Help identify

[Shitake.]

Hello! I've found a few of these mushrooms in a forest growing on decomposing oak logs.

I've already read through multiple field guides and I can't find any mushroom that looks like this.

An id would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

Outside temperature 65 - 70

cap - flat, dark tan 

Stem - white/grey

gills - light pinkish, cluttered, free

flesh - white

spores - rusty brown

 

[Dave W]

I'm pretty confident this is a species of Pluteus. Note how the gills are "free" of the stalk (ie. do not reach the stalk). This is a good example of why I always recommend collecting spore prints on non absorbent surfaces. You can see how moisture leached out of the mushroom into the paper and this causes the print to look darker than it probably is. So, what looks like a dark (rusty) brown print does not fit genus Pluteus. But, I think that if you take the print on clear glass, aluminum foil, or some other hard surface then the print will be seen as pink or pinkish-brown/tan. 

Pluteus is a fairly large genus and field guides typically do not depict more than 3-4 species. Even the most commonly depicted "species", P. cervinus (actually a group of similar species), occurs with a variety of different shades of gray/brown/tannish and a variably ornamented stalk. So, is this P. cervinus? I think this is a good possibility, although the central umbo (hump) on the otherwise flat cap in not typical for these types.  

[Shitake.]

Thanks Dave! 😃

 

Thanks for the tip about spore prints.

I'll try to use glass next time.