The Miller - Clitopilus prunulus.

[Minamoo]

Hello there! I have found what I believe to be Miller mushrooms growing on a patch of grass near where I normally find my wood blewits. I have never found these before. I don't have my camera with me so won't be able to post pictures till I get home but for starters, I was wondering if there's anything else that could be mistaken for this particular mushroom? I am currently doing a spore print so I will let you know as soon as I can what colour it is. The mushrooms themselves are about 3.5cm wide with a stem that's 2.5cm long. The gills are decurrent and the cap is wavy on the edges. The colour is a slightly creamy white. I know it's not of that much help without the pictures but thought I'd give it a try anyway.

[djackso]

The Miller can be mistaken for poisonous species such as Entoloma sinuatum and Clitocybes.

The flesh should be crumbly and the gills should be pinkish, and, as you say, decurrent.

[Andy Overall]

Originally Posted by Minamoo

Hello there! I have found what I believe to be Miller mushrooms growing on a patch of grass near where I normally find my wood blewits. I have never found these before. I don't have my camera with me so won't be able to post pictures till I get home but for starters, I was wondering if there's anything else that could be mistaken for this particular mushroom? I am currently doing a spore print so I will let you know as soon as I can what colour it is. The mushrooms themselves are about 3.5cm wide with a stem that's 2.5cm long. The gills are decurrent and the cap is wavy on the edges. The colour is a slightly creamy white. I know it's not of that much help without the pictures but thought I'd give it a try anyway.

The most likely mushroom you can confuse this with is Clitocybe rivulosa it is also white, smells of flour, and has slightly decurrent gills and is the same size and stature range. Entoloma sinuatum is generally a more robust and bigger thing altogether, it doesn't have decurrent gills and is a lot less frequent, compared to Clitopilus prunulus - The Miller. You are doing the right thing in taking a spore print, if it is pink then you can count out Clitocybe rivulosa as its spores are white. Would still like to see a picture if you have one?

Andy

[Minamoo]

Thanks for that! There will most definitely be a picture as soon as I get home. There are so many mushrooms growing around my office now. It's absolutely incredible. I wish I knew what all of them were! I know them well enough to put them into the correct group (coprinus, lactarius, agaricus etc) but with many of them that's where it ends. I have however set myself the task of learning and identifying (even if only roughly) every mushroom that I find. And with most of them I am learning all the latin names as well. It starts getting a bit confusing after a while but every so often I will just repeat all of them to myself in my head and I will name them every time I see them. I also spend a lot of time reading my mushroom/wild food books. And flicking through the photos on the gallery!

[Andy Overall]

Originally Posted by Minamoo

Thanks for that! There will most definitely be a picture as soon as I get home. There are so many mushrooms growing around my office now. It's absolutely incredible. I wish I knew what all of them were! I know them well enough to put them into the correct group (coprinus, lactarius, agaricus etc) but with many of them that's where it ends. I have however set myself the task of learning and identifying (even if only roughly) every mushroom that I find. And with most of them I am learning all the latin names as well. It starts getting a bit confusing after a while but every so often I will just repeat all of them to myself in my head and I will name them every time I see them. I also spend a lot of time reading my mushroom/wild food books. And flicking through the photos on the gallery!

You are going about it the right way Minamoo, the more time you spend getting to know the mushrooms the more you learn, know your limit though and don't take on too much at one time as this is when they can get on top of you and maybe put you off.

Andy

[fairplay]

Hi Minamoo,

Glad to have you back with us again, sounds like exciting things happening in your 'neck of the woods'.

Some good advice from Andy there, but anything your not sure of, there are lots of eager people here who just can't wait to help you.

Look forward to lots of pictures from you.

Neil.

[Minamoo]

You would love it where I am. Really bizarre things happen near my office as far as mushies are concerned. The strangest to date is laccaria laccatas growing on a lawn under some sycamores. Within a 15 min walk of my office I have found so far St Georges, panaeolus semiovatus, fairy ring champignons, horse mushrooms, shaggy and common inkcaps, deceivers, wood blewits, velvet shanks, more coprinus sp. than you can shake a stick at, the could-be-millers, a Red Cracking Bolete, a ganoderma that I forgot about until now, trametes versicolor, brown mottlegills (Panaeolina foenisecii) and loads of other little 'uns that I haven't got round to looking in my books for. The others in my office have got used to me coming in with paper bags full of strange looking mushies! lol!

[Minamoo]

Oh I also found loads of stump puffballs the other day.

[Leif]

Do take care as Clitocybe revulosa and C. dealbata can grow alongside Clitopilus prunulus and Marasmius oreades (the fairy ring mushroom). So you have to identify EVERY specimen! The small Clitocybe species can kill, so its probably best not to eat them.

As Andy says, Entoloma sinuatum is huge with thick flesh.

I'm always a little surprised when popular guides recommend eating Clitopilus prunulus and Kuehneromyces mutabilis without warning of the lookalikes. To be honest there are plenty of safer mushrooms, such as Hedgehogs, and Winter Chanterelles.

