SPECIES FACT SHEET Scientific Name: Phaeocollybia californica A.H. Smith Phylum: Basidiomycota Order: Agaricales Family: Continariaceae Conservation Rankings and Status: Global Rank: G3 State Rank: OR S3, WA no ranking Oregon Biodiversity Information Center (ORBIC) List: 1 (Ranks from ORBIC, http://orbic.pdx.edu accessed August 16, 2013) Type: A.H. Smith 55610 (MICH) November 23, 1956. Crescent City, Del Norte County, California. Technical Description: Cap (20) 30-80 mm, conic when young, soon campanulate with a low broad umbo, generally glabrous, viscid, hygrophanous, faintly striate, yellowish brown to pale brownish orange when young, becoming uniformly reddish brown in age, and is brassy copper metallic when dried. Context white in central disc, staining red. Gills ascending, nearly free to attached, ventricose, thin with even, uneven, or wavy, edges, crowded, regularly to irregularly polydymous, narrow to broad, originally pink-brown or yellow-brown, whitish to pale orange buff, turning rusty brown in age. Aging to bright rusty-brown. Stem aerial portion (15-) 40-90 x 6-10 mm, cartilaginous, watery tan to pale pinkish brown, soon becoming ferruginous from base up, drying dark bay-brown, hollow with thick cartilaginous cortex surrounding central cavity lined with whitish long fibrils below solid pileus context. Pseudorhiza long undetermined length, gradually tapering red-brown ending in a salmon-colored thready rhizomorph. Odor slightly tart (similar to chlorine when old) or pungent, particularly in age. Taste slightly raphinoid, faintly bitter. Cheilocystidia 20-30 x 2-5 (base), 1.5-2 (neck) 2.5-3 (capitellum) µm, a mixture of hyaline, thin-walled lageniform and thick-walled secretory tibiiform elements, with narrow, distinctively regractive necks frequently surrounded by apical secretory droplets, necks frequently bent over making elements difficult to locate also frequently obscured by surrounding clavate elements, hyaline or with oily amber contents beneath the refractive neck walls. Clamp connections absent. Spores 9 x 5+/-0.5 x 0.4 µm, limoniform in profile with eccentric short apciulus and short beak, ovate with short apical beak in face view, rugulose-roughened to warty except over 0.5-1 µm long apical beak, suprahilar plage an ill-defined zone of lowered ornamentation, in KOH tawny to rusty brown with ornamentation distinctly darker especially at low magnification, inamyloid and nondextrinoid in Melzer’s. Spore print color reddish brown. 1 Distinguishing Features: Characterized by a cartilaginous stem extending well below ground level as a pseudorhiza, a pale amber-brown to dark orange brown cap with a hollow stem, a long thready pseudorhiza, and a dark cinnamon- brown spore print. Phaeocollybia kauffmanii is much larger, has a densely stuffed stem which does not become hollow, and it has clavate cheilocystidia. Phaeocollybia piceae is uniformly orange colored, has a stuffed stem, and clavate cheilocystidia. Phaeocollybia sipei is uniformly orange colored, has smaller, less ornamented spores, and clavate cheilocystidia. Phaeocollybia spadicea is larger, lacks amber or orange tones to the cap, has a densely stuffed stem covered with dense fibrillose patches, and smaller spores. Life History: This taxon is a gilled mushroom that emerges above the soil surface at maturity. It grows in fasciculate to gregarious large clusters on the ground, often forming arcs or fairy rings in humic soils of moist coniferous (Abies, Tsuga, Pseudotsuga) and mixed (Abies, Arbutus, Quercus, Pseudotsuga, Tsuga) coastal and coastal montane forests. It is presumed ectomycorrhizal with Pinaceae and has been observed associated with the roots of Abies amabilis, Picea sitchensis, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Tsuga heterophylla. It is dependant on wind for dispersal of spores, but animal, especially arthropod, dispersal is also possible. It fruits in March, May, October, and November. Range, Distribution, and Abundance: Endemic to the Pacific Northwest, coastal to inland lowlands, western central Oregon, south to extreme northern California. Known from approximately 60 sites. Some locations include: California, Del Norte Co., near Crescent City; Humboldt Co., near McKinleyville, Murray Rd.; King Range Conservation Park; Mendocino Co., Van Damme State Park, Fern Canyon trail; Shasta Co., Castle Crags State Park; Oregon, Benton Co., Dinner Creek; Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Salem District, Bellfountain