Gyrodon lividus

Taxobox | name = Gyrodon lividus
regnum = Fungi


image_caption = "Gyrodon lividus"
phylum = Basidiomycota
classis = Basidiomycetes
ordo = Boletales
familia = Paxillaceae
genus = "Gyrodon"
species = "G. lividus"
binomial = "Gyrodon lividus"
binomial_authority = (Bull.) Fr.
synonyms = "Uloporus lividus" (Bull.) Quél.mycomorphbox
name = Gyrodon lividus
capShape=flat
whichGills=decurrent
hymeniumType=pores
stipeCharacter=bare
sporePrintColor=olive
sporePrintColor2=brown
howEdible= edible

"Gyrodon lividus", sometimes known as the alder bolete, is a pored mushroom bearing close affinity to the genus "Paxillus". It is also known as "Uloporus lividus" by some authorities. Found predominantly in Europe, though also recorded from Japan and California, it is distinguished by its decurrent bright yellow pores which turn blue-grey on bruising. It is edible.

Taxonomy

It was initially described by French mycologist Pierre Bulliard in 1791 as "Boletus lividus", before being given its current binomial name in 1838 by Elias Magnus Fries. The generic term "Gyrodon" is derived from the Ancient Greek "gyros" "whorl" and "odon" "tooth",cite book | author = Nilson S & Persson O | year = 1977 | title = Fungi of Northern Europe 1: Larger Fungi (Excluding Gill-Fungi) | publisher = Penguin|isbn=0-14-063005-8|pages=p. 112] cite book | author = Liddell, Henry George and Robert Scott | year = 1980 | title = A Greek-English Lexicon (Abridged Edition) | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = United Kingdom | isbn =0-19-910207-4] while the specific epithet "lividus" is Latin for "lead-coloured". [cite book | last = Simpson | first = D.P. | title = Cassell's Latin Dictionary | publisher = Cassell Ltd. | date = 1979 | edition = 5th | location = London | pages = 883 | isbn= 0-304-52257-0] Lucien Quélet described it as "Uloporus lividus" in 1886, and it is still under this binomial in some texts. [la iconcite book |title= Enchiridion Fungorum in Europa Media et praesertim in Gallia Vigentium |last=Quélet |first=Lucien |authorlink=Lucien Quélet|year=1886 |publisher= |location=Paris |pages=p. 162|quote=pileo tigrino, e fuligineo-livido lutescente; tubulis brevissimis, longe decurrentibus, luteo-virentibus, stipite fuscecenti luteo]

Recent molecular research confirms the relations of the genus "Gyrodon" and "Paxillus" as sister groups, together lying near the base of a tree from which the genus "Boletus" arises. [cite journal |author=Kretzer A, Bruns TD |year=1999 |title=Use of atp6 in fungal phylogenetics: an example from the Boletales |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=483–92 |id= |url=http://plantbio.berkeley.edu/~bruns/ftp/kretzer1999.pdf|format=PDF |accessdate=2008-03-11 |doi=10.1006/mpev.1999.0680]

Description

"Gyrodon lividus" has a pale brown, buff or ochre cap 4-10 cm (1.6-4 in) in diameter which is convex and later flat in shape, and can be sticky when wet. The tubes and decurrent large pores are bright yellow and turn blue-grey when cut or bruised. The thin flesh is pale yellow. The ringless stipe is initially the same colour as the cap but later darkens to a red-brown; it is 3-7 cm (1.2-2.8 in) high by 1-2 cm wide (0.4-0.8 in). The spore print is olive-brown and the oval spores are 4.5-6 x 3-4 μm. The mushroom has a non-distinctive smell and taste.cite book | author = Roger Phillips | year = 2006 | title = Mushrooms | publisher = Pan MacMillan | isbn = 0-330-44237-6|pages = p. 285] It is reported as edible by some authors, and inedible by others.

Distribution and habitat

It has been found in Europe, including Ķemeri National Park in Latvia, [cite web |url=http://www.kemeri.gov.lv/_Administracija/KNP_MP.pdf|format=PDF |title=The Management Plan of Kemeri National Park |accessdate=2008-08-02 |author=Kemeri NP Administration |date=2002|publisher=Ministry of Environment of Denmark, DANCEE and Government of Latvia.] and Asia (Japan) and California, under Alder ("Alnus rhombifolia"). [cite journal |author=David Hayward and Harry D. Thiers |year=1984 |title="Gyrodon lividus" in California |journal=Mycologia, |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=573-75|id= |url=http://www.jstor.org/pss/3793346 |accessdate=2008-08-01]

As its common name suggests, "Gyrodon lividus" is found under alder ("Alnus rhombifolia"), with which it forms a mycorrhizal relationship. Fruiting bodies may be found alone or in clumps and appear in autumn.

References