Nitrous Bonnet

not listed

NNR - Unranked

not listed

Nitrous Bonnet is a small, fragile, gray, gilled mushroom. It occurs in Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Chile, and North America. In the United States it occurs in the east from Maine to North Carolina, west to Minnesota and eastern Texas. In the west it occurs west of the Rocky Mountains from northern Washington to southern California. It also occurs in Alaska, and there are scattered populations from Idaho south to Arizona and New Mexico. It is found alone, scattered, or in groups but not clustered (gregarious), in coniferous and mixed woodlands. It fruits from spring through fall but especially in spring to early summer and in late fall. It grows on the ground on coniferous debris, including sticks, needle carpets, and cones. It obtains its nutrients from decaying wood (saprobic).

When it first appears, the cap is broad but cone-shaped, and black to dark grayish-brown. The upper surface is densely covered with fine white powder, and the margins are pressed closely to the stalk. As it ages the cap flattens out, the powder wears off completely, and the color fades. The mature cap is broadly cone-shaped, convex, or broadly bell-shaped. It is usually ⅜″ to 1¼″ (1 to 3 cm) in diameter, sometimes up to 1½″ (4 cm) in diameter. The upper surface is grayish-brown or gray, free of powder, moist, and strongly lined. The margins are whitish.

The gills are narrow and moderately well spaced. There are 18 to 27 main gills, and between the main gills there are one or two series of short gills that do not extend to the stalk. The main gills curve upward approaching the stalk and are either narrowly attached to the stalk or are attached with a tooth that extends slightly down the stalk. The gills are whitish or pale gray with whitish edges.

The stalk is fragile, hollow, 1¼″ to 2¾″ (3 to 7 cm) long, and 1⁄32″ to ⅛″ (1 to 3 mm) thick, equal in size from top to bottom. It is black to dark brown and covered with whitish powder at first. As it ages it fades to grayish or brownish and becomes free of powder.

The flesh is thin, fragile, and grayish. It has a mild odor of bleach that becomes strong when the flesh is crushed. It is not known if it is edible, but the taste is acidic and unpleasant.

The spore print is white.

Coniferous and mixed woodlands. Debris of conifers.

Spring through fall

Sources

4, 24, 26, 29, 30, 77.

Not common in Minnesota

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Location: Hennepin County