Cap |
The cap is initially hemispherical, becoming
bell-shaped and eventually almost flat. White veil fragments adhere to
and overhang the rim; they get smaller as the fruitbody ages,
eventually becoming blackened by spores.
These fragile caps usually crowd together in very tight clumps, some
of the caps getting broken as others expand beside them.
Initially caps are dark red-brown, fading through date brown to
yellow-brown. Mature specimens are noticeably hygrophanous: they change
colour depending on whether the surface is moist or dry, becoming pale
tan or beige from the edge of the cap in dry weather. |
Gills |
The narrow gills are adnate and quite
closely spaced; initially pinkish beige, they turn deep chocolate brown
and eventually almost black.
The gills of this species are very brittle, |
Stipe
|
Typically 4 to 8 mm in diameter and up to 8
cm long, the stems of this caespitose (clump-forming) fungus are
straight or slightly curved.
A this white ring (the partial veil) soon tears as the cap expands,
leaving white fragments attached to the cap rim and little or no
evidence on the stem, which has a matt, floury (pruinose) surface near
the apex and is much smoother towards the base.
As the fruit bodies mature, falling spores darken the stems, most
noticeably towards the base. |
Spore print |
Black. |
Odour/taste |
Not distinctive. |
Habitat |
On the stumps or buried branches of
broad-leaved trees; very occasionally on conifer stumps. Favouring damp,
darkish woods. |
Season |
March to December, but most plentiful in
summer and autumn. |
Occurrence |
Very common. |
Similar species |
- Kuehneromyce
mutabilis, the Brown Stew Fungus, also grows in tufts on
stumps; it has a ring on the stem, and the stem is brown and, rather
than being smooth, is covered in scales at the base.
|
