Appearance
''Pholiota flammans'' often has a striking appearance. The cap is initially round, then convex and finally flattening with age. Its surface is bright yellow to orange, and covered with triangular scales arranged in concentric rings. The cap surface is dry, matt and felt-like, and in wet conditions may lose scales. The cap margin remain curved slightly inwards. The yellow gills are crowded together, attached to the stem, and have a notch where the gill attaches to the stem. A bright yellow partial veil extending from the cap edge to the edge is present in immature species. As the cap expands and flattens with age, the partial veil tears, leaving a faint ring around the stem. The cylindrical straight or curved stem is itself covered in yellow squamules below the ring. The base of the stem, typically more orange in color than the upper portion, is firmly attached to the dead wood from which the fungus arises. The section of stem above the ring bears little or no protuberances. The flesh is firm, full, yellow and does not change color when bruised or injured.The dimensions of the fruit body are as follows: cap diameter up to 8 cm , stem up to 12 cm tall and between 0.4 to 1 cm cm thick.
As the fruit body matures, the gills darken to cinnamon brown following spore release. The spore mass is colored brown to rust.
Naming
Other members of the genus ''Pholiota'' may be mistaken for ''Pholiota flammans'', especially ''Pholiota squarrosa'' which commonly forms large tufts at the base of deciduous as well as coniferous trees. ''P. squarrosa'' tends to be a less intense yellow color than ''P. flammans''. ''P. adiposa'' is also similar, but prefers to grow on dead hardwoods; unlike ''P. flammans'', it has gelatinous scales on the stem as well as the cap.The North American species once described by Alexander H. Smith, ''P. kauffmaniana'', is closely related to ''P. flammans'', but differs in having a more distinctly viscid cap. Smith was later to revise his opinion on the existence of ''P. kauffmaniana'' as a unique species—he believed that environmental variations in humidity were the cause of differences in the cap cuticle gelatinization observed in Pholiotas collected from different North American locales. ''P. kauffmaniana'' is now considered synonymous with ''P. flammans''.
Distribution
Being saprobic, ''P. flammans'' is found exclusively on dead and decaying stumps and trunks of coniferous trees, with fruit bodies appearing in tufts or singly, from summer to autumn. It is a fungus with a wide geographical distribution in boreal and temperate regions, and may be considered common to rare depending upon the region in which it occurs. It is found throughout Europe and North America . The species has also been collected in Asia, including India and China.
Habitat
Being saprobic, ''P. flammans'' is found exclusively on dead and decaying stumps and trunks of coniferous trees, with fruit bodies appearing in tufts or singly, from summer to autumn. It is a fungus with a wide geographical distribution in boreal and temperate regions, and may be considered common to rare depending upon the region in which it occurs. It is found throughout Europe and North America . The species has also been collected in Asia, including India and China.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
