Auriscalpium vulgare S. F. Gray
Nat. Arr. Brit. Pl. 1: 650. 1821.

Photo: Shows the teeth on the underside of the cap

Common Name: none

• Pileus

  Cap 1-3 cm broad, broadly convex, bean-shaped; surface dry, densely covered with reddish-brown to dark-brown hairs; margin buff-brown, concolorous with the spines; flesh thin, light-brown, leathery; odor mild.

• Hymenophore

  Teeth light brown to buff-brown, crowded, 1-3.5 mm long.

• Stipe

  Stipe 2-8 cm tall, 1-3 mm thick, more or less equal; surface dry, covered like the cap with reddish-brown to dark-brown hairs; attached laterally to the cap.

• Spores

  Spores 4.5-5.5 x 4-5 µm, nearly round, roughened, the ornamentation amyloid. Spore print white.

• Habitat

  Solitary to several on conifer cones, primarily Douglas Fir in our area; from late fall to mid-winter.

• Edibility

  Unknown, but too tough to be considered for the table.

• Comments

  Auriscalpium vulgare is recognized by its unusual kidney-shaped, hairy brown cap, laterally attached stipe and habit of growing on Douglas Fir cones. Although it is a fairly common, it is seldom collected due to its small size and drab coloration.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Auriscalpium vulgare (CP) -- distance shot; these five photos are a series of photos from not to close to extreme closeup
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Auriscalpium vulgare (CP) -- growing on a Douglas Fir cone
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Auriscalpium vulgare (CP) -- same as the top photo
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Auriscalpium vulgare (CP) -- closeup of the underside of the cap
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Auriscalpium vulgare (CP) -- closeup of the teeth
  • Boleslaw Kuznik -- Hunting for Mushrooms: Auriscalpium vulgare (CP)
  • Paul Stamets: Auriscalpium vulgare (CP) -- SEM photograph
  • BioImages: The Virtual Field-Guide (UK): Auriscalpium vulgare (CP)
  • George Barron's Fungi of Canada (East): Auriscalpium vulgare (D & CP)
  • Pilze, Pilze, Pilze: Auriscalpium vulgare (CP)
  • Arora (1985): p. 629 (D), p. 630 (P)
  • Breitenbach & Kränzlin (vol. 2): sp. 283 (D, I, & CP)
  • Jordan: p. 91 (D & CP)
  • Lincoff: p. 426 (D), plate 373 (CP)
  • Miller: sp. 333 (D & CP)

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)