Basidioma
Basidioma
Basidioma
Basidioma showing grandinoid aspect
Infrequently clamped monomitic hyphal system
Basidia
Green hyphae and spores in Melzer's reagent
Apiculate, subglobose basidiospores with a single large guttule
Blue Cotton Crust
Byssocorticium sp. 'pulchrum-NJ01'
Like its cousin Byssocorticium sp. 'atrovirens-IN01', Byssocorticium sp. 'pulchrum-NJ01' is a beautiful blue crust ("pulchrum" translates to "beauty") that can be found growing under wood and leaves in hardwood forests as a mycorrhizal fungus. Byssocorticium pulchrum was described by Swedish mycologist Seth Lundell in 1941. A sequenced specimen from Sweden serves as my reference for this species. As for the Byssocorticium atrovirens group, we see a phylogenetic split and large ITS dissimilarity between American and European populations in the Byssocorticum pulchrum clade. Byssocorticum sp. 'pulchrum-NJ01' is closely related to, but distinct from, the European Byssocorticium pulchrum and requires further study to establish a formal name.
Details
Mycorrhizal, growing on the underside of wood debris.
Effused, byssoid to athelioid, with an even to grandinoid hymenophore and an indeterminate, arachnoid margin; bright, light chalky blue with yellowish/light olive-brown patches when fresh, fading slightly when dried.
Not determined.
Not determined.
Not determined.
Documented from the Northeastern United States and Panama. View all sequenced specimens on iNaturalist.
Microscopy
Hyphal system: monomitic, simple septa and clamps both present, greenish in Melzer's reagent; (3.1) 3.3–3.8 (3.9) µm wide (n = 10). Basidia: terminal, clavate, with four sterigmata, occassionally with guttules and sometimes with a basal clamp; length (15.4) 17.6–23.3 (24.3) µm, width (4.6) 5.1–6.5 (6.7) µm, x̄ = 20.5 ✕ 5.8 µm (n = 10). Basidiospores: globose to subglobose, smooth, hyaline, apiculate; length (4.9) 4.9–5.6 (6) µm, width (4.4) 4.7–5.3 (5.9) µm, x̄ = 5.3 ✕ 5.0 µm, Q (1) 1–1.1 (1.2), x̄ = 1.1 (n = 30). Sterile structures: Absent.
Studied Specimens
ACD0471 (iNat98605664). 17 October 2021. Estelle Manor Park, Atlantic Co., NJ, USA, 39.4145 -74.7321. University of Michigan Fungarium. Sequences: ON364097 (ITS), ON369550 (LSU).
References
No cited references.
Citation
Dirks, Alden. 2026. Species profile for Byssocorticium sp. 'pulchrum-NJ01'. CrustFungi.Com. https://crustfungi.com/species/byssocorticium-sp-pulchrum-NJ01/. Accessed 2026-01-11.