Unidentified Fungus

[whuzzey]

Hi All

Please could somebody help me to try and identify this Fungus. This is my first post so apologies if I have missed any information out.

It was found on Saturday just gone, 20th November in woods local to me in Kent.

The fungus was growing out from some leaf litter which I think was possibly elm with sweet chestnut also growing nearby.

The height was approx. 10-11cm, the cap around 2-2.5cm width and I'd say the stem was around 1.3cm or so wide.

The cap was orange/light red with a white stem, which I would say was scaly.

I was unable to get low enough with my camera and lens to photo underneath the cap, but I managed to get a very blurry photo on my mobile which I can add if required.





I have looked through my Collins Mushroom book but cannot find this one in there anywhere.

Please let me know if any further information is required to possibly help ID this one.

Many thanks
Wayne

[FungiJohn]

Hi Wayne and welcome to WAB

Your fungus is probably a young Psathyrella species

John

[Lancashire Lad]

I think this could be Redlead Roundhead - Leratiomyces ceres (Stropharia aurantiaca)

Regards,
Mike.

[Ken Burgess]

Originally Posted by Lancashire Lad

I think this could be Redlead Roundhead - Leratiomyces ceres (Stropharia aurantiaca)

... except that it has a very distinctive ring, a scaly stem below the ring, and small, white, ephemeral scales on the cap.

I think this probably makes it Leratiomyces squamosus var. thraustus. I have only ever found the paler version, Leratiomyces squamosus var. squamosus, and that was quite a few years ago.

Ken

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by Ken Burgess

... except that it has a very distinctive ring, a scaly stem below the ring, and small, white, ephemeral scales on the cap.....

Hi Ken,
I made the suggestion based on limited information available in my books, and information/photos that I'd seen online.
(Such as this: - Site Photomyco Yves Deneyer, Page espèce)

There is a photo in Philips, which shows S.aurantiaca with quite a prominent ring. - I was thinking that perhaps the ring was prominent on young fruitbodies, but rapidly reduced to just a remnant (as for example on S.caerulea).

I appreciate what you are saying though, and Leratiomyces squamosus var. thraustus does indeed look like the best candidate. (It isn't mentioned in any of my books ).

At least I am in the ballpark with Genus.

Regards,
Mike.

[Ken Burgess]

It's not just individual characters that count. It's putting them all together. For example, the cap is very small compared with the width of the stem. But I'd want microscopic information, myself, to confirm a taxon I've not found before.
Ken