Tapinella panuoides

The fruitbody consists of a cap, with very little or no stem and with gills on the underside of the cap. The cap is fan-shaped to semi-circular and may grow to 10 centimetres in its longest dimension (though mature fruitbodies are often only about half that). It may be attached to its woody substrate by a very short lateral stem, but often there is no stem and the cap is attached directly to the wood. Initially it has a white, furry or woolly covering but with age this disappears to leave the surface smooth and yellowish brown to tan. The gills are yellowish-brown, crimped or wrinkled and are often forked or with cross-connections between them. Sometimes there is a lilac to purplish furriness at the point of attachment.

 Spore print: yellowish brown.

 This is a cosmopolitan species found growing on dead wood or woodchip mulch. The caps often appear in large groups.

 Look-alikes

The colours, shape and the crimped, cross-connected gills make this is an almost distinctive species.

 I say ‘almost’ because I suspect that, in the local region, any fungus that fits the above description will be Tapinella panuoides. However, Meiorganum curtisii (previously placed in the genera Pseudomerulius and Tapinella) is a superficially similar species. It has been reported from southern Victoria, Tasmania and south-west Western Australia (and is known overseas). Should it be found here then the species Tapinella panuoides should probably be replaced by ‘Tapinella panuoides group’.

 Schizophyllum commune has a white furry cap but the gills are not yellowish brown and come in parallel pairs. Crepidotus, Hohenbuehelia, Pleurotus and Resupinatus are other common, local genera that produce stemless caps, but with no crimped or cross-connected gills. The caps of Anthracophyllum archeri are brick red or reddish-brown. Species of Campanella have gills with cross-connections but the caps are white to grey.