Lepista flaccida - Tawny Funnel

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Although the common name and its scientific synonym Clitocybe flaccida suggest that this mushroom is a ‘funnel’, in fact it is now classed as one of the ‘blewits’ – even though its spores are white or cream whereas the Wood Blewit and the Field Blewit produce pale pink spores. Caps frequently have a spout-like low point, making for a jug-like appearance; this, and the much thinner cap flesh, help in distinguishing the Tawny Funnel from the superficially similar Common Funnel, Clitocybe gibba.

Found in all kinds of woodlands, the Tawny Funnel turns up on nearly every autumn forest foray.

Identification Guide

Cap	4 to 9cm across, convex and later funnel shaped with a wavy inrolled margin; smooth and matt; tawny or orange-brown.
Gills	Deeply decurrent; crowded; white at first, becoming pale tawny when mature.
Stem	3 to 5cm long and 0.5 to 1cm dia.; slightly fibrillose; downy at base; tawny but paler than cap; no ring.
Spore print	Creamy-white, in contrast with the Wood Blewit and Field Blewit which have pale pink spores.
Odour/taste	Pleasantly sweet odour; no significant taste.
Habitat	In all kinds of woodland.
Season	June to November.
Occurrence	Very common.
Similar species	Lepista multiformis is usually larger and occurs in grassland. Clitocybe gibba, the Common Funnel, occurs in similar habitats; it is a much paler mushroom and it produces white spores.