Lacrymaria lacrymabunda - Weeping Widow

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Commonly referred to as the Weeping Widow, because of the black, watery droplets that appear at the edge of the gills when they are moist, this large fungus (syn. Lacrymaria velutina) is an occasional species in fields and roadside verges. The common name somehow seems particularly poignant when these sombre mushrooms pop up beside gravestones in grassy churchyards.

Synonym: Lacrymaria velutina

Identification guide

Cap	Initially bell-shaped with a woolly, in-rolled margin to which pale fragments of the veil remain attached. At maturity, caps growing to between 4 and 12cm in diameter, usually retaining a distinct umbo. The reddish cap surface is radially streaked with yellow and clay brown tinges.
Gills	Adnexed; initially yellow-brown with a very pale edge, but soon becoming blackened with spores. The gill edges hold black watery droplets when moist.
Stem	5 to 10mm diameter; 6 to 12cm tall; a paler brown than the cap but more russet towards the base; fibrous, with a ring zone of pale fibres that soon become stained black by falling spores.
Spore print	Black.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	In grassland and on verges beside lanes; occasionally also in woodland clearings.
Season	April to November, but most common in late summer and autumn.
Occurrence	Fairly frequent.
Similar species	Could possibly be mistaken for a field mushroom, Agaricus campestris, when young. Psathyrella candoleana is somewhat similar but smaller and much paler