Finding Fuzzy Fungi During the Manitou Experimental Forest Foray

Our mandate to discover, sample and document fungal diversity in the Southern Rockies has us constantly evaluating new information to direct our efforts. While we would like to think we have done a pretty good job at this, technological applications have caused us to rethink our approach. In 2022, a publication on fungal endemism in soils pointed to the groups with exceptional diversity we should be paying attention to. This study provided evidence showing that the macrofungal genera Russula and Cortinarius are the fourth and fifth most diverse genera. However, if you combine their diversity, it is still fewer than the number one most diverse genus, Tomentella.

Not Your Classic Mushroom

Currently, there are two specimens of Tomentella in the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi. By comparison, there are 781 and 1,008 specimens for Russula and Cortinarius respectively. Why is there such a large discrepancy? One only needs to look at Tomentella to understand why it has been neglected in collecting efforts. The fungus doesn’t produce your classic mushroom. Instead, it creates a fuzzy layer on wood and other surfaces that allows it to go relatively unnoticed (see “Corticioid” pictures). As a result, there is likely to be an immense amount of diversity of Tomentella in the Rockies, that has gone unnoticed. With this new knowledge in hand, I went to the U.S. Forest Service’s Manitou Experimental Forest with the goal of finding and collecting Tomentella and related fungi that share this “corticoid” fruiting form.

Discovery and Sampling of the Enigmatic Fungal Species 

The Manitou Experimental Forest is located north of Woodland Park. In August, our mycology team used it as a base to gather and collect fungi in the region. James Chelin, the president of the Pike’s Peak Mycological Society, took us to this hidden valley along the eastern slope of Rampart Range, where we found many kinds of fungi. Here, I also got the opportunity to search for the obscure structures of Tomentella. Using the advice received from colleagues, I began to roll over logs and pull apart rotten wood. I was soon startled by how easy it was to find these cryptic fungi. Just like the soil DNA studies suggested, they were all over! Unfortunately, this experience also turned out to be fleeting. My attempts to replicate my success in other parts of the state remained relatively “fruitless” this summer. I suspect that the season’s dry weather suppressed much of their growth around the region this year.

It's the strangeness, along with their incredible undocumented biodiversity that has attracted me to the tomentelloid fungi. In fact, Tomentella is the wrong name for the genus. Recent research has determined that these fungi belong to the genus Thelephora. Within the larger Thelephorales, there are other stories of corticioid fungi, that are part of mushroom forming genera. Such is the case with Pseudotomentella and Polyozellus (see pictures).

Research in these fungi, specifically the Thelephorales, needs to be expanded. Over the next several years, research in the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi will attempt to document and disclose the diversity of these fungi in the Southern Rocky Mountain Region.