Inspired by the observation of Hallgarth and Haley on the 29th, I went to the area where they observed the possible Coprinopsis lagopus. I did not find another of “their” observations. Instead, I found this Spring Polypore, Lentius arcularius. In our area this mushroom appears in the fall, often on the wood of Gambel’s Oak.
The current Latin binomial was assigned in 2008 based on work by Sotome et al., previously it was designated Polyporus arcularius.
This is a small mushroom, the stem is somewhat less than 3 cm and the cap is from 1.5-2 cm in diameter. Additional photographs may be viewed here.
Whats Next: We will provide a more in-depth discussion of this observation in the July 2026 issue of The Black Range Naturalist.