting season is spring to autumn and it is common in Europe and North America.[10][11] There have also been multiple reports of its occurrence in the Western Cape, South Africa.[12]

Importance

Neolentinus lepideus has a saprotrophic mode of nutrition and is an important woodland decomposer and a cause of wet rot in building materials. The fungus has shown tolerance of wood treated with creosote and other preservatives, and has been used in experiments to evaluate the efficacy of treatment methods.[13]

Edibility

Some authors qualify Neolentinus lepideus as edible,[11][8] although it requires cooking to soften it up.[14] While there have been no recorded poisonings, the fungus may come in contact with hazardous chemicals because its fruiting bodies tend to grow on human-made wooden structures, such as wooden railroad ties smeared with creosote. Fruiting bodies have a flesh with a tough consistency which increases with maturity.[8]

Similar species

Neolentinus ponderosus is similar but has no partial veil, and thus no ring.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Index Fungorum entry on species.
  2. ↑ "Neolentinus lepideus · scaly sawgill". The British Mycological Society. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  3. ↑ "Neolentinus lepideus (Fr.) Redhead & Ginns – Scaly Sawgill". NBN Atlas. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  4. ↑ "Neolentinus lepideus – Scaly Sawgill". Texas mushrooms. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  5. ↑ "Neolentinus lepideus (Fr.) Redhead & Ginns - Train Wrecker". First Nature. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  6. ↑ "Neolentinus lepideus (Train Wrecker)". EOL. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  7. ↑ "Trainwrecker (Neolentinus lepideus)". Ninaturalist.nz. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Michael Jordan (1995). The Encyclopedia of Fungi of Britain and Europe. David & Charles. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-7153-0129-6.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-88192-935-5.
  10. 1 2 Bas C. (1990). Volume 2 of Flora Agaricina Neerlandica: Critical Monographs on Families of Agarics and Boleti Occurring in the Netherlands. CRCPress. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-90-6191-971-1. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  11. 1 2 "Lentinus lepideus at Rogers Mushrooms". Rogers Plants Ltd. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Lentinus lepideus". Retrieved 2016-12-24.
  13. ↑ Duncan C., Deverall F. (1963). "Degradation of Wood Preservatives by Fungi". Applied Microbiology. 12 (1): 57–62. doi:10.1128/AM.12.1.57-62.1964. PMC 1058065. PMID 16349644.
  14. ↑ Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-7627-3109-1.
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