Cap |
Initially hemispherical and then broadly
convex or almost flat, the hygrophanous caps are rufous brown in the
centre, fading to honey yellow towards the edge. The margins are
sometimes faintly striate.
Cap diameter at maturity ranges from 1 to 7 cm.
|
Gills |
The close, pale cream-fawn to ochraceous
honey-coloured adnate gills turn slightly rusty as they mature. |
Stipe |
2 to 7 mm in diameter and 2 to 7 cm
long, the fragile stems are often curved. Buff at the apex and browner
towards the base, the stems are longitudinally fibrilose below a fragile
pale ring. The ring sometimes disappears with age. |
Spore print |
Snuff brown. |
Odour/taste |
Mealy taste and odour. (NB This species is
Deadly Poisonous: it must NOT be eaten!) |
Habitat |
On stumps, dead trunks and fallen branches
of conifers and very occasionally of deciduous trees. |
Season |
June to December. |
Occurrence |
Infrequent. |
Similar species |
- Kuehneromyces
mutabilis, a popular edible mushroom, is similar in size and
colour range but has a pale cap centre and darker rim and is mainly
confined to hardwood substrates; it does not have a mealy smell.
|
