lovemychickens Posted January 14, 2018 Report Share Posted January 14, 2018 Found these mushrooms near the house, they're orange/yellow/brown, caps around 2-3 inches in diameter, light yellow gills, no ring, and grow in large clusters on the ground. Caps have flattened out as of late, after a few days of light rain, but when I first noticed them they were more conically shaped. I cut one's stem open with a shovel, it was hollow inside and relatively easy to cut. Climate is California coastal redwoods. Thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diana Posted January 14, 2018 Report Share Posted January 14, 2018 Does it smell like radishes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemychickens Posted January 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2018 2 minutes ago, diana said: Does it smell like radishes? Sorry, I don't know what radishes smell like. Thank you for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted January 14, 2018 Report Share Posted January 14, 2018 I suspect diana is thinking about suggesting genus Hebeloma. I agree, it's a possibility. But I think the clustered growth in an ornamental garden --probably includes spread wood chips-- favors a saprobic species. (Hebelomas are mycorrhizal... at least I *think* they all are.) Maybe a species of Tubaria? Maybe Pholiota? Maybe Agrocybe? I don't recognize these. But... wondering if the 6th photo (last one) shows a different species. The shiny yellow caps look like they may be kinda slimy/viscid. Do the gills/stems for these look the same as the others? Probably all the same, but it wouldn't hurt to check. Spore print color would possibly help here. If there's any reason to further suspect two different species, then printing several different mushrooms would be a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemychickens Posted January 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2018 2 minutes ago, Dave W said: I suspect diana is thinking about suggesting genus Hebeloma. I agree, it's a possibility. But I think the clustered growth in an ornamental garden --probably includes spread wood chips-- favors a saprobic species. (Hebelomas are mycorrhizal... at least I *think* they all are.) Maybe a species of Tubaria? Maybe Pholiota? Maybe Agrocybe? I don't recognize these. But... wondering if the 6th photo (last one) shows a different species. The shiny yellow caps look like they may be kinda slimy/viscid. Do the gills/stems for these look the same as the others? Probably all the same, but it wouldn't hurt to check. Spore print color would possibly help here. If there's any reason to further suspect two different species, then printing several different mushrooms would be a good idea. I'm almost positive the ones in the last picture are the same as the rest, I just took that picture while it was raining. I'll try to conduct a spore test, though I've never done one before... Thank you so much for the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted January 15, 2018 Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 Take a cap. Cut off the stem. Lie the cap, gills down, so that half the cap is on a black surface and the other half on a white surface. Non-porous surfaces are best. If you can't find black/white smooth hard surfaces, then aluminum foil is a good alternative... or a clear glass microscope slide. Allow at least 12 hours for the print to form, but it may take as long as two or three days. Best to place the mushroom being printed in an area where there's no draft and not much activity. Many sources recommend placing an inverted cup over the mushroom being printed. But I have found that this practice can cause moisture to accumulate under the mushroom, which may either hinder the spore drop or alter the appearance of the spore drop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemychickens Posted January 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2018 On 1/14/2018 at 6:41 PM, Dave W said: Take a cap. Cut off the stem. Lie the cap, gills down, so that half the cap is on a black surface and the other half on a white surface. Non-porous surfaces are best. If you can't find black/white smooth hard surfaces, then aluminum foil is a good alternative... or a clear glass microscope slide. Allow at least 12 hours for the print to form, but it may take as long as two or three days. Best to place the mushroom being printed in an area where there's no draft and not much activity. Many sources recommend placing an inverted cup over the mushroom being printed. But I have found that this practice can cause moisture to accumulate under the mushroom, which may either hinder the spore drop or alter the appearance of the spore drop. This is what it looked like after 2 days when I took the cup off and flipped the cap over, does this provide anything? It was a little more orangey and less yellow in real life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted January 21, 2018 Report Share Posted January 21, 2018 Spore print is too yellow for either Hebeloma or Agrocybe. Another genus worth considering is Pholiotina. But with a large group of mushrooms of this type there should be at least a few with a noticeable ring on the stalk. Also, Pholiotina stalks tend to be more slender, and the spore print is apt to be a little darker. It's possible there's something else I'm failing to consider. Otherwise I think we can narrow it down to Pholiota or Tubaria. Pholiota is a large genus with species that vary quite a bit, most with spore prints that are more brown than what is seen here. The type of habitat here --ornamental area with wood chips-- favors Tubaria. The only thing that seems unusual for Tubaria is that none of the caps seem to show any whitish velar remnants along the margin. But, this typical Tubaria trait may be lost due to rainfall. So, my best guess is Tubaria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Hmmm... When I view this spore print on a different computer monitor than previously, it appears to show more orange/rust than I originally perceived. In this case, genus Gymnopilus may also be considered. But I still think Tubaria here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemychickens Posted January 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I just looked through Google images and it looks a lot like this one! Thank you so much for the follow up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 If you have access to a 400x microscope, then scoping the spores will probably settle the Tubaria/Gymnopilus question. The spores from mushrooms of these two genera look quite a bit different. Tubaria spores are smooth with a large round central "oil drop" visible through the wall. Gymnopilus spores are shaped like mangoes and have wrinkled/warty exteriors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 I should also mention... I doubt these mushrooms represent a species of Galerina. But, I cannot say with absolute certainty that genus Galerina may be eliminated from consideration. Some species of Galerina are deadly poisonous if consumed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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