һ��a��Ƭ���99�þ�

[ Basidiomycota > Phallales > Lysuraceae > Lysurus . . . ]

Lysurus gardneri

by Michael Kuo, 21 June 2025

The photographs to the right appear to match the poorly documented species Lysurus gardneri, which is often confused with Lysurus cruciatus but has whiter, more graceful arms that usually remain united at their tips—and which always have a sterile basal portion that is not covered with spore slime. The spore slime on Lysurus cruciatus extends from the top to the bottom of each arm.

Lysurus congolensis is a synonym, according to Dring (1980). Australian authors, including Cunningham (1944/1979), have frequently misapplied the name "Lysurus gardneri" to Lysurus cruciatus. Reports of Lysurus gardneri from Mexico and the Caribbean also appear to have confused Lysurus gardneri with Lysurus cruciatus.

I have not collected this species, and the photographers featured to the right did not preserve the illustrated specimens; the description below is based on the photos and on descriptions in the cited sources.

Have you collected something in Asia or Africa that looks like Lysurus gardneri recently? I would love to study well-documented, preserved collections, in order to make this page—and the contemporary concept of the species—more scientific. If you're interested in helping, please send me an email at herbarium@mushroomexpert.com.

Thanks to Taylor Lockwood and Manoj Singh for sharing their photographs.

Description:

Ecology: Probably saprobic; growing alone or gregariously in a variety of habitats; originally described from Sri Lanka (Berkeley 1846); found in Asia (Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, and China) and in Africa (South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo); year-round. The photos to the right represent specimens in China and India.

Fruiting Body: At first encased in a whitish "egg" up to 3 cm across; emerging to form a stem and a head. Stem more or less cylindric; hollow; up to 15 cm long and 2 cm thick; white; lumpy and wrinkled; terminating at the base in a whitish to dull orangish volva. Head composed of 4–6 short arms that are usually united at their tips. Arms white to dull yellowish white; lumpy; each with a sterile basal portion that is not covered with spore slime; on the upper, inner surfaces finely velvety, markedly lumpy, and covered with dark brown spore slime.

Microscopic Features: Spores 4–5 x 1.5 µm; more or less ellipsoid.

REFERENCES: Berkeley, 1846. (Saccardo, 1888; Narasimham, 1932; Dring, 1980; Gogoi & Parkash, 2015.) I have not collected or studied collections of this mushroom.

This site contains no information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms.

Berkeley's 1846 protologue illustration and description, with my translation.
Public domain, adapted from a scan provided online by the Biodiversity Heritage Library

© MushroomExpert.Com

Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2025, June). Lysurus gardneri. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: /lysurus_gardneri.html