- Proposed
- Under Assessment
- 3Preliminary Assessed
- 4Assessed
- 5Published
Cantharellus velutinus Buyck & V. Hofst.
- Scientific name
- Cantharellus velutinus
- Author
- Buyck & V. Hofst.
- Common names
- IUCN Specialist Group
Mushroom, Bracket and Puffball- Kingdom
- Fungi
- Phylum
- Basidiomycota
- Class
- Agaricomycetes
- Order
- Cantharellales
- Family
- Hydnaceae
- Assessment status
- Under Assessment
- Proposed by
- Noah Siegel
- Assessors
- Noah Siegel
- Comments etc.
- James Westrip
Assessment Notes
Justification
Cantharellus velutinus is a common species in the southern USA hardwood forests.
Actually distribution remains poorly known; due to it being recently described, the variable appearance of fruit bodies, and misidentification of existing records.
The limited data suggest a common and widespread species, which occurs in a stable habitat; therefore I recommend listing as Least Concern (LC).
Taxonomic notes
Cantharellus velutinus was described from a Type collection made in Texas, USA. (Buyck et al. 2016).
Cantharellus velutinus is a highly variable species, with different color forms. The pinkish form long has been referred to in field guides (ie. Roody 2003) and online platforms (iNaturalist, Mushroom Observer, Mushroom Expert) by the misapplied name, C. persicinus. Many observations reported under the name C. persicinus (MyCoPortal 2021) are in fact C. velutinus. Orange and yellow forms have been mistaken for C. cibarius and C. lateritius in the past as well.
Why suggested for a Global Red List Assessment?
Cantharellus velutinus is a common species in the southern USA hardwood forests.
Actually distribution remains poorly known; due to it being recently described, the variable appearance of fruit bodies, and misidentification of existing records.
The limited data suggest a common and widespread species, which occurs in a stable habitat; therefore I recommend listing as Least Concern (LC).
Geographic range
Currently known from eastern Texas, USA, east to Florida, north to at least Maryland, west to Indiana. Being a newly described species, distribution may be more widespread than currently reported.
Population and Trends
Cantharellus velutinus occurs over a widespread area, in hardwood forests across much of eastern USA, from the Mid Atlantic region south to Florida and Texas. This species is stable, and no decline has been recorded.
Population Trend: Stable
Habitat and Ecology
Cantharellus velutinus is ectomycorrhizal with hardwoods, especially with oaks (Quercus spp.) in young to mature forests. Fruiting in summer, often in gregarious patches.
Threats
No specific threats have been identified with regards to this species.
Conservation Actions
No specific conservation actions is needed with regards to this species.
Research needed
A better understanding on how to distinguish Cantharellus velutinus from other similar Cantharellus species, which in turn will lead to a better understanding of range and population size of this species.
Use and Trade
Commonly collected by forgers and low scale commercial pickers as an edible species.
Bibliography
Buyck, B., Olariaga, I., Justice, J., Lewis, D., Roody, W. and Hofstetter, V. (2016). The dilemma of species recognition in the field when sequence data are not in phase with phenotypic variability. Cryptogamie, Mycologie 37(3):367-390.
Kuo, M. 2015. Cantharellus persicinus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/cantharellus_persicinus.html
iNaturalist. 2021. http://www.inaturalist.org. Accessed on March 02.
MyCoPortal. 2021. http://mycoportal.org/portal/index.php. Accessed on March 02.
Roody, W.C. 2003. Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians. The University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.
