Lentinus detonsus Fr. Cap 3-7cm across, broadly cone-shaped becoming flatter and somewhat wavy, the margin incurved at first, then expanding; pale orangish yellow or yellowish buff, more orangish in the center; smooth, moist. Gills adnexed, very crowded; whitish cream bruising reddish or brownish. Stem 15-30 x 4-6mm, eccentric, hollow; similar color to cap or paler, darker at the base. Flesh tough. Odor very strong, garlicky. Taste faintly of garlic. Spores smooth, nonamyloid, 4.5-6 x 2-3µ. Habitat scattered or in groups on the trunks or branches of dead or living hardwoods. Found along the Gulf of Mexico. Season July-August. Edibility not known. Comment This fungus dries quickly in hot, dry weather but revives as soon as it is rewetted. This species is quite common in the South and has been described by Earle not as a Lentinus but as a Lentinula. Pegler in his world monograph places it in synonymy with Lentinula boryana (Berk. & Montagne) Pegler. |