[Andy Overall]

Originally Posted by Leif

Do take care as Clitocybe revulosa and C. dealbata can grow alongside Clitopilus prunulus and Marasmius oreades (the fairy ring mushroom). So you have to identify EVERY specimen! The small Clitocybe species can kill, so its probably best not to eat them.

As Andy says, Entoloma sinuatum is huge with thick flesh.

I'm always a little surprised when popular guides recommend eating Clitopilus prunulus and Kuehneromyces mutabilis without warning of the lookalikes. To be honest there are plenty of safer mushrooms, such as Hedgehogs, and Winter Chanterelles.

Leif, Clitocybe rivulosa and C. dealbata are synonymous. I agree you have to be DEAD careful with Clitopilus due to confusion with the above, though the spore print is different with each species. Marasmius oreades on the other hand is a very different looking mushroom with its tough little stem, widely spaced gills and either toffee brown too light beige cap with a broad central umbo. I understand though that beginners could be fooled.

Andy

[fungi2bwith]

Some books report The Miller often grow with Ceps. I once found a patch of huge Ceps in Scotland that looked like a mini forest (within a forest) and in between the ceps were large numbers of The Miller. It is a great pitty that the pictures I took didn't come out well (and I quickly gave up after twice slipping down the steep slope they were on). I didn't take any Miller's as I was not absolutely sure of the ID.

I have tasted The Miller once when I had them identified by an expert and they are rather good.

[Leif]

Originally Posted by Andy Overall

Leif, Clitocybe rivulosa and C. dealbata are synonymous. I agree you have to be DEAD careful with Clitopilus due to confusion with the above, though the spore print is different with each species. Marasmius oreades on the other hand is a very different looking mushroom with its tough little stem, widely spaced gills and either toffee brown too light beige cap with a broad central umbo. I understand though that beginners could be fooled.

Andy

Clitocybe rivulosa and C. dealbata used to be distinct species, such is the flux in mycology.

Marasmius oreades might well be quite different to you and me, but we have experience, whereas the casual picker could easily confuse them, especially if they go out as a family, and one knowledgeable person says "Yes, these are good" then others pick them all, including any look-a-likes. I'm sure you heard the story about some German tourists in Scotland who picked Cortinarius (orellanus?) thinking they were Chanterelles. I'm not sure if any died, but several needed organ transplants. And how many people spore print every fungus before eating it? I would class C. prunulus as "Edible but easily confused with deadly poisonous species". Anyway, if it's like other mealy smelling species, then it is best discarded anyway, at least IMO.

[Andy Overall]

Originally Posted by Leif

Clitocybe rivulosa and C. dealbata used to be distinct species, such is the flux in mycology.

Marasmius oreades might well be quite different to you and me, but we have experience, whereas the casual picker could easily confuse them, especially if they go out as a family, and one knowledgeable person says "Yes, these are good" then others pick them all, including any look-a-likes. I'm sure you heard the story about some German tourists in Scotland who picked Cortinarius (orellanus?) thinking they were Chanterelles. I'm not sure if any died, but several needed organ transplants. And how many people spore print every fungus before eating it? I would class C. prunulus as "Edible but easily confused with deadly poisonous species". Anyway, if it's like other mealy smelling species, then it is best discarded anyway, at least IMO.

Indeed Clitocybe rivulosa and C. dealbata used to be considered distinct species, though they haven't been now for some time. In my previous post I wasn't referring too 'casual family pickers' but to Minamoo who had originally put up the Clitopilus post, who is in the process of spore printing the collection. As I pointed out in the previous post, I am fully aware of how 'beginners' can be fooled by look-alikes, as I get it all the time on my forays. I was pointing out some of the charateristics between these species whch may help people if they ever find themselves in such a quandry.

Andy

[Minamoo]

Hello! The spore prints I did at home didn't develop. I think they were a bit too immature. I left one in the office and haven't been back since so that one may have something for me to look at. I will also go back to the office with my camera today and take pics of those may-be-millers I found. I wasn't planning on eating them till I was 100% convinced they were cliptopilus and not clitocybes. There are plenty of other edible species round here that I am 100% sure of.

As far as Marasmius oreades go....I couldn't possibly get them confused with anything else as I am really careful and also make sure that anyone I go out foraging with is fully versed on the IDs of things before I let them help me pick. Do not fret my dears. I'm not planning on kicking the bucket and going to that giant mushroom palace in the sky just yet!

[Minamoo]

Definitely not The Miller. It is clitocybe revulosa. The spore print in the office came out really well and it's white. I am so glad I have found one as many of my mushroom books site this one as the one you can get a variety of other mushrooms confused with but now that I have seen it, I should be fine. Photo should come later today.

[NickCantle]

Perfect example of how deceptive fungi can be. Just be glad you didn't eat them or you'd have been DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED