Porcelain Fungus – Oudemansiella mucida

Fungi of the Week

27th March 2020 | Info

Common name: Porcelain Fungus/Poached Egg Fungus 

Scientific name: Oudemansiella mucida  

Introduction: The Porcelain Fungus (Oudemansiella mucida) is a UK-native fungus that is commonly found on beech wood. It can be both saprobic and weakly parasitic.  

Identification 

Cap:Semi-transparent and white, typically with a ‘wet-like’, shiny appearance. When first forming, they are usually convex, but they then tend to flatten with age.  

[Fruiting body of a Porcelain Fungus]

Gills: Adnate and broad. When first forming they are typically transparent white, and as they mature, this white can then develop a brownish tinge to it.  

[The gills of a Porcelain Fungus]

Stem:Relatively slender with a large stem ring. Above the stem ring, the stem is typically white. Below the ring, the stem is typically more striate and has a greyish hue. They can also quite often be curved 

Spores: Globose to sub-globose with thick walls. They have a white spore-print. 

Habitat

Forms in late summer to early autumn on dead trunks and fallen branches of beech trees. They can also occasionally form on dead upper branches of a beech too. When forming underneath a branch or fallen trunk, the stems of a Porcelain fungus adapts and curl around, making the caps lay horizontal. 

Impact on Trees

The Porcelain fungus is weakly parasitic on the upper branches of living Beech trees. They are also saprobic on the dead stumps, trunks and branches of beech trees too.  

Interesting Fact

The Porcelain fungus released a powerful ‘fungicide’ which help to get rid of competing fungi. 

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