A rubbery, pinkish orange to salmon or peach gilled mushroom of wet, decaying hardwood logs, especially elm, whose sticky cap is usually covered with a net of whitish ridges. It sometimes exudes red or orange droplets and turns gray-green with iron salts. North American populations were long called Rhodotus palmatus, but a 2026 study found Midwestern collections genetically distinct from the European species and recombined Montagne's epithet as R. reticeps.
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Habitat
Saprobic, alone, scattered or in small groups on wet, well-decayed hardwood logs, especially elm, also basswood and maple. Late spring through fall.
Distribution
Eastern North America east of the Great Plains, from Kansas to Virginia and northward, and Canada (records formerly reported as R. palmatus). The 2026 study sampled Midwestern collections, so whether every North American record belongs to R. reticeps has not been fully tested. It became more frequent as Dutch elm disease supplied dead elms.
Characteristics
Cap: 3-8 cm, convex becoming nearly flat; sticky to gelatinous; pinkish orange, salmon, peach or reddish; usually with a network of whitish cross-linked ridges, smooth in some collections. Gills: attached, close, whitish becoming pale peach to pink. Stem: 1-4 cm long, 3-10 mm thick, often off-center, whitish to pinkish, sometimes exuding pink to red or orange droplets. Flesh: pinkish, rubbery and gelatinous. Chemical reactions: dark gray to green with iron salts. Spore print: whitish in a thin print, pinkish to pale yellow when thick. Spores: 5-7.5 x 4-7.5 um including ornamentation, subglobose, warty (MushroomExpert, North American material as R. palmatus).
