Basidioma with guttation
Growth on the bottom of pine duff.
A few deciduous leaves were present; the crust grew on both.
Clamp connections.
Basidia and ornamented basidiospores.
Trechispora stellulata (Bourdot & Galzin) Liberta
With the advent of molecular ecology and environmental DNA sequencing, we have learned that crusts are often major components of ectomycorrhizal communities, particularly in coniferous forests. Rosenthal et al. (2017) collected crusts across 60 coniferous forests in North America and compared DNA sequences from fruiting bodies and ectomycorrhizal root tips. Based on high sequence similarity between these samples, they confirmed the ectomycorrhizal status of many crusts, including T. stellulata.
Trechispora species produce fragile, usually light-colored basidiomata with short basidia and ampullate hyphae (Liberta 1966, Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010). Trechispora stellulata can be separated from the other Trechispora species with smooth basidiocarps and ornamented basidiospores by the spore size and presence of only a few obtuse spines, giving them the appearance of miniature Jerusalem artichokes.
Details
Ectomycorrhizal with Pinaceae trees (Rosenthal et al. 2017); also reported on diverse substrates such as moss, Ericaceae species, and oak leaves (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010). The documented specimen was found on the underside of pine duff.
Thin, effused, smooth hymenophore, arachnoid to byssoid in texture, whitish, producing guttation droplets, with a fimbriate margin, occassionally rhizomorphic, fusing the duff together.
Not determined.
Not determined.
Not determined.
Widespread across the temperate Northern Hemisphere
Microscopy
Hyphal system: Monomitic with clamps at all septa, occasionally ampulate, globular to angular encrustations occassional; width 1.8–2.7 µm (n = 10). Basidia: Short and cylindrical, terminal, with four sterigmata and a basal clamp; length (7.4) 7.4–9.2 (10.1) µm, width (3.7) 4.2–5.0 (5.1) µm, x̄ = 8.3 ✕ 4.6 µm, Q (1.5) 1.6–2 (2.1), x̄ = 1.8 (n = 10). Basidiospores: Ellipsoid, ornamented with few obtuse spines, inamyloid; length (2.8) 3.0–3.6 (3.8) µm, width (1.7) 1.9–2.6 (3.3) µm, x̄ = 3.3 ✕ 2.2 µm, Q (1.1) 1.3–1.7 (1.9), x̄ = 1.5 (n = 30). Sterile structures: Absent.
Studied Specimens
ACD0203 (iNat33962903). 04 October 2019. Middleville, Barry Co., MI, USA, 42.6389 -85.4530. University of Michigan Fungarium (MICH352202). Sequences: ON364078 (ITS).
References
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Bernicchia A, Gorjón SP. 2010. Corticiaceae s.l. Italia: Candusso. 1008 p. Link
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Liberta AE. 1966. On Trechispora. Taxon 15:317–319. PDF Link
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Rosenthal LM, Larsson K-H, Branco S, Chung JA, Glassman SI, Liao H-L, Peay KG, Smith DP, Talbot JM, Taylor JW, Vellinga EC, Vilgalys R, Bruns TD. 2017. Survey of corticioid fungi in North American pinaceous forests reveals hyperdiversity, underpopulated sequence databases, and species that are potentially ectomycorrhizal. Mycologia 109:115–127. PDF Link
Citation
Dirks, Alden. 2026. Species profile for Trechispora stellulata (Bourdot & Galzin) Liberta. CrustFungi.Com. https://crustfungi.com/species/trechispora-stellulata/. Accessed 2026-02-01.