About this fungus
Oyster Rollrim is a fungus in the Tapinellaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A yellow-buff to brown, shell-shaped fungus growing in overlapping shelves from dead conifer wood, with crowded gill-like folds and little or no stem.
What to check
Confirm direct growth from wood, an off-centre or absent stem, and crowded yellowish gills that run to the attachment point and often fork or cross-connect. The cap is finely felted when young, and the gills and flesh darken brown when handled. The spore print is reddish-brown.
Variation
Young caps can be pale cream or buff, becoming ochre, orange-brown or deeper brown with age. The surface may become smoother, and old or handled gills darken substantially.
Lookalikes
Paxillus involutus usually grows from soil with trees and has a more central stem, although buried wood can confuse the habitat clue. Other pale oyster-shaped wood fungi often have a white spore print rather than reddish-brown. Use the combination of substrate, gill structure and spore colour.
Habitat and range
Saprotrophic on decaying conifer logs, stumps, construction timber and other worked softwood. It may form tiered clusters and can occur in buildings where damp conifer timber is present.
Food safety
Inedible.
Photographs
Christine Braaten / CC BY-SA 3.0