Cap
|
Hemispherical or like half an egg (hence the
specific name ovatus); 2 to 6 cm in diameter; clay coloured or cream-brown;
drying smooth and shiny but tending to wrinkle in dry weather.
The cap flesh is thin and off-white. |
Gills
 |
Off-white becoming mottled brown and
darkening to black as the spores mature; often paler at the edge; adnate
and crowded. |
Stipe
 |
The stipe (stem) is tall and
slender. Although the lower two-thirds of the stipe is the same colour
as as the cap, the colour becomes noticeably paler towards the apex.
A white, fragile, superior (upwards facing) ring persists to
maturity.
The stem flesh is yellowish and very brittle. |
Spore print |
Black. |
Odour/taste |
Not distinctive. |
Habitat |
On or beside dung, particularly on upland
meadows and common land. |
Season |
Mainly May to November, but these fungi may
appear throughout the year if there is a spell of mild weather. |
Occurrence |
Fairly frequent. |
Similar species |
- Stropharia
semiglobata, the Dung Roundhead, is more spherical, has a
transient ring and leaves a brown spore print.
|
