| Thelephora palmata | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Thelephorales |
| Family: | Thelephoraceae |
| Genus: | Thelephora |
| Species: | T. palmata |
| Binomial name | |
| Thelephora palmata (Scop.) Fr. (1821) |
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| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Clavaria palmata Scop. (1772) |
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Thelephora palmata (commonly known as the stinking earthfan) is a species of clavarioid fungus in the Thelephoraceae family. It is found in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
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The species was first described in 1772 by Italian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, as Clavaria palmata.[2] Elias Fries transferred it to the genus Thelephora in 1821.[3] It is known by the common name stinking earthfan.[4]
The fruit body of T. palmata is a coral-like tuft that is repeatedly branched from a central stalk, reaching dimensions of 3.5–6.5 cm (1.4–2.6 in) tall. The branches of the fruit body end in spoon- to fan-shaped tips that are frequently fringed or grooved. The branches of the fruit body are initially whitish in color, but gradually turn gray to lilac-brown in maturity, although the tips remain whitish.[5] The fungus produces a purple-brown spore print.[6] The odor of the fruit body is quite unpleasant,[7] and it has been called "a candidate for stinkiest fungus in the forest".[8] The unpleasant odor intensifies after drying.[6]
The spores are purple, angular with lobes, and spiny with spines measuring 0.5–1.5 µm long; the overal dimensions of the spores are 8–12 by 7–9 µm. Spores contain one or two oil drops. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) measure 70–100 by 9–12 µm, and have sterigmata that are 2–4 µm thick by 7–12 µm long.[9]
Thelephora anthocephala is somewhat similar in appearance, but can be distinguished by branches that taper upward, branch tips that are flattened (instead of spoon-like), and the lack of a fetid odor.[6]
Thelephora palmata grows solitarily, scattered, or in groups on the ground in both coniferous and mixed forest.[6] It is is found in Asia (including Iran,[10] Japan,[11] and Siberia[12]), Europe, North America,[8] and South America (Brazil[13] and Colombia[14]).