Claudopus variabilis.
Natural size.
Pileus eccentric, lateral or resupinate. Spores pinkish.
The species of this genus were formerly distributed among the Pleuroti and Crepidoti, which they resemble in all respects except the color of the spores. The genus at first was made to include species with lilac-colored as well as pink spores, but Professor Fries limited it to species with pink spores. In this sense we have taken it. The spores in some species are even, in others rough or angulated. The stem is either entirely wanting or is very short and inconspicuous, a character indicated by the generic name. The pileus often rests upon its back and is attached by a point when young, but it becomes turned backward with age. The species are few and infrequent. All inhabit decaying wood.
| SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES. | |
| Pileus yellow | C. nidulans |
| Pileus white or whitish | 1 |
| 1. Spores even | C. variabilis |
| 1. Spores angulated. | C. depluens |
| Pileus gray or brown | 2 |
| 2. Pileus striatulate when moist | C. Greigensis |
| 2. Pileus not striatulate | C. byssisedus |
| Peck, 39th Rep. N.Y. State Bot. | |
C. ni´dulans Pers.—nidus, a nest. Pileus 1–3 in. broad, stemless, attached by the pileus or rarely narrowed behind into a short stem-like base, caps often overlapping one another, suborbicular or kidney-shaped, downy, somewhat pointed-hairy or scaly-hairy toward the margin, yellow or buff color, the margin at first turned inward. Lamellæ rather broad, moderately close or subdistant, orange-yellow. Spores even, slightly curved, 6–8µ long, about half as broad, delicate pink.
Decaying wood. Sandlake. Catskill and Adirondack mountains. Autumn.
This fungus was placed by Fries among the Pleuroti, and in this he has been followed by most authors. But the spores have a delicate pink color closely resembling that of the young lamellæ of the common mushroom, Agaricus campestris. We have, therefore, placed it among the Claudopodes, where Fries himself has suggested it should be placed if removed at all from Pleurotus. Our plant has sometimes been referred to Panus dorsalis Bosc., but with the description of that species it does not well agree. The tawny-color, spoon-shaped pileus, pale floccose scales, short lateral stem and decurrent lamellæ ascribed to that species are not well shown by our plant. The substance of the pileus, though rather tenacious and persistent, can scarcely be called leathery. The flesh is white or pale yellow. The hairy down of the pileus is often matted in small tufts and intermingled with coarse hairs, especially toward the margin. This gives a scaly or pointed-hairy appearance. The color of the pileus is often paler toward the base than it is on the margin. Peck, 39th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Mt. Gretna, Pa., November, 1898, decaying stumps. McIlvaine.
An autumnal species growing upon wood. Not common.