Lilac Oysterling

Appearance

The cap is 5 to 15 centimetres in diameter, and is initially convex, but later flattens or becomes centrally depressed in maturity. The cap is tan, lilac or reddish-brown, and smooth ; in age the surface may crack into small flattened scales. The cap margin is inrolled and often has a wavy or lobed outline. The flesh is tough and whitish. The gills are attached in a decurrently , and are narrow and often forked. The gills initially have a violet tinge, but later become an or reddish-violet. The stem is 2 to 3 centimetres long and 1 to 3 centimetres thick, roughly the same color as the cap, but covered with violet hairs; it is attached to the cap laterally, or off-center. The spore print is white.

Viewed microscopically, spores are elliptical, smooth, and non-amyloid, with dimensions of 5–7 by 2.5–3.5 µm. The pleurocystidia are either enlarged in the middle or enlarged and spherical at the tip ; these cells have dimensions of 35–45 by 8–11 µm.

Distribution

''Panus conchatus'' is a saprobic species – deriving nutrition from rotting or decaying organic matter – and fruit bodies can be found on hardwood stumps, logs and sticks, usually crowded together in clusters. Typical hosts include wood of deciduous trees—especially beech, poplar, birch, and oak, and less frequently on ash and elm. Coniferous hosts include fir, spruce, pine, and yew.

Found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, this species has been collected in North America, and Europe.

Habitat

''Panus conchatus'' is a saprobic species – deriving nutrition from rotting or decaying organic matter – and fruit bodies can be found on hardwood stumps, logs and sticks, usually crowded together in clusters. Typical hosts include wood of deciduous trees—especially beech, poplar, birch, and oak, and less frequently on ash and elm. Coniferous hosts include fir, spruce, pine, and yew.

Found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, this species has been collected in North America, and Europe.