One for ID Help if Possible.

[Lancashire Lad]

Found yesterday growing in soil in mixed broadleaf woodland.

Stipes to approx. 50mm tall, caps to approx. 40mm width. General mushroomy smell.

Spore print very dark brown almost black.



Spores brown under microscope but not quite as brown looking as these images suggest. Second image has spore sizes annotated.


Further shots of large cells (? not sure what) on Gill edge: -


Have tried to key out but it's like swimming in treacle at the minute. I'm only at the very beginning of what is about to be a rest of life learning curve.

Any suggestions much appreciated.

Regards,
Mike.

[diggleken]

Originally Posted by Lancashire Lad

Any suggestions much appreciated.

Regards,
Mike.

Sell the microscope Mike...........................haha!
Cheers
Ken

[Ditiola]

Mike

Brown caps with long white stem and dark brown spores and cystidia present usually means Psathyrella to me (but I stand to be corrected) If it is a Psathyrella it is not the easiest genus to identify to species level!

Peter

[flaxton]

This time of year those sized spores stalked cheilocystidia I would go for Psathyrella spadiceogrisea.

Mal

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by flaxton

This time of year those sized spores stalked cheilocystidia I would go for Psathyrella spadiceogrisea.

Mal

Agreed Mal - and someone should be ashamed of his negative comments . . . .

Originally Posted by diggleken

Sell the microscope Mike...........................haha!
Cheers
Ken

clearly that's the last thing he should do because Mike's work has produced an ID in a difficult genus . . . he can't help being from Lancashire, Ken - it's just an accident of birth - but he's doing all the right things (let's have a bit of Northern solidarity here )

lol

Chris

[Lancashire Lad]

Thanks very much for your replies guys. Getting to species level with this is great.

Looking at my photos with the benefit of your input, I can see that the "gill edge cells" , are clearly the "Balloon-shaped and distinct" Cheilocystidia that Jordan refers to as being one of the indicators for the species. Looking again through all of the information currently available to me, everything else fits perfectly for P.spadiceogrisea. - And, at macro level, the baby 'shroom in my pic could have been lifted straight from the photo on page 153 of Andreas's book.

A "War of the Roses" certainly isn't on the agenda between myself and Ken. And, on the basis of your continued help towards my mycological progress, I'm even prepared to accept you Chris, as an honourary Lancastrian. - All banter given and received in good jest.

Regards,
Mike.