Xerula australis
| Xerula australis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Physalacriaceae |
| Genus: | Xerula |
| Species: | X. australis |
| Binomial name | |
| Xerula australis (Dörfelt) R.H. Petersen | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Oudemansiella radicata var. australis | |
Xerula australis is a species of gilled mushrooms in the Physalacriaceae family.
Description
The cap is 5 to 8 centimetres (2.0 to 3.1 in) in diameter, and brownish in color. The cap surface is moist, somewhat sticky, with conspicuous striations (grooves) at the margin. The gills have an adnate attachment to the stem, are whitish in color, changing to buff in maturity, sometimes with a tinge of pink in older specimens. The whitish stem is 8 to 11 centimetres (3.1 to 4.3 in) by 0.7 to 1.0 centimetre (0.28 to 0.39 in) thick, covered with small particles (furfuraceous) or small hairs (tomentose); the stem bruises to a gray-tan color.[1] Like other Xerula species, X. australis has a characteristic root-like rhizomorph that extends down in the soil, usually attached to rotting wood under the fruiting body. The spore print is white.
- Microscopic features
The spores are ellipsoid, smooth, and hyaline, with dimensions of 12–16 to 8–11 µm.[2]
Habitat and distribution
X. australis has been recorded growing solitary or in groups, on sandy soil in Southern Australia.[1] Smith (2005) notes that in the Bunya Mountains of south-east Queensland, X. australis may be found growing in large groups on dead roots in the rainforest, but it is also associated with eucalypt forests and woodland.[2]