in north america, with a cap that can measure over a yard across. it regularly appears in urban areas, causing considerable amazement. believe it or not, there are a dozen or so gilled mushrooms in the world that get this large, most of which belong in thegenus macrocybe--latin for "huge head." macrocybe...
" or "collybia acervata" until very recently, include the densely clustered growth on the wood of conifers; the convex (not conical) reddish brown caps that fade to pinkish buff; and the reddish to reddish brown stem that is bald except for the slightly fuzzy base. older specimens demonstrate a marked...
microscopic features. it belongs to a group of species that feature prominent "pileocystidia"--long cells on the surface ofthe cap that stick up and can often be detected as fine pubescence with a hand lens (or even the naked eye). the better known coprinellus disseminatus also belongs to this group...
on the margin ofthe cap and the stem. it is not at all " pleurotoid ," despite belonging to thegenus that provides the term. when the partial veil remnants are worn away (which is fairly often), it can usually be separated from similar mushrooms like hypsizygus ulmarius by its densely fuzzy cap and...
species of volvariella. complicating matters further, dna studies have not supported placement of volvariella within the pluteaceae family (where volvopluteus resides), where it has traditionally been placed. however, its precise positioning remains unclear as of this writing. dna-based investigation...
identifying them can be quite a challenge. however, lepiota cristata can be tentatively recognized by its diminutive size, the presence of brownish scales on the cap, the bald stem that bears a fragile ring , and the usually distinctive and fragrant odor. microscopic features, including bullet-shaped...
--well, suillus-ish. true, i found it under hardwoods, but there are a very few suillus species described from hardwood habitat, and they are yellow (or yellowish), at that. true, the pore surface is not conspicuously radially arranged (say that three times fast) and true, there are no glandular dots...
, the gulf coast, and along the great lakes. its habitat and its thick, purple gills distinguish it from just about anything else--though if you are in eastern canada, the similar sand-loving laccaria maritima can only be reliably separated with a microscope (details below). lacaria trullisata" (with...
the cap and stem are tawny brown to brick red--or paler, when faded by sunlight. like other species of cystoderma , cystoderma granulosum has a cap densely covered with granules which, as the mushroom matures, may begin to separate or wear away. there is no true ring on the stem, and the spores are...