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Tricholoma myomyces?


Gillian

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I found ~20 of these growing under a spruce tree yesterday, some in pairs but otherwise singles.

Cap is slightly domed, definite grey, dry to the touch.

White (or light grey) gills attached to the stem, white (or light grey) stem, no veil, what seem to be white hairs at the base of the stem, and I initially thought some white "pseudo roots".

Spore print is white. Virtually no scent.

Any thoughts? I initially was thinking Pluteus sp. but not with a white spore print and attached gills.

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My guess is these are a species of Tricholoma, maybe T. terreum or T. myomyces. There are other species of Tricholoma that also feature a gray cap. Note how the gills are deeply notched just short of the attachment to the stipe.

Pluteus mushrooms --all species-- have gills completely free of the stipe. That is, the gills do not touch the stipe, not even with a thin threadlike attachment. 

There are some Mycena species that feature fairly robust (although generally small) mushrooms. But, most Mycena mushrooms are thin/fragile. Mycena griseoviridis has cap color similar to the mushrooms seen here, but the mushrooms are much less robust than the ones seen here. 

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Not completely sure what you're saying... Do you mean your mushrooms look like Tricholomas... or Mycena griseoviridis?

The mushrooms pictured are almost certainly a species of Tricholoma. It's okay to taste/spit a little piece of Tricholoma. Have some water on hand to rinse. I think these may be T. myomyces. They are fairly small for this species, with stem thickness at the lower end as reported for T. myomyces. 

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Sorry, I was saying that I thought they might be Tricholomas. I looked at the Mycena griseoviridis but they look more delicate than these.

I just got a new microscope and might see if I can look at the spores and gill surface.

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Tricholoma spores are hyaline (transparent). To see them clearly at 400x you may need to use a stain, like Congo red. Champignons du Quebec says that T. myomyces has no hymenial cystidia. So, your mushrooms may not be the most exciting/illuminating when viewed under the scope. Although there are microscopic features other than spores and cystidia. 

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  • Gillian changed the title to Tricholoma myomyces?

It's a start. I usually need to take multiple shots through the scope before I get one that looks okay. Camera has a difficult time focusing. I take a shot, view it, and continue until I get one that is clear.

I can't tell from the photos if the basidia are two or four spored. L/W ration of spore lengths looks like it may support the two-spored T. myomyces (two varieties of this species). 

Now you need an ocular micrometer for your scope. And it'll need to be calibrated. Without it you can't measure spores. Honestly, I don't know that much about microscopes. I bought a used one from the Bio Dept at the college where I work. It came along with a measurement device included. It probably could use to be better calibrated. But, after viewing many different samples of spores from mushrooms of which I am certain of the ID, I have come to rely upon x1.17 as means of arriving at a decent estimate of measurements at 400x total magnification.  So, at this point you really need someone who knows lot more about microscopes than I. Perhaps someone at a college/university could help? 

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