Crepidotus spp.

Scientific names:  Crepidotus mollis (Fr.) Staude;
Crepidotus applanatus (Pers.) P. Kumm.; Crepidotus
crocophyllus (Berk.) Sacc.
Derivation of name: Crepidotus means "cracked ear."  
Moll- means "soft." Applanatus means "flattened."
Crocophyllus means "saffron-colored leaves (gills)."  
Common name(s):  Crepidotus applanatus is called the
Flat Crep; Crepidotus mollis is called the Jelly Crep, and
Crepidotus crocophyllus is called the Orange Crep.
Phylum:   Basidiomycota
Order:   Agaricales
Family:   Inocybaceae
Occurrence on wood substrate:  Saprobic; clustered,
sometimes overlapping on decaying hardwoods (rarely
conifers); July through September.  
Dimensions:  See figure captions.   
Cap:  See figure captions.        
Gills: Radiating from point of attachment.  
Spore print: Brownish.
Stipe: Absent, attached to substrate by a short, hairy plug
of tissue.
Veil: None.
Comments: There are many species of Crepidotus in
North America sharing traits such as thin flesh, convex
to fan-shaped caps, generally stalkless, inhabiting wood,
and having brownish spores. Most require the use of a
microscope to identify them. Two common species and
one uncommon but distinctive species (C. crocophyllus)
are described on this page.

More information at TomVolkFungi.net
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Figure 1. Crepidotus mollis. Caps are 1-8 cm wide; color
is variable from olive-brown to ochraceous whitish. Caps
are covered with dark brown fibrous scales. Gills whitish
at first but becoming brownish. Photo © William Roody.

Figure 2. Another view of Crepidotus mollis.
Photo © John Plischke III.

Figure 3. Crepidotus mollis specimens photographed at
the 2007 NEMF foray. Photo © Gary Emberger.

Figure 4. Crepidotus mollis is called the Jelly crep because
the gelatinous upper layer of the cap can be stretched. When
I gently pulled apart the cap of the specimen
above, the gelatinous layer stretched to fill the void.
Photo © Gary Emberger.

Figure 5. Same specimen as in Figure 4 but shown from
below. The stretched gelatinous layer spans the space
between the gills. Photo © Gary Emberger.

Figure 6. Crepidotus applanatus. Caps are 1-4 cm wide;
white when young, becoming brownish with age. Caps are
hairless or minutely downy.
Photo © Roseann K. Sachs.

Figure 7. The white gills turn brownish when mature.
Photo © John Plischke III.

Figure 8. Crepidotus crocophyllus with saffron-orange gills
and hairy cap, photographed at the 2007 NEMF foray.
Caps 1-4 cm wide, orange to orange-brown and minutely
scaly. Photo © Gary Emberger.