#53 Microporus xanthopus

Microporus xanthopus is a tropical species, found on rotting wood and is common from the Australasian, Asian and African tropics, but is absent from the American tropics. 

Microporus xanthopus (pronunciation:  Micro-poor-uss zan-though-puss) has a common name of Yellow-footed Tinypore.

The initial stage of the fruiting body is simply a white fleck on the wood surface. This enlarges into a hemispherical cushion up to a millimeter wide, and elongates to develop the stem.   A wider basal disc, generally called a 'foot' develops, and is often a yellowish colour, hence the name. A funnel-shaped cap (or pileus) expands from the apex of the stem.

Funnel-shaped caps of mature fruiting bodies are thin (1mm to 3mm thickness) and are concentrically zoned in various shades of brown, usually with a pale margin which is sometimes wavy.  The cap can be up to 150mm wide. Caps can hold water.

The fertile under-surface of the cap is white to dull yellow, with  minute pores (8 to 10 per millimeter) and can extend down the stem (decurrent).

The central or off-centre stem can be up to 40mm long and 5mm wide, expanding at the top.

Shiny wet funnel-shaped Microporus xanthopus, concentric zones of shades of brown, with pale, wavy margin

Dry caps have lost their lustre

Not all fruiting bodies form a perfect goblet shape

White fertile lower surface has minute pores.  Notice how the stem widens at the top

Off-centre stems and misshapen caps

Attractive Yellow-footed Tinypore fruiting bodies on rotting wood on the floor of a tropical North Queensland rainforest

My sightings of Microporus xanthopus

[This will be updated with new sightings]

Far North Queensland - rainforest Sept 2009

Uses of Microporus xanthopus:

• dried and used as ornamentation
• (apparently) used in Malaysian native communities to prevent infants from breast-feeding.