Find the Two-Faced Fungus

Sagaranella tylicolor (formerly Tephrocybe/Lyophyllum/Collybia/Agaricus tylicolor/tesquorum/plexipes) (Hofstetter et al., 2014) is a small agaric fungus with a greyish-brown to reddish-brown cap, typically umbonate, and with aging, it may become almost blackish in tone. The gills are whitish when young, weakly attached to nearly free from the stipe, later becoming yellowish, brownish, or grey-black with age. The stem is slender and fragile, 2–6 cm long, usually whitish to greyish-brown, lacking both a volva and an annulus. The flesh is thin; the odor may be faintly radish-like, and the spore print is white. A diagnostic feature of the species is its broadly globose, finely spinose, iodine-negative spores. Siderophilic granules can be observed in the basidia.

S. tylicolor is an 'ammonium fungus', a nitrophilous and saprotrophic species. It occurs on a wide range of substrates. It can be found on humus, moss cushions, conifer litter, grasslands, and other nitrogen-rich habitats, and it has also been documented near animal carcasses and on dung. It fruits solitary, in groups, or sometimes in fairy rings, in both deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests.

For my PhD research, we are looking for the remarkable Sagaranella tylicolor. Our project aims to improve our understanding of the evolution of complexity in basidiomycete fungi—specifically, how simple lawns of basidia gave rise to crust-like fruiting bodies and, ultimately, to the highly organised pileate-stipitate mushrooms composed of multiple specialised tissues. Sagaranella tylicolor is particularly intriguing because, although it normally produces fruiting bodies (Yamanaka, 1994), under conditions of high ammonia availability, it can bypass fruiting body formation and develop basidia directly on its vegetative mycelium (Yamanaka & Sagara, 1990). Thus, the same species represents two different levels of complexity. While this phenomenon is not unique to S. tylicolor within the fungal kingdom (Clémençon, 2012), it is the only species in which mycelial basidium formation has been investigated and documented in a scientifically rigorous manner. 

Benedek Szathmári

1. Read the announcement.

2. Document the occurrence with high-quality photos.

3. Collect a few whole, mature fruiting bodies.

4. Gently dry the fruiting bodies and store them in a sealed bag in a dark place. 

5. Contact the Szeged Fungus Association at informacio@szegedigombasz.hu.

Description source:
https://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?noTransfer=1&sciname=Sagaranella+tylicolor&utm

Clémençon, H. (2012). Cytology and Plectology of the Hymenomycetes (2nd revised edition). J. Cramer.

Hofstetter, V., Redhead, S. A., Kauff, F., Moncalvo, J.-M., Matheny, P. B., & Vilgalys, R. (2014). Taxonomic Revision and Examination of Ecological Transitions of the Lyophyllaceae (Basidiomycota, Agaricales) Based on a Multigene Phylogeny. Cryptogamie, Mycologie, 35(4), 399–425. https://doi.org/10.7872/crym.v35.iss4.2014.399

Yamanaka, T. (1994). Fruiting of Lyophyllum tylicolor in plate culture on Soytoneglucose agar and urea-treated soil extract agar. Mycoscience, 35(2), 187–189. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02318499