identifying features include: growth on wood, often in clusters; rusty brown spore print ; relatively small (but not tiny) caps; a thin ring or ring zone , which may disappear; brown to tawny, moist-when-fresh cap that often fades in age. potential look-alikes include, depending on your familiarity with mushrooms...
whitish to tan or dull brown) caps. however, hymenopellis furfuracea does not always grow to capacity, and it is not infrequently a paler shade of brown than it "should be." such specimens are best identified with microscopic examination (see the microscopic characters below, and the key to xeruloid mushrooms...
by the combination of blue-staining surfaces and nodulose, star-shaped spores. presumably because inocybe insignis was known only from the original type collection and was, therefore, rare and insufficiently documented, smith included the species in his popular field guide, how to know the gilled mushrooms...
in southwest colorado, where it associates with engelmann spruce near treeline. when it grows in open, sunny areas at such high elevation, it often fades quickly and becomes dull and yellowish--but when growing in shaded areas it is typically orange and more reminiscent of other deliciosus-like mushrooms...
incredibly fragile and soon disintegrates. in fact the stem can become a hollow, brittle shell within a few hours, making russula tenuiceps difficult to pick and take home to study in one piece. russula tenuiceps is associated with oaks in eastern north america, and it shares many features with mushrooms...
honey-mustard. served with your choice of salad or cup of soup. $ + california club sandwich oven-roasted turkey or grilled chicken breast with fresh avocado, nueske's applewood smoked bacon. served with your choice of salad or cup of soup. $ + grilled veggie sandwich grilled bell peppers, cremini mushrooms...