3/7/2012
Saw this guy from a distance and had to investigate. I know I've had 2 other specimens of this exact fungus but this was the largest by far. At first I thought it was an old rotten orange but then I looked around and realized, there was no way an orange could have made it to where I was. He was growing at the base of an old blown-down and decomposing palm tree, and I might add, this guy was a monster. I'm going to identify it, I'm hell bent on it. This guy is EVERYWHERE and I need to know what he is!
http://americanmushrooms.com/taxa/Pisolithus_tinctorius_01_Paula_DeSanto.htm Look at that. The only possible option I can find. The interesting thing is I've looked into this species as a possible identification before but I stopped because the pictures weren't exact. However, this seems to be the ONLY viable option so I'm going to do some in depth research on the 'dye-makers false puffball'. http://www.mushroomexpert.com/pisolithus_tinctorius.html I'm fairly certain now. No, I'm positive. "Fruiting Body: 5-30+ cm high and up to 20 cm across; ball-shaped when young, stretching out with maturity to become top-shaped, tooth-shaped (like a giant molar), stumplike, or just plain odd; the surface at first whitish to yellowish, purplish, or brownish--but soon breaking up to expose the interior; outer rind thin and fragile; interior at first packed with pea-sized spore packages embedded in blackish gel, disintegrating from the top downward to become a mass of cinnamon brown spore dust; base with a rudimentary stem or sterile portion; often with yellowish rhizomorphs attached; odor at first mild, becoming fragrant and, in maturity, foul." Yep, That's it. FINALLY SOLVED! I'm going to go back and fix the other two as well!
And then a cross section of the fungus about an inch thickness each time.
Next time you find one, cut in half length wise.
ReplyDeletePisolithus tinctorius makes for some great cross section pics!