Drew Palmer’s West Virginia new mushroom discovery began with a June find in Cross Lanes. The mushroom is now being tested to see whether it is a new species and possibly an entirely new genus.
Palmer said the specimen returned a DNA sequence that had never been seen before. He described it as bright purple and yellow with chrome yellow gills, and said the colors change under UV light.
Drew Palmer in June
Palmer is an amateur mycologist, a citizen scientist and a West Virginia Mushroom Club board member. He said, “It's important to know where we live so we can protect it,” and added, “It's a bright purple and yellow mushroom with chrome yellow gills and then once you do put it under a UV light, all the colors change,”
He also said, “The colors change from purple and yellow and like a translucent white to a brilliant blue and orange and yellow.” The specimen was collected for testing after the June discovery, giving scientists a sample to compare with known fungi.
Kanawha State Forest
On Friday, Palmer took a specimen with Jess Blalock at the Kanawha State Forest. Blalock said, “It's one of the inspirations for the series and the game 'The Last of Us,' which, those people who are familiar with that are aware, is about a cordyceps that is capable of infecting and taking over humanity,” and then said, “In this case, Ophiocordyceps is not capable of doing that.”
That comparison matters because the mushroom being studied is not just unusual in color. It sits in the same broad scientific conversation as other fungi that people notice first through appearance, then through classification.
West Virginia Mushroom Club
Palmer said, “Mushrooms are incredibly important to the ecosystem,” and added, “None of us would be here without them, breaking down decaying organic matter, working with the trees.” He also said, “The trees couldn't survive without them. We couldn't survive without the trees.”
He said, “When you find something that's brand new that maybe no one's ever found before that's just a step above.” Palmer also warned, “Don't eat mushrooms if they haven't been properly identified and vetted with multiple sources,” and, “Always make sure you know what you have before you eat it.”
The testing now has a narrow aim: sort out whether the specimen belongs to an existing species, a new species, or an entirely new genus. Until that process ends, the mushroom remains a possible addition to the scientific record rather than a settled name.