Rd.; Douglas Co., BLM, Roseburg District, near Elk Creek; BLM, Roseburg District, Myrtle Creek; Josephine Co., Grants Pass; Takilma; Lane Co., Bunker Hill; Cedar Creek; Elmira; Siltcoos; Lincoln Co., Van Duzer wayside; Multnomah Co., Mount Hood National Forest, Larch Mountain; Tillamook Co., Cape Meares State Park; Siuslaw National Forest, Cascade Head Experimental Forest; Washington, Jefferson Co., Olympic National Park, Twin Creek Research Natural Area. FS/BLM lands in Oregon and Washington: Documented from the Mt Hood NF, Rogue River-Siskiyou NF, Siuslaw NF, Coos Bay BLM, Eugene BLM, Medford BLM, Roseburg BLM, and Salem BLM. Habitat Associations: Ectomycorrhizal, associated with the roots of Abies amabilis, Picea sitchensis, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Tsuga heterophylla with Vaccinium. Gregarious in arcs under conifers, fruits late autumn. Associated 2 overstory species: Acer macrophyllum, Arbutus menziesii, Calocedrus decurrens, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus chrysolepis, Quercus garryana, Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla , Umbellularia californica. Associated understory: Acer circinatum, Berberis nervosa, Gaultheria shallon, Rhododendron macrophyllum, Vaccinium sp. Elevation range 206-3855 ft. Threats: Threats to ectomycorrhizal fungi include disturbances that damage mycelium and host, such as severe fire, removal of host plants and consequential loss of canopy cover, loss of large woody debris and soil compaction. Conservation Considerations: Revisit known sites and localities to confirm persistence and extent of populations. Buffer known sites from management activities. When conducting vegetation management activities in area with good habitat potential, consider leaving scattered and clumped host trees and ample large woody debris, while minimizing soil compaction and severity of prescribed fires; avoid broadcast burning and pile burning in prime habitat. Other pertinent information (includes references to Survey Protocols, etc): The survey protocol for fungi is located on the ISSSSP website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/documents/inventories/inv-sp-fu- ver1-2008-12.pdf. The survey protocol for Survey and Manage fungi is located on the Survey and Manage website: http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/surveyandmanage/protocols/ Prepared by: Jenifer Ferriel, Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa Whitman National Forests Date: April 2013 Edited by: Rob Huff, BLM/FS Portland, Oregon Date: February 2014 ATTACHMENTS: (1) References (2) Map of Species Distribution (3) Photographs of Species 3 ATTACHMENT 1: References Aurora, David. 1986. Mushrooms Demystified. Ten Speed Press. Berkeley, CA. Castellano, Michael A.; Smith, Jane E.; O’Dell, Thom; Cázares, Efrén; Nugent, Susan. 1999. Handbook to strategy 1 fungal taxa from the Northwest Forest Plan. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-476. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 195 p. Dewey, R. and J. Ferriel. 2007. Habitat Summary for Sensitive Fungi Species. Unpublished. Available from the ISSSSP Fungi Working Group. Ferriel, Jenifer and Katie Grenier. 2008. Annotated Bibliography of Information Potentially Pertaining to Management of Rare Fungi on the Special Status Species List for California, Oregon and Washington. R6 USFS and OR/WA BLM Interagency Special Status/Sensitive Species Program (ISSSSP). http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/planning-tools/ Interagency Sensitive and Special Status Species List, December 1, 2011 available at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/agency-policy/ Norvell, L.L. 1998. PhD Dissertation: The Biology and Taxonomy of Pacific Northwest species of Phaeocollybia Heim (Agaricales, Cortinariaceae). University of Washington. Norvell, Lorelei L. and Ronald L. Exeter. Phaeocollybia of Pacific Northwest North America. 2008. Smith, A.H. 1957. A contribution towards a monograph of Phaeocollybia. Brittonia 9:195-217 Trudell, Steve and Joe Ammirati. 2009. Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press, Portland, OR. 4 ATTACHMENT 2: Map of Species Distribution in OR/WA 5 ATTACHMENT 3: Photographs of Species Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Tim Rodenkirk. Photos 3 and 4 courtesy of Scott Loring. Figure 1. Phaeocollybia californica Figure 3. Phaeocollybia californica Figure 2. Phaeocollybia californica Figure 4. Phaeocollybia californica 6 .