Hebeloma sinapizans - Bitter Poisonpie

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

On average rather larger than Hebeloma crustuliniforme, Poisonpie, and often with ba darker centre, Bitter Poisonpie is otherwise very similar and just as poisonous as the close relative with which it is easily confused.

Bitter Poisonpie generally has a more swollen stem base and is found in chalk or limestone areas where the soil is alkaline. In Britain and Ireland, beechwoods are the most common habitat for this mycorrhizal fungus.

Identification guide

Cap	Pale buff to ochre, darker in centre, becoming light brown with sometimes a cinnamon tinge at maturity; bell-shaped with an incurved margin when young, becoming broadly concave or slightly umbonate and eventually almost flat; sticky when wet, smooth and silky when dry; margin often slightly wavy and occasionally lobed; 5 to 15cm across.
Gills	Clay-buff, becoming browner with age; adnate or notched; crowded.
Stem	White or very pale yellow; mealy towards the apex and often finely scaly below; cylindrical with a swollen base; 5 to 12cm long, 1 to 2cm dia.; no ring.
Spore print	Brown.
Odour/taste	Strong odour of radish; bitter taste.
Habitat	Usually in small groups in broadleaf and mixed woodland on alkaline soil.
Season	July to November.
Occurrence	Fairly common.