Tuesday 10 August 2010

#43 Panus fasciatus

Panus fasciatus (pronunciation: Pan-uss fassy-ah-tuss), commonly called the Hairy Trumpet, is a common wood decaying fungus found on dead wood in forests and woodlands Australia wide.

The distinctive hairy funnel-like fruit bodies of
Panus fasciatus


It's not often, when an amateur is attempting to identify fungi, that there can be no chance misidentification. Panus fasciatus is one notable exception, being one of the few really 'hairy' agarics.

The cap has a diameter to 50mm, convex with deeply inrolled margins at first, maturing to a deep funnel shape. The top of the light-brown to mid-brown cap is densely covered with stiff hairs. Gills are decurrent (gills attached for some distance down the stem), moderately close, of various lengths, brown, often with violet tints. The cap is tough and leathery.

Spores are white; I have not yet successfully obtained a spore print from Panus fasciatus.

Central stem is very tough, like gristle. It is brown and densely hairy, brown, can be either slender or stout, with a height of up to 30mm.

Panus fasciatus will rehydrate following rain, and dried fruit bodies may persist for a long time.

Primarily, Panus fasciatus is a fungus of dry eucalypt forests, mallee woodland, semi-arid and desert habitats. It is a saprotrophic species. Saprotrophic fungi gain source nutrients from dead organic material by breaking down components of the substrate. Saprotrophs play a vital role in reducing the accumulation of dead organic material and in the recycling of essential nutrients, particularly carbon and nitrogen.

Pale brown gills of fresh Panus fasciatus fruit bodies.


A deep central depression in the hairy cap.


A tiny brown, leathery, hairy formation
of an emerging fruit body of Panus fasciatus.


This fresh specimen has a violet tinge to gills.


Dried, aging specimens of Panus fasciatus.


Aging Panus fasciatus fruit bodies fade, and often exhibit green tinges, which I presume is some sort of mould.


My sightings of Panus fasciatus

[This will be updated with more sightings]

Werakata National Park, NSW - Eucalypt/Leptospermum/Acacia woodland: May 09, Jul 10.

Hunter Valley, NSW - Native woodland: Jul 07, Jul 10.

Pilliga Forests, NSW - semi-arid native woodlands of northwest NSW: Sep 2009, Apr 2012, Jun 2012.

2 comments:

onthefly said...

Occurs in Girraween NP, Queensland. Photo on my Flickr collection.

Michael Jefferies

Anonymous said...

popped up on our verandah recently,
412 Main Ck Rd Cougal 2474
see: facebook.com/forest venue
{mysterious mushroom}