| Identification |
This is usually a small to medium-small mushroom, sometimes a larger mushroom when growing in clusters. It grows on the ground, usually in large, compact clumps, though solitary individuals are sometimes found.
The stalk is 1¼″ to 3″ long, ⅜″ to 1″ thick, white to ivory, solid, fibrous, smooth, and dry. It sometimes turns brownish with age, especially near the base. There is no cup-like covering (volva) at the base of the stalk, and there are no remnants of a universal veil clinging to the stalk.
The cap is smooth, dark brown, grayish-brown, yellowish-brown, or tan, 1¼″ to 4¾″ in diameter, and sometimes lobed. It is sometimes deeply convex and bell-shaped, sometimes shallowly convex with a pointed center. The margins often turn up with age.
The flesh is white and has a mild odor.
The gills are closely spaced and white to grayish, becoming straw-colored with age. They are attached, sometimes completely attached (adnate), sometimes extending down along the stalk (decurrent), and sometimes completely attached but with a notch near, but not at, the stem (notched).
The spore print is white. |
| Comments |
Taxonomy
Lyophyllum decastes is a species complex. Included in the complex are a possibly 5 species that are reproductively isolated from each other and are morphologically diverse. What they have in common is that they are drab in color, they grow in disturbed sites, and the microscopic spore-producing structures (basidia) on the vertical walls of the gills contain particles that darken dramatically when heated in acetocarmine, a biological staining solution. |
