Truffle Genus: Hydnotryopsis
 Hydnotryopsis setchellii ascospore |
Kingdom: Fungi Phylum: Ascomycota Order: Pezizales Family: Pezizaceae |
Spore Characters
Surface: Smooth in youth, but soon developing a warty to pitted or ridged epispore.
Shape and Size: Ellipsoid, 11-22 x 10-18 µm, excluding ornamentation.
Wall: Single, +/- 1 µm thick.
Color in Water: Hyaline to brown-yellow.
Melzer's Reaction: Not distinctive.
Comments: The asci of Hydnotryopsis spp. become blue in Melzer's reagent, a character that relates them to the Pezizaceae rather than the Helvellaceae, which contains the genus Hydnotrya. Some Hydnotryopsis spp. do not separate from Hydnotrya in the spore key, and others key out with Peziza. Hydnotrya spp. with spores similar to those of Hydnotryopsis spp. occur in conifer forests throughout the western United States, especially at the higher elevations. Hydnotryopsis, in contrast, is known only from the Pacific coastal states.
View photos of Hydnotryopsis spores
Sporocarp Characters
Shape and Size: Subglobose to irregular, deeply furrowed, 1-4 cm broad.
Peridium: White to yellow or pink, minutely scabrous.
Gleba: Nearly white to yellow or pink, solid with meandering veins stuffed with asci, spores, and hyphae.
Odor: Not recorded.
View photos of Hydnotryopsis sporocarps