Gymnopilus allantopus

Australia: Gymnopilus allantopus is extremely common in the Perth region, most often seen on fallen Banksia logs and branches. It is a decomposer fungus occurring on a wide range of rotting logs, stumps and woody debris. The Golden Wood Fungus produces fruit bodies over most of the main local Australian fungus season – May to July, and also produces masses of fan-like white thread in the wood that can be seen any time of the year. The best way to see the fans is to lift off a strip of bark to reveal the underlying threads amid the soft white-rotted wood.

The fungus is easily identified in the field by its bright gills that develop rusty spots when old, white flap on the margin of young caps, and white fan-like mycelium. It has a bright ochre brown spore print. Most often the fruit bodies have a straight stem but if the specimens emerge from the side of a log the stem curves upwards.[1]

. Gills bright orange-yellow. Young caps with white flap on margin. Abundant white fan-like threads in rotting wood.[2]

• Cap: 10–40 mm.
• Spore print: ochre brown.

Previously in Western Australia Gymnopilus allantopus incorrectly was referred to as the northern hemisphere species Gymnopilus penetrans. It was also recently given the provisional name G. austrosapineus to distinguish small specimens from large ones sent in the 19th century from Australia to M. J. Berkeley in England. He named the large specimens as allantopus in 1845 and referred to it as the very noble species. Recent studies have revealed that Berkeley was sent only the largest specimens and he had wrongly assumed all specimens would be large-sized. Hence the name G. austrosapineus was determined to be superfluous because G. allantopus produces both small and large specimens.[3]

• List of Gymnopilus species

• Index Fungorum