Rhizina undulata Fr. syn. R. inflata (Schaeff.) Karst Wellige Wurzellorchel Pine Firefungus. Fruit body 4–12cm across, 2–8cm high, chestnut brown to black with a paler margin, forming irregularly lobed, wavy cushions. Flesh tough, thick, reddish-brown. Attached to the substrate by numerous whitish rhizoids growing down from the underside. Asci 400 x 20µ. Spores fusiform, containing two or more oil drops, 22–40 x 8–11µ. Habitat on conifer debris especially on fire sites. Season early summer to autumn. Occasional. Not edible. Distribution, America and Europe.
Causes a serious disease of conifers known as group dying. The photograph on the left is by Geoffrey Kibby.