Wood Oysterling - Deconica horizontalis

Alternative names
Melanotus horizontalis
Description

A small fungus with a shell or kidney shaped cap and a short eccentric stem.  The cap is smooth to finely felty, orange brown, dark brown or reddish brown, to about 3 cm across. The gills are adnate, crowded and brown coloured, and the spores are brown, oval and smooth.

Similar Species

It is superficially similar to Panellus stipticus.

Identification difficulty
Recording advice

Photograph from top down, in side view and underneath to show gills and full length of stem; it wil help to detach a cap to see the gills and eccentric stem.  Note habitat and substrate. 

Habitat

On dead or rotten wood, cut or sawn wood and on materials such as old rope and carpets.

When to see it

Autumn through to spring.

UK Status

Widespread in Britain.

VC55 Status

Occasionally recorded

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Wood Oysterling
Species group:
fungus
Kingdom:
Fungi
Order:
Agaricales
Family:
Strophariaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
2
First record:
06/11/2022 (Bell, Melinda)
Last record:
12/02/2026 (Timms, Sue)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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