GREEN STAIN
Chlorociboria aeruginascens
DERMATIACEAE FAMILY (Dermatiaceae)
This is a very small stalked, blue-green cup fungus. The fruiting bodies are initially shaped like a goblet with a very short stem; they then flatten with age and develop wavy edges. Individual fruiting bodies are around inch to inch in diameter and usually less than inch tall. The upper, fertile surface is bright green and smooth, while the underside of the cup and the stalk are of a felt like texture and pale blue-green, darkening with age. It is more common to see green stained wood than to see the tiny green mushrooms.
This fungus is found on bark-free dead wood, particularly oak in this area. The green stain is visible all the year round, but fruiting bodies occur infrequently and usually in the summer and fall.
The fungal threads (hyphae) of this mushroom grow in wood; the pigment that they contain turns the wood green. This same pigment has also been found to have anticancer activity. Another species Chlorociboria aeruginosa forms nearly identical fruiting bodies, but does not stain the wood green. Microscopic analysis is necessary to differentiate the two.
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