Lentinellus ursinus (Fr.) Kühner Bear Lentinus. Fruit body a fan- or kidney-shaped cap without a stem. Cap 3-1l cm wide, 2-5cm from front to back; yellow-brown to reddish brown; densely covered in fine stiff hairs or pubescence. Gills broad, close, with edges minutely serrated or raggedly toothed; pale pinkish brown to reddish brown. Flesh thin, pale brown. Odor not distinctive. Taste extremely acrid. Spores nearly round, ornamented with strongly amyloid spines, 2.5-3.5 x 2-3µ. Deposit white. Habitat often gregarious, growing laterally from hardwood logs, particularly oak, but also coniferous timber. Found in Europe and widely distributed in North America. Season July-October. Not edible. Comment The similar Lentinellus montanus (Sow: Fr.) Kuhn & Maire grows near western snowbanks in spring, while Lentinellus vulpinus (Sow: Fr.) Kuhn & Maire differs in its paler whitish pubescence, radially ribbed cap, and stalk-like base. |