Truffle Genus: Chamonixia
 Chamonixia caespitosa basidospore scale = 15 µm |
Kingdom: Fungi Phylum: Basidiomycota Order: Boletales Family: Boletaceae |
Spore Characters
Surface: Ornamented with even to irregular, longitudinal ridges that neither fork nor regularly spiral and are 0.5-2 µm high.
Shape and Size: Longitudinally symmetrical, ellipsoid to ovate or obovate, 9-20 x 9-15 µm excluding ornamentation; attachment prominent.
Wall: Single, 0.5-1.0 µm thick.
Color in Water: Rusty cinnamon to dark brown.
Melzer's Reaction: Not distinctive or somewhat more red-brown than in water.
Comments: The brown, mature spores of Chamonixia spp. are readily distinguishable from the hyaline to pale yellow spores of Gautieria spp. (Gomphales). The pigment chemistry of Chamonixia spp. relates it to the Boletales (Steglich et al., 1977).
View photos of Chamonixia spores
Sporocarp Characters
Shape and Size: 0.8-5 cm broad, subglobose to pyriform, sometimes with a short, stem-like basal projection.
Peridium: White to brown in most species, soon changing to green, blue or vinaceous when bruised, sometimes later becoming black; surface smooth to felty.
Gleba: Chambered, usually with a basal pad of sterile tissue; columella ranging from absent to well-developed. The cinnamon to dark brown color of the spores in mass dominates the color of the mature gleba.
Odor: Not distinctive or of lemon.
View photos of Chamonixia sporocarps