Schizophyllum commune

Schizophyllum commune is a species of fungus in the genus Schizophyllum. The mushroom resembles undulating waves of tightly packed corals or loose Chinese fan. "Gillies" or "split gills" vary from creamy yellow to pale white in colour. The cap is small, 1–4 cm wide with a dense yet spongey body texture. It is known as the split-gill mushroom because of the unique longitudinally divided nature of the "gills" on the underside of the cap. This mushroom is found throughout the world.

It is found in the wild on decaying trees after rainy seasons followed by dry spells where the mushrooms are naturally collected.

Description
Schizophyllum commune is usually described as a morphological species of global distribution, but some research has suggested that it may be a species complex encompassing several cryptic species of more narrow distribution, as typical of many mushroom-forming Basidiomycota.

The caps are 1–4 cm wide with white or grayish hairs. They grow in shelf-like arrangements, without stalks. The gills, which produce basidiospores on their surface, split when the mushroom dries out, earning this mushroom the common name split gill. It is common in rotting wood. The mushrooms can remain dry for decades and then revived with moisture.

It has a tetrapolar mating system with each cell containing two genetic loci (called A and B) that govern different aspects the mating process, leading to 4 possible phenotypes after cell fusion. Each locus codes for a mating type (a or b) and each type is multi-allelic: the A locus has 9 alleles for the a type and an estimated 32 for its b type, and the B locus has 9 alleles each for both its a and b types. When combined this gives an estimated 23,328 potential mating type specificities. While all mating types can initially fuse with any other mating type, a fertile fruitbody and subsequent spores will result only if both the A and B loci of the merging cells are compatible. If neither the A nor B are compatible the result is normal monokarytic mycelium, and if only one of A or B are compatible, the result is either two mycelia growing in opposite directions (only A compatible) or a "flat" phenotype with no mycelia (only B compatible).

Hydrophobin was first isolated from Schizophyllum commune.

Genetics
The genome of Schizophyllum commune was sequenced in 2010.

Edibility
The species was regarded as nonpoisonous by Orson K. Miller Jr. and Hope H. Miller, who considered it to be inedible due to its smallness and toughness. Because the mushrooms absorb moisture, they can expand during digestion. However, some sources indicate that it contains antitumor and antiviral components.

As of 2006, it was widely consumed in Mexico and elsewhere in the tropics. The preference for tough, rubbery mushrooms in the tropics was explained as a consequence of the fact that tender, fleshy mushrooms quickly rot in the hot humid conditions there, making their marketing problematic.

In Northeast India, in the state Manipur, it is known as kanglayen and one of the favourite ingredients for Manipuri-style pancakes called paaknam. In Mizoram, the local name is pasi (pa means mushroom, si means tiny) and it is one of the highest rated edible mushrooms among the Mizo community.

As a pathogen
It may be a common cause of fungal infections and related diseases, most commonly that of the lungs. They have also been reported to cause sinusitis and allergic reactions.

Etymology
Schizophyllum is derived from [the Greek] Schíza meaning split because of the appearance of radial, centrally split, gill like folds; commune means common or shared ownership or ubiquitous.