Quite a few years ago I was searching for Laccocephalum mylittae in WA hoping to clone it. I made a culture bank of all the successful clones from different species, but there was one I made from a burnt area which I just labelled fire fungi. I had cloned something from what was barely recognizable. Luckily it was sent off for DNA and came back as a match for Laccocephalum mylittae. So I had found it. Next trip I hope to see the fresh fruiting bodies and try the tuber.
The lump of mycelium could be the start of tuber formation. The culture was transferred to wheat grain which from memory was aggressive and that’s as far as I got before returning to the East Coast. The culture is still in action amongst growers in WA. Interesting that Laccocephalum mylittae is also native to China where it has a history of food & medicinal use and is now produced in liquid culture. It’s also a native of New Zealand. During the 2019 fires I searched the Mid-North Coast for the possibility of finding Laccocephalum mylittae but no luck, I did find plenty of Laccocephalum tumulosum. Laccocephalum mylittae has an underground sclerotia which traditionally is detected by it’s smell after bushfires in SA, WA.
mushroaming 