Brown Cap, White Gills on log, ID Req

[Steve Wurzel]

Another unidentified lone mushroom from my trip to Cornwall last weekend, this one from woods near Looe growing from beneath a small decaying log on the woodland floor.

Cap: 47mm dia, Chestnut Brown,
Gills: Free, Very White at first - Creamy Brown when spores released.
Stem: 100mm long x 5-7mm dia, white with fine irregular scurf, solid and fibrous. No ring, No volva
Spores: Light milky brown
Smell: Very Earthy. Non-mushroomy.





Even a species would be helpful, any ideas?

[flaxton]

Well we can start off with the genera which is Pluteus but which species is slightly more difficult, for me anyway

Mal

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by Steve Wurzel

Another unidentified lone mushroom from my trip to Cornwall last weekend, this one from woods near Looe growing from beneath a small decaying log on the woodland floor.

Cap: 47mm dia, Chestnut Brown,
Gills: Free, Very White at first - Creamy Brown when spores released.
Stem: 100mm long x 5-7mm dia, white with fine irregular scurf, solid and fibrous. No ring, No volva
Spores: Light milky brown
Smell: Very Earthy. Non-mushroomy.





Even a species would be helpful, any ideas?

Hi Steve,

Mal has suggested (correctly) that this is a Pluteus !

Since it appears to be on deciduous wood (I can't see any needle litter) then it is almost certainly just the common Pluteus cervinus, which is VERY variable in form.

If it had been on conifer wood then one has to consider the other species (only relatively recently described) that closely resembles P. cervinus viz. Pluteus pouzarianus but is often much darker with regard to cap colour, and only grows on coniferous substrates.

The most important difference however, that distinguishes between the two is that P. cervinus has NO clamp connections (ever !) anywhere in the fruitbody, whilst P. pouzarianus has them in varying numbers in the hyphae of the skin of the cap or in the mycelium at the stipe base.

Nick

[Steve Wurzel]

Originally Posted by mykonik

Since it appears to be on deciduous wood (I can't see any needle litter) then it is almost certainly just the common Pluteus cervinus, which is VERY variable in form.

Thanks Mal & Nick, Pluteus cervinus
- Fawn Shield Cap looks spot on.


Yes it was mainly deciduous woodland, no wonder I couldn't ID it I was looking for a white gilled funghi, it does vary considerably in form, from the info I've gathered.

I'd never heard of "clamp connections" until you mentioned it Nick, but I have gathered they are microscopic connections, Using a Microscope: Clamp Connections (MushroomExpert.Com)

I'll pop the remnants under the cling-film on the log-pile, on a deciduous log and see if I get lucky.

Thanks again for that ID.. a tough one for me.