Genus: Strobilurus

Family: Physalacriaceae

Strobilurus trullisatus

Known Species in the County

Strobilurus trullisatus

Approximately 1 species in Santa Cruz County.

Strobilurus Records from Santa Cruz County:

Mycoportal
Mushroomobserver

Strobilurus are small mushrooms, nondescript in appearance but notable for being highly restricted in habitat: most species (including the one in our area) grow only on conifer cones (one species from outside our area grows on highly decayed coniferous wood). Saprobic, decaying Douglas-fir cones. Their exact life history should be investigated more closely since it may be that they are endophytes, living in the tissue of the tree host well before the cones are dropped.

Important identification characters include stature, coloration, and substrate. Other species of Strobilurus occurring outside our area are slightly differently colored and are specific on other conifer species (Strobilurus occidentalis with Sitka Spruce, Strobilurus diminutivus on Sugar Pine, and Strobilurus albipilatus on Abies debris). The only other whitish gilled mushroom in our area that regularly grows on Douglas-fir cones is Baeospora myosura, which has much more crowded gills, slightly more tan-brown coloration and a slightly umbonate cap.