Thelephora palmata

Stinking Earthfan

Scientific identification: Thelephora palmata (Scop.) Fr.
Family: Thelephoraceae
Class: Agaricomycetes
Genus: Thelephora

Names across languages

English: Stinking Earthfan
German: Stinkende Lederkoralle
Finnish: Löyhkäsilokka
Estonian: Haisev Lehternahkis
Russian: Телефора пальчатая

The scientific profile

From the latest record: 2024-09-07.

Hymenium

Wrinkled to irregularly ridged, covering surfaces of coral-like branches, initially pale pinkish, becoming dark brown with age

Cap

Lacks a true cap, fruiting body is fan-shaped, with densely clustered, flattened branches that are rosette-shaped, surface often appears velvety or fibrous

Hymenium Attachment

N/A

Stipe

Lacking or poorly defined; sometimes with a short, fused base connecting multiple branches

Spore print

Spore print brown to dark brown

Ecology

Mycorrhizal with conifers, on the ground, in moss or leaf litter, dense clusters, late summer to autumn

Edibility

Inedible, emitting an unpleasant odor

Fruit body

Fruit body medium-sized, clusters may reach up to 10 cm wide and 6–8 cm tall

Dimensions

Branches (Lobes) each branch is 0.5–3 cm wide and 2–6 cm tall

Odour

Odour likened to fetid garlic

Chemical reactions

Spores brownish in KOH. KOH instantly black on all surfaces and flesh. Flesh unchanging when sliced.

Microscopy

Spores vaguely ellipsoid to more or less subglobose—occasionally slightly lobed, 8–11 x 6–8 µm, spines 1 µm wide, 0.5–1 µm high, basidia 40–70 x 6–10 µm, clavate to widely cylindric; 4-sterigmate