Small to usually large or very large agaric, growing on wood, rarely litter or mulch, with a yellow or yellow-brown spore print. Pileus yellow, orange, brown, green or purple, dry or moist. Lamellae decurrent, often forked, usually intervenose, especially near the stipe or point of attachment. Stipe lateral or absent or with dorsal pseudostipe. Partial veil remnants absent. Spores pale or yellow-brown, dextrinoid, smooth; germ pore absent. Cheilocystidia present or absent. Lamellar trama bilateral. Pileipellis a cutis or a trichoderm. Clamp connections present.

Very close to the Meiorganum olivaceoflavidum group, but distinguished by the dextrinoid spores which are predominantly ovoid to ellipsoid rather than cylindrical. In addition, T. panuoides can have purple colours on the pileus. Compare also with Crepidotus, which often has warted spores and lamellae that are not forked or intervenose. Austropaxillus and Paxillus are closely related to Tapinella, but at most they have an excentric stipe and basidia that are much broader (maximum 8.5 um wide in Tapinella).

Tapinella E.J.Gilbert, Les Bolets 67 (1931).

One or a few species: Tapinella panuoides (= Paxillus). Some material originally lodged in MEL as Meiorganum curtisii is better placed under Tapinella due to the dextrinoid spores. However, it does not entirely match T. panuoides. Reid (1955) also reported similar material under Paxillus aff. panuoides.

Meiorganum agathidis (= Merulius) from peninsular Malaysia and Borneo, which has dextrinoid spores, could also belong in Tapinella if the reaction in Melzer's reagent proves to be decisive in the distinction from Meiorganum.

Crepidotus prostratus (see under Crepidotus (smooth spores)) could belong in Tapinella.

Tapinella panuoides (Fr. : Fr.) E.J.Gilbert, Les Bolets 68 (1931).

W.A., S.A., Vic. and Tas. (and probably also N.T., Qld and N.S.W.).

In native forests and in pine plantations.

On wood.

Saprotrophic (brown rot).

Bougher, N.L. (2009a), Fungi of the Perth region and beyond: a self-managed field book, Western Australian Naturalists' Club (Inc.), Perth. [Description and Illustration of T. panuoides]

Bougher, N. & Syme, K. (1998), Fungi of Southern Australia. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands. [Description, Illustration and Microcharacters of T. panuoides]

Breitenbach, J. & Kränzlin, F. (eds) (1991), Fungi of Switzerland. Volume 3. Boletes and Agarics 1st part. Edition Mykologia, Lucerne. [Illustration, Description and Microcharacters of T. panuoides from Europe]

Corner, E.J.H. (1971), Merulioid fungi in Malaysia, Gard. Bull. Singapore 25: 355–381. [Description, Illustration and Microcharacters of Meiorganum agathidis, as Merulius, which may belong in Tapinella, and seems close to the Australian Tapinella aff. panuoides]

Fuhrer, B. (2005), A Field Guide to Australian Fungi. Bloomings Books, Hawthorn. [Description and Illustration of T. panuoides]

Grgurinovic, C.A. (1997a), Larger Fungi of South Australia. The Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and State Herbarium and The Flora and Fauna of South Australia Handbooks Committee, Adelaide. [Description and Microcharacters of T. panuoides]

Hood, I.A. (2003), An Introduction to Fungi on Wood in Queensland. University of New England, School of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources Management, Armidale. [Description and B&W Illustration of T. panuoides (as Paxillus)]

McCann, I.R. (2003), Australian Fungi Illustrated. Macdown Productions, Vermont. [Illustration of T. panuoides]

Reid, D.A. (1956), New or interesting records of Australasian Basidiomycetes, Kew Bull. 1955: 631–648.[Brief Description, and Microcharacters of Tapinella aff. panuoides (as Paxillus)]

Singer, R., Garcia, J. & Gomez, L.D. (1990), The Boletineae of Mexico and Central America I & II, Beih. Nova Hedwigia 98: 1–70. [Description and Microcharacters of T. panuoides from Mexico]

Watling, R. & Gregory, N.M. (1991), Observations on the boletes of the Cooloola sandmass, Queensland and notes on their distribution in Australia. - Part 3: lamellate taxa, Edinburgh J. Bot. 48: 353–391. [Discussion on T. panuoides in Australia].