Leratiomyces ceres - Redlead Roundhead

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Once a rare find in Britain and Ireland, this attractive little mushroom has become much more common as more parks and gardens are mulched with woodchip. In sandy pine forests, particularly in sheltered coastal areas, Redlead Roundheads can occasionally be found growing in grassy areas rich in pine needle litter. This is an inedible species.

The synonym Stropharia aurantiaca is still favoured by some authorities.

Identification Guide

Cap	Orange-red; convex, becoming flatter; pale veil fragments often cling to cap margins; 1.5 to 6cm across.
Gills	Adnate; fairly crowded; cream to olive becoming purplish-brown with paler edges.
Stem	3 to 9cm tall and 3 to 8mm dia.; white, flushed red towards base; covered in fibrous scales when young; no ring.
Spore print	Purple-brown.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	Most often found on wood mulch or on sandy (often coastal) soil that is rich in rotting twigs and needles from pine trees.
Season	June to November.
Occurrence	Increasingly common in southern Britain and Ireland; very common in central mainland Europe.
Similar species	The Bloodred Webcap, Cortinarius sanguineus, has a red cap but its gills are initially bright red and become a rusty reddish brown at maturity; its spore print is rusty brown rather than purple-brown.