Golden Pholiota

Golden Pholiota is a common, medium-sized, gilled mushroom. It is often treated as a species complex or group of several similar mushrooms, including Pholiota aurivella, Pholiota limonella, Pholiota abietis, Pholiota connata, Pholiota squarroso-adiposa, Pholiota subvelutipes, and sometimes Pholiota adiposa. Some of these species grow only on conifers, one grows only on hardwoods, and one occurs only in Europe. In field guides and online sources, they are usually all treated as a single species, growing on both conifers and hardwoods, occurring worldwide, and going under the name Pholiota aurivella, Pholiota limonella, or Pholiota glutinosa. The description that follows is of the group.

Golden Pholiota occurs in Europe, Asia, eastern Australia, New Zealand, and North America. In the United States it occurs in the east from Maine to northern Georgia, west to Minnesota and Missouri, in the west from western Washington to central California, and in the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico. Outside of these areas it is mostly absent. It is found from mid-summer to late fall usually in clusters. occasionally alone. It grows on living and dead wood of both hardwoods and conifers. It obtains its nutrients from dead wood (saprobic) and probably also from living wood (parasitic).

When it first appears, the cap is broadly bell-shaped or convex, yellow, yellowish-brown, or orangish-yellow. The upper surface is covered with large, brownish to reddish-brown scales. The scales are flat but often curl up at the edges. The surface below the scales is slimy when wet, sticky when moist, and smooth when dry. There are often shreds of tissue, remnants of the partial veil, hanging from the margins. As it ages the cap spreads out and the scales wash away or gelatinize and become indistinct. The mature cap is 1½″ to 6″ (4 to 15 cm) in diameter, is broadly convex or flat, and has a raised bump in the middle (umbonate).

The gills are closely spaced and are broadly attached to the stalk or notched at the point of attachment. They are whitish to yellow at first, becoming brown to rusty brown or brownish-orange as the spores mature.

The stalk is 1½″ to 6″ (4 to 15 cm) long, ⅛″ to 1″ (4 to 25 mm) thick, dry, and whitish, yellowish, or colored like the cap. There is a ring of tissue near the top, remnants of the partial veil. Above the ring it is smooth, below the ring it is sparsely to densely covered with scales.

The flesh is yellowish or whitish. Some field guides say that it is edible, but one or more of the species in this group have caused gastric upset in many people.

The spore print is brown.

Living and dead hardwoods and conifers

Summer and fall