Beautiful Red Moss Mushroom

[NickCantle]

Well, it was certainly a welcome sight today- this little beauty sat on a moss covered tree stump. I did check and it wasn't attached to the stump, so it must have a moss association, I presume. It was roughly 2cm in height and the cap diameter was no more than 7mm. It was very fragile so I couldn't get a look at the gills. There was another on there, so I might just have to wait until they both open up. I'm guessing they do not retain this lovely shade of red.

What are we looking at here? Psathyrella perhaps?


Make sure you click the photo to get a nice big picture! See the bigger picture

All help and comments much appreciated,

Nick

[Leif]

It is indeed a very pretty little red fungus. Hopefully someone knowledgeable will be along soon.

BTW I suspect that a Swiss Army Knife would not go amiss. They even have small tweezers for small fungi. And a saw for brackets, and removing obscuring branches.

[NickCantle]

I do usually carry a pen-knife with said items attached, but of course I was out birdwatching and I couldn't resist traipsing through the Ash wood to see if I could find anything. I don't usually carry my knives when I'm birdwatching. I found a nice flurry of Jew's Ear too

Nick

[FungiJohn]

It's a beauty Nick, but as to what it is, well .... could be anything really
No idea mate
John

[FungiJohn]

It did remind me of a similar find last year of the Orange Bonnet - Mycena acicula. It too was very small and delicate ... but yellow ... orange / red

[NickCantle]

Nice photo of nice specimens John. So it's definitely not this. In Mycena acicula, the stem is bright yellow, fading as it nears the base as it shows in your photo. I don't know why I didn't think of the bonnets when I saw it. This is screaming Mycena to me...

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Nice photo of nice specimens John. So it's definitely not this. In Mycena acicula, the stem is bright yellow, fading as it nears the base as it shows in your photo. I don't know why I didn't think of the bonnets when I saw it. This is screaming Mycena to me...

I think so Nick. Maybe Nick can help more

[NickCantle]

Self help? I'm not a fan

I knew what you meant

[CloudedYellow]

M. adonis?

Richard

[Fungus Ken]

I think I would rule out Mycena based on both the cap colour and the texture of the stem.

I think Nick is probably right with Psathyrella, which is where I will leave it. Even if it gets bigger, it would be difficult to take it any further without microscopy, unless of course it turns out to be Psathyrella conopilus which has the distinctive setae (bristles) on the cap. (These are visible with a hand lens, but you can also make them out by eye in a good light if you hold the cap up to the light.)

Ken