Pinwheel Mushrooms

Marasmiaceae is a family of small gilled mushrooms. It occurs worldwide on every continent including Antarctica. There are an estimated 5,900 species in 54 genera worldwide, at least 28 genera in North America north of Mexico, and at least 61 species in 17 genera in Minnesota.

Marasmiaceae mushrooms are found in coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests. They grow on the ground on needle duff, leaf litter, and woody debris. They help to break down leaf litter, getting their nutrients from non-living organic matter (saprobic).

Though small and delicate in appearance, they survive dry periods by shriveling up, then quickly returning to their normal state during the next rain.

Marasmiaceae are mostly tiny mushrooms. The cap is convex to flat but never cone-shaped. The stems are thin and often wiry. They appear delicate but on most species they are tough. The spore print is white.

Sources

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

Fungi in the family Marasmiaceae were formerly placed in the family Tricholomataceae. That was a waste-basket family, containing all mushrooms in the order Agaricales with white, yellow, or pink spores that were not already assigned to other families. Between 1980 and 2006 several families, including Marasmiineae, have been separated from Tricholomataceae.

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Location: Dakota